Palace v Burnley

How the hell did so many of us fit inside Selhurst?

Very special game and special team.

"It feels much better than it ever did, much more sensitive." John Wayne Bobbit

I was there too, with my dad. We also went to the game at 'Orient' on the previous Saturday. (I use the inverted commas because I'm sure that club was going through its 'Orient' phase at the time, having dropped the 'Leyton' - contrary to what the article says. I may be wrong though.)

I remember catching the briefest mention of the Burnley win on the telly the next day. It was somewhat squeezed out by the Cup Final coverage, but I think Grandstand showed a brief clip of the goals.

Palace since 19 August 1972. Palace 1 (Tony Taylor) Liverpool 1 (Emlyn Hughes)

I always remember on tv the next day the palace fans singing and chanting outside either the Arsenal or Man.Utd hotel as they showed them leaving for wembley

Made in Bromley

I believe they were 'Orient' at that time and changed back to 'Leyton Orient' in the late 80s.Used to study all of these matters in my football quiz days but that was some time ago.

I left the City early, got home ( South Norwood Hill by top of Holmesdale Road ) and changed out of my suit and was in the AW enclosure at 17.45 and there must of been 25k in the ground at that time.

What a night !

Also that was the only season I managed to get to every game, home and away - not been able to since.

Old, Ungifted and White

It seems incredible to relate it now, but my dad and I didn't alter our routine for an evening match in any way whatsoever. I suppose through naivety, it never crossed our minds that we wouldn't be able to get into the ground that we had already visited for 20 previous league games.

So we didn't leave Erith until about 6pm, taking our normal leisurely route through Sidcup, Chislehurst, Bromley etc. Weirdly, we didn't encounter much more traffic than normal...we parked in the usual place...we got through the Holmesdale turnstiles with barely a queue. It's only once we were inside when my dad - the master of understatement - remarked that there seemed to be "a few more people in the ground than usual", to which the bloke next to us said that he thought that fans from a number of other London clubs had turned up, and he hoped that there wouldn't be any trouble.

Given all the other tales I've heard over the years of Palace fans desperate to get in, I sometimes wonder if I dreamt it...but I swear it's true.

Palace since 19 August 1972. Palace 1 (Tony Taylor) Liverpool 1 (Emlyn Hughes)