3 January 2004 - Plymouth Rocks Chesterfield

On 3 January 2004, Plymouth Argyle got off to a brilliant start against Chesterfield, scoring 5 goals in the first 18 minutes. They added 2 more to complete the 7-0 rout and match their biggest-ever margin of victory.

Playing before a crowd of 13,109 at Plymouth's Home Park, the hosts were celebrating their centennial year by sitting at the top of the Division Two table, while Chesterfield were third from bottom in the relegation zone. Plymouth quickly ended any thoughts of an upset, with Lee Hodges providing the opening goal in the 4th minute. But things soon turned much, much worse for Chesterfield and their keeper, Carl Muggleton.

Tony Capaldi doubled Plymouth's lead in the 11th minute, while Nathan Lowndes added a third one minute later. David Friio (pictured) then scored his first of the day in the 16th minute, with Lowndes netting another in the 17th.

Chesterfield, meanwhile, found it difficult to mount any effective attack because they could not hold on to the ball--they finished the match with a possession rate of only 22% . Friio, however, had no such difficulty and completed a hat-trick with goals in the 36th and 89th minutes. The 7-0 scoreline matched Plymouth's record margin of victory set in 1932 (and matched once before in 1994).