When was your first ever Saints game ? what made you support the club ? read about mine and then tell us all about your own first game.

The first visit to a football stadium is a magical event: the crowds; entering the stadium; and seeing that green pitch for the first time is an experience that you never forget. Most of all, it often moulds which team a person supports for the rest of their life.

Perhaps the whole experience has been diluted in the past decade or so. The introduction of so many live televised matches in full HD is far different than it was when I was a boy. We only had the highlights shown each week with just the FA Cup Final and the odd England International shown live on the box.

Indeed back then in the early 1970’s not everyone yet had colour TV. My impressions of football stadia were mainly in black and white. In consequence, it was the colour that struck me most when entering the Dell for the first time. The colour of the pitch, the colour of the stands, the colour of the supporters’ scarves.

So this article asks the question: ‘What was your first ever football game attended and if it wasn’t Saints, then what was it? Also, if so, what was your first ever Saints game? Tell your experience on here and let’s see who was around to share it with you.

To kick things off here is mine.

My first game was on 15 January 1972, and it was against Manchester United in the third round of the FA Cup: a great introduction to both live football and, of course, Southampton Football Club.

10 years old was, perhaps, a later age to go to a football game than many of my schoolmates. But I came from a Liverpool family and my father was a die-hard Liverpool fan. Sadly he had died three years earlier - just at a time when he would probably have taken me to my first match. Things could well have turned out differently in the team I supported had fate not taken a hand.

So, all the talk in the school playground back in the 1971/72 season was Saints. My mates were all starting to go to games - some with their parents and some on their own. But some went with older kids from the area. So I started to veer away from the team that had been drummed into me by family and want to support my local team as well, so I could go to a game week in week out.

So one of the older kids said he had a spare ticket for the Cup Tie with United and it was all systems go.

Thus I found myself entering the Dell for the first ever time for a sold out FA Cup third round tie with a Manchester United team who only four years previously had been Champions of Europe.

I can still remember entering the ground. The ticket was for the terracing under the West Stand and we were in there early. I sat on the wall in the corner of the terracing between the West Stand and the Archers Road. It was the bottom of that quirky piece of terracing that used to be under the old scoreboard. It meant that I had a great view of both the game and the crowd by being above their heads.

I was lucky that the ticket was for there because it was relatively under-cover and the game was played in torrential rain. Indeed there were puddles on the pitch and perhaps today it would have been called off. But this was 1972, and it needed a lot more than rain to call a game off.

28,160 were packed in the Dell. Some 2,000 shorter than it should have been for a sell-out. That excellent book In That Number suggests that the rain kept a couple of thousand away who already had tickets. But back then, manipulating the attendance figure at a game was commonplace so money could be pocketed without declaring it to the tax man. At least I was told this, mainly by Pompey fans who swear that they didn’t really have such poor averages in their 1950’s heyday.

Some of the names in both sides were legendary, Saints had Terry Paine, Mike Channon (always Mike back then, never Mick) and Ron Davies, whilst United had George Best, Bobby Charlton and Dennis Law.

United played in bright yellow shirts with blue shorts whilst we were, of course, in our iconic stripes with perhaps my favourite incarnation. We had a round red collar, black shorts and red socks with a solitary white hoop in the middle.

Saints kicked off towards the Milton Road end and the game was fast and furious. Although given that my only reference point at this time was the football played on Green Park in Millbrook, it was probably quite slow compared to today’s games!

It was United who opened the scoring on 37 minutes. A well-worked move involving Law and Best was finished off by Bobby Charlton. I thought it was all over but luckily it wasn’t: it was only half time.

The second half saw chances at both ends and it took a fantastic save from Eric Martin in the Saints goal to keep the deficit to one. However, ten minutes after the break it was all level and again I had a great view of the goal as it was up at my end.

It was classic Saints from that era, a Paine cross, this one from a free kick, to the far post. Ron Davies leaping and hanging in the air before heading the ball either at the goal or down for the knock in. This time it was the latter and it was Jimmy Gabriel who knocked it home to silence the United fans massed behind the goal.

But my eyes were on the opposite end where they were going crazy under the Toomers sign. I knew that for my next game I would be going there myself. And I did! For several years later it was the Milton end for me.

There were other chances but the game was now scrappy due to the weather and the mud and the score stayed level. This meant that the teams would meet four days later for the replay which United won 4-1 after extra time in front of 50,966 ( it would have been 50,967 but my mum wouldn’t let me go lol).

But the die was cast, I would return a few weeks later to stand on the Milton Road terraces, little knowing that this would not be the last time I would see Bobby Stokes and Alex Stepney in an FA Cup tie. A little over four years later and they would meet again and this time there would be no replay.

Below Shows Saints Take On Manchester United At The Dell In A Vital Relegation Clash In April 1974.

Thanks to Duncan Holley and Gary Chalk for their excellent book, In That Number. This has enabled me to fill in the blanks that almost 44 years and somewhere between 1,500 & 2,000 subsequent games has dimmed my memory.

So what was everyone else’s first ever game? What do you remember? If you can’t remember it all, I will try to fill in the gaps courtesy of In That Number.

Photo: Action Images

Del_Bianco added 09:39 - Nov 17 1985 v Everton. It was the centenary game. We lost 3-2 after taking a 1-0 lead early on through glen cockerill, Steve Moran scored our second which delighted me as he was my boyhood hero. My dad worked Saturdays and had been badgering for over a a year to take me to a game as my love for saints really began in the 83/84 season and in particular the excitement of the cup run. I thought every year would be like that, with us one of the top teams challenging for trophies. How wrong I was.

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SonicBoom added 10:12 - Nov 17 I have no idea when it was. It had to be mid 70's when I was maybe between 8 to 10 but could have been earlier. I just remember being against the wall at the front of the West stand. I could just about see over that little white wall. It was a night match against Blackpool and of course I remember the pitch and the brightness of Blackpool's orange shirts. I can't remember the score, the players or anything else. Which is very much like most games I have attended since.....

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TheMoog added 10:16 - Nov 17 My parents are both from Surrey and so have no affiliation to Saints. Add to that my dad being an egg chaser, my mum being paranoid about the violence that followed football about in the 80’s and money being tight, there was no incentive to allow me to go to the Dell. In the autumn of 1985, however, my school announced that 100 schoolkids from across the city, were going to be asked to be part of the centenary celebrations at the match against Everton and that my school had been selected to provide 10 of those kids. I was chosen and, as it was under school supervision, I was permitted to take part. Ahead of the match, we had to attend a hall somewhere for rehearsals. The plan was for us to form the shape of ‘100’ on the pitch but trying to get 100 9 year olds to do this was like herding cats so they decided we would simply form a guard of honour instead. On the 30th November, we turned up at Springhill First School with the kids from the 9 other schools and got changed into the kits we had been given. We were taken across Milton Road through the gate and down the slope onto the pitch to form the guard. I was quite in awe to see the likes of Shilton, Case, Wallace, Armstrong and Moran as well as Lineker pass me so closely. It all happened very quickly and we were soon back across the road to get changed back again. We were then taken up to the family enclosure above the Milton but the match has already started and we had already scored. I don’t really remember much about the match except that we led twice but eventually lost 2-3 but what I do remember is the noise and atmosphere which got me hooked. I still have the shirt and programme we were given although the shorts and socks are long gone. Incredible to think this is 30 years ago later this month. Would love to see any photos of this if anyone has any as I've struggled to find any.

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saint68 added 10:18 - Nov 17 September 1981 4-1 wolves. A day that i still remember fondly, a rare day out with my dad and a wonderful day it was.
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saintmark1976 added 10:38 - Nov 17 April 1960 at Dean Court. Aged eight and taken to the game by my cousin. Remember nothing of the game except that we won and Saints away strip was gold shirts and black shorts.
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saintmark1976 added 10:41 - Nov 17 April 1960 at Dean Court. Aged eight and taken to the game by my cousin. Remember nothing of the game except we won and Saints played in their away strip of gold shirts and black shorts
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safwanmo added 11:13 - Nov 17 First game was when I was 5, 1st Jan 2003, James Beattie, our talisman, came up with the winner with less than 10 mins to go! Amazing to read stories of all the supporters on the website, stretching far back beyond when I was born! I came to support the saints due to my dad being a Scot, and a certain Gordon Strachan was the manager at the time, and being the closest PL side to me, everything pointed towards the saints!

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RonManager added 11:35 - Nov 17 Wolves at the Dell April '68. Went in the Archers end with a mate.I'd only just moved to Hampshire and for some strange reason decided to support Wolves that day and wore a home made old gold rosette! Ron Davies with the diving header soon put me right and by the end of the game the die was cast. There's a great photo of Ron in flight in 'in that Number'.
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Whiteknight added 11:36 - Nov 17 December 23 1972. 0-0 vs West Ham. I don't remember much about the game although I went with my dad, who was originally from Bitterne and who was also a Saints supporter (as were his family). I seem to remember being in the Archers Road end and as I already loved Saints was really excited. Looking at the team sheets I feel honoured to have seen the likes of Booby Moore, Trevor Brooking and Clyde Best as well as Mick Channon and Terry Paine. I came from Surrey and only had one school fried who was also a Saints supporter - we were in a minority as it was all London clubs and Aldershot round our way.

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IWOZTHERE added 12:20 - Nov 17 We'd moved down from Coventry and prob.1959 my dad took me to F*****n Park (1st Division then) Followed by a trip to the Dell a couple of weeks later. I think we were in the old 3rd Division south then. Can't remember anything except that Derek Reeves played and scored. Two or Three years later my mates at school were going on about Saints and their new centre forward George Kirby. He was straight out of 'Roy of the Rovers' and I was hooked. I think it was against Charlton and he did a 'Mane' and scored a really fast hat trick. I think that was the year we got to the FA cup semi-final after a spectacular run losing 1-0 to a Denis Law goal. Does anyone know why KIrby left so unexpectedly? I remember he went to Coventry and got a Hat trick in his first game there as well !

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Wints76 added 12:22 - Nov 17 First game was 30 October 1982, two days after my 9th birthday. We were home to Everton and almost took the lead after about two mins but Alan Ball knocked the penalty wide. Turns out that Keith Cassells scofred the first ever Saints goal I saw and then Steve Moran (my hero!) scored a penalty. Everton pulled it back to 2-2 but Danny Wallace scored a winner. Main thing I remember is everyone booing John Bailey (I joined in but didn't know why he was booed until years later) and a bloodied Everton fan asking my mum if he wouldlike him to escort her, my brother and me to the station. Again, I only realised years later why she gave him short thrist.

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saintnathan added 12:34 - Nov 17 Feb 1st 1971. FA Cup 4th Rd Replay. Southampton 3 (Davies, Kirkup, O'Neil) York City 2 I was 8 and balanced on an orange box next to my dad at The Archer's Road End. It was really hard work standing on the box with the crowd swaying around - attendance was apparently 25,034. Remember it being a cold night and had tomato soup in a flask at half time. I remember asking my dad if there would be a commentator! I was a glory hunter, a Chelsea fan at the time, but the seed was sown. Wouldn't be long before the Saints became my team (well ok... it was 1973 and Peter Osgood arriving that did it!).

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Number_58 added 12:52 - Nov 17 Great photo of the Milton Road End and the Chocolate Box (apart from the union jack being upside down). Can anyone else remember ticketless fans clambering up the wall outside the Milton Road End to peer through the little square windows at the back of the terrace? That was quite a feat of endurance. And the Man Utd fans climbing the trees behind the Archers Road End?

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stephenblayney added 13:12 - Nov 17 1967, I think. Saints played, and beat, Sheffield Wednesday 2-0. Terry Paine flying down the wing. I remember him centring low and hard with Peter Springett parrying it out to John Sydenham. He scored! The first match I ever watched , on TV, was against Fulham, on a Sunday afternoon in 1966. We beat them 4-1 with a display of typical Saints attacking. I was in love. I had just got into football and I'd found my only true love!

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hedgeend61 added 13:46 - Nov 17 Not 100% sure but think it was QPR in 1969, taken by my uncle and stood in the chocolate box nearest the corner flag. Can always remember the team from memory in that era GURR KIRKUP HOLLYWOOD KEMP MCGRATH GABRIEL PAINE CHANNON DAVIES WALKER SYDENHAM, couldn't name hardly any other line ups through the years though.
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ItchenNorth added 14:01 - Nov 17 The first thing that strikes me from reading all of these accounts is: how old are you lot !! I seem like a spring chicken compared to some of the dates you are quoting lol ! The first game I went to was in the 1984/85 season (I recall) and a 3-0 win against QPR. Danny Wallace with a brace. Shilton was in goal and Mark Wright also in the team (I remember watching these two especially, because they were both England internationals). I also vividly remember going to a game (I think in this season, 84/85) against Man Utd. As a you boy i remember travelling from Yeovil in Somerset with my dad in the snow. We spend all day in the city centre wandering around, peering into shop windows, to try and catch on TV; if the game had been called off, as the snow was still coming down. It wasn't called off and the game was played in the snow. Lines were being painted orange right up until kick off. A great memory as a kid. The only reason I supported Saints from as far away as Yeovil was down to my mum though. In the school yard in the early 80s you were either a Liverpool or Tottenham fan in Somerset. At Christmas I asked my mum for a Spurs annual and mum (knowing nothing about football) duly bought me a Saints 1981/82 annual ! The seed was sewn. 10 years later I applied to university in Southampton, so I can attend more games (my Uni work and career, an after thought throughout !). When I was thrown out of Uni, I stayed in the city for the football and have never left ! Strangely I now work for the Uni that kicked me out ! One things is for sure; I really miss the old Dell. You couldn't beat that ground. Watching Matt Le Tiss week in week out in his prime will never be beaten.

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BLEEDRED added 15:22 - Nov 17 My first game was 13th Nov 1971 v Leeds My grandfather used to go to the Dell on a regular basis, but living in Dorset was not allowed to go (Mums!!!) He did take me to watch Weymouth or Yeovil. I was not a avid Saints fan at the time just football. But by the 70's considered my-self big and wise enough to go on my own So by bus and train I made my way to the Dell (if truth be know I had a soft spot for the Leeds team at the time) don't remember much about the game except it was 1-1 going into injury time when Saints scored the winner all those around me jumped onto the gravel track and I just followed must have been something about that moment because from that time I only supported the Saints, coming to more and more games each year, when work took me to Portsmouth (sorry!) it was much easier to get to games, then in 1981 I moved to Southampton and got a season ticket and guess I'll be going until I depart to join all the greats Saints

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Whatsforpud added 15:34 - Nov 17 Can't remember specific games, but I think my Dad started to take me to see the reserves in 1952, prior to breaking me in for the first team. I remember seeing Ted Bates, Bill Ellerington and Henry Horton. The latter was also a regular batsman for Hampshire at a time when there were quite a few cricketers cum footballers. John Christie and Fred Kiernan were the goalkeepers. Does anyone remember Bill Bray, the cheerleader, completely dressed in red & white (maybe for FA Cup matches)? With so much of the ground being terraces, there were 'packers' to get people to move further forward to allow other to come in at the back. And what about the Albion band? They had their uniform, but there was always one musician who had forgotten his/her uniform dress in civvies! There was a collection at half time, when a large sheet of canvas in a frame was paraded around the surround to the pitch, inviting the crowd to throw coins into it. No Health & Safety then! An interesting aspect of football organisation then, was the fact that when the first team were at home, the reserves were away (in the Football Combination League), and vice versa. And at the same time a third team would play in a local league elsewhere. Of course there were no substitutes then, but I wonder if each team took a spare player in case of illness etc. Not sure if the Gym under the West stand had always been there, but I do remember passing the ground on the No.5 bus, seeing the car park being used for training. Unbelievable now!

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hedgeend61 added 15:36 - Nov 17 Not 100% sure but think it was QPR in 1969, taken by my uncle an stood in the chocolate box nearest the corner flag.Used to keep a record of all games attended, but God only knows what happened to that. Cant remember many full line ups through the years, but can recall from that era GURR, KIRKUP, HOLLYWOOD, KEMP, McGRATH, GABRIEL,PAINE, CHANNON, DAVIES, WALKER, SYDENHAM, don't know how as a job now to remember yesterday. Can remember being round the newsagents in Lowford on a Saturday waiting for the Pink to come in.

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hedgeend61 added 16:03 - Nov 17 Sorry double post, must pay more attention, didn't realise there was a page 2.
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ThicknThin added 19:02 - Nov 17 Very enjoyable reading all the recollections. Have been reading this column for ages but this has prompted me to post. My first game was away to Brentford 3rd div south November 1956 ( I have the programme) all I remember was that it was a very dark afternoon and Saints lost 0-4. But they were my Dad's team ( a native of Southampton) and I was hooked for life. My second game was away to Aldershot in the same season when Terry Paine scored I think his first goal for Saints. we drew 1-1 and Terry was my boyhood hero. Living in Surrey I had plenty of opportunities to support the London clubs and was taken to a game occasionally by well meaning neighbours but in the end they gave up because all I ever wanted to know was the Saints result. There have been many ups and downs but I have never regretted being a Saints fan and kind of feel it is in my blood. I am a season ticket holder and still travel down from Surrey for almost every game.

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undertoomers added 23:44 - Nov 17 I suppose you realise that the photo you've chosen at the top of this page show's Man Utd supporters, when they " took the Milton" (from memory it was Feb/Mar 1977). Coincidentaly my first game was against the formentioned team on October 8th 1969 (we lost 0 - 3). A ground record crowd came along to welcome me, I was one of 31,044 that night.I was a late starter. I was 12 ( and three quarter's ) before I went to my first game.I had been badgering my parents to let me go to the Dell for a couple of years, alot of my school freinds used to go, and would ask wether I'd come.But my parents would n't let me go because of the crowd trouble (yes, in 1969) they kept hearing about down there. But they said I could go this time as my freinds neighbour (Mr Newman) would take us .Little did they know that although we got on the bus with Mr Newman, as soon as we got off the bus at Foy's corner we made our own way to the ground.The love of your football club is the longest love affair in your life.The love of the same Wife, Car, Property, would never match the longevity of your football club. It's a constant thread running through one's life from boyhood to the grave.

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NewburySaint added 09:25 - Nov 18 And to continue this great thread.....the 1st game I went to was Reading v Swansea in September 1985 which my Dad took me to as a "birthday treat"-my Dad used go to Reading matches in the 60's & 70's. We finally gave up going to Reading at the n of the 89/90 season because we got fed up of the shite fooball Branfoot was making his team play and us watch-little were we to know that just around the corner he would rock up at The Dell!! But at least I have something to thank him for because he pushed us towards supporting Saints even if they were trying times in the 3 or so years he was with us! Which brings me on to my 1st Saints game-my Dad used to work with a Season Ticket Holder who suggested we became ST holders as well (which we still are to this day), not least because we were eligible to go in the Family Centre in the upper Milton which was dirt cheap unlike today's prices! My actual 1st game was in August 1990, the 1st home game of the 90/1 season, vs Norwich, an evening game which ended up 1-0 to Saints courtesy of an own goal by John Polston at the Archers end from a cross from Rod Wallace-it's amazing what you remember! I was 13 back then & we had season tickets in the Family Centre until I was too old to qualify as a child, or until they knocked the Milton End down to rebuild it, whichever came 1st, and then we sat under the East Stand until the final bell at The Dell. As a coincidental footnote the 1st football match I ever remember seeing was a Friday night live TV game between Saints & Liverpool, the 1 where Wallace scored twice including an overhead kick, which I believe was in early 1984.

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battler added 13:38 - Nov 18 Saints vs QPR 14th October 1978. Result 1 - 1. I was 8 years old and although the rest of the family were not really interested in football I loved it and Saints were my local team., (lived in Totton all my life). After a lot of badgering and pleading my dad finally relented and took me to what still is his only Saints game. I dont remember much about the game apart from Ted MacDougall scored for Saints and I wrote on the back of the programme (which I've still got obviously) that the ref was rubbish ! Until looking at the records I dont remember at all that Paul Goddard equalised in the 90th minute. I must of gone home absolutely gutted.

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