Used to go to most away games from 80s onwards and wandered what stories fellow blues have of being in with home fans? Didn’t go for trouble just fancied watching from a different view to the away ends. Chelsea in there main stand, no bother. Same with Palace and Grimsby. Bristol City, now that was fun! 2 hour car journey peeing down all the way then 20 minute walk when finally got parked. Drenched when got to ground thought we’d go in main stand. Ok until Johnny Beresford put us 1 up. Must have been 20 or so Pompey dotted around main stand went up and the locals weren’t happy. All settled down until Johnny B got a second. Big guy next to me stood up put his glasses in his pocket and said ‘get them out of here’ to witch a few blues were advised to leave and were escorted out by stewards. He sat down mumbling something to me in his yokel accent. Second half they were getting more and more wound up with losing and some of the refs decisions even I joined in with them on an offside call, great fun! Happy days.
Think was our promotion season from div 3 away to Brizzle rovers.
It was hissing down all day, got there quite early so parked up in a car park by the gasometer. Got talking to a rovers fan outside the ground who offered to sign us into their supporters club, we gladly accepted. We could see into the ground from there and realised the away end was completely uncovered, a handful of pompey were already there and soaked to the skin. We decided to go in on the side populated by rovers fans.
It was an awful game and pompey got hammered about 4 nil we couldn't understand why a group next to us were not celebrating as the goals poured in, they had worzel accents and one clocked our accents. He asked if we were pompey and my mates son who was readying himself for trouble (he loved s punch up). So i asked why they weren't celebrating oh he said that's cos we are City fans, we just wanted to see pompeys star studded team. We chatted for a while about our worst performance of the season before going back into the club house.
So it had all gone well apart from the game but I was left remembering the pompey masses soaked to the skin and we were bone dry.
I remember getting soaked at that Rovers game, but how did we celebrate Billy Rafferty's consolation goal in a 5-1 defeat. Gone in the home end a few times at different grounds, Oxford, Cambridge, Luton, Forest (for the Leicester play off) without problems. The worst wasn't a Pompey game, it was at Maine road and we went in with Liverpool fans. I suppose I must have been about 13 at the time and went with my dad. I think the year before we had stood on the kop at Liverpool and had a good time so we thought it would be fun. At that time the Kippax was shared and outside was like a building site. It rained down stones even on the little corner section where we were. There was a constant stream of people gushing blood being led out by the St Johns ambulance. In the end we left very early and had to argue with the police to get let out. That would have been about 1978. Went back a few years later on one of the special trains but I don't recall it being like that.
Not sure if this counts but I was in with the away fans when we beat ManU at home in the Prem. 2-0 i think it was and capped off beautifully with an atrocious OG backpass. Funny as you like.
However, it was fooking horrible getting goaded by my own as we left. Having a bunch of miserable tossers around me complaining about getting back to Guildford made it a little easier.
I couldn't really enjoy the result until after the event. And I didn't really enjoy the game either because I couldn't celebrate an incredible set of events on the pitch.
Being at old Trafford for the FA Cup made up for it though.
Been in with the home fans a few times. Sometimes when unable to get a ticket in our section - e.g. Wimbledon and Charlton away. Other occasions when Pompey took over home sections - e.g. Plymouth in 83 was in both ends and the Lyndhurst 'home' side that day, a case of wandering into anywhere that looked lively!
Went in home area at Cold Blow Lane a couple of times. First was an evening FA Cup replay when things kicked off everywhere. Our tube train at Whitechapel faced a 'reception committee' as we were about to get off to catch the tube down to New Cross / New Cross Gate. Decided it was safer to jump back onto the original carriage, go east and then return to Whitechapel on a westbound train to avoid being picked off by the Millwall.
Second occasion was the final league match of the same season. We decided to walk from Elephant & Castle station to avoid the shenanigans at Whitechapel. Think Andy Gosney made his debut, we lost 1-0, Millwall fans kept invading the pitch and we kept very quiet!
Having said that, the scariest was at Forest in the FA Youth Cup. There was no segregation, Gary O'Neil played for us, Forest were far more skilful and to be honest our only tactic was to kick them off the pitch. I was cheering and encouraging every Pompey foul and this Forest nutter came charging up to me about to deck me when fortunately a lad I worked with (a Forest fan) intervened as he knew both of us! As per Millwall, it was a very quiet second half!
(31-12-2021, 02:51 PM)brian bromley Wrote: [ -> ]Think was our promotion season from div 3 away to Brizzle rovers.
It was hissing down all day, got there quite early so parked up in a car park by the gasometer. Got talking to a rovers fan outside the ground who offered to sign us into their supporters club, we gladly accepted. We could see into the ground from there and realised the away end was completely uncovered, a handful of pompey were already there and soaked to the skin. We decided to go in on the side populated by rovers fans.
It was an awful game and pompey got hammered about 4 nil we couldn't understand why a group next to us were not celebrating as the goals poured in, they had worzel accents and one clocked our accents. He asked if we were pompey and my mates son who was readying himself for trouble (he loved s punch up). So i asked why they weren't celebrating oh he said that's cos we are City fans, we just wanted to see pompeys star studded team. We chatted for a while about our worst performance of the season before going back into the club house.
So it had all gone well apart from the game but I was left remembering the pompey masses soaked to the skin and we were bone dry.
I remember that game BB, never been so wet. I bought a hot dog at half time and a load of water blew off the roof of the burger place and washed all the ketchup off the hot dog. I remember going to a country pub on the way home and standing steaming by the open fire.
The things we have to endure following our team eh?
The classic has to be the game away at Millwall which was supposedly home fans only in, I think, 2003.
Quite a few of us got tickets for it and Pompey won 5-0.
It was difficult trying, and failing, to blend in and not show any emotion.
Strangely, most of the Millwall lot were blown away by Pompey’s display too, so it was a really good day out.
When did Pompey play at St Mary's in the FA cup? Was it 2010? The visitors tickets sold out in minutes so I bought a ticket in the home end. I was a bit surprised they would send a ticket to a PO postcode really. With my accent, I was unlikely to be sussed out, but someone I knew might have recognised me. Luckily they were all somewhere else that day.
Sat in a stand full of scousers for the Highbury semi final, an eventful few hours
I can confirm that when Anderson scored, as well as myself, there was at least three more Pompey fans in that stand brave enough to celebrate.
Also gone solo at Hillsborough, White Hart Lane 3 of us, and West Ham to name but four, all four make great stories!all four kept the adrenaline levels high.
With England was in home section in Bari at the 1990 World Cup 3rd/4th play-off. Spent about 8 hours on a crap local train from Sorrento, arrived at Bari station about 15 minutes from kick-off, dumped my rucksack in lockers and caught a taxi to the ground. Within seconds, I had bought a ticket at less than face value from a tout who was about to give up and made it in time for the kick-off.
Fortunately the locals and us English got on very well - nobody gave a monkeys about the result as we were all hacked off at missing out in the semis. After the game, the whole of Bari's old town was out of bounds for English fans, but my new local friends gave me a lift on one of their scooters and we spent the night boozing in a mafia drinking den which had a wild west feel to it. A very lively night but I was looked after and treated like one of the family!
My first away game, '83 Oxford (also, the first game of the season after our Div 3 promotion) I remember lots of Pompey fans playing 'in with the home support'.
I must have missed the "Anderson" goal Smirn I presume you mean 'Shaggy' - Darren ANDERTON ?
I also went in the home supporters "main stand" at Millwall with a mate. Couldn't help going nuts when Neil Webb scored our 2nd. Pretty sure that was our promotion season from Div3. Only saved from getting our heads kicked in by the lure of a bigger battle down near the Pompey end dragging the Millwall hard boys away
Twice in 6 months at Wycombe, right down in the corner by our end. First we won 3-2, second dire 0-1. It was so empty down that section we might as well have been in Pompey end anyway (full), that's all you could hear.
Living in the Cotswolds I used to find it hard to get Pompey tickets for away games so almost always used to go in with the home fans. West Brom, Villa, Chelsea, Man U, Oxford, Cov, Wolves, Reading, Cheltenham, Forest, Brum, I’ve been in with quite a few and never had a problem as long as I kept my gob shut. The only time I screwed up was cheering Anderton’s late winner at Swindon (3-2) (1991?). Me and my son and his mate were chased off their terrace into the street and then chased by some Pompey fans who thought we were Swindon. It was a win, lose, lose situation that day.
There was an earlier game at Millwall not long after their fans wrecked the Milton End turnstiles and Deacon banned Pompey fans from going to the return fixture. The week before the game I took the afternoon off and wandered down to Cold Blow Lane to buy a couple of tickets.
On the day of the match we drank in their local, The Royal Archer, and then took our seats in the main stand. When our first goal went in we sat on our hands and muttered disapprovingly, but as each subsequent goal was scored it became very apparent that the stand was a quarter full of Pompey.
We ran out 4-0 winners (a brace each for Callie and Channon, I think). The home support applauded our 4th and booed their players in equal measure!
(01-01-2022, 08:53 PM)Deebo Wrote: [ -> ]Living in the Cotswolds I used to find it hard to get Pompey tickets for away games so almost always used to go in with the home fans. West Brom, Villa, Chelsea, Man U, Oxford, Cov, Wolves, Reading, Cheltenham, Forest, Brum, I’ve been in with quite a few and never had a problem as long as I kept my gob shut. The only time I screwed up was cheering Anderton’s late winner at Swindon (3-2) (1991?). Me and my son and his mate were chased off their terrace into the street and then chased by some Pompey fans who thought we were Swindon. It was a win, lose, lose situation that day.
There's a video of that game on Youtube. I watched it last night.
Firqdays. Apologies not sure if it was the spellchecker or senility
Anderton it was.
Was in with the Yeovil fans once as a friend of my daughters Dad was on the board and got us tickets. Very easy going bunch even though it was obvious we were not local.
Fulham's shared section was always no trouble at all.
M Dad recalls times of going to football in the 40's and 50s, particularly the Goldstone which was near where he grew up, when there was no segregation ever and never any issues. Not so tribal then.
I have been in with the home fans whilst watching Pompey away. I have been in the Scum home sections for about five Pompey games. The ones that spring to mind are the 0-2 in 1988 and the 1-4 in 2010, both of those I was not sussed out, surprisingly as I do not have a yokel accent and I would not join in their conversations about pony molesting. Strange bunch. Another time was the FA Cup game v Man Utd 2003, I was sussed out, but as United were winning comfortably there was no issue!