were you at the Alamo match against West Brom way back in March 1976?

[Never to the dark side]

Just as we were about to enter the top flight for just four years

[Port Said Red]

1 minute ago, Never to the dark side said:

Just as we were about to enter the top flight for just four years

Is that the one where John Emmanuel and Willie Johnston were sent off?

[firstdivision]

7 minutes ago, Port Said Red said:

Is that the one where John Emmanuel and Willie Johnston were sent off?

It was the one we won 1-0 at the Hawthorns in the second half of our glorious 1976 promotion season. WBA were one of our main rivals. They absolutely battered us but couldn’t score. I think Gerry Sweeney scored the winner. 
Think QPR a few weeks ago but with added daring escapes (and a proper top-of-the-table clash).

[NickJ]

Yes, one of about 6,000 City fans that night. 

[redapple]

I was there as a 10 year old with my Uncle and cousin. We missed kick off due to traffic and stood with home supporters. I remember my cousin and I thinking it was hilarious trying to speak like Brummies. 
We had to keep quiet when we scored but were soon outed but allowed to join City fans at half-time. 
My uncles van which had the name of his Bristol company on it was badly vandalised when we got back to it . 

Edited October 23, 2021 by redapple

[PHILINFRANCE]

58 minutes ago, Never to the dark side said:

Just as we were about to enter the top flight for just four years

 

45 minutes ago, firstdivision said:

It was the one we won 1-0 at the Hawthorns in the second half of our glorious 1976 promotion season. WBA were one of our main rivals. They absolutely battered us but couldn’t score. I think Gerry Sweeney scored the winner. 
Think QPR a few weeks ago but with added daring escapes (and a proper top-of-the-table clash).

Yep, I was most certainly there.

I mentioned the match in the recent thread about favourite away matches - it was just after the 0-0 draw away to Sunderland, two very tense matches that were so important and integral to our promotion.

[slartibartfast]

1 hour ago, Port Said Red said:

Is that the one where John Emmanuel and Willie Johnston were sent off?

Nope, ,a year or two before the Alamo game .

[slartibartfast]

48 minutes ago, NickJ said:

Yes, one of about 6,000 City fans that night. 

6001, including me !

[slartibartfast]

25 minutes ago, PHILINFRANCE said:

 

Yep, I was most certainly there.

I mentioned the match in the recent thread about favourite away matches - it was just after the 0-0 draw away to Sunderland, two very tense matches that were so important and integral to our promotion.

1-1, weren't it ?

[22A]

Three memories of the night;

Six months earlier WBA had won 2-0 at the Gate, but we were optimistic travelling up the M5 that night.

In the second half someone uttered "10 minutes". I thought they meant ten minutes had passed, but to my amazement, it was only ten minutes to go, such was the pace of the game.

Afterwards the coach I was on passed the player's coach and they were cheering us!

[cidered abroad]

30 minutes ago, PHILINFRANCE said:

 

Yep, I was most certainly there.

I mentioned the match in the recent thread about favourite away matches - it was just after the 0-0 draw away to Sunderland, two very tense matches that were so important and integral to our promotion.

Actually just before the Roker match but that's me being pedantic.

Albion chucked everything at us in the second half. The crowd at the Brummie Road end did their best to suck the ball into the net. One effort from Johnston hit a post, then crossbar and then the other post.

But the most amazing thing of the evening happened at the Hawthorn pub before the game. It was jammed with red and one of our group of four, got on his knees and crawled to the bar. Four pints returned about two minutes later!

[cidered abroad]

11 minutes ago, slartibartfast said:

1-1, weren't it ?

Yes Sunderland got a late equaliser.

 

[firstdivision]

59 minutes ago, PHILINFRANCE said:

 

Yep, I was most certainly there.

I mentioned the match in the recent thread about favourite away matches - it was just after the 0-0 draw away to Sunderland, two very tense matches that were so important and integral to our promotion.

I think we drew 1-1 at Sunderland and the Sunderland match was after West Brom. We took the lead at Roker Park and looked to be heading for another dramatic win but Mel Holden equalised with about 10 minutes left.

[Rudolf Hucker]

Twenty year old me was there, kicking and heading every ball from the away end. What a match to watch! It was like a full-scale episode of “All in the Game” with Sweeney, Merrick and Co. throwing their bodies in front of a bombardment if shots and crosses  

My lasting memory though was in the car, leaving the ground and encountering a long line of about twenty policemen, spread across the road, dressed identically in hi-viz and moving exactly in unison, like the Tiller Girls, directing all traffic onto the motorway - whether it wanted to go on there or not!

[Shuffle]

Yes was there as a 12 year old but can’t really remember too much about it. 

[italian dave]

I was there. I think that was the game we started to believe we could go up. Only 19 at the time so I wasn’t really aware what a big deal that was; I’ve been waiting a long time since for it to happen again!! 

[Sir Geoff]

I was there too. Can't honestly remember much about the match but do remember the amazing atmosphere. I was 14 so must have been driven to the game by my Dad and some of his work mates.

[PHILINFRANCE]

1 hour ago, slartibartfast said:

1-1, weren't it ?

 

1 hour ago, cidered abroad said:

Actually just before the Roker match but that's me being pedantic.

 

1 hour ago, firstdivision said:

I think we drew 1-1 at Sunderland and the Sunderland match was after West Brom. We took the lead at Roker Park and looked to be heading for another dramatic win but Mel Holden equalised with about 10 minutes left.

I bow to your better memories.

I just remember thinking that these were two extremely difficult matches, away to two of our closest promotion contenders, especially Sunderland who were top and had an unbeaten home record - two matches that, pessimistically, I feared we would lose, but would have been relatively satisfied with just a point from the WBA game.

I had saved a bit of money from a part-time job (I was still a schoolboy at the time) and also remembering harbouring vague, ludicrous thoughts of flying up to Sunderland on the team plane - travel plans (and costs) were detailed in what was then The Evening Post.

Anybody who was present would have shared the anxiety of holding on for so long to that slim 1-0 lead, but, strangely, I don't recall worrying at all when we were holding a similar lead in our penultimate game of the season at home to Portsmouth. 

[slartibartfast]

The night of the Sunders game BBC tv (only West, I assume) actually broke into their scheduling to update the scores, much to the disgust of my workmate sags, the next day (there was more of them in those days ).

[swanker]

I was there, we were definitely a bit lucky that night. 

[A Horse With No Name]

I was at the game the following season,in Division 1 when it was the middle of winter, snow called off virtually every other football league match except WBA v City. We came up with the idea of using the brand new pimple soled boots, specially designed for icy conditions, and slipped and slided to a heavy defeat. Seem to recall loads of Man U fans at the game, as their game locally had been called off late on.

[eardun]

I wasn’t there but it’s one of the few games I remember listening to on the radio as a kid (I was 9) so it must have been good! 

[Blagdon red]

I was there. My lasting memory is that we sung through the entire half-time interval. Mostly "And it's Bristol City, Bristol City FC, the finest football team the world's ever seen!" ... on repeat for 15 minutes!

[Ciderhead433]

Finished work early then crept up the M5 with 1000s of others

How we won it ill never know 

 

[Ciderhead433]

It was on the radio live because only match only that day in div1

1 hour ago, The Horse With No Name said:

I was at the game the following season,in Division 1 when it was the middle of winter, snow called off virtually every other football league match except WBA v City. We came up with the idea of using the brand new pimple soled boots, specially designed for icy conditions, and slipped and slided to a heavy defeat. Seem to recall loads of Man U fans at the game, as their game locally had been called off late on.

It was on the radio live because only match only that day in div1

[italian dave]

Almost as memorable as the Alamo day; who was at West Brom for the Arnie Garita warm up?!

[Red Shadow]

I can remember when Sweeney scored a bloke in front of me had a cup of coffee. In the delirium which ensued he splashed it all over the people in front of him. Thought one bloke was going to deck him

[Red hot poker]

As an 18 year old I was there & all these years later I still regard that match as the most unbelievable away result that I’ve watched given the unbelievable pressure & near misses to our goal !  Incidentally had travelled to the said match in February on a Saturday afternoon,only for it to be postponed because of players illness to a midweek 7,30 kick off .

[42nite]

I was there.  Amazing atmosphere, but more than the game, I remember bumping into some of our Suburban League big rivals at the time... Caythorpe.

Strange the things you remember.