A long shot this...

[oldmeadowender]

...But who else was at Deepdale when we won 4-3 there in the 1970s because the way I remember it Dixie McNeil's dipping half-volley from at least 40 yards was the best Hereford goal I've ever seen.

The thing is, you know how you magnify the greatness of something with time?

Was it 50 yards? Was it 30 yards?

I was still a kid, my late father (God bless him) had driven us all the way up there, which was quite a gesture, because he 'kin hated football.

When Dixie scored that goal, I ran almost the length of the pitch along the main stand (we were sitting) and any resentful Preston fan could have tripped me up but they didn't. Not sure they could believe the goal either.

It was one of the most dramatic games I've ever seen, Preston put the ball in the net for 4-4 right at the end but the referee had blown the final whistle just as their bloke let fly.

So, the question is this: who else was there, and do you remember Dixie's goal as being as out of this world as I do? 

[Deleted]

I was there (I'm very old) and yes it was a great goal. In fact a great game.

I don't recall it being 40 yards though, that's 5 yards further than sir Ronnies goal. I'd guess at 30 yards but it was a long time ago.

[hendre]

I was also there. My first match travelling on the Supporters coach. Great days but I don't remember the goal as being that spectacular. Then again, at that age where the memory starts malfunctioning!

[oldmeadowender]

I think it was further out than sir Ronnie's. Big looping half-volley, had to have time to come down, but the mind plays tricks, yes. We left the ground not even sure we'd won, because of their equaliser that never was. Had to check it on the radio! As you both say, great game, great days. Big crowd too, if I remember rightly. Noisy, that Preston lot. Fair on the day too (hope the main body of our support didn't have any problems because for me it was the perfect away day, just as West Ham (2-1) was the perfect home day.

[Thank You Archie Phillips]

Sorry but I wasn't there, only did a few aways that year inc Hillsboro, my first proper season as a "regular" fan aged lucky 13.

As you say quite a game, Ron's Bible states twas Nov 1st 1975, gate 9682. Against McNeil in the score column is 57, was that the yardage ?.
"pulsating top of the table clash has crowd on edge of seat as United end Preston's proud 12 month unbeaten home run. It seems every attack will produce a goal as both teams serve up a feast of football. A pitch invasion marrs the occasion as the ref is mobbed"

So no suggestion of a Dixie wonder-goal, sadly. I presume the invasion was home fans regarding the equaliser that wasn't, or was it a youngmeadowender ??.

ps "57" was of course the minutes when scored to make it 3:1, it was 4:3 inside another 6 minutes !

pps interestingly wrt Dixie, our and his last match of that season was against PNE (I was there), he needed 2 goals to finish as country's leading scorer, so scored 3. PNE coach was Nobby Stiles, the previous year was Bobby Charlton, big time Charlies !.
AND Dixie's LAST game for us was against PNE the next season.

2 games before the PNE goalfeast we drew 2 all at Palace in front of 20k, the Bible says the BBC cameras "witnessed a soccer spectacular". If anyone has ever seen that footage, does it still exist, I'd happily pay to see it too, please ??

[oldmeadowender]

Archie, I was at Palace too! I took a kicking both times we scored and hardly felt it (shocked but no pain) because of the sheer elation and adrenalin!! Seriously, we were a bit isolated as a tiny pocket of Hereford fans (well, my family basically.) We must have chosen to gather behind the wrong goal! But it was indeed a pulsating match and if I'm honest the best player on the pitch wasn't Herefordian, it was Palace winger Peter Taylor (later England manager). That guy was a total wizard on the wing, he tormented our boys, it was incredible, the atmosphere was seriously intimidating and we still came away with a draw! Would I have gladly missed that match to avoid the odd kick from Palace? NO CHANCE! It was normal in those days and tonight people are moaning about a retro-chant last night. Do they have any idea what it took to follow your team away in the old days? Would I swap a single game from those days for twenty these days? NO CHANCE.

[oldmeadowender]

And by the way, there is no way I would have run the length of the stand at Deepdale and risked another kicking for an average goal. Suggest Sir Ron P. wasn't there. (Is that sacriledge?)

[Thank You Archie Phillips]

Yes twas risky days to be an away fan, specially if like me you were just one of a bunch of scrawny schoolkids !

Re Taylor, a great player as you say, the Bible says by the return fixture we'd done our homework and Steve Ritchie marks him out of a game which we controlled and should have won not drawn. I have the programme so was there but cant recall such details, far too young. However I do remember the following game when we thrashed the Blue##rds, my first in front of their memorably-friendly fans, both games had almost 13 k crowds, happy days.

Re PNE and Sir Ron. I doubt he went to every game, in fact his book states they comes from HT newspaper reports etc.

[oldmeadowender]

Archie, I didn't go to Hillsbrough, what was it like? I went to Bramall Lane, which IIRC was our first ever away game in what is now The Championship. I was completely overwhelmed by how massive everything was. We didn't play that well but we got a 1-1 draw (Roy Carter nice feet?)and I remember thinking: "Blimey, we're going to hold our own in the big time!" We didn't, of course, but going home that night, it wasn't unreasonable to start dreaming of the top flight. And now we are dreaming of level eight!
Thanks for talking about old memories, makes up for most of the crap people have to put up with on here from people who weren't even p*ssing into nappies when we were great!

[Thank You Archie Phillips]

TBF all I remember abt Hillsboro was how HUGE everything seemed to me, except the crowd. Plenty of terrace spaces there !. Before then the biggest terrace I'd seen was the ME, so no comparison. We went as it was part of an outing visiting family after Xmas, and we won (Dixie and Davey of course).

I also went to United on the special train iirc, remember some of our more boistrous fans being very loud abt what they'd "do" to the home fans, except when the train was pulling into Sheffield it dawned on them that this was one VERY large tough-looking city and prob full of hardened steelworkers not our jumped-up farmboys, sure enough the big crowd included a high % of very evil looking home fans (even the toddlers spat at you), but iirc nothing serious happened despite our late equalizer. Oh fun times and as you say ones to treasure, even the odd kickings which I was usually good at avoiding !

[oldmeadowender]

I should have been stood next to you then!

[Thank You Archie Phillips]

I quickly learnt the skills of 360 degree awareness, to add to my inherent ability to run fast in an away direction !

[oldmeadowender]

The opposite of that poor Blackburn lad who came down the Meadow End, then. Anyone remember that? He was completely off his face, was no threat to anyone, came down the Meadow End and got beaten to a pulp. Harsh, that one.

[Deleted]

The biggest eye-opener in division 2 was the size of the grounds. Almost every club(except Luton) seemed to have MASSIVE terracing! I went to Charlton and sat at the front of the old Victorian main stand and was absolutely amazed by the height of the open end terrace, you could just make out a little burger van on top of it, it was a truly awesome end, and I'm glad I saw it before it disappeared. Even the open end at Eastville seemed huge, similar to Port Vales.

[oldmeadowender]

Yes. I watched a match (not us) from the top of that open terrace and it was like watching a match from the top of a mountain. Guess that's why they called it the Valley! Also stood on the Tote End at Bristol Rovers to watch them play Ipswich in the FA Cup the year Ipswich won the thing. Eastville was LOUD !!!

[Thank You Archie Phillips]

One of the more memorable big terraces for me was being on the Spion Kop at Blackpool c1980. I went there KNOWING Blackpool was an orrible place even in the summer, and the sandstorms were legendary. My first trip to that fine town for the "Lights" a few years previous we witnessed a riot on the beach outside our hotel twixt home and Leicester? fans (Bloomfield Rd being near the sea), and also enjoyed the gale-driven sand drifting six streets back from the sea. Foolishly forgot all that when agreed to travel a few years later, but hey it was sunny spring and Blackpool is a famous much-loved holiday resort# so all would be well.

Needless to say abt 30 of us had the huge terrace to ourselves, like the ruddy Eiger, contrary to the prog cover-photo no roof by then, I think it had been sandblasted away. You could hear fans in the ground but couldn't see them, dotted around a seemingly huge empty stadium and hiding in safe corners from the wind. We lost a poor game.


UPDATE: Just looked it up in the Bible,
It was May 82, crowd was 1881, "lowest Bloomfield Road crowd ever since 1896. Play into the teeth of a gale. Real shamble says Lord". 

Oh the joy of a mispent youth !

# according to the media etc, for our hols we alus went south to Cornwall not north towards Iceland,  live and learn eh.

[Deleted]

I was at that game, and just as described above!
The match at ES was 'interesting' as I recall. I didn't attend, but lived in the Manchester area at the time, and Blackpool being relatively close to the city, used to have a bit of a write up in 'The Pink 'un'
I remember the start of the report verbatim; 'Blackpool travelled to Hereford with a large following, and Police were soon in action breaking up fighting fans in the main stand'.
I have no idea how the match finished!

[Thank You Archie Phillips]

I was an ST holder in those days but don't recall the home "leg", sorry. The Bible shows it was 21st April, we also played at home on 24th, and away on 26th, so maybe it was midweek before Easter, hence I'd have been at Tech College. Makes me angry when the Prem managers with the small! squads whine on abt fixture congestion these days, then we were playing every 4 days week-in and week-out.
Anyhow, Bible shows our gate for Pool was very average at 2600, we won 2:1 with all 3 goals being scored by our backs as was usual then, Pricer (debut season?) and Danny Bartley - anyone else think he was under-rated for us, a very useful player I thought.

[Deleted]

Danny Bartley had a fulminating left foot.

[bullyid]

I was at both games.The home game,if Iremember rightly,was greatly anticipated by the Here hoolies as there had been an attack on some of our fans in Blackpool earlier that season.The Blackpool lads had got into the far block of the Merton Stand(this was before the extension of this stand).Anyway Blackpool scored and were offering the Meadow End a punch up.So those up for it raced up the steps of the stand and ran across,past the directors and dignatories and into the far block to oblige.I remember it got a lot of press attention.