JANUARY

Colchester United begin the year buried in mid-table and showing few signs of a promotion challenge. Their first match of the year ends in a 2-1 home defeat to Hartlepool. Manager Steve Wignall had already said he'd be "on his bike" if Pool finished above his side in the table.

Neil Gregory arrives at Layer Road on loan from Ipswich aiming to fire the U's up the table.

Ipswich Town suffer penalty agony against Premiership giants Chelsea in the quarter finals of the Coca Cola Cup. The Blues go out 4-1 on penalties after a thrilling 2-2 draw.

Essex darts stars Bobby George and Kevin Painter both suffer second round exits at the Embassy World Championships.

Organisers behind Colchester United's fanzine come under fire for "disgusting and appalling" behaviour directed towards manager Wignall and his assistant Steve Whitton.

Essex batsman Stephen Peters is the hero for England under-19s as they lift the World Under-19 Cup in Johannesburg. Peters strikes a chanceless 107 against New Zealand to complete a memorable tour for the county. Also in the party were Graham Napier, Ian Flanagan and Jamie Grove.

FEBRUARY

Tiptree's Kevin Painter is crowned Essex Darts Open champion.

Ipswich's penalty jinx strikes again, this time in the FA Cup at Sheffield United. The Blues are sunk 1-0 with David Johnson missing from the spot.

Maldon Town kick lodgers Chelmsford City off their ground for "not fulfilling a contractual agreement".

Meanwhile former Maldon striker Neil Harris scores while on trial for Premiership Liverpool. He was later to sign for Millwall.

Colchester Hockey Club win the Essex Cup for the first time in 25 years with a 5-3 victory over Clacton.

Leicester City's teenage defender Guy Branston arrives at Layer Road on loan to bolster the U's defence. The ploy works and United are soon climbing towards the play-off spots.

Colchester Harriers are pipped to the Essex Cross Country Men's League title by Chelmsford. Key athletes are missing after getting stuck in traffic!

There is better news for the area in the women's league where Colchester and Tendring emerge victorious.

Crisis club Clacton Town are rocked by the resignation of manager Adrian Webster and chairman Ron Ayton. The pair quit over a cash wrangle regarding new signing John Kemp ironically the man who took the helm.

Frank Thompson's six-year reign in charge of Jewson League Brightlingsea comes to an end when he was sacked at the roadside. Graham Warren takes the reins.

David Gregory scores the U's 3,000th League goal against Mansfield.

Ipswich go goal crazy scoring five against Huddersfield, Oxford and, most importantly, in the historic derby win with Norwich.

Colchester Harriers win the area title in the Today's Runner Cross Country League.

Colchester's star athlete Sarah Claxton wins the 60m hurdles at the AAA under-20 Indoor Championships, pushing Chelmsford's Julie Pratt into second. She goes on to win the equivalent outdoor title over 100m.

Essex County FA unveil plans for an "Essex Wembley" to stage cup finals. The project aims to attract Chelmsford City as permanent residents.

Garry Hill shocks the non-league world by qutting Heybridge Swifts, the team he had taken from the Essex Senior League to the Ryman Premier. Hill leaves for St Albans and former U's boss Roy McDonough takes charge at Scraley Road, but not for long.

Braintree goal machine Gary Bennett smashes his club's post-war goalscoring record, when netting his 51st goal of the season against Tooting.

Neil Gregory's transfer from Ipswich to Colchester finally goes through. The U's pay £50,000, breaking their record transfer fee in the process.

Colchester's Ruth Eddy grabs silver at the Commonwealth Judo Championships in Edinburgh, but weeks later quits the sport.

The Division Three promotion race is thrown into chaos by the news that Leyton Orient fielded several ineligible players earlier in the campaign.

Winners: Colchester Hockey Club lifted the Essex Cup.

MARCH

Non-league Braintree have their 49-game unbeaten home run broken by Wealdstone. Days later Gary Bennett shatters the Iron's 73-year-old all-time scoring record against Met Police.

Bad feeling between the U's and Orient boils over with O's fans handing out leaflets blasting Colchester and then a week later as the sides clash in a 1-1 draw, a result which books the U's play-off berth.

Ipswich seal their place in the Division One play-offs on the same day.

Richard Wilkins is named by U's fans as their player of the year.

APRIL, MAY

A dramatic football month begins with Colchester missing out on automatic promotion despite a 1-0 win at Doncaster.

Ryman League Braintree blow their title chances in bizarre fashion. They lose at home to basement side Cheshunt 1-0 on the last day of the season.

Former U's star Steve Dowman quits as manager of cash-strapped Wivenhoe Town who later appoint a four-man management team.

Manningtree darts team the Skinners Arms write their name in the sport's history, setting a world record in a 12-hour marathon.

Essex's Nasser Hussain is beaten to the England cricket team captaincy by Alec Stewart.

Tiptree cricketer Darren Bloomfield takes his place in cricket's bible Wisden after taking a unique hat-trick with one wicket in three different games.

David Gregory sends Colchester United to Wembley, striking an extra-time winner against Barnet in the play-offs. But Ipswich bow out to Charlton.

History is made at Wembley where the U's clinch a place in Division Two beating Torquay 1-0 in the play-off final. That man Gregory is again the hero, his first-half penalty proving decisive. Keeper Carl Emberson keeps the Gulls out and is named man of the match.

Frinton's National League tennis team are beaten by the narrowest of margins in the final against David Lloyd Bushey. The match ends 3-3 but Bushey take the honours as they had won one set more.

JUNE

Furious Colchester United step up their bid for compensation following the below average crowd at their Wembley play-off. The game was controversially held on a Friday night due to an England international on the Saturday.

Clacton Town FC unveil ambitions plans to head for the Conference after they are bought by a local company. The Seasiders soon sign some top non-league players and are now on course for promotion.

Essex set up another trip to Lord's for the last-ever Benson and Hedges Cup with victory over Yorkshire at Headingley.

Ryman League Braintree pull off a coup by signing ex-Ipswich midfielder Simon Milton as player-coach.

Stewart Houston is named as Ipswich Town's new coach.

Chelmsford's Rod Harrington becomes darts' world number one.

Non-league minnows Brightlingsea unveil plans to move to a new stadium.

Athlete Sarah Claxton flies out to represent Great Britain in the European Cup in St Petersburg. The teenager finishes seventh in front of the TV cameras.

JULY

Essex's championship season hit a new low as they are dismissed for just 65 on an amazing day at Derby when a total of 23 wickets fall.

Welsh international Geraint Williams becomes Colchester's first new signing of the summer, joining on a free transfer from Ipswich. Dutchman Arafath Heuvel later becoems the U's only other summer signing.

Roscoe Tanner, Mark Cox, Zina Garrison and Gigi Fernandez are among the big names attracting the crowds to Frinton's International Veterans Week.

Clacton golfers Paul Atkinson and Stuart Levermore book a trip to Portugal for the second year running in the Lombard Trophy. A tournament orgainser describes their success as "unheard of".

Essex strike back to lift the B&H Cup at Lord's. Rain threatens to send the match to a bowl-out after Essex make a record score of 268-7. But when the clouds clear Essex make it a Sunday success, destroying Leicestershire for 76. Skipper Paul Prichard is the Gold Award winner on a day when he completes the set of domestic medals.

Angry fans complain as Spurs send a reserve side to play Braintree in a friendly to celebrate Iron's centenary. Almost 3,000 spectators turn up for the game.

AUGUST

Athlete Sarah Claxton agonisingly misses out on a medal at the World Junior Championships in France, finishing fourth in the long jump. But her Chelmsford-based rival Julie Pratt strikes gold in the 100m hurdles.

Witham cyclist Kristian Story flies to the 2,000m pursuit title at the National Track Championships in Manchester.

On the eve of the new season, a financial report reveals Colchester United as the fastest-growing club in English football.

The opening day of the season sees Mark Sale fire a last-minute winner as the U's get of to a flier against Chesterfield. Ipswich draw 0-0 at Grimsby.

Essex skipper Paul Prichard hits out at fans' claims that his side are "not trying" in the County Championship.

Colchester Harriers Athletic Club surge to a record-breaking fifth consecutive promotion in the sport's Southern League.

There's more misery for Essex at Colchester Cricket Week. The side are humbled inside three days in their Championship match with Gloucestershire and then their AXA League hopes are dashed when rain washes out play on Sunday. Overall, the festival takings end £10,000 down on the total expected.

Halstead win cricket's Two Counties Cup, beating Maldon in the final.

SEPTEMBER

Essex off-spinner Peter Such celebrates after receiving a shock call-up to England's Ashes Tour squad.

Colchester-based athlete Carolyn Oxton sets three veteran world records in a week: the 800m twice and the 1,500m once.

Essex's AXA League title hopes are finally extinguished after a 51-run defeat by Notts, leaving Lancashire as champs.

Cricket's new East Anglian Premier League reveals its line-up and there's no place for Colchester. Clacton and Halstead will represent the area when in gets under way in May.

Essex captain Paul Prichard quits his post after his side finish bottom of the County Championship for only the second time it their history. Nasser Hussain is appointed as the new skipper.

The area basks in Commonwealth Games glory. Colchester-born weightlifter Darren Liddel wins triple gold for New Zealand in Kuala Lumpur while former Colchester squash star Chris Walker picks up a bronze medal.

Ipswich Witches' speedway ace Tony Rickardsson is crowned world champion.

Colneside bowler Gavin Williams stuns the local cricket scene by taking a remarkable 9 for 0 to help his side to the division five title in the Lancaster League.

Clacton go out of the Two Counties League with a flourish, clinching the title on the final day of the season.

A last-minute slip by Maldon allows Boxted to retain the Lancaster League championship. Maldon were within a single hit of winning the league when they lost their final wicket.

Roy McDonough, the former Colchester United non-league double winner, is sacked by Ryman League Heybridge Swifts after bad results and poor discipline dog the club at the start of the season. Robbis Nihill takes over.

SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER

Five Lakes golf professional Gary Carter wins the Essex PGA Championship.

Snooker kings Steve Davis and Jimmy White go head-to-head at a Snooker Challenge in Colchester. Competition winner Nick Yusuf takes on White but, not surprisingly, loses.

Only a crowd of 1,400 turn out for U's striker Tony Adcock's testimonial against Ipswich. United win 1-0.

U's young striker Tony Lock is linked with a dream move to Premiership Tottenham.

The game you thought would never take place, Manchester City v Colchester United in the League, goes ahead. But the U's lose 2-1 to Joe Royle's men in front of nearly 25,000 at Maine Road.

NOVEMBER

The remarkable Ipswich Witches complete speedway's treble of Elite League, Knockout Cup and Craven Shield.

Ipswich, sitting second in Division One, sell star defender Mauricio Taricco to Spurs for £1.775 million, sparking anger among their fans.

Braintree pull off another signing coup, this time ex-U's defender Peter Cawley joins the Ryman Leaguers.

Defender David Greene is the latest Colchester player linked with a move to a Premiership side. The Gazette reveals Liverpool are watching Greene.

Colchester are the subject of national ridicule after becoming victims of the FA Cup's first major giant-killing. Bedlington Terriers of the Northern League, a club playing at the equivalent level of Harwich, Maldon and Halstead, don't just beat the U's, they thrash them 4-1. Steve Wignall admits he's "never been so humiliated."

But on the same day Clacton Hockey Club fly the area's flag, producing a shock of their own. The Seasiders knock National League Eastcote out of the English HA Cup.

DECEMBER

Colchester female boxer Shanee Martin gets the chance to train with Britain's first woman professional Jane Couch. The 16-year-old reveals she has already been approached to turn professional.

Braintree boss Tony Hall, one of the most successful managers in the club's history, is sensationally sacked after a barren run of two wins in ten games.

Sky TV announce Colchester United's home clash with Manchester City in March 1999 is to be screened on a pay-per-view basis. It is only the second game in football history to be accorded such status.

Pictures: Colchester United's winning day at Wembley; Essex enjoy their moment of victory at Lords; Hockey players celebrate their success

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.