For those who have never been fortunate to experience the magic of the FA Cup then 28 years ago today it was almost as good as it ever got.

28th January 1984 a date etched in the mind of anyone born before about 1974, then as of today Saints had a 4th round FA Cup tie being played at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon, as we travelled the sort journey eastward for the much waited meeting with our upstart South Coast neighbours Portsmouth.

I dont think anyone young or old needs reminding of the score, 1-0 or the scorer Steve Moran or even when the goal was scored, the 90th minute, but perhaps younger supporters cant remember that time when the FA Cup was truly magical, fans talked about nothing else from the moment the draw was made and long after a game was won or lost.

This one was of course unforgettable, sadly of course even for Pompey fans who much as they would like to forget, know that they witnessed one of the great meetings in the history of the two clubs, arguably perhaps THE greatest one.

So today at around 4.40pm cast you mind back to Fratton and think of how the FA Cup used to be and indeed should be again, packed grounds full of supporters knowing that football is all about glory and not staying in a league that they have no chance of winning purely for the money, the FA Cup used to offer that glory, reserve teams werent played, and as Saints themselves had showed even sides in the second tier had a decent chance of winning it.

But back to Fratton Park on that January day 36,000 packed into the ground, over 10,000 Saints fans officially there and maybe a thousand or more in the home sections, will be ever see the like of this in the FA Cup again, or are we all destined to merely be teams that yearn to be in the Premier league for the money knowing that is all we wll be there for and oh because Man Utd & Chelsea etc cant play each other every week.

Photo: Action Images

st_bangkok added 11:47 - Jan 28 Indeed, that was an unforgettable day and cup run. I was 15-16 that year so the perfect age to enjoy it, and got cheated out of a cup final experience and win!
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Capt_Koons added 22:17 - Jan 28 A truly unforgettable day. Travelled on a Southampton City Corporation double decker organised by CF. Four mates had tickets in the PFC north stand. I was stood to the left of the goal from the pitch, and went fooking ballistic when Moran scored. I have a framed print of the goal on my lounge wall.
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moran89thmin added 16:03 - Jan 29 Yea a great day - went on the train. On the walk to the ground a programme seller had the shakes like he had Parkinsons - scared out of his f ukin mind poor guy. I was in line with the right hand goal post about two-thirds of the way up. I will never ever forget that moment when Steve Moran popped that beauty in at the far post- went f ukin loopy. Fantastic! And the skates outside - you should have seen their f uck-ugly s hit eating faces! It was beautiful just beautiful. Football is a game of great moments - no Saint will ever have a greater moment than that and it was my privilege to be there.

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