so as it was Sunday problem number 1, no local bus to the station, so we ordered a cab, which was late as we got stuck behind a tractor!
Was it the tractor boys looking for Withdean?
Had they seen pictures and believed it was in the middle of the countryside?? We got to Haywards Heath and luckily a fast bus to Brighton was waiting (all Thameslinks terminated at HH, Southern trains diverted via Hove).
The bus was due to take 45 minutes, but it took about 20, so it was about 10.45 when we arrived in Brighton. We had a coffee in the Bystander by Brighton station with some of the A21 rabble, before moving on to the Duke of Boot.
The pub was soon heaving, everyone very apprehensive, but as I managed to nearly consume my usual quantity of beer in half the time, the belief grew that we could get a result.
I needed my Fantasy League prediction to come in as my side bet with Brush was going to cost me money!
I went for 1-1, Knight and was very close to the crowd, Brush failed miserably but still beat me by 2 points!!!
We jumped into a cab about 12.30 and the taxi driver went some bizarre route and hence dropped us off near the ground about 25 minutes later, hence in the Argus the nice big picture of the row of seats I sit in had one empty space and they circled my mate Posty Darren so he won £10! Life is so unfair!
The noise from us lot in the South Stand was superb, the game kicked off and before you could say "we need to keep it tight at the back against this lot", Virgo let a ball pass under his foot and Kuqi was clean through and beat Blayney with a cool finish.
4 minutes and it was going to be a rollercoaster 90 minutes. The game is a blur, we get a free kick, Chippy knocks it in box, Harty heads, superb save, the ball runs out to Virgo who casually half volley it into the net!
Time for jumping up and down and hugging everyone in rows B, C and D! Come on! Wigan are now 2-0 up and we let the tractor boys know, Crewe are 1 down, Gillingham are one down.
Now its half time. Its all going tooooooo well, what do we do, panic, help! We had 7 minutes of injury time after Harding and an Ipswich player nastily clashed heads.
That meant the last 5 minutes or so of our game would be after the final whistle in the other 2 games.
Back to row C, keep singing, keep standing, Crewe 1-1 Ahhhhhhgggh, Gillingham 1-1 no no no it cant turn against us, Ipswich attack again and again, Butters heads out,El-Abd gets in the way, Harding tracks back, Reid stops a cross, Crewe 2-1 up, why why why, Gillingham 2-1 up, the tension is getting unbearable, Nicky (Jans daughter) next to me is sitting looking at the floor mumbling about cant watch this, hate this (effects of a season next to me probably!).
10 minutes to go, we break away, McPhee clean through, this is it, we are going to be safe, he crosses instead of going for goal, instantly Ipswich attack.
Forest score against Gillingham, come on stay as you are, the Pikeys are going down. Final whistle at Crewe, they are safe as Gillingham have only drawn. Up goes the board, 1 minute NO, 2 minutes, No 3 Minutes NO NO,where did 4 come from.
We counter attack, Ipswich swing in more crosses, Wigan won 3-0 its all academic to them. They have 4 up front, Kuqi is back defending, running the length of pitch to attack, stop it, it means nothing!
The ball is passed long and the whistle blows. YES YES YES! What a great feeling as everyone celebrates. Nicky next to me is in tears, everyone is jumping around hugging each other!
We stayed and applauded, down hearted Tractor boys looked glum, they fear defeat to West Ham again! We headed back to the Basketmakers, we celebrated, then up to the Evening Star, more celebration. Our mate Boon does his Albion song standing on a table, this is followed by Attila performing "The Donkey Derby".
Days like these are unforgettable.
Next it was the bus to Haywads Heath, I snoozed on the floor, woke up, got in a taxi with Liz back home, into our new local and some well needed food (and a final pint to toast Paul Scally and the money he shamelessly took ofus for 2 seasons - what crowds will they get against Scunthorpe on a Tuesday night!).
Then it was the 4 minute stagger home and a quick look at Ceefax, next thing its Monday morning and time to drive to the station!
That's all folks, roll on next season IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP - WOOooooOOOoooo
HOOooooOOoooooooo
Mark R
Ps Next football fix is Charlton v Palace on Sunday, we are meeting our Charlton mates to cheer them on and hopefully we can celebrate another result! Now that would make the season complete!