Your favourite game

[Ian]

So the Guardian are doing a series of articles where they get a writer to do a piece about their favourite sporting event (doesn't have to be a "game" of anything, can be a race or a fight or whatever) and I've been quite enjoying them especially some of the more obscure ones. So what are yours? Feel free to do multiples of course, or break it down by ones you've attended vs. seen on TV or whatever.

I'll get the ball rolling with one I've probably mentioned before and my favourite sport thing I've attended:


I was at the end where Coventry got two of their first half goals and Arsenal got theirs, directly behind the goal. I was there with my dad and my uncle, my recollection being that it was very cold and that we weren't really very confident of getting anything out of the game. Coventry weren't bad that year but Arsenal were obviously the better team and the two games I'd been to at Highfield Road that year had both been defeats, a 3-4 against Spurs (where Chippo scored this one) and a 1-0 loss to Leicester (Emile Heskey scoring this decent winner) so weren't expecting much. I was a big fan of Hadji so getting to see him get one at the end I was at was quite exciting to me at the time. When Arsenal got their first at our end to make it 2-1 there was a bit of a "here we go" feeling and then of course Keane got the winner at the far end, which being behind the goal (I would realise as time went on that while I liked the atmosphere of this it's just not a great place to sit) we couldn't really see. Sadly nothing banterous happened, just a nice memory.

Honourable mention to being at Coventry rugby once to see them take on a South Africa A side or some such and got absolutely hammered. It felt like the Saffers scored the exact same try about twelve times once they realised Coventry couldn't get their heads around the idea of flinging it out to the fast winger at the far end.

[Giggles]

Think I posted it the other day too, but Dublin v Kerry in the 2011 SFC final. Wasn’t the greatest game ever seen but mainly for the comeback and Dublin ending a drought since 1995. Mad looking back and seeing the joy at them winning one when it became so routine in later years (won the first ever 5 in a row from 2015-2019). Atmosphere was amazing at it.





Honourable mention to Shelbourne v Hajduk Split at Tolka in 2004 in a CL Qualifier. The old shit hole was full to the gills like we’ll never see again. Watched the whole thing again the other night on a private youtube link but all there is otherwise are grainy goals. They were already ahead on away goals but the last minute one to seal it from Alan Moore was something will never be forgotten.

[Jimmy Floyd]

I'm going to essay the fuck out of this.

[randomlegend]

I was going to say Dragon Age: Origins, but you've made the wrong thread by accident.

[Don]

FFVll.

[Ian]

I was going to say Dragon Age: Origins, but you've made the wrong thread by accident.

Get it started in Gamezine then.

Moar fredz.

[Waffdon]

Crystal Palace 3-3 Liverpool

[Ian]

I seem to recall the reaction on here at the time being pretty special for that one.

Sadly lost to the old board.

[Bob Sacamano]

If only for the last couple of minutes Croatia vs Turkey in Euro 2008.

[Shindig]

I need to find a better video of this. I was sat behind Krul's goal and we went behind within seconds. I have never been through so many emotions in a game. Punched the concrete wall next to me when their late equaliser went in and went home thoroughly miffed.

[Boydy]

Get it started in Gamezine then.

Moar fredz.

We should do it in here. I don't think that many people go into gamezine.

[mo]

Going to cheat and do two matches because they go hand-in-hand. 2009/10 League One play off semis between Swindon Twon and Charlton Athletic.



Apologies for the full match highlights, but if you skip forward to 1:28:00, Charlton have a corner attacking the Stratton Bank. The breakaway after this and subsequent goal is one of my favourite pieces of commentary of all time (and I always thought, one of the strangest). Oddly I was behind the goal that Swindon were attacking so I didn't hear this until after, but it still sends shivers down my spine..."You bet, you bet, two-nil Swindon".

But this was nothing compared to the drama of the second leg, which I went to as well - The Valley on a balmy Monday night.



Firstly, keeper David Lucas gets injured in an innocuous fall and has to be replaced by the able but unspectacular Phil Smith. Not a great start. Even worse to follow, as diminutive Scotsman Si Ferry borks his clearance from a corner and slices Charlton ahead on the night. In your gut, you can feel where this is going. David Mooney makes it two. Here we go. But we re-group and hold our own, even have a few chances, maybe it's not all over? And then, in my head, it was. Around 5 mins on the video was the stupidest challenge I've ever witnessed live, from our leader and heart of the team, Gordon Greer, who fully studded Deon Burton in the chest. Down to ten men, so surely just a matter of time now. But Charlton don't overrun us, and JP McGovern was absolutely fouled on the edge of the box, which I'm screaming for, but it doesn't matter as Danny Ward nips in and tucks the ball under Randolph. Unbelievable.

We go to pens and on-loan Liverpool right back Stephen Darby tucks home the winning penalty. 'Scenes'.

Epilogue: Lost a disappointing final to Millwall, got relegated to League Two the season after.

Thanks @Ian for the thread, even if no-one reads this I enjoyed writing it and re-living it.

[Ian]

We should do it in here. I don't think that many people go into gamezine.

Meaning they're probably not that interested.

Do a new thread in the main bit if you want. Moar fredz.

[wullie]

So the Guardian are doing a series of articles where they get a writer to do a piece about their favourite sporting event (doesn't have to be a "game" of anything, can be a race or a fight or whatever) and I've been quite enjoying them especially some of the more obscure ones. So what are yours? Feel free to do multiples of course, or break it down by ones you've attended vs. seen on TV or whatever.

I'll get the ball rolling with one I've probably mentioned before and my favourite sport thing I've attended:

By coincidence that's the game they're putting up in full this weekend https://www.ccfc.co.uk/news/2020/apr...ay-on-youtube/


That and the win over Man Utd with Huckerby's wonder goal are up there but I will always love our JPT semi against Preston



So few people there only one stand opened, threw away an early lead to go behind late on and then the best 90 seconds of injury time I've ever seen including a winner that even watching back my brain tells me is getting ruled out for offside, truly our version of the 1999 Champions League final.

(The JPT final we got to and won should be a contender but it capped off the worst season ever, and while we were pissing the League 2 playoff final I was in Rome because there was no way we'd get in the playoffs so might as well book a holiday)

[Ian]

@wullie

Might need to watch that.

[thommo]

Going to cheat and do two matches because they go hand-in-hand. 2009/10 League One play off semis between Swindon Twon and Charlton Athletic.

My mate, a Swindon fan, always goes on about that 2nd leg as one of his favourite games of all time.

I ended up going along to the play off run in 2014/15, both semis against Sheffield United and that terrible final against Preston. Both legs of the semi final were incredible though, really worth the attendance. Obviously the 5-5 in the second leg was an utterly mental game, back and forth all the time, but I personally found the away leg one of the most enjoyable non-Fulham experiences I've had in football.

Sheffield United were banging on the door in the first half, some really good chances going begging and a pretty obvious handball penalty shout turned down, but they did take a deserved lead midway through the half. Swindon earned a penalty when Byrne was tackled (looked fairly soft at the time), but Ben Gladwin, who I maintain was a terrible footballer but could ping in a stunning goal every now and then, had his effort saved. At half time, it really felt like Swindon were on the edge and could lose fairly heavily. Up steps Sam Ricketts with a bullet header early in the 2nd half to make it 1-1. It was a more even half but Swindon kept getting caught in possession at the back, gifting some golden opportunities which Sheffield United couldn't take. As it ticked into the 3rd minute of stoppage time, Swindon push forward one last time and Nathan Byrne skids a shot in from 25 yards which bobbles over the keeper's hands and nestles in the corner. Cue pandemonium in the away end.

[Boydy]

Meaning they're probably not that interested.

Do a new thread in the main bit if you want. Moar fredz.

I forget it's there half the time.

[Shindig]

I quite like Germany 7-1 Brazil for the surreal manner in which it all fell apart.

[mo]

My mate, a Swindon fan, always goes on about that 2nd leg as one of his favourite games of all time.

I ended up going along to the play off run in 2014/15, both semis against Sheffield United and that terrible final against Preston. Both legs of the semi final were incredible though, really worth the attendance. Obviously the 5-5 in the second leg was an utterly mental game, back and forth all the time, but I personally found the away leg one of the most enjoyable non-Fulham experiences I've had in football.

Sheffield United were banging on the door in the first half, some really good chances going begging and a pretty obvious handball penalty shout turned down, but they did take a deserved lead midway through the half. Swindon earned a penalty when Byrne was tackled (looked fairly soft at the time), but Ben Gladwin, who I maintain was a terrible footballer but could ping in a stunning goal every now and then, had his effort saved. At half time, it really felt like Swindon were on the edge and could lose fairly heavily. Up steps Sam Ricketts with a bullet header early in the 2nd half to make it 1-1. It was a more even half but Swindon kept getting caught in possession at the back, gifting some golden opportunities which Sheffield United couldn't take. As it ticked into the 3rd minute of stoppage time, Swindon push forward one last time and Nathan Byrne skids a shot in from 25 yards which bobbles over the keeper's hands and nestles in the corner. Cue pandemonium in the away end.

I watched both legs on the telly (I'd stopped going regularly by that point), and always felt the nature of those games showed exactly why we got dicked in the final. And just look at those contrasting fortunes since!

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Toss up between RISK and Cluedo tbh.

[Giggles]

Toss up between RISK and Cluedo tbh.

Mastermind.

[igor_balis]

Might as well do mine, as its the ORIGIN STORY of my username.

West Brom, 01/02 season. Had been going to 5 or 6 games a season for a few years, generally struggling in the lower reaches of what is now the Championship. Lots of shit managers, lots of fun away days. As I was a slightly posh sounding, precocious little wanker, it was nice how I was always made to feel part of the gang. My proudest, never to be beaten, football fan moment was successfully getting a "small town in Rugby" chant going at Highfield Road once. Even if they were humouring me.

Anyway, in the 99/00 season it looked like we were actually gonna get relegated, until Gary Megson showed up and got us playing proper shithouse, and turned things around. Final day of the season we had to beat already promoted Charlton to stay up. My dad said if we won, he'd get us both a season ticket, and if we lost he'd get me a playstation. We smashed em 2-0 and I had to stick to the megadrive.

00/01 was amazing, and despite being relegation favourites we somehow got into the playoffs, eventually losing to Bolton. It wasn't just doing well, but getting to go every other weekend and properly invest in the thing.

01/02 built on the previous season, and our ragtag bunch of free transfers and loanees were making a real promotion push, but the fucking Dingles up the road built up a massive gap over us in 3rd. I think it was about 15 points at one point, at which point my dad jokingly wrote "boing boing watch out dingles" into the dirt on the back of his transit van. Wolves then managed to do a pretty excellent cover version of Newcastle 95/96, while we continued to grind out 1-0 wins. By the end of the season we'd managed 15.

However, another subplot was our inability to score penalties. We'd missed fucking loads, and pretty much the whole squad had been given a go. The season hung in the balance in the penultimate game away at Bradford - if we won, it was in our hands against Crystal Palace at the Hawthorns. The game has gone into folklore, and most Albion fans who were there will claim about 15,000 of the 20,209 attendance were Albion.

The game was drifting to a ruinous 0-0 draw until we got a fucking penalty at the death. Up steps our solid Slovakian right back IGOR BALIS.





Turns out he was the fucking penalty taker for the Slovakian national team, but hadn't found a way to communicate this to Megson or his teammates. Lol.

We beat Palace next week, and I joined in the pitch invasion when promotion was sealed, as my dad moaned at me to come back so we could beat the traffic. You can take the man out of the white van, but, etc. Good season, that. Balis himself, like the rest of the team, were far too shite for the prem and we got relegated next year. He then retired and moved back to Slovakia cus of tinnitus, which I've never heard being a football career ender since then. Remains a cult figure for obvious reasons.

[Lewis]

I've been reading it as 'Bay-lis' all these years, but that video says 'Bar-lis'.

[mo]

Turns out he was the fucking penalty taker for the Slovakian national team, but hadn't found a way to communicate this to Megson or his teammates. Lol.

This obviously makes the whole story. You can just picture the scene when Megson found out.

[Offshore Toon]

This game always sticks out for me. Having lost our first three group games Andy Griffin then dons Juventus at St James' and we see ourselves past Dynamo Kiev as well. Away at Feyenoord, a 2-0 lead becomes 2-2 but the little cunt Craig Bellamy wraps up his MoM performance by squeezing the ball in to make it 3-2 and we're through to the second group stage. 12-year-old Offy went mental. Peak nostalgia and, as far as my memory serves, peak Newcastle.

[igor_balis]

Oh, I forgot to post this perfect ending to that season:

[Shindig]

This game always sticks out for me. Having lost our first three group games Andy Griffin then dons Juventus at St James' and we see ourselves past Dynamo Kiev as well. Away at Feyenoord, a 2-0 lead becomes 2-2 but the little cunt Craig Bellamy wraps up his MoM performance by squeezing the ball in to make it 3-2 and we're through to the second group stage. 12-year-old Offy went mental. Peak nostalgia and, as far as my memory serves, peak Newcastle.

God, I can't believe I didn't think of that one. I swore the house down when the winner came in.

[Offshore Toon]

God, I can't believe I didn't think of that one. I swore the house down when the winner came in.

It got me a but too excited last night. I think I might go down our European memory lane later. Shearer v Materazzi. I remember our game against Grimsby in the FA Cup when he had a proper battle against their centre back too.

[Ian]

By coincidence that's the game they're putting up in full this weekend https://www.ccfc.co.uk/news/2020/apr...ay-on-youtube/

I watched it and enjoyed it a lot. 442 with Roussel regularly flicking on for Robbie Keane brought a tear to my eye.

Also there was a fella called "ASMR Pillow" in the live chat who seemed to be having some sort of existential crisis, saying it was a "joy to see these skillful players again" and "how sad to see the effect of time on their bodies."

[wullie]

Noel Whelan has packed on a bit of timber since, but nothing to get depressed about.

[Ian]

And Nwankwo Kanu already looked about 70.

The runs where he just looks like he's stumbling past people are still great viewing.