Your First Non Exeter Profession Football game?

[haka]

Dodgy memory as ever, but I *think* it was Bristol City v Nottingham Forest, 1974 (Duncan McKenzie starring for the visitors, pre-Clough). We were staying with family in Bristol.

If true, then it would have been about 5 years from my first game at SJP (1969?) to my first game anywhere else. So I'll put that up as the time to beat, to prove your loyalty!

(though it wasn't just City games, I went along to SJP for anything, even Dawlish v Holsworthy ...).

 

[jambo]

Mine was Dundee United v Hearts,1980 at Tannadice. The arabs won 4-1. There was a lot of trouble. I got in for free!

That was around the time when the Hearts support had been infiltrated by a large contingent of casuals whose only interest was kicking up a rammy. They were able to do this when crowds plummeted after relegation. They used to congregate under the shed in the corner of the home end of Tynecastle.

A year or two after the game you mention, the "real" fans had enough - at a game with a small crowd, at half time, there was a big movement on the terrace from behind the goal, over to the area where the troublemakers gathered - it was made very clear to them that they were no longer welcome at Hearts games.

And pretty much from then on, the trouble stopped.

 

[denzil]

I'm pretty sure mine was on a long weekend up Lunnon where I took in Chelsea v Liverpool and West Ham v QPR. The latter was IRC 2-2

 

[sidney]

Bristol Rovers v Bradford City at Eastville circa 1966. It ended 1-1. My uncle took us - he was Bristol's Postmaster. I remember the huge Tote Clock at the other end which was used for greyhound racing. The stadium was very open and seemed enormous to me at the time: I note the record attendance at Eastville was over 39,000.