Memories of the first game you attended

[Moctezuma]

My first memory connected to football (outwith playing) was dad dancing in the kitchen while listening to one of our title wins on the radio, must have been 90'. But in terms of the first football match I attended it was Aberdeen vs St. Johnston at Pittodrie, I went with him, my neighbor (similar age to me) and his dad. I remember not being that exited to go, mainly because it was a Baltic day in November and I was probably wanting to play with toy Dinosaurs.

 

The game didn't really have any notable moments (being a drab 0-0 draw), but the thing that stuck out was the colours Red against Blue on the bright green of the pitch and the noise. A few years ago we took a cousin to see Aberdeen play Hearts his remarks after the game were "Scottish fans are really angry", it was certainly the first time I'd seen grown men be quite so animated. Eoin Jess was the doyen of the crowd at that point, being a local lad and seen as reincarnation of Jim Baxter, his every involvement hushed the ground in that way you get when really good players get on the ball.

 

According to wiki the crowd was 16,000 but I remember it looking pretty sparse against the red seats, Aberdeen split the old firm that year and had beaten Celtic 3-0 in the previous home game (Jess scoring twice), I would imagine the crowd would be higher now in a title chasing season (they finished 2 points behind Rangers) but their support were a bit more used to success at that point. Though it was fucking freezing, with the ground being that close to the North Sea it's understandable.

 

 

I was sat next to a young kid at Anfield during the Newcastle 2-2 when Rafa came back a couple of years ago, his dad said it was his first game, he seemed to really enjoy it but was getting quite tired towards the end and I'm not entirely sure he understood what was going on with the score, but was happy to shout Liverpool at the top of his lungs itermitently.

 

What was your first game? Do you remember it being an enjoyable experience?

[Jose Jones]

It was 6-0 against West Ham in 1984. Rush and Souness both scored twice. We'd just signed John Wark and he played which is a fairly clear memory these days as I had no real idea who he was.

 

I'd just turned 8 and went with my dad on the Kop. He left me down the front and stood a fair few rows back (probably so he could swear at the ref). I was right up against the fencing they had in those days.

 

The kid next to me had a big flag that would block my view every time he waved it, and I was far too chicken to ask him to stop. So I really only saw about half the game, but when everyone asked if I'd enjoyed it I just said it was brilliant. My uncles were all telling me I should go every week so they'd win 6-0 every game, which warmed my little heart.

[s(k)aturation]

QPR at Loftus Rd in 1989.
We lost 2-3 (Barnes scored both).

Loss was disappointing but it was just so brilliant to see the Reds play, having waited 15 years for the day to come.

 

Arsenal was my first Anfield game.

Revenge of sorts for the title-loser months earlier.

McMahon and Barnes scored cracking goals from outside the box.

 

My first day on the Kop. Beyond wild dreams.

[Dave D]

Mine was versus Doncaster Rovers 1986 for my 9th birthday.

 

I proudly wore my crown paints shirt to the game.

 

The fact that it was Bournemouth v Doncaster Rovers was irrelevant

[jimmycase]

Cant remember as it was sometime back around 63, 64 so I'll go with my first European away at genoa.

 

Flew from Liverpool with a mate on a Monarch flight, Genoa was a shitty city. The police scrambled a helicopter to follow the coaches we were on to some massive car park near the sea. Each coach had a couple of carabineiri with hunter rifles, probably to shoot us if any fucker started anything. There was nowhere to go for a piss so some people pissed in bottles or up the side of the coaches.

 

Then they bussed us into the city for some scoff and I was sure I spotted the foreign secretart chris carrington being shown how the Italian police were keeping us in check. Remember one copper getting really agitated with a lad over a spoon on the floor he wouldnt pick up.

 

Then it was off to the ground. When we got there the locals were all clapping and waving at us. I thought they were going to throw a few roses on the ground for us to walk on. Either that or they were shit scared we were going to trash the place.

 

Behind the goal, we were separated from the Genoa fans by a glass fucking wall. They kept slipping lit pieced of paper through gaps to set our flags on fire. Cunts.

 

We had to warm up without the floodlights on and the players could hardly see the fucking ball! I cant remember the first goal but the second (or was it the first?) was bizarre. We were attacking and a ball out of defence hit dean saunders in the middle of his back and the ref gave them a free kick! They scored from that which made the return at Anfield look very difficult where they won again.

 

In all a shit game but a fun experience.

[Pureblood]

The day was 25 May 2005.  Me, Vladi, Djibs, Didi, Rafa and the others approached the game with trepidation.  We were up against a great AC Milano outfit.  But we came through.  I knew from that moment onward that my path in life would be inexorably linked with this great club. 

[Dave D]

Cant remember as it was sometime back around 63, 64 so I'll go with my first European away at genoa.

 

Flew from Liverpool with a mate on a Monarch flight, Genoa was a shitty city. The police scrambled a helicopter to follow the coaches we were on to some massive car park near the sea. Each coach had a couple of carabineiri with hunter rifles, probably to shoot us if any fucker started anything. There was nowhere to go for a piss so some people pissed in bottles or up the side of the coaches.

 

Then they bussed us into the city for some scoff and I was sure I spotted the foreign secretart chris carrington being shown how the Italian police were keeping us in check. Remember one copper getting really agitated with a lad over a spoon on the floor he wouldnt pick up.

 

Then it was off to the ground. When we got there the locals were all clapping and waving at us. I thought they were going to throw a few roses on the ground for us to walk on. Either that or they were shit scared we were going to trash the place.

 

Behind the goal, we were separated from the Genoa fans by a glass fucking wall. They kept slipping lit pieced of paper through gaps to set our flags on fire. Cunts.

 

We had to warm up without the floodlights on and the players could hardly see the fucking ball! I cant remember the first goal but the second (or was it the first?) was bizarre. We were attacking and a ball out of defence hit dean saunders in the middle of his back and the ref gave them a free kick! They scored from that which made the return at Anfield look very difficult where they won again.

 

In all a shit game but a fun experience.

 

I watched that game on TV and it dawned on me that we were a long long way behind the teams in Europe  

[jimmycase]

I watched that game on TV and it dawned on me that we were a long long way behind the teams in Europe  

 

It was our first season back in Europe after the ban was lifted and first game in Italy since the Heysel disaster.

[G Richards]

Home to Norwich, think it was 1980. We won well. I remember being both enthralled and a little bit scared by the noise of the crowd and the mass of humanity. I don't remember seeing the game all that clearly (think I was in the Paddock and was only nine years old, so getting a good view standing was tricky). I clearly remember the vivid green pitch and the red and yellow as the teams came out. Hansen, Souness and Kenny were all playing, but it was before Ian Rush.

[Dave D]

It was our first season back in Europe after the ban was lifted and first game in Italy since the Heysel disaster.

Wasnt it the next round after the Auxerre game? I remember thinking losing 2-0 there wont matter as we will do it again and win 3-0 at Anfield.

[jimmycase]

Wasnt it the next round after the Auxerre game? I remember thinking losing 2-0 there wont matter as we will do it again and win 3-0 at Anfield.

 

Might have been. Thing was, Italian sides were better organised than frenchies. Went to the home game against Genoa as well but we were in the middle of souey's shitfest of football and while not outclassed, looked second best as far as I remember.

[sir roger]

We lived off Belmont Road in the 60's so my first taste of LFC was minding the fans' cars & the police horses marching past the top of the street at about noon on match days.

 

The gates used to be opened at three-quarter time in those days & kids ( and anybody locked out earlier ) could scurry in and watch the last 20 minutes or so.

 

I graduated to doing this with older lads, and the first game I can actively remember was against Malmo, standing right at the back of the Kop and being amazed at the sheer size of the place, and the noise and smells of the crowd.

 

Checking on LFC History it seems it was in October 1967 ( I was 7 and a half , and am wondering why my dad let me go to a night match on my own at night at that age !! ) and we won 2-1 ( Yeats & Hunt ) with the attendance around 40,000.

 

Did this for a bit and then graduated to the Boys Pen which was another story altogether.

[Trumo]

First game ever? It was Leicester against either Watford or Oxford at Filbert Street in 1989 or 1990, back when they were in the old Division 2. The game was shit, finished as a draw and it was absolutely bloody freezing.

 

First Liverpool game was against Valencia in 1998 in the UEFA Cup. It took us a while to realise we were playing in white (?) and to this day, I don't know if it's because Valencia had forgotten their home kit or not.

 

 

The game finished goalless and Mendieta ran the show for Valencia. I wanted us to sign him after that game because he looked like a world-beater. He went on to show world class form for Valencia and Spain over the next few years.

[JoeyJones65]

 

March 1976 UEFA Cup...might have been the quarter finals.

 

We were playing Dynamo Dresden. Kop was packed but loads of empty seats in the Kemlyn.

 

Knew Jimmy Case would score when one of the Dresden players fucked up in their own penalty area but Case seemed (at the time) to take forever over putting the ball in the net at the Kop end.

 

Think Keegan scored in the second half and we won 2-1 or 3-1.

[Lee909]

Kennys testimonial

3-1 vs Sociedad

[Curly]

Liverpool 1 - 0 Tottenham

89/90 season

Barnes scored the only goal at the kop end.

Vivid memories of the colours - green of the pitch, the orange stewards' jackets, the red jerseys. Also, that now familiar sound of seats going up as people stand when there's something about to happen.

I remember a lot from when I was a kid of fellas shouting at other fellas to watch their language as there was kids here and it being accepted and usually I'd get an apology. "Sorry la" which I used to love, but obviously didn't care about the swearing. I liked it even! This particular day though, my "debut", this old guy next to me shouted at someone "watch your fucking language you. There's kids here!". Everyone was pissing themselves. Boss memories.

[deiseach]

We had to warm up without the floodlights on and the players could hardly see the fucking ball! I cant remember the first goal but the second (or was it the first?) was bizarre. We were attacking and a ball out of defence hit dean saunders in the middle of his back and the ref gave them a free kick! They scored from that which made the return at Anfield look very difficult where they won again.

 

But what a free kick it was:

 

 

My first game was Liverpool 1 Wimbledon 1 on 23 November 1996. We got an overnight coach from Dublin which dumped us at the Moat House early on Saturday morning. I think it was for IR£79 which was about GB£65 (corrected below). Our seats were in the back row of the Upper Centenary so you couldn't see the far touchline. Collymore scored after 35 seconds, which was as good as it got. I had no idea how to cheer so was hoarse after five minutes. The Reds were awful with their insipid crab football and a staggering unwillingness to realise that Jason McAteer had the beating of his man down the right. Leonhardsen got an entirely predictable equaliser midway through the second half which obviously meant he was going to be a star player for Liverpool in the future. The team were booed off, which I believe was the first time it happened under Roy Evans. The bus back was picking us up from the Moat House at midnight and we loitered around there for fear of missing it. I remember looking up Duke Street in the dark and thinking it was rather grim. Ended up working there many years later. It was a bit arduous overall but when you are 20 you can cope with a lot of deprivation and I loved every minute of it.

 

Edit: quite the jog down memory lane this. It cost IR£99, about GB£85. It included a stay in a perfectly serviceable guest house in Llandudno. With the ferry, the coach, the guest house and the match ticket the margins must have been mighty thin for the travel agent. I remember buying a certain 'newspaper' on the Saturday monrning and was flicking through it on the freezing seafront when it suddenly struck me: I'm bring this to Liverpool?! It went straight in the bin and I haven't touched it since.

[aws]

January 1965 when my mum took me to Anfield as the only Christmas present I wanted. My dad worked Saturdays and most evenings so there was no way he could take me. We were in the Paddock and I remember the little scallies queueing up with their crates and then lining them up against the front wall.

 

Anfield looked massive as did the players when they ran out. Don't remember too much about the game except we beat Wednesday 4-2 and Sir Roger my first Liverpool hero scored twice. I was hooked for life. Unlike my little brother who had no interest in football but came along because there was nobody to babysit him and spent the whole game breathing in the fluff from the donkey jacket of the docker stood in front of him. That was the first and last live sporting occasion he has ever been to. He should have brought a crate.

 

My first European game was Athletic Bilbao in the Fairs Cup in 68. I got the supporters' bus from Wrexham. We had lost the first leg 2-1 and won the game 2-1. At the end of the game the players gathered at the centre spot and nobody seemed to know what was going to happen - extra time, replay or what. Then the Bilbao players were celebrating and the whisper went through the crowd that we were out on the toss of a coin. I felt cheated but Anfield on a European night was a fantastic experience. Still can be sometimes.

[M_B]

Liverpool 1 - 0 Tottenham

89/90 season

Barnes scored the only goal at the kop end.

Vivid memories of the colours - green of the pitch, the orange stewards' jackets, the red jerseys. Also, that now familiar sound of seats going up as people stand when there's something about to happen.

I remember a lot from when I was a kid of fellas shouting at other fellas to watch their language as there was kids here and it being accepted and usually I'd get an apology. "Sorry la" which I used to love, but obviously didn't care about the swearing. I liked it even! This particular day though, my "debut", this old guy next to me shouted at someone "watch your fucking language you. There's kids here!". Everyone was pissing themselves. Boss memories.

 

Snap! That was my first game too.

 

I was stood on the Kop and didn't see the goal cause everyone cheered blocking my view. I remember some random middle aged bloke holding his arms aloft, cheering madly next to me.

 

Was a brilliant day.

[Bjornebye]

I’d been a couple of testimonial games but my first proper match was Celtic v Motherwell in 1994. Fergus McCann had just taken over a skint Celtic. Got to the ground about 2:15, stood in the old west end behind the goal (standing section). Asked my dad could I go down the front and watch the players warm up (Paul McsStay was my hero back then for Celtic). He told me no longer than 10 minutes then come back.

 I obviously took too long because when I turned round it was just a sea of green and white. Found a steward who walked me round the running track and up into the first aid box near the main stand. So im sat there with a cup of tea watching the match in the warm behind a window. Next thing my name is called over the tannoy. My dad was a scary bastard so I thought he would kick off but he thought it was great.

[Bob]

My first game was against spurs nearbyhem end of the season after we last won the league, early May I think 91.

 

I still remember it like yesterday.

 

I remember going in the club shop and getting a glossy headshot photo of Rushie and a leather hold-all in the grey diamond design of put away kit.

 

I was sat in the paddock and was enthralled by the sounds and the colours on the kop.

 

I loved the swearing.

 

Rushie scored before half time and David Speedie got the second.

 

One of the strongest memories I have was how fucking tall Erik Thorsvedt was, walking out of the tunnel.

 

I remember walking up from where we parked the car on Arkles Road, getting fish, chips and insanely thick gravy.

 

I remember being amazed by the "hat, scarf or a badge" sellers.

 

I remember hearing a ticket tout asking if we had any "spurs" and thinking it odd he didn't want a Liverpool ticket.

 

I'll never forget that day, and do you know what, I think I'm gonna thank my old man on Saturday when I see him.

 

One of the most memorable days of my life, that.

[Kevin D]

The sheer number of big match beauts on here is staggering.

[Mook]

First game my Dad took me to:-

 

Carlisle Utd 0 Manchester City 0, 8th September 1984 (Division Two). All I can remember is that it was awful & I was bored. Man City had their black & red quartered away strip on.

 

First Liverpool game:-

 

Liverpool 2 Arsenal 1, 30th August 1986. Molby scored a penalty & Rush scored the other one, Rush kicked a signed ball into the Anny Rd end before the game & the boy in front of us fumbled it & it fell nicely into my Dad's lap, we still have it in his attic.

[Joe Strummer]

It would have been mid to late 80s with my Dad on a Dad and lad season ticket in the Anny Rd. Can't remember who was the first game or other games around that time sadly.

[Razoray]

But what a free kick it was

That was the Brazilian Branco (Branca?) Of future Middlesbro "fame". He scored a 30yd free kick v Netherlands in the 94 world cup quarter final in a classic. I saw him line up to take it and said he will score this he is an expert. My 2 brothers were impressed