Can anyone rembember this game?

Hello, recently I got asked to write a short piece about the first football match I attended, below is my piece do any of you remember it and if so, have I got the date and goalscorer correct, it was a long time ago and my memory is a little hazy. Thanks, apologies if it's a bit of a long read.



When do you introduce a child to the world of football? Well at the tender age of 2 years 11 months if my godson is anything to go by. This past Saturday saw him attending the first football match of his life. Looking at the photo his dad sent me of him getting all dressed up in his scarf and hat made me think back to my first ever game.

It was September 11, 1993 Barnsley against Nottingham Forest. There proudly wearing my second hand Barnsley shirt from the 1980’s, under my Thundercats jacket, walking hand in hand with my father who wasn’t a football fan up towards Oakwell where neither of us had ever been.

On the way my dad bumped into someone he knew from work, who asked if we would join him as he was at the game by himself. Being the nice guy that he is my dad agreed, meanwhile I was lost in my own world of red scarves, police horses and hearing swear words from passersby.

It was not until being stood on the terracing that something inside told me not all was right. You see my dad’s workmate, a Forest fan and had taken us into the away end. At around the same time my football naive father hastily zipped up my jacket covering any trace of the Barnsley shirt underneath, and pointed to a name in the match day programme, Stan Collymore, and told me that he was a good ‘un.

As for the game itself, four things stick out in my mind, being screamed at by a blonde footballer which turned out to be former England captain Stuart Pearce, hearing a woman say the F word for the first time, wondering why people seemed to be shouting scab a lot, and cheering away like mad when Barnsley scored while my dad tried to quieten me down.
These days it would be hard to find me in the wrong end of the ground cheering away like a madman for obvious reasons. But back then I didn’t care; when that ball left Archdeacon’s foot and hit the back of the net I was hooked, football was my game and Barnsley were now my team.

So it was with great interest that I wanted to hear what my godson thought about our beautiful game.

“I enjoyed it lots, Uncle Stephen.” Came his excited reply “but why can’t the team in red score a goal?”

Welcome to the world of being a Barnsley fan my young friend, he’s in for the bumpiest but best ride of his life.

 

Yup, remember it well

A rare home win under Viv Anderson during the first half of the 1993/94 season.

 

top stuff hope he enjoys the pride and passion as much as me and my son and hopefully when he is older his son

 

let's hope so, he won't take his scarf off so it's looking good

 

Poignant mate

You should take up football writing full time, if you will pardon the pun; great little vignette

 

RE: Poignant mate

Thanks mate that's what i'm hoping to do at some point, I'm going to the press association soon to get some work experience in sports writing

 

Nice story

Welcome aboard...

 

I went to that game aged thirteen, my dad took me and he was talking about how good Stuart Pearce was him being an international n all that. A steward came up to my dad five minutes before kick off, tapped him on the shoulder and said "i've heard you are forest fans, its people like you that cause riots". Town born and bred we were led into the west stand side occupied by the forest fans and left there with the away supporters! People like us cause riots being town fans talking about a well respected international player and being thrown in the away end by a muppet of a steward!

The forest fans bless em saw the latter part of this, my dad explained to them what had gone off and they couldn't believe it. They were fine with us bloke and his son going to football even though we supported the opposition.

Daren't cheer when we scored and bet em tho!

 

Talking of trouble.... there was a fair bit on that day. Police raids followed later on in the season too.

I loved Archdeacon - a smashing player - what's he up to these days? Does anyone know?

 

dunno but his son plays for Motherwell

 

Charlie Bishop was absolutely awesome that day

And if you listen carefully you can still hear the crack echoing around Oakwell from when Brendan O'Connell and Stuart Pearce went in for a full blooded tackle.