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NAME
Paul Aird
FIRST
HOME GAME EVER SEEN 26/09/1981 a 3-1 win over Goole Town in the NPL Cup.Gary
Cooper scored a hat trick in torrential rain & I was instantly hooked. A friend
had persuaded about 10 of us from school to go to the match with him along with
260 other loyal souls. I'm the only one of the 10 still going!
FIRST
AWAY GAME EVER SEEN New Year's Day 1983. A 2-2 draw at Marine. Joe Strong
scoring a magnificent solo goal to rescue a point. Still one of the best goals
I've seen by a Southport player
BEST
GAME EVER SEEN The 4-2 win over Notts County is the best game I've seen us take
part in. It hard everything. Real "Roy of the Rovers" stuff! Best remembered as
a one off game & forget the nightmares that followed
WORST
GAME EVER SEEN: Far too many to mention! The 4-0 hammering by Doncaster in
2002/03 sticks in my memory as a black day. We'd always had a good record
against them in the Conference but we just collapsed under the storm clouds as
the heaven's opened, we slipped towards relegation, they marched towards
promotion via the play offs & my cat got run down & killed!
BEST
OCCASION Wembley 1998. A once in a lifetime occasion despite the defeat.
Harrogate 2005 a close second.
WORST OCCASION Relegation at Stevenage in 2003. (1978 was before my 'Port
supporting career began!)
FAVOURITE EVER PLAYER Gary Cooper was my 1st goalscoring hero. The whole 1992/93
promotion squad were a great bunch of players & lads but my vote goes to Billy
Stewart. Best keeper we've had, a consistent performer & a bloody nice bloke too
FUNNIEST MOMENT WATCHING SFC During a 4-0 defeat at Bath a friend who shall
remain nameless hopped over the boundary wall & sat on the Southport bench next
to Billy Ayre. "What's going on Billy?" he asked. "We'll speak about it in the
bar after" was Billy's reply. As my friend waited in the bar after the game the
Southport coach departed with curtains closed.
BEST GOAL SEEN SCORED BY SOUTHPORT PLAYER As mentioned before Joe Strong's at
Marine, New Year's Day 1983. 2-1 down he collected the ball in the centre
circle, beat several defenders before rounding the keeper to slot the ball home.
He scored a similar solo goal at Haig Avenue against Goole Town I think. One of
many excellent players who just seemed to vanish off the radar.
BEST GROUND VISITED Home is where the heart is. Haig Avenue before the old
terracing was demolished. Give me old fashioned traditional grounds, built for
big crowds, with history & ghosts of the past rather than modern identikit
grounds. I'd rather go to Leigh or Gravesend than Burton or Rushden anytime.
ANECDOTES: Oh dear. Probably. but aren't anecdotes for grandfathers to tell? I'm
only 37. Give me time to write my memoirs.
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