June 30th

[leohoenig]

June 30th 1997 was the final day of British Sovereignty over Hong King

 

[Hoddy1.]

2018.

Will leave 1973 Scotland v Brazil to our foreign correspondant and settle on Atlanta United , following on from yesterday at Minnesota.

Saturday @ 19-00.
Major League Soccer , ( Eastern Conference).
Atlanta United 4 v 0 Orlando City.
@ Mercedez Benz Stadium.

71,932.

Up for breakfast at 07-00 in Minneapolis and quick coffee and some rolls (inc doggy bag), airport shuttle bus at 07-45 and check in for the 09-50 Atlanta flight with Delta 887.
Arrived on time at 13-30.
Same plan as yesterday , hotel shuttle to local hotel , this time the 'Knights Inn Atlanta Airport South' . Check in by 14-30 and organise cab to and from Stadium.
Sorted going out at 17-00 , 12 mile journey and at ground at 17-30 , tickets sorted and in ground by ten to 6.
What a great acquisition Atlanta have been to the MLS , this is their 3rd season and 2nd ground.
They started in 2017 at Bobby Dodds Stadium(9 games) then into new Mercedes Benz(8)
Average attendances.
2017. Regular Season- 48,200. / Inc P/Offs - 49,257.
2018. Regular Season- 53,002 / Inc P/Offs - 55,730.
2019. Regular Season- 52,510 / Inc P/Offs - 47,053.

Atlanta United - Brad Guzan , Franco Escibar , Michael Parkhurst , Leandro Gonzalez Pirez , Mikey Ambrose , Ezequiel Barco (1) , Miguel Almiron (2) , Jeff Larentowicz , Julien Gressel , Josef Martinez (1) , Hector Villalba.
Subs - Andy Carleton for Barco , Kevin Kratz for Villalba , Romario Williams for Almiron.
Manager - Gerardo Martino.

Orlando City - Joe Bendik , Jon Spector , Amro Tarek , Mohamed El Mounir , Scott Sutter , Lamine Sane , Will Johnson , Sacha Kljestan , Oriol Rosell , Dom Dwyer , Chris Muller .
Subs - Robert James Allen for Sutter , Richie Laryea for Johnson , Stefano For Sane.
Manager - Bobby Murphy.

Referee - Kevin Stott.

What an enjoyable game , nothing to do with the bottles of craft beer in the press lounge (hic).
The star of the show was the gentleman Newcastle bound in Jan , 2019 , Miguel Almiron.
Atlanta did good business out of him , paying Lanus $8 million for him in Dec 2016 and selling him for $27 million. Will eventually prove to be a bargain for Newcastle and I'm sure he'll at least double that fee when leaving them.
Booked taxi was running late after game , apparently had problems getting into parking area even though he said he was there 20 mins before the end , everybody was leaving ?
Still arrived back at hotel at 23-00 and again an early night , Toronto bound in morning at 09-25. (AC7547).


13 x games (7+ 6 Summer) , 1 x 0-0, (13 x foreign ).

Some other games visited on this date ( Top tier + Internationals + oddities.
1973 Scotland 0 v 1 Brazil.
1978 Toronto Metros 8 v 2 Oakland Stompers.
2007 FC Dallas 0 v 0 Houston Dynamos.

Beginning of 'The night of the long knives' these couple of days cost the world tens of millions of lives.

1934. Click on Adaneth not www.bitchute.com
Adaneth
Night of the Long Knives

www.bitchute.com


These figures are horrendous - https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/documenting-numbers-of-victims-of-the-holocaust-and-nazi-persecution

 

[prorege]

Many thanks to the Crewe Chronicler (I am another of his regular readers) for leaving the Scotland v Brazil game for me.

Saturday June 30th 1973
Friendly International
Scotland v Brazil, 0-1, Att 78,187 (often given as 70,000)
At Hampden Park

As a young boy I was enthralled by the 1970 World Cup and the dazzling football of the Brazilians on show in Mexico. I was therefore excited by the prospect of seeing them “in the flesh” at Hampden in this unusual mid-Summer friendly.

I suppose I was expecting to see Carlos Alberto style rampaging forward runs, swerving Rivelino free kicks, clinical Jairzinho finishing, Tostao’s light-footed ball control and the midfield generalship of Clodoaldo. Sadly I was to be disappointed. Brazil 1973 bore far more resemblance to Brazil 1974 than Brazil 1970 and the change was not for the better.

The match was part of the SFA’s Centenary Celebrations. Appropriately, Scotland managed to make a hash of these games which was a fine way to reflect 100 year’s of mis-administration by the governing body. I suspect the Scotland players were less than delighted at having their Summer holiday interrupted by this game and there was something of an outcry about the inflated admission prices which kept the crowd down to fewer than 80,000.

I went through with my Dad and he had got hold of tickets for the North Stand. Even in 1973 it was crumbling wreck of a structure, perched atop the North Terracing. Tickets were a then eye-watering £2.20.

Scotland: Peter McCloy, Sandy Jardine, Jim Holton, Derek Johnstone (Sub George Graham), Danny McGrain, Billy Bremner, Davie Hay, Kenny Dalglish, Willie Morgan, Derek Parlane and Joe Jordan.
Brazil: Leao, Ze Maria, Luis Pereira, Wilson Piazza, Marco Antonio, Clodoaldo, Rivelino, Paulo Cesar, Valdomiro, Jairzinho, Dirceu.

The Glasgow Herald commented that although the scoreline was only 1-0, the whole width of the Atlantic Ocean separated the two sides. “Brazil knew ho to play yet successfully concealed their talents for much of the game” mused Ian Archer in his report.

It was a bright but blustery day and the pitch was hard and dusty. Brazil lined up with a sweeper behind a back four and a lone striker They were efficient rather than entertaining. Scotland were disjointed which is hardly surprising as the players hadn’t really played or trained for a month. Big Jim Holton forced one good save out of Leao with a header but other than that Scotland struggled to make chances. Youngster Joe Jordan, plucked from the reserves at Leeds United, looked a decent prospect.

For Brazil I was going to remark that Jairzinho looked a shadow of himself. That would be inaccurate as he, looked three stone heavier than he had done in Mexico in 1970. Brazil’s best attacking player was Valdomiro who played wide and supplied a succession of crosses. Centre forward Dirceu lacked mobility and awareness. However, Scotland gave the visitors a helping hand when Derek Johnstone applied a clinical finish to one of Valdomiro’s crosses midway through the first half.

Rivelino’s moustache was as impressive as it had been in 1970 but we never saw any of his trademark free kicks. Leao, in goal, was a familiar figure as he had featured in my 1970 World Cup sticker album only to lose his place in the team to Felix before that tournament. Paulo Cesar was touted as the new wonderboy of Brazilian football but was underwhelming. A good player but certainly not outstanding.

I have bene unable to find any footage of the match. I think the SFA banned tv coverage in a bid to boost ticket sales,

The photo below is interesting. Brazil give Scotland an impressive pennant and we appear to give them a box of shortbread costing 20p from Cooper’s Fine Fare.

 

[Hoddy1.]

Saturday June 30th 1973
Friendly International
Scotland v Brazil, 0-1, Att 78,187 (often given as 70,000)
At Hampden Park.

Where's my ledger , I'm sure I've got 70,000 , I thought I was at it a bigger attendance in Atlanta .

Sure I've seen that gift in the Trophy Room at the FA Offices in Rio.

 

[Wiretown.Editor]

1990 Stones Bitter Championship Division One Sheffield Eagles v Warrington Won 18-20

1996 Stones Bitter Super League I Warrington Wolves v Wigan Warriors Lost 0-21

1997 Llandyrnog & District Village Clubs Summer League Henllan v Llandyrnog Won 6-0

2000 Tetleys Bitter Super League V St. Helens v Warrington Wolves Lost 50-20

2005 Llandyrnog & District Village Clubs Summer League Llanrhaeadr v Llandyrnog 6-3

This kicked off early so the players could go and watch the title decider just down the road. Naturally we did the same

Llandyrnog & District Village Clubs Summer League Rhewl v Nantglyn 0-3

The attendance was around 400-500 for this winner takes all title decider. In the end it was a quite comfortable win for Nant

2008 Llandyrnog & District Village Clubs Summer League Caerwys v Nantglyn 1-2

2011 Llandyrnog & District Village Clubs Summer League Cefn v Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd 2-0

2012 Hattons Solicitors National Conference One Wigan St. Jude's v York Acorn (T308) 38-12

A railed pitch. It was a bit of a walk from the changing rooms was in the same complex. A decent programme came with admission. It was played on a different pitch to the one I saw Wigan Riversiders play at here

2014 Tony Evans Memorial Shield Preliminary Round Ysceifiog v Llandyrnog 0-6

2018 Kingstone Press Cider National Conference Premier Division Siddal v Egremont Rangers

Again just a railed pitch but with pleasant Pennine views all around. The programme was in addition to admission which is the exception rather than the rule for National Conference.

 

[mxhornet]

Again no rugby league on this date, but not surprisingly running provides a few entries

1979 Southern Counties AAA Junior Championships 1500 metres 4-21.3 13th in heat

1984 Southern League - Rochester 5000 metres 16-13.1 6th

1996 Evening Telegraph 10k - Peterborough 33-56 30th

2005 Wroxham 5k 19-33

2007 Orion Harriers Fell Race - Chingford (3.5 miles / 814 ft climb) 28-58 12th

2018 Longdale Striders Relay - Catton Park 1-49-23 (6 laps solo)

 

[hantslondoner]

pre-season friendly - as promised, I'll keep it brief.
This one was reported on old WDYG

2018: Eastleigh 2 Reading 1 attendance 738 @Silverlake
Very early for a PSF, and 28 degrees in the midday (well, 1230) sun, but the home team looked decent enough and nabbed a late winner. Reading got better as the game went on. Teamsheet available.

 

[Chris1963]

Saturday June 30th 1973
Friendly International
Scotland v Brazil, 0-1, Att 78,187 (often given as 70,000)
At Hampden Park
I went through with my Dad and he had got hold of tickets for the North Stand. Even in 1973 it was crumbling wreck of a structure, perched atop the North Terracing. Tickets were a then eye-watering £2.20

That would be worth around £27 today, which sounds very reasonable for a seat alongside the side.

 

[Ricardo]

1996 Germany 2 Czech Rep 1 Euro 96 Final
Wembley stadium, London crowd 73,611

I will leave others to describe this one

2000 England v West Indies at Lords, 2nd day of Test match

Probably the best day of Test cricket I am ever likely to see in my lifetime, with all 4 innings on one day for the first time in history. West Indies were 267/9 overnight and lost Courtney Walsh to the first ball of the day, England came in and collapsed to 134 all out with 4 wickets for Ambrose and Walsh each, West indies came back in and were skittled out for 54(5 wickets for Caddick)then England came in and batted one over. The next day, a tense Saturday, England got home by 2 wickets and the tide of history was about to change.

 

[Denzil]

30th June 2015
Island Games
Guernsey 4 Gibraltar 0
Springfield Stadium, Jersey

My first visit to the impressive Springfield Stadium and another comfortable win for the Tournament favourites and eventual winners. I was not then, and the same applies today, a particular fan of artificial surfaces but they do sometimes improve the game and this was a case in point. Despite the scoreline it was a decent ninety minutes and generally played in good spirit though some of the Gibraltar challenges owed little to the Rules. They had just been accredited with FIFA International Status and should they play Spain at any time the Referee may well need the backing of a Nato Peacekeeping Force. Good to see however that they have made progress in the football world in the ensuing seasons.

30th June 2015
Island Games
Isle of Wight 3 Hitra 1
Rozel Rovers FC

On to the afternoon which started with suffering extreme difficulty in finding the ground despite having been there before for a game in which the Isle of Wight needed to greatly improve their goal difference for any hope of qualifying for the later stages of the Tournament. But when Hitra scored first, and in searing heat, that was never a likely outcome with just three goals giving them a comfortable victory. The ground matched other grounds on the Island with a good Clubhouse and playing surface but little else in the way of "furniture". I knew little of Hitra but their enthusiastic band of fair haired female supporters were an asset and credit to them and the Games, both at the matches and in the environs of St. Helier

This completed a very enjoyable couple of days in every respect other than it was too hot! Temperatures in the low to mid thirties are not conducive to football, whether watching or playing so please don't let football ever become a Summer sport.

 

[Hoddy1.]

View attachment 2724

That would be worth around £115 today, which sounds cheap if your a German fan , whereas if your a Czech fan.

 

[prorege]

That would be worth around £27 today, which sounds very reasonable for a seat alongside the side.

It was 3 times the cost of watching a top flight League Game. The equivalent of £80 today.

 

[leohoenig]

Two for me on this date.

In 1996, I paid my first of three visits to see Pelita Jaya play at Lebuk Bulus in South Jakarta.
At the time, some years before Persija moved south from Menteng, Pelita Jaya were the largest club in the Jakarta area, and by this time the regular season section of the league was nearing completion. (I would still see matches on the following two weekends, while the October finals were still part of the 95-96 season).

This game was against Bandung Raya, and the two teams were to finish first and second in the division. Despite a 1-0 home win in this game, it would be Bandung that would end up six points ahead. I have an estimated crowd of 5,000 - but this is liable to be little more than a guess.

The stadium was built in 1987 and was home to Pelita Jaya for most of the period between them and their dissapearance into a merger with Bandung Raya in 2002 - the merged team then playing in Surakarta (Solo), which is not close to either Jakarta or Bandung.

In 2000, Persija moved here as their original base in Menteng was due to be demolished, this combined with the 2001 league title led to the emergence of "Jakmania", and a boom of support so great that Persija had to move again in 2008, to the National Stadium, Gelora Bung Karno due to the support having outgrown the stadium.

Much of the support had fond memories of the stadium, and I found this evocotive video showing the stadium shortly before it was demolished in 2015. In appearance, it was very similar to this for my visits in 1996 and 97, with only the graffiti being refreshed. The site of the stadium is now a depot for the MRT services

The other game was in 2010, the second match of my American tour of that summer. I had spent most of the previous day driving on the Canadian side of the Saint Lawrence river, settling myself somewhere upstream of Montreal, positioned to allow a sensible amount of driving both to Montreal and then the next day to Toronto.

I will describe the confused state of USA lower tier football on a later match. For this one season, the USSF had taken control of the second tier, merging two leagues which were attempting to run in opposition to each other, but for which neither had enough teams to be sanctioned at the level.

The league consisted of 12 teams, playing a 30 team regular season, followed of course by play-offs (involving no less than 8 teams). Every team played every other team twice plus an extra two games against four teams. While most of the extra games were chosen by dividing the clubs into four regional groups, each played one other team which was not in their 'locale'.

With two Canadian teams in the league, it was not suprising that there were four games between Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps. My visit to Montreal was the second of these, as the teams had earlier drawn 0-0 in Vancouver. We were approximately half way through the regular season, being Montreal's 13th game, and Vancouver's 14th

11,949 watched this game, with Montreal taking a very early league through Tony Donatelli, a former Vancouver player. Whitecaps equalised on 66 minutes and then took the points with a last minute winner.

Some pictures from the Saputo Stadium can be found as tweet of the day

 

[norwich6]

Saturday 30th June 2007
One of my best ever days at sport all non football.
Rugby League Welsh Conference
Port Talbot Steelers v Bridgend Blue Bulls at Little Warren Aberavon
Green Stars Rugby Union
Score Port Talbot 14 Bridgend Blue Bulls 36 half time 8-10
Admission £5 including programme Attendance around 80
The first match of a rugby league double header
Steelers played well in the first half and were only two points adrift at
half time but Bridgend scored a converted try almost straight after
the restart and pulled away to lead 36-8 before a late
Steelers try and conversion made the final score 14-36.

Rugby League International
Wales A V France A also at Little Warren Aberavon Green Stars
Score Wales 22 France 18 half time 14-8
Admission included in £5 above Programme £2
Attendance Around 100
An absolutely tremendous match I rate this game as one
of the best rugby league matches I have ever seen. Played switched
from end to end throughout the game which was played in almost
continual rain. Just before the break with the scores locked at
8-8 Wales managed a try under the post and an easy conversion.
After the interval France levelled the scores at 14 each only
for Wales to go 18-14 ahead France then made it 18 apiece.
With 3 minutes to go Wales managed a try in the corner
which was unconverted 22-18. The French tried hard to get
back in it and in the remaining minutes were virtually camped in the
Welsh half but the Welsh defence held firm for a memorable win.
Unlike other Welsh rugby union grounds there was no cover here
but the pitch was railed on all 4 sides and a thriving tea bar
was in operation throughout.
After the rugby finished a brisk walk to the station and train
to Cardiff for the speedway.

Speedway
British Grand Prix at the Millennium Stadium Cardiff 1900 start
Admission £29 Programme £8 Attendance 41247
A brilliant speedway meeting possibly the best one there has
been before or since at Cardiff.
Chris Harris was brilliant throughout but in the
semi final he had to pass Jarek Hampel to qualify for the Grand
Final. Hans Andersson, Nikki Pederson and Scott Nicholls all rode well
early on but all three were eliminated in the semi finals
The final saw Harris, Greg Hancock, Jason Crump and Leigh
Adams line up at the tapes. Harris was last away but by the first
bend he was ahead of Adams. He then went past Jason Crump
and chased down Hancock. On the final bend of the last lap Hancock drifted
very slightly towards the fence and allowed Harris enough room
to go inside of him and win the race.
This led to wild celebrations in the crowd as at last a home rider
had won the British Grand Prix at Cardiff, the atmosphere throughout
the evening had been amazing.
One of the best speedway meetings I have ever witnessed and for me up
there with the World Finals of 1972 and 1981 both held at Wembley.

 

[Chris1963]

1997 (Monday) – Froya 0 Guernsey 3 (Island Games Group A, at St Peters FC, La Rue des Vignes)
then Jersey 2 Greenland 1 (Group A, at First Tower United, Rue de la Hague, Jersey)

In view of what someone else has said about a lack of furniture at Jersey grounds, it’s worth pointing out that both these grounds have permanent covered seated stands. I’m rather surprised though that, apparently, no programme was available at the 2015 tournament, although as I did not attend that one, I can’t confirm this. The programme for the 1997 tournament was rather unusual in that, while in the familiar A5 format, it had loose pages with punched holes in it.

2003 (Monday) – Isle of Wight 20 Sark 0 (Group D at St Martins AC, La Vequesse, Guernsey)
then Isle of Man 4 Saaremaa 0 (Group A, at The Track, Victoria Avenue)

The first match was notable for being the highest score at any match I’ve attended. Also with respect to the St Martins ground, it is known as “Blanche Pierre Lane” but no such road exists. To find it on the map you will need to look for La Vequesse, which is the name of the street where the ground is located. It was a 10.30 am kick-off and the second match was at 4 pm, which gave me plenty of time to walk between the two venues - they are about five miles apart. When I arrived at The Track, a women’s match was in progress on the outside pitch, which I believe is where the proposed new Guernsey FC stadium will be built. Hopefully Sark will be used as a venue when Guernsey next hosts the Island Games. After all, in 2003 they did use Alderney, which is much further away. I didn’t go there though as I had already ticked Alderney in March 1991 (1-4 v Jersey in the Muratti semi-final, four page A5 programme issued)

2006 (Friday) – Waterford United 1 Bohemian 3 (Eire, top flight) – played at the athletics stadium in Waterford. A5 programme issued.

2012 (Saturday) - Lillestrom SK 1 Sandnes ULF 3 (Norway, top flight, attendance 4,507) Four-page A5 programme issued.

2018 (Saturday) – Crusaders 0 Motherwell 1 (Testimonial) A5 colour programme issued. Daytrip revisit to Seaview in Belfast, a ground which has changed a lot since my previous visit, with synthetic turf replacing the grass pitch and new seated stands at both ends. Anyone know the official attendance? I can’t find it anywhere, although it was probably close to four figures.

 

[Loiner]

Two football matches on this date, both in Catforth & Dist. Summer League Div.1.
2003- Cockerham v Grimsgargh 1=10.
2008- Fleece Inn v Catforth 1-5 . O ne of a few clubs who have played at the Newton Village Hall ground.
Plus three Rugby League matches:
1996- Division 2. Hunslet Hawks v Hull Kingston Rovers 14-36. First visit to South Leeds Stadium.
2007-Conference National. Featherstone Lions v Warrington Wizards 18-16 on main pitch at Millpond Stadium.
2012- N C L Div.1. Stanley Rangers v Hunslet Warriors 18-22 at Stanley Sports & Social Club. Pitch beyond the Cricket Ground.. Given a lift back to Leeds by Les from Warrington, which I think is the last time I saw him.

 

[The vulture]

2011
Island Games.
Semi-final @ Westwood Park, Cowes Sports FC :
Jersey 0 Isle of Wight 1

9th v 10th play off @ Camp Road, Freshwater :
Gotland 1 Yns Mon 2.

S/F : A tight game between 2 of the better sides, both potential tournament winners was won through a 2nd half goal for the tournament hosts in front of 816 at the excellent Cowes Sports venue.

9v10 : A decent finish to the tournament for the Anglesey team, although I think they would have expected to have finished higher up the pecking order than 9th. The match was played in front of 159 at the fully enclosed but fairly basic home ground of West Wight FC.

The 20p 4 page progs detailed these 2 fixtures as numbers 22 and 26 of the mens competition.

 

[Lord Lucan]

2016 (Thursday)
FC Zimbru Chisinau 0 FC Chikhura Sachkhere 1
Europa League 1st Qualifying Round 1st Leg
@ Stadionul Zimbru K.O. 20:00
Adm 30 Lei
Wiki gives an attendance of 2,500 but my estimate would be half that

A fairly mundane match featuring clubs from countries rated 33 & 34 in the UEFA coefficient table. As will be seen from the names on the team sheet, most of Zimbru's players were not Moldovan - Brazil, with 5, supplying the greatest number. In contrast, all bar the keeper of the away side were Georgian.

Zimbru won the second leg 3-2 to go through on away goals.



Chisinau was a very cheap city, even a three course meal with drinks cost around £10 in a top end restaurant seemingly favoured by Russian-mafia types with expensive cars. The match ticket worked out at about £1.20.
Plenty of Soviet-style architecture including the parliament buildings, outside of which there were two permanent looking protest camps - one with banners in Romanian (blue writing), the other having banners in Russian (red writing). Rather surprisingly, on the opposite side of the road was a fan park for the Euro 2016 Finals in France - as the Poland v Portugal quarter final clashed with the Zimbru match I did not find out how popular the park was.

 

[Warwickian]

Monday 30th June 1997
Breidablik 1 I.R. 3
Iceland League.Division One

After staying a few days in Akureyri I got a coach down to Reykjavik which was a 6 hour journey but very enjoyable.After booking in at my hotel I caught a local bus out to the suburb of Breidablik for this second level league game.
The Kopavogsvollur ground of Breidablik was very basic with just a small open seated stand on one side.Since my visit there has been a covered stand added to the ground. The visitors won comfortably with a goal in the first half before scoring two more towards the end of the match.Breidablik got a last minute consolation goal on a cold and cloudy evening.The game kicked off at 8.00 pm and at that time of the year in Iceland, light isn't a problem!

 

[Steveb]

I wonder if Lord Lucan is referring to the same top end Chisinau restaurant that I went to when I was there. The prices and the clientele sound familiar. I didn't go there on this date though, I went to these places ...

1985 Charity match: Hampstead Heathens 6 Fleet Street All Stars XI 6 (att 45) at Feltham FC
Starved of football for a few weeks I headed over to Feltham Arena for this match on a Sunday morning. It was to raise money for the Bradford City Fire and Heysel Stadium appeals, although the crowd was small so I doubt it raised too much. Hampstead Heathens issued a four-page programme, with names in the 'all stars' line up including Jess Conrad, Rick Wakeman, Bobby Davro (who wasn't then famous enough for his name to be spelled correctly) and Ian Ridley. Not sure who actually played, and Feltham players bulked out both sides. Not even sure if the final score was definitely 6-6. My 1985/6 season began properly nearly a month later.


1996 UEFA European Championship, Final: Czech Republic 1 Germany 2 aet 'golden goal' (73,611) at Wembley Stadium
The only major international final I've been to, and still gutted that England just failed to make it past the semi-final. Like most 'neutrals' I lent my support to the Czechs so was again gutted by Germany's lucky winner in extra time. I think it's the only game I've seen settled by a 'golden goal', and I'm glad it's been ditched. An anticlimactic way to settle a match, not that I'd have cared if if had heralded an England victory. That concluded my 1995/6 season, and I began 1996/7 the following evening.


1998 FIFA World Cup. 2nd rnd: Argentina 2 England 2 aet 4-3 on pens (30,600) at AS St Etienne
I'd been back home for a few days after watching Saudi Arabia v South Africa six days before this. I couldn't face the through of another huge drive into France so got a train to London and joined an organised supporters' coach trip that set off from Victoria. What happened on the pitch is well known. Being there as a fan, rather than as a groundhopper, means this probably rates as the most thrilling match I've ever watched live. Owen's goal was incredible, and I had great view of it. Beckham's red card was baffling - no smart phones then so it was the following day's papers when we reached Kent before we knew exactly why he was dismissed. Another glorious failure for England ... but a great experience all the same.






2014 Friendly: Cheadle Town 0 Dinamo Bucharest 5 (156) at Mottram Hall Hotel, Cheshire
The first time a PSF has appeared in my lists. I'm not a big fan of them, but some are more interesting than others, and this would have been tempting had been played, as originally planned, at Cheadle. The switch to the hotel where Dinamo were based for pre-season was a late one, but presented what may be a unique opportunity to tick the 'ground'. The hotel often hosts visiting teams with fixtures in Manchester, and they're no doubt tempted by excellent facilities that include an immaculate full sized pitch for training or, in this case, playing a match.




2019 Manchester Summer Cup, Gp A: Stretford Victoria Athletic 1 Prestwich United 3 (3) at Dean Trust Ardwick
A Sunday morning match close to home in a semi-competitive tournament that was held for the first time (as far as I'm aware) last year. Venues were neutral and allocated by the organisers. This was on a 3G at Dean Trust Ardwick, not far from central Manchester and home to Manchester Polonia FC during 2019/20.