I’VE already written a blog for 888sport detailing the most pulsating football match I have ever seen live.
It was a crazy 5-5 draw between QPR and Newcastle United on Saturday 22nd September 1984. The Toon led 4-0 at half-time and 5-3 with six minutes remaining before Rangers battled back.
So I decided to ask my social media followers for their own recollections of best games attended.
And I received some wonderful replies concerning fixtures that would have attracted interesting football betting odds in the live betting stakes…
Ploppy The Gaoler - @LadLeamore
Feb 1987 FA Cup, 5th Round replay. Watford (Barnes, Blissett etc) 4 Walsall 4 aet, two solid hours of breathless entertainment that left everyone knackered, esp those of us in the heaving away end. Sheer nerve-shredding excitement.
John Joyce - @villa_pogue
FA Vase 87 St Helens 3 Warrington 2 at Wembley Stadium in a fixture more befitting a Rugby League Final. Also, Sth League PO Final, Bracknell Town 2 Turro City 3. 94th min winner & after 4 seasons of away fixtures playing away from Cornwall, Truro were back in NLS! Outstanding!
Ian Anderson - @iananderson79
Appleby Frodingham 5 Hallam 6; I was in Scunthorpe with work in August 2013 and decided to go to this game. A penalty, an own goal, a hat trick, a last minute winner, and back to the hotel in ten minutes afterwards. My only regret is that I lost the programme for the game. Also the 2015 FA Trophy Final between Wrexham and North Ferriby Utd. A brilliant fightback from 0-2 by Ferriby to make it 2-2 at 90 mins, a late equaliser from Wrexham to take it to pens at 3-3, then NFU snatched it 5-4 in the shoot-out. This East Riding lad was very pleased.
Michael Kitchener - @eventsbykitch
Newcastle 4-4 Arsenal obvious reasons but there’s a great story attached. Big birthday for one of my mates who is a Newcastle fan in Kent. We were in the opposite end to all 8 goals and above us were away fans which included some of our mates. They were giving it to him so he left and went to the hotel and fell asleep! He left at 4-0 Arsenal. Pre internet days he found out the result via Ceefax after we woke him up at the hotel.
Denzel - @HalcyonDays78
West Ham 2 Everton 1 FA Cup Quarter Final 1991. Standing in the South Bank with my dad. Upton Park was rocking and Stuart Slater was magic.
Barry McCann - @Bazzinho9
Cliftonville 3-2 Linfield - 13 April 2013. Our longstanding captain Geordie McMullan scored a 94th minute penalty against our Belfast rivals to win our first league title in 15 years and only our second since 1911. Balled my eyes out afterwards and my da - resident Victor Meldrew around Cliftonville - even complained afterwards that he had nothing to complain about.
Striking_Graphics - @str1kinggraphic
Not the greatest of matches. Manchester United v Bolton, August 16th 2003. However an 18 year old lad called Cristiano Ronaldo came on in the 61st minute for Nicky Butt to make his debut. I’d witnessed the start of something very, very special.
Tim Lancaster - @TimLanc51323800
Halifax Town 2 Yeovil Town 3, a Tuesday evening game at The Shay, trailing 2-0 before coming back to win. The significance was everyone knew we were going to be promoted to the Football League that night, nobody could realistically catch us now.
Andrew Protheroe - @AndrewProt1968
Swansea 5 Leeds 1 1981 1st ever Swans Division 1 game. And Swansea 2 Chesterfield 1 1978 promotion winning match.
John Lowe - @mightybongsmon
Bury 3 v 3 Wigan Athletic. Boxing Day 1994 in Division 3. Nothing riding on it, but played on a waterlogged pitch. Mistakes left, right & centre, blood & thunder football, farcical goals. Great entertainment.
Mark Adams - @MarkA7799
Firstly, Cardiff City v Wrexham, FAC 4th Rd 1977 - City win 3-2 winner in the 90th min after Wrexham equalised in the 89th. Second is Wales v Belgium Euro 2016 QF in Lille. 40 years after I first saw Wales in international match, finally getting to see my country in the final stages of a major tournament and a great night to be there.
Simon - @Simon08edward
The best 0-0 draw ever. Leyton Orient v Braintree Town and the O’s won promotion back to the English Football League, which also confirmed us as National League champions; under the management of the late, great Justin Edinburgh.
Sir Chasm - @BlythGraeme
3) England v Scotland 1996. Amazing atmosphere, Gazza's goal. 2) Liverpool v AC Milan 2005. 3-0 down at half time when a ton of fans left. 1) Oh Bobby Zamora! QPR 1 Derby 0 in the Play-Off Final 2014.
The Artist Currently Known as Swindle - @SwindlehurstJ
Cambridge United winning 1-0 at St James' Park against Newcastle in the FA Cup, 8th January 2022. Game at risk of being called off because of COVID, freezing but beaut day in the Toon, watching our team win in Trippier's first game - and the goal got VAR checked ha!
Nick Parker - @BigParks71
Ridiculous game in 2007 between Pompey and Reading at Fratton Park finished 7-4. Great goals, deflected goals, great saves, really open game and genuinely wonderful atmosphere without hostility before and after with fans mixing in the pubs and parks. A very rare wonderful thing.
Matchworn Exchange - @e_matchworn
Leeds United 3-1 Manchester United - Christmas Eve 1995. Atmosphere was electric. Doesn’t get much better than that! For a Leeds fan anyway!
Karsh Davey - @rubbatiti
Reading 4 Luton 1 Simod Cup Final 1988. Reading played brilliant football throughout tournament regularly beating top level opposition including QPR. But got relegated and not able to defend trophy because no longer in top 2 divisions.
Paul Davis - @PaulDav89093674
As a Bristol Rovers fan Tony I went to see the Gas at Wigan Athletic (Springfield Park) around 2000 where we lost 3 nil but there were 5 players sent off. Up to 60 minutes it was still nil nil...Four for us were dismissed and one for them.
Jon Adaway - @jon_adaway
Everett Rovers 6 Leverstock Green Development 6 in April 2024. Everett led 6-2, but Leverstock scored 4 goals in the last 15 minutes! Nicolas Kerley scored 4 times for Everett that evening & yet he still didn't finish on the winning side!
Trev Schott - @shenobi78
Happened this season, Bootle vs Vauxhall Motors, Bootle were 3 up after 15 minutes but the mighty Vauxhalls came back and won 6-3 and it could have been more. There was added spice as the Bootle manager moved from Vauxhalls and took players with him.
Max Does Non League - @does_non52666
Fa Cup 2010 my boys Woking in the National South mid table drew away to League One runaway leaders Brighton. Took them back to Kingfield we scored in extra time to take the lead and for a few minutes it was and still is the best moment I've had even though we eventually lost on penalties.
MartyG - @Martin4639
Bolton’s last ever match at Burden Park in 1997. At the end Kenneth Wolstenholme announced over the PA system: “They think it’s all over, it is now...” And we won 4-1 too, magical memories.
Colm Whelan-Lambert - @sp_who3
Rochdale v FC United, FA Cup 1st round 5/11/2010. Fireworks all round as FC race into a 2-0 lead, Rochdale roar back to make it 2-2 but FC poach a controversial 94th minute winner. One of the best atmospheres I've ever experienced.
G H - @Georginho1987
Leicester 3-3 Arsenal. Weds 27/08/1997. Under the lights. Unreal performance from Bergkamp. Cue stoppage time madness at 2-2. Hat trick goal out of this world from Bergkamp 2-3. Hopes dashed. Up steps captain fantastic Steve Walsh with late salvo!
IVOR MECTIN - @IVORMECTIN4
The Semi Final second leg, League Cup 1967 at Loftus Road, QPR against Leicester. We were behind the goal when I think it was Roger Morgan rattled a shot against the bar for Rangers, it came back off, hit goalkeeper Gordon Banks on the shoulder and went in! All standing and falling forward, perfect.
Robert-Brassett - @Robbrassett61
Any Enfield v Barnet or Enfield v Wealdstone game in the APL in the early days. Always a grudge match, lots of beer, them was the days.
Me - @bigcbeat
Newcastle v Liverpool. Super Mac home debut and hat trick. 5-0 humiliation of Man United after Keegan played the same 11 that lost Charity Shield to Man United.
Colm Dooley - @colmdooley
Ireland v Holland 2001, the atmosphere, the colour, the magnitude of the win, Keane's tackle, McAteer’s goal, down to 10 men, being able to enjoy it as a draw was enough, being there with my dad, nobody wanted to leave ground, the grace of the Dutch fans after.
Peter Hamm - @hamm349282
4th March 1967, QPR 3 WBA 2 in the League Cup Final at Wembley. Still remember the emotion, WBA leading 2-0 at half time, then Roger Morgan, Rodney Marsh and Mark Lazarus scored. What a day, what a memory for a QPR fan.
Tom Lillywhite - @tomliwh_08
Maidenhead 1-3 Port Vale in 2015. First game I can remember going to FA Cup first round replay at York Road after a famous draw at Vale Park. Alan Massey scored one of his only goals 15 mins in before losing 3-1 still one of the best games I’ve been to.
Msk - @Msk76477555
Chelsea v Sheffield United FA Cup 1992. I took my dad’s Walkman and recorded the sound of most of the game including goal from the old Shed End.
Ray Brady - @MrRamond
Even as a QPR supporter it has to be West Ham 4 QPR 3. 3-1 down at half-time to goals from the England trio of Hurst, Peters and Moore (did all three ever score in another game?) Rangers came out in the second half and pulled it back to 3-3 only for Hurst to cross from the left to the far post for Harry Redknapp to volley in for four. This was Division 1 68/69 season.
Wicam - @johnycat
QPR v Derby Play-Off Final 1-0 in 2014. Without doubt the best match (not for the football) but to get us back to the Premier League.
*Credit for the main photo belongs to Adobe*
