GROUND NUMBER 3
Date of First Visit: 26th OCTOBER 1968
ANFIELD, LIVERPOOL
LIVERPOOL 2
NEWCASTLE
UNITED 1 (Tommy Gibb)
(OLD) DIVISION ONE
ATTENDANCE 45,323 (3,000 Toon fans)
"SHE LOVES YOU!, YEAH! YEAH!YEAH!"
Anfield!, The Kop!, The Beatles!. This was
mee forst ‘lang distance away game’ followin’ ‘The Toon’ as a young schoolboy
(at least aa! thought it was a lang
way!) and aa caught the supporters club coach from Morden Street in The Haymarket at ‘six
bells’ (there were ne motorways up here in them days, so yi had to leave orly!) for the princely sum of
12 shillings and sixpence!. (60 odd pence in todays money!)
(The anly other groonds a’d been te at the
time were St James’ Park of course and the away derby at ‘yee naa where’!)
The Beatles were in their heyday and the
Scousers used tih sing their songs on The Kop, while everyone of them seemed
tih be wearin' a suit 'n' tie---and not a futbaall top in sight!?.
However!---there WERE hundreds of home
made flags and banners nailed ontih sticks, wavin’ in The Kop. (one of which
looked liked a bed sheet which waz probably ‘half inched’ from some poor
mutha’s bed?) (OR!---from some poor wifey’s washin’ line!)
Add that tih the thoosands of scarf wavers
and the whole end looked like a ‘sea of red’ az they swayed from side tih side
singin’: ‘She loves you yeah! yeah! yeah!’, amongst other classics (Quite a
sight!)
There were
a canny few Toon fans in the Anfield Road end wavin’ THEIR scarves iz well,
singin’ ‘The Blaydon Races’ in reply (although!, ah did’nt spot any ‘bed sheet
nickers’ from wor lot!) and they mixed freely with the Liverpool fans.
(Ne crowd
segregation in them days!)
A’v got to
say that aa was very impressed with Anfield at the time as it had cover on aall
fower sides. (a rarity in the 60’s) To wor left was the Kemlyn Road Stand which
had a roof that sloped doonwards so as not to block the light from the terraced
hooses in the street behind. The main
stand to wor right had a barrel shaped roof not unlike the West Stand at the
Toon and it had a gable at the front with the clubs name on it painted in
bright red. The Kop opposite was huge
and held more than half the groonds capacity and in keepin’ had a huge roof to
cover it. Wor end was aboot a thord of the Kops size and the roof covered three
qwaatas of the terraces.
If ah remember rightly, it cost the
princely sum of two bob tih get in (ten pence!) and the match programme (which
ah still have today gatherin’ dust somewhere in mee loft!) cost 9d, which in
todays money is aboot three and a half pence!
(Aye!---it meks iz feel quite
ancient!---pass mee zimmer frame!)
The Toon went ahead after 21 minutes, when
Alan Foggon centred the baall tih Tommy Gibb, who's spectacular shot hit the
back of the net, givin' Liverpool keeper Tommy
Lawrence ne chance.
(This was the Toons forst---and
last!---shot of the game!)
Wor lead was short lived however, when the
'Scousers' levelled the score two minutes later, when teenage sensation Alun
Evens vollyed home.
The noise of the crowd waz unbelievable
and ah can remember coverin’ mee lugs with mee hands az a loud shrill like
sound enveloped the whole groond!
(Not unlike the reception The Beatles used
tih get when they appeared on stage!)
We held oot until the 85th minute under a
barrage from the Liverpool forwards, but then Willie McFaul, (who'd had a
blinder up 'til then) made a terrible blunder, when he failed to hold a weak
shot from Peter Thompson, and the baall slipped through his hands and open
legs---and into the net!
The sight of the Toon goalie stampin' the
groond in frustration, just aboot summed up how AH felt!, and wih went doon
2-1.
A'd had a brilliant day (apart from the
score!) and mee forst proper away game was under mee belt---ah was hooked! and
after the game wih heeded for Blackpool Illuminations (yi could say, a’d ‘seen
the light’!)
“Arsenal---Arsenal---here we come!" (Wor next away game!)
