Which was your First United match?

[Muttley]

1972, Chelsea Home won 2-0

First with a season ticket, 1975, Derby at home, 1-1 draw........went down that season.

 

[shorehamview]

Some time in the late seventies, a reserve match against Liverpool. At least I think it was Liverpool. My Grandma took me, and that settled it. I became a Blade, and will be until I die.

 

[Escafeld]

1978 FA Cup 3rd round game at home to Arsenal that we lost 5-0.

We were on the 'concourse' at the back of the kop & I remember shouting to my dad that I'd found a space against the wire fence from which to look down onto the pitch, the old practice pitch on Shoreham St. "Don't talk daft lad", he said, "t'pitch is through 'ere."

I followed my dad onto the top of the Kop, with about 10 mins to go to KO & was met with the most awesome site I'd ever seen in my young life. The greenest most lushest football pitch & the most people I'd ever seen in one place. I was awestruck.

I was pushed, pulled & hauled through the crowd to the front & plonked in a a gap against the white fence at the front of the Kop. All I can remember of the match is a replica FA Cup been waved about in the away end.

Still got the programme all creased & battered & filled with my juvenile scribblings.

 

[tomtheblade]

2-0 at home to Newcastle in '94, i was so happy we won, little did i know we were dooooomed....

 

[FURPHY]

Don't remember my very first game since it was many decades ago but my father took me to games when I was young and he told me that one of my earliest ones was when we beat the grunters 7-3 in (I think) the 1948/9 season. I can't remember much of the action but was fascinated by the crowds reactions to the events and sitting in the stand was overwhelmed by the size of the crowd and the noise.
My father made me wear a badge which had been carved out of wood in the shape of a knife with a face on the blade section and the body complete with red and white shirt on the handle.

 

[The Zone Man]

1984. Home v Orient. A win for the Blades 6-3. Old Division 3 i think.

Sat on the BL upper tier and cheered for all 9 goals as i was 6 and retarded.

The major memory i have of that time is that there were not a lot of other people about i suspect because we were usually rubbish and my dad didn't want to take me in the kop where there were ruffians. I didn't pursuade him to stand at a match until i was well into my teens and we were away agaisnt Burnely in the snowy cup replay in the mid 1990's (Darren ???) and Adrian Littlejohn was racially abused. I remember a fat Blade turning up very late in that Burnley match with a rucksack full of hot sausage rolls that he appeared to have stolen from a buttie shop / tea canteen and handing them out.

Back to the orient game, darren, could you let me know who scored and if i'm right about the year and division? Ta mate.

 

[RedKite]

Oct 71 I think...the home game v Pigs. Won 3-2. John Tudor scored the winner, to be fair the score flattered the Pigs.

Me and my mate came over from Donny. We were 15, and the Shoreham End was a boisterous, mad, wonderful, dangerous, glorious place to be.

We were also probably the best footballing team in the country. TC was God and I was in Heaven.

It's changed a bit since, mind.

 

[metty]

My First match was Joe Shaw's testimonial between United and a team of 'All Stars' that included Matthews & Finney, also among the young 'uns for the blades were Len Badger, Birchenall and Jones. I cant rtemeber the year but it was around 65/66/67

 

[Escafeld]

1984. Home v Orient. A win for the Blades 6-3. Old Division 3 i think.

Sat on the BL upper tier and cheered for all 9 goals as i was 6 and retarded.

The major memory i have of that time is that there were not a lot of other people about i suspect because we were usually rubbish and my dad didn't want to take me in the kop where there were ruffians. I didn't pursuade him to stand at a match until i was well into my teens and we were away agaisnt Burnely in the snowy cup replay in the mid 1990's (Darren ???) and Adrian Littlejohn was racially abused. I remember a fat Blade turning up very late in that Burnley match with a rucksack full of hot sausage rolls that he appeared to have stolen from a buttie shop / tea canteen and handing them out.

Back to the orient game, darren, could you let me know who scored and if i'm right about the year and division? Ta mate.

That game is from the season we went up on goals scored from Hull City.

I can't remember the goal scorers but the one thing I do recall is Tom Heffernan bombing down the wing & scoring a beauty. No doubt Edwards & Morris were amongst the other scorers.

There was a similar thread on BU a few years back & someone mentioned that this game was their first at the Lane so I sent them the programme as they didn't have it. Was that you?

Going off on a tangent a bit: at the end of this season Utd went ona Tour of China & there was an almighty fuss about a game played in Peking in front of 50 odd thousand fans. One of the first games in China involving an English club or something along those lines.

 

[Worksop II]

My first game September 1965, Beat West Ham 5 - 3

and to save Darren the trouble

 

[Karaoke Blade]

1972, Chelsea Home won 2-0

I nearly died at that match....I would have been 13 yo and it was one of the first matches I went without my Dad. For some reason we used to always stand on the Bramall Lane End lower tier...my Dad said it was safer than the kop. Anyway at the end I got caught in the crush to get out and my little legs left the floor. It must have been a Chelsea fan that grabbed me up and made sure I got out safely.

Never did tell my parents because they might have tried to stop me going again!

 

[oaklandrdblade]

1976 ish against Fulham, who had Best, Marsh (and maybe Moore), we won 2-0 or 2-1 i think. We were in the New South Stand and presented with our Star soccer coaching certificates at half time.

 

[happyhippy]

2 January 1978 aged 4. Old Second Division, and a 2-2 draw v Tottenham. Don't remember much about it, except it was cold, and a long journey from London.

 

[LSF]

April 1961 v Middlesboro - won 4-1. We'd already secured promotion, yet attendance was only around 18,000!

 

[Ballinpigpubs13]

My first football match ever was because a school friend of mine called Jeffrey Barrat gave me a free ticket because his uncle could'nt attend. Cannot remember who the opposition was but I was sat in the old john street stand around 1978 - 1979. Most people support certain clubs because their dad did etc, but for me it was because of going with an old schoolmate from way back. And it's cost me a fortune ever since!

 

[Private Widdle]

First match was in the late 70's. Think it might have been against Bury but not sure.
The thing that stuck in my mind was entering from the back of the kop & seeing this massive green pitch. Started going regular when we were in the 4th division. Used to get there about 1.30pm. Didn't see much when game started when all the bigger lads had turned up. Plenty of surges! Those were the days... jumpers for goalposts!

 

[rachyblade]

Mine was 1989/90 season (I think). It was the last home game against Bournmouth which we won 5-2 (i think).

Cant remember that much detail, I remember standing on the kop near the front corner (south stand side), the fences were still up for this game because at the end they opened the gates so we could walk across the pitch. I also remember being picked up and thrown around everytime we scored. Ever since that game I pestured my brother to take me again.

Don't remember goal scorers.

If Darren has anymore info let me know please.

Also if anyone happens to have a programme from that match and willing to part with it let me know.

 

[Ollessendro]

Blades Norwich in 1992 (I think). They licked us 2-1. Robert Fleck was on fire for Norwich at the time and scored both there goals.

 

[Lt. J Dangle]

August 28th 1978. Liverpool in the league cup. I was 8 and can remember my dad perching me on a crush barrier near the back. I can't remember much about the game but can remember being in awe of the European champions on the pitch
I do remember Gary Hamson's goal, the Liverpool wall all getting booked for not going 10 yards back and the ball-boy stopping a Liverpool attempt from going into the net. The linesman had flagged but it didn't stop the Kop chanting "The ball boy". I heard years later that the ball-boy was actually Jeff Eckhardt,.
I think most fans will have that special memory of finally reaching the summit of the Kop and seeing the magical site of the pitch for the first time.

 

[Lt. J Dangle]

You obviously don't remember it that well, it was 3-0 at HT Edwards 2 and MacPhail scoring

We were 6-0 up with about 25 mins to go (Hatton 2 and Neville) and, as Tony Pritchett said in the Star the following day, double figures didn't look out of the question. However, Northampton rallied a bit and got 2 back. Edwards completed his hat trick with a couple of mins to go and Northampton rounded it off with an injury time pen.

It was quite a decent crowd because loads of free tickets were given away to schools, which was why I went. It chucked it down that night and the pitch was a mudbath. The groundsmen were busy with pitchforks right up until kick off.

 

[Silent Blade]

23rd March 1974 - A 1-0 win against West Ham

A close range header from Tony Field at the Lane end with only 15 minutes left. he saluted his goal with his arms raised and looking towards the BLUT

 

[Silent Blade]

Aston Villa FA Cup 4th Round at the Lane in 1965 4 lost 2-0. I don't remember booing though.

Keith Kettleborough sent off in the 1st half

 

[Silent Blade]

Was it as late as that?
I certainly saw Joe Shaw and Keith Kettleborough. Think they finished in 1966 and 65 respectively. So it must have been 65 when I first went.

Kettleborough's last game before moving to Newcastle was in that Northampton match you saw in New Years Day 66. Shaws last game was at West ham 7 weeks later

 

[Silent Blade]

1972, Chelsea Home won 2-0

First with a season ticket, 1975, Derby at home, 1-1 draw........went down that season.

Chelsea match, won 2-1. All goals scored in first 15 minutes. Dearden and Woody (pen) for us before Chris Garland replied for Chelsea

 

[Silent Blade]

Don't remember my very first game since it was many decades ago but my father took me to games when I was young and he told me that one of my earliest ones was when we beat the grunters 7-3 in (I think) the 1948/9 season. I can't remember much of the action but was fascinated by the crowds reactions to the events and sitting in the stand was overwhelmed by the size of the crowd and the noise.
My father made me wear a badge which had been carved out of wood in the shape of a knife with a face on the blade section and the body complete with red and white shirt on the handle.

The 7-3 win against the Owls was in Sept 1951

 

[Silent Blade]

1976 ish against Fulham, who had Best, Marsh (and maybe Moore), we won 2-0 or 2-1 i think. We were in the New South Stand and presented with our Star soccer coaching certificates at half time.

Oct 76 was a 1-1 draw. Woody gave us the lead with a powerful left footer from outside the box. John Mitchell replied for Fulham. Best, Moore and Marsh played in that game

Oct 77 was a 2-1 win for us. Tony Gale gave fulham an early lead at the Lane end. Ian Hamilton equalised superbly heading in a cross from Bobby Campbell. Woody got the winner with a volley that bounced all the way to the net. Best played but Moore and Marsh didnt

 

[Silent Blade]

My dad said my first match was against Blackpool in the mid 1960s but I have no recollection of that match nor the Spain v Switzerland world Cup match at the sty (I was 4). I attended a few games in the late 1960s and remember the 1-0 wins against Norwich and Cardiff in Sept 1969 but I didnt know any of the players names. I became a committed Blade after watching the YTV highlights of us beating Everton by 2-1 in the FA Cup in Jan 1970. My first match as a committed Blade (and starting to learn the names of our players etc) was the 2-0 win against Preston two weeks later

 

[The Zone Man]

That game is from the season we went up on goals scored from Hull City.

I can't remember the goal scorers but the one thing I do recall is Tom Heffernan bombing down the wing & scoring a beauty. No doubt Edwards & Morris were amongst the other scorers.

There was a similar thread on BU a few years back & someone mentioned that this game was their first at the Lane so I sent them the programme as they didn't have it. Was that you?

Going off on a tangent a bit: at the end of this season Utd went ona Tour of China & there was an almighty fuss about a game played in Peking in front of 50 odd thousand fans. One of the first games in China involving an English club or something along those lines.

Hello Escafeld

Interesting that my first game was also someone elses first game but on BU it wasn't me. I have mentioned thye game on BU but i wasn't a big poster and i didn't recieve your generous gift!!!

Probablility wise, i think it would be quite rare both then and now for two little lads or lasses to have their first game coincide.

 

[bricktop]

16th Nov 1985 - Blades 3-3 Blackburn

The day of the Wigley Wonder Goal

My mum was worried about hooliganism so insisted that instead of wearing my red and white hat and scarf, i wear my blue and yellow Ecclesall Jnrs hat and scarf.

Blackburn played in Blue and Yellow that day. Thanks mum!!!

I remember it well, it was my 8th birthday!

 

[bricktop]

Also my first Blades game was against Port Vale (I think) in 1989, I was 12 and my grandad took me. It was a midweek night match is all I remember. I'd need to dig the programme out to check the details, yes I've still got it. My dad wasn't too bothered with footy hence me being a late supporter and my grandad introducing me to BDTBL.

A nil-nil draw. At the time it was a real six-pointer as Wolves were running away with the league, and the Blades and Port Vale were slugging it out for 2nd place