31/03/2008 - Notts County 0 Mansfield Town 0
It was a day of fierce rivalries - as Old Firm foes Rangers and Celtic met in the SPL and Oxford and Cambridge contested the Boat Race on the Thames.
Old and firm enemies, Notts County and Mansfield, also went head-to-head at Meadow Lane in the most significant derby between the two clubs in their history.
But, unlike the two universities, they were in the same boat, both fighting for their Football League lives.
And, after a goal-less draw, they still are. Nothing has changed.
It was certainly a better outcome for Notts, who are still seven points clear of Mansfield with six games of their season left. Victory would have put them out of sight but, crucially, they have kept one of their relegation rivals at a safe distance.
But it was not a disaster for the Stags - far from it. After defeats to Grimsby Town and Bury, a third successive loss would have been a disaster.
But a draw keeps them alive, especially because they can close the gap to four points if they beat bottom side Wrexham at Field Mill tomorrow night.
They need to slay the Dragons if they want to stay in the Football League. It's that simple.
There was plenty of hype before the game, with defender Stephen Hunt declaring the Magpies were intent on hammering the final nails into Mansfield's coffin.
But Hunt was named on the substitutes' bench, despite a great performance in the goalless draw at Shrewsbury, as Ian McParland reverted back to his preferred back-line following the return of Mike Edwards and Michael Johnson from injuries.
And there were no hammers or nails in the end, although many of the 10,000-strong crowd were biting their nails as the game reached a dramatic climax, with both sides going unbelievably close to snatching victory.
First, Stags' Matt Hamshaw could have made himself a hero and then Notts substitute Spencer Weir-Daley nearly, so nearly, struck in the final minute of injury-time.
The drama began even before a ball was kicked in anger, as Russell Hoult was injured in the warm-up. The veteran keeper had to be helped off the pitch, after trapping a nerve in his knee.
All thought rookie keeper Tim Sandercombe would have to be thrown in for his league debut; a baptism of fire. But Notts' physio John Haselden weaved his magic in the treatment room and Hoult took his place in goal.
His stride was a little uneasy as the two teams walked out, but he went on to claim a fourth successive clean sheet with characteristic command of his penalty area to help extend the Magpies' unbeaten league run.
His opposite number, Carl Muggleton, was not to be outdone as he kept the Stags' first clean sheet since January.
Of the two, Hoult was the busier throughout. He had to work harder for his unblemished afternoon.
Mansfield's build-up might have been dominated by talk of a takeover at Field Mill by former York City owner John Batchelor and all that might come with it, including a bizarre name-change to Harchester United, after a fictional team in a Sky TV series, but the visitors didn't look distracted by it at all. Quite the opposite.
The club's current owner, Keith Haslam, was in the Derek Pavis Stand to see the Stags seize the early initiative.
The visitors were quicker and slicker, and they attacked with greater poise and purpose.
Leading scorer Michael Boulding, who struck a double in a 2-0 win between the two sides at Field Mill in October, was a livewire threat and there was a powerful battle between his strike-partner Jefferson Louis and Johnson.
It was Nathan Arnold who went the closest to breaking the deadlock on 25 minutes, after Hamshaw threaded a pinpoint pass into his path inside the penalty area. He unleashed a powerful effort that beat Hoult for sheer speed and hit the crossbar. It was a let-off for Notts. More chances came and went, as Louis headed straight at Hoult from close-range and Boulding fired an effort on the turn which the on-loan keeper proved equal to.
Their superiority was unquestionable. But the Stags never capitalized fully on it. It has been the story of the Stags' season of struggle so far.
Notts have struggled to score goals all season and they were poor in attack once again in the first half. They simply created nothing.
Former Mansfield player Wayne Corden, who dazzled on his debut for Notts in the 1-0 win against Rochdale, was anonymous and Danny Crow and Ryan Jarvis never looked like ending their barren runs.
They improved in the second half. Corden got on the ball more and enjoyed a greater influence and Crow went close to scoring at the end of a swift counter-attack as the game became stretched. He played a clever one-two with Butcher before thundering in a venomous effort that Muggleton did well to save.
But a derby game wouldn't be a derby game without a moment of controversy and that came when Johnson raced back to defend a through ball under pressure from Boulding.
Hoult raced off his goal-line to claim it, but the experienced defender controlled the ball away from the keeper before completing a clearance. The Mansfield players fiercely protested to the referee that he controlled the ball with his hand, but Mark Haywood waved them away.
That wasn't the end of the drama. Hamshaw volleyed wide at the far post from substitute Simon Brown's measured cross in the first minute of injury-time, with Hoult scrambling across his goal, and in the last minute Weir-Daley had an effort from inside the penalty area deflected just wide.
It was stirring stuff, but defeat at the death would have been cruel on either side.
And all inside Meadow Lane on Saturday will hope the two sides meet again in the Football League next season.