Portsmouth FC Season 1983–1984 and *that* FA Cup Tie in front of 36,000 at Fratton Park and the 90 seconds that changed the game.
The 90 seconds that broke Blue hearts in January 1984.
Welcome to Part 2 of a running series entitled “A Meander Through Scrapbook Lane” and here we focus on the 1983/84 season and Portsmouth’s first season back in League Division 2 and a special focus on *that* FA Cup match with nearest and fiercest neighbours Southampton.
Disclaimer — All pictures contained within this blog will be almost certainly from the Portsmouth Evening News and Sports Mail as well as wholly contained within some loved, if dusty, scrapbooks of 40 years vintage and placed here purely for enjoyment purposes and I hope that this disclaimer meets everyone’s needs. If not, thank you www.portsmouth.co.uk for entertaining this pritt stick and scissors wielding young child/spotty teen/tall and gangly late teenager and young adult who should’ve stopped ripping and cutting up newspapers long before he hung up his scissors.
Disclaimer II — This is far from a fully comprehensive review of the season and purely the contents and selected pages from my earliest scrapbooks. I am also a Liverpool fan born of a Manchester United supporting Mother who was born and raised in Portsmouth.
I was nicknamed by my Liverpool match going pal as “The Cutter” in reference to an Echo and the Bunnymen song and so hence, here are my cuttings.
Disclaimer III — As a cursory glance at any of my blogs will confirm, I write a lot. Here, not so. Pictures speak a thousand words apparently and from the annals of my childhood scrapbooks I think they sound strikingly eloquent on their own and with only minimal intrusion or commentary from me.
So I hope these scraps from my books jog a memory of the match concerned or the era, the city in general or your life at the time.
Memories are precious commodities. Cherish them.
A variety of cuttings to commence the season: Pre-season action at Fratton Park against West Ham United before a thumping 4–1 win at home to Shrewsbury Town and Manager Bobby Campbell overseeing his charges, and a certain Mark Hateley, in particular. August/September 1983.
A variety of old and new. Old: A cutting from last season and a young Neil Webb and ex Blue Chris Kamara in the draw at Griffin Park, Brentford. New: Pre-season friendly action with West Ham United and a 2–2 draw in the 2nd Round 1st Leg of the League Cup with First Division Aston Villa.
Alan Biley scoring in a 4–2 defeat to Newcastle United on 1st October 1983 and “specials” on Mark Hateley, Nicky Morgan and Mick Tait.
Brighton and Hove Albion (0) Portsmouth (1) 8th October 1983. Attendance 17,574
Aston Villa (3) Portsmouth (2), 26th October 1983. The Blues would go out of the League Cup 5–4 on aggregate (and after extra time) against an Aston Villa side containing Steve McMahon and a host of their 1982 European Cup winning team.
A thumping 4–0 home victory over Grimsby Town (attendance 12,906) before a 2–1 defeat to Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park 2 weeks later.
Various Christmas cuttings as the Blues beat Charlton Athletic 4–0 in front of 15,331 at Fratton Park before a day later drawing 2–2 with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge (Alan Knight brilliantly saving a Kerry Dixon penalty) in front of just 26,285.
Two League draws (0–0 at Middlesbrough and 1–1 at home to Cardiff City) and local talismanic hero Alan Biley gets the rare colour treatment.
The FA Cup draw for the 4th Round pits the two South Coast rivals together for the first time in living memory.
Portsmouth (0) Southampton (1), 28th January 1984. Attendance 36,000.
The moment that broke Blue hearts and Alan Biley, Mick Tait, Nick Holmes and Frank Worthington all jostling for the ball.
More action from the eagerly awaited South Coast Derby between fierce local rivals Portsmouth and Southampton in front of a modern day record attendance of 36,000 at a crammed Fratton Park.
Right in front of the fabled and heaving Fratton End with 2/3 minutes to go and in front of a retreating Mark Wright for Southampton, Alan Biley blazes over the crossbar.
With 2/3 minutes remaining, the 90 seconds that defined the South Coast Derby and broke Blue hearts
Portsmouth (1) Newcastle United (4). 4th February 1984. An attendance of 18,686 saw the Blues counter attacked magnificently by a young Chris Waddle and Peter Beardsley as well as Liverpool and England veterans Terry McDermott and Kevin Keegan. Keegan and Beardsley scored twice each in a romping victory for the Black and Whites of Newcastle and Kevin Keegan had to repeatedly bat away suggestions he was leaving Newcastle for the Blues in the Summer.
Goals and broken seats galore during the end of March and into late April 1984 as first Brighton and Hove Albion are beaten 5–1 at Fratton Park before Blackburn Rovers defeat the Blues 4–2 at Ewood Park and a tempestuous game with Chelsea at the end of April ends 2–2 in front of 18,660.
More action from the 24th March 1–0 defeat to Crystal Palace before the 5–1 thumping of Brighton and Hove Albion a week later in front of just 12,724 at Fratton Park.
May 1984 and the Blues appoint World Cup Winning England International Alan Ball as Manager and in June of the same year, Mark Hateley scored *that* goal against Brazil for England in the Maracana Stadium.
If you’ve enjoyed this ramble through the 1983/84 season, please see my previous meander through “Scrapbook Lane”, and season 1982/1983, here:
