billc
Youth Player
Posts: 489
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Post by billc on Dec 19, 2015 20:33:27 GMT
My first away game.
We took the train and we sat a rather battered carriage as we travelled north to Manchester. It was a FA Cup replay at Huddersfield. Stoke would play 300 minutes of football before finally breaking the Terrier’s resistance.
It was February 8th 1971, a historic month as Britain went decimal on the 15th February, a day I recall well as I was working at Tesco’s in Hanley changing all the prices so they read both the old and the new values.
And a few weeks before I went to United’s ground to see my first away match. We were part of a crowd of 25,000 who journeyed to Old Trafford on road and rail. Many of the Stoke fans who travelled up the motorway were delayed by a pile up on the M6. We had no such problems with British Rail and we arrived in good enough time to have fish and chips near the ground before entering the vast and impressive ground.
It was a heroic game with whole hearted commitment from both teams. By all accounts it was a proper “ blood and thunder” cup tie played in a spirit of honest endeavour.
The game was settled by a Greenhoff goal on the 68th minute. A Bernard long throw found Conroy who shrugged off the effects of a ankle injury crossed for the Stoke forward to flick home. The Stoke team was battered and bruised that day. I once chatted to Dennis Smith about the game and he told me that he’d had pain killing injections, just to get through the 90 minutes.
Bloor did well to stand up never mind play and he was magnificent in the heart of Stoke’s defence, a young Haselgrave ran his heart out. One moment that stuck with me was an almighty crash in the second half when 6 players lay prone in the Stoke goalmouth Skeels and Bloor among them needing medical attention. After several nail biting minutes of extra time Stoke had their victory, in their triumph they could forget their injuries.
As Peter Hewitt the Sentinel journalist recorded. “It had been a three set battle played by brave and gallant men who sportingly embraced at its conclusion”.
People who denigrate the 70s, as the current fashion among social historians dictates, refer to it almost as a “devil’s decade”.
I beg to differ.
It was a rich time for a teenager in the Potteries and just to confirm this assertion the same newspaper that covered the Stoke v Huddersfield game was advertising Led Zeppelin playing at the Place with an admission charge of ten bob.
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Post by chad on Dec 19, 2015 20:36:26 GMT
Went to all three of those games. Was Frank Worthington in that Huddersfield side ?
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billc
Youth Player
Posts: 489
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Post by billc on Dec 19, 2015 20:50:05 GMT
Yes he was
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Post by stokienorthants on Dec 19, 2015 22:48:09 GMT
I was also there was 14 and went on a BR football special and sat in the cantaliever stand and remember lots of Stokies in the Stretford End a great night.
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Post by march4 on Dec 19, 2015 23:37:21 GMT
That followed a 3-3 draw at the Vic, didn't it?
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Post by spitthedog on Dec 20, 2015 1:49:05 GMT
That followed a 3-3 draw at the Vic, didn't it? Yes I remember that game really well. Memorable because we wore all white at home!!! I used to love that all white strip. I remember Greenhoff's early goal and we thought it would be plain sailing, but proved to be an epic battle. We were losing 3-1 with about 20 mins to go. Harry Burrows scored a screamer and I think TC scored the equaliser, he was playing centre forward for some reason.
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Post by Gods on Dec 20, 2015 1:53:03 GMT
That followed a 3-3 draw at the Vic, didn't it? Yes I remember that game. Memorable because we wore all white at home!!! I used to love that all white strip. I remember Greenhoff's early goal and we thought it would be plain sailing, but proved to be an epic battle I'd love to see us with an all white away strip, true Corinthians, it would look beyond brilliant!!
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Post by spitthedog on Dec 20, 2015 1:56:13 GMT
Yes I remember that game. Memorable because we wore all white at home!!! I used to love that all white strip. I remember Greenhoff's early goal and we thought it would be plain sailing, but proved to be an epic battle I'd love to see us with an all white away strip, true Corinthians, it would look beyond brilliant!! Totally agree, we always looked really classy in it. Best away strip we ever had.
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Post by kidcrewbob on Dec 20, 2015 8:38:08 GMT
Blimey - this was my first away match as well and one of the very few my old man ever took me to - reading the account above it was probably because Sean Haselgrave was a student in his welding class at NCFE. Can remember very little to be honest other than feeling sick in the back of a neighbours Hillman Imp, massive crowds and being made to almost run to keep up after the match.
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yoc
Academy Starlet
Posts: 231
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Post by yoc on Dec 21, 2015 7:12:58 GMT
Went to the replay at Huddersfield midweek night after school with a mate in his brothers car, remember going in the 'big side' Stoke Fans were sprinkled all around a full ground, in I believe 40thou crowd?
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Post by waddosnavy on Dec 21, 2015 8:35:56 GMT
Also went to all three matches. In the first game at the Vic, we came alive in the last 20 minutes and started a belief we could win. We went to Leeds Road battered and bruised and I believe (if memory is correct) Dennis Smith played with number 11 on his back with leg strapped up as an extra defender. In the second half with Dennis unable to sprint, Franky Worthington broke through with only Dennis and Banksy between him and a winning goal, Dennis dived and headed the ball off Worthington's toe. Blood was streaming down the side of Smithy's head (was it his ear that was torn?), and Dennis was prepared to play on, but Waddo came on the pitch to forcibly get him off. We held on for a 0-0 draw. It was a memorable battle, and afterwards we got a locked in in a moorland pub having pie and peas plus a few jars, before traversing the Pennines and some snowy roads in the early hours. At that moment felt we could win the cup.
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Post by chad on Dec 21, 2015 9:04:34 GMT
Went to the replay at Huddersfield midweek night after school with a mate in his brothers car, remember going in the 'big side' Stoke Fans were sprinkled all around a full ground, in I believe 40thou crowd? Wasn't the main end a huge paddock. Think it might have been called the cowshed
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Post by jonnynico on Dec 21, 2015 13:31:58 GMT
That followed a 3-3 draw at the Vic, didn't it? Think we were losing 3.0, boothend end was mental when we scored the 3rd. At Huddersfield we were walking to the pub when the team bus stopped and waddo asked us if we wanted a lift to the ground, would never happen now.
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Post by crouchie on Dec 21, 2015 13:49:50 GMT
i will always remember the 3-3 always stood on the town end but i thought just for once i'll see what it's like sitting in the stands sent a letter off to the ground with a pound note asking for a seat recieved a letter back with the ticket and a 2 bob piece in change, if only it was that simple today. one of my fav games of all time.
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Post by falirakipotter on Dec 21, 2015 14:04:17 GMT
Wasn't it 4 matches as I remember us drawing at home 3-3 after being 3-1 down, Frank Worthington was quality. We then drew at Leeds road and I thought I remember going to Hillsborough where we drew 0-0?? Can remember the 1-0 win at Old Trafford with a Greenhoff winner.
They had a dirty left back named Geoff Hutt who kicked TC all over the pitch, in those days he would have been sent off before half time in each game, don't actually think he got booked in any!!
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Post by falirakipotter on Dec 21, 2015 14:07:28 GMT
Edit the last post, think the 0-0 at Hillsborough could have been against West Ham in the semi final before we again went to our happy hunting ground Old Trafford to win 3-2.
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Post by norman conquest on Dec 21, 2015 14:17:28 GMT
Wow, my first ever Stoke game was the 3-3 at the Vic, My dad and his friend took my brother me and his friends son who is still a good friend and Stoke fan to this day, loads of fighting in the open end and im sure we were 3-1 down, hooked for ever after, happy days.
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Post by spitthedog on Dec 21, 2015 15:10:32 GMT
That followed a 3-3 draw at the Vic, didn't it? Think we were losing 3.0, boothend end was mental when we scored the 3rd. At Huddersfield we were walking to the pub when the team bus stopped and waddo asked us if we wanted a lift to the ground, would never happen now. we went 1-0 up then 3-1 down Love the anecdote about Waddo. It was like that then I remember. I'll never forget bumping into John Mahoney waiting for a bus home after a match against Arsenal!!! Love to see Arnie waiting for a bus!!!
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Post by spitthedog on Dec 21, 2015 15:12:31 GMT
Wasn't it 4 matches as I remember us drawing at home 3-3 after being 3-1 down, Frank Worthington was quality. We then drew at Leeds road and I thought I remember going to Hillsborough where we drew 0-0?? Can remember the 1-0 win at Old Trafford with a Greenhoff winner. They had a dirty left back named Geoff Hutt who kicked TC all over the pitch, in those days he would have been sent off before half time in each game, don't actually think he got booked in any!! every team seemed to have a Geoff Hutt in those days, but TC used to get crocked virtually every match. There was no such thing as a player being fully fit in those days.
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Post by no1972 on Dec 21, 2015 19:08:59 GMT
Remember catching the train from Longton ,the ticket was a bit of cardboard about 1inch x2.Train pulled in by the cricket ground forget the station name.We were frog marched to the ground passed the Huddersfield buses I think every one got a kick.Bit of a battle in Stretford end but we outnumbered the Mancs so it only lasted about 5min.
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