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Night games - what was your first?



atfc village

Well-known member
Mar 28, 2013
5,080
Lower Bourne .Farnham
Fa Cup 5th round 1979 Shots v Shrewsbury .14000 squeezed in winners away to Wolves 6th round .Shots go 2 1 up in the 89th minute only to allow Shrewsbury go up the other end and score heartbreaking.
 




perseus

Broad Blue & White stripe
Jul 5, 2003
23,461
Sūþseaxna
vs Oxford United, Division 4, August 1964, Att: 22,697. Result 0-0 Excitement rating 8/10.
 


highway61

New member
Jun 30, 2009
2,628
Brighton v Rochdale 1972 - the night we got promoted after a 1 -1 draw. Totally hooked on night games from then on. The view of the ground, as you walked past the church near the south east corner - floodlights, a fug of smoke and the North Stand already in full voice - magic, just magic
I was at the game at Rochdale week before then was at this game, templeman goal ? Awesome night. Three of my mates took there girlfriends into north stand that night, was pandemonium when whistle went
 


Freddie Goodwin.

Well-known member
Mar 31, 2007
7,186
Brighton
Must have been some occasion because I'll be the 3rd here for v Torquay in Aug 68 (I also know it was Hiney's 1st game).

An exciting 1-1 draw, near 15,000 crowd, player's brawl, all good stuff. Remember how green the pitch looked, the bright yellow of Torquay and flickers offlames as people lit up on the east terrace..
 


marshallmercury

New member
Feb 21, 2009
90
Rustington
From memory I think it was the Garry Stevens testimonial game against Spurs. A mates dad took us to the game and we stood in south west corner of the west stand which I think was geared towards family groups.
The thing that I will never forget is that there were 2 blokes there who could be best described as having escaped from a lunatic asylum for the night. At one point in the evening John Hughes (south today sports reporter) walked along the touchline, and these 2 guys rained down a torrent of abuse in his direction!! In that 30 second moment I learnt a whole new bunch of swear words!!
 




Icy Gull

Back on the rollercoaster
Jul 5, 2003
72,015
That was mine too! 34,300 attendance, in the third tier... and Palace were only mid-table at the time. I believe. It was March 1976. I was in the East Terrace, probably standing on a crate! It was my second Brighton game - and the one that got me hooked.

Are you sure about their position in the table? I thought they were one of the pace setters and were very high profile under Malcolm Allison, they had changed their kit to the white one with a sash and had an England winger in Peter Taylot. They were media darlings at the time. Wasn't that the nucleus of the side that were touted as the team of the Eighties?

I could of course be wrong, the memory can play tricks when it was that long ago!,

Have to be honest here, I only went to that game to see what all the Palace hype was about and got hooked on the Albion. I was a listen on the radio Spurs fan prior to that
 




gjh1971

New member
May 7, 2007
2,251
1979 - 0-0 against Arsenal in the League Cup. Poured hard and loads of Arsenal fans infiltrated the North Stand
 




Freddie Goodwin.

Well-known member
Mar 31, 2007
7,186
Brighton
Are you sure about their position in the table? I thought they were one of the pace setters and were very high profile under Malcolm Allison, they had changed their kit to the white one with a sash and had an England winger in Peter Taylot. They were media darlings at the time. Wasn't that the nucleus of the side that were touted as the team of the Eighties?

I could of course be wrong, the memory can play tricks when it was that long ago!,

Have to be honest here, I only went to that game to see what all the Palace hype was about and got hooked on the Albion. I was a listen on the radio Spurs fan prior to that

You are correct. Palace were in or near the top and we were not far behind, although we both missed out in the end, Millwall, Cardiff & 1 other beat us to it, but we both went up the following season.
 


PILTDOWN MAN

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Sep 15, 2004
19,641
Hurst Green
The same for me. These new-fangled floodlight thingys were truly wondrous at the time. I winder how bright they really were compared to today's HD-TV standard lights? I remember at the Goldstone always counting how many lamps were not working on each pylon, and the expectation when they fickered into life when turned on at half-time in winter.


Difference is in an enclosed stadium the lighting appears lost on the pitch given all the other lighting in and around. Back in the old days all the lights in the stands were turned off during the game making the floodlights far more effective for watching. Don't much like the Amex lighting.

Added to which the electronic advertising boards are far too bright at many grounds especially Derby when you can't make out what's going on due to the glare.

Sitting in the wsu you really notice when the tv screens change to a brighter picture.
 


Stat Brother

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 11, 2003
73,888
West west west Sussex
The night Arsenal ran amok on the North Stand, sometime in the late 70's or very early 80's.
Sometimes I wonder why my Dad ever took me again.

Jnr Stat has so much to be grateful for, despite what the rosy specced brigade would have us believe.

Regards
SB.
 




lawros left foot

Glory hunting since 1969
NSC Patron
Jun 11, 2011
14,089
Worthing
Brighton v Rochdale 1972 - the night we got promoted after a 1 -1 draw. Totally hooked on night games from then on. The view of the ground, as you walked past the church near the south east corner - floodlights, a fug of smoke and the North Stand already in full voice - magic, just magic

I went to this game as a twelve year old who's parents had decided it was too dangerous for a youngster to go to with only his equally young best mate.
We went anyway, and watched the whole game, standing on the girders along the bottom of the back wall of the stand, leaning on the shoulders of the coppers who lined the back of the North Stand.
We got home at gone eleven, and were both grounded for about a year, God, it was worth it though
 


Icy Gull

Back on the rollercoaster
Jul 5, 2003
72,015
The night Arsenal ran amok on the North Stand, sometime in the late 70's or very early 80's.
Sometimes I wonder why my Dad ever took me again.

Jnr Stat has so much to be grateful for, despite what the rosy specced brigade would have us believe.
L
Regards
SB.

1st game, a cup game against First Division Giants Arsenal. You PLASTIC :smile:

Was that the game the stadium announcer had to ask if the police outside the ground could come into the ground double quick?
 


Silverhatch

Well-known member
Feb 23, 2009
4,696
Preston Park
League cup tie with Wolves (1969?). We lost 3-2 to a team that was then in Div 1. Cracking game and can never really forget the first sight of the Goldstone with the floodlights on[/QUOTE

Mine too. Eight years old and completely overwhelmed by the mixture of Bovril and tobacco smoke swirling around my nostrils.
 










GT49er

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Feb 1, 2009
49,188
Gloucester
Away at Prenton Park, 1967 or 1968. Tranmere always played their home games on a Friday night (every time I watched us at Prenton Park, we lost - never even saw us score a goal there!).
 




Fungus

Well-known member
NSC Patron
May 21, 2004
7,160
Truro
Hmm, interesting. I've always believed my Goldstone début was 25 Jan 1969, versus Crewe.

But, thinking about early floodlit games, I remember going to a Sussex Senior Cup final. Looking at Wikipedia, this may well have been Southwick 5 Horsham 3 (aet) in 1968. Anyone else have memories or info of that game?
 


dennis

Well-known member
Aug 1, 2007
1,151
Cornwall
Derby County league cup 1976
Derby were league champions.
30000 plus crowd
Peter Ward scored in the first minute
Game finished 1-1 but we lost the replay
 


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