| FA cup 78. Bristol Rov away 18:51 - Jan 18 with 2157 views | SchancheITFC |
Just watched it on Big match revisited. 2 2, Robin Turner late equaliser. Players could hardly stand up, didn’t realise how close Town were to being knocked out.
Anyone on here go to that game ? |  | | |  |
| FA cup 78. Bristol Rov away on 19:50 - Jan 18 with 2053 views | AndrewRatcliffITFC |
I went , 14 years old at the time, we left early morning but there was a lot of doubt if the game would be on as the pitch was frozen and covered in snow. It was one of the coldest games I have ever been to. there was ice all over the concrete terracing. We had a huge following that day the whole end was Ipswich probably 5000 plus, it went completely nuts when we equalised right at the end. Eastville was a dilapidated run down old stadium but it had character and quite atmospheric when they sang "Good night Irene"
I remember marching to the ground in a mob of 100 or so Ipswich lads, away games in those days were dangerous so adrenaline was pumping, as we went under a flyover everyone started chanting Aye O, Aye O we are the Ipswich boys, never forget the feeling it was electric for a 14 year old kid! The match was ridiculous really with players just slipping around all over the place, it would never be allowed to go ahead today- still we won the replay and the rest is history. | | | |
| FA cup 78. Bristol Rov away on 20:21 - Jan 18 with 1961 views | SchancheITFC |
| FA cup 78. Bristol Rov away on 19:50 - Jan 18 by AndrewRatcliffITFC |
I went , 14 years old at the time, we left early morning but there was a lot of doubt if the game would be on as the pitch was frozen and covered in snow. It was one of the coldest games I have ever been to. there was ice all over the concrete terracing. We had a huge following that day the whole end was Ipswich probably 5000 plus, it went completely nuts when we equalised right at the end. Eastville was a dilapidated run down old stadium but it had character and quite atmospheric when they sang "Good night Irene"
I remember marching to the ground in a mob of 100 or so Ipswich lads, away games in those days were dangerous so adrenaline was pumping, as we went under a flyover everyone started chanting Aye O, Aye O we are the Ipswich boys, never forget the feeling it was electric for a 14 year old kid! The match was ridiculous really with players just slipping around all over the place, it would never be allowed to go ahead today- still we won the replay and the rest is history. |
Great story Andrew. Thank you. | | | |
| FA cup 78. Bristol Rov away on 21:12 - Jan 18 with 1907 views | LowroadBlue |
Yeah I was 18 and went on the special train.
Remembering standing on Ipswich station waiting to hear if the game was on or not.
Unbelievably it went a head.
The way end was an open terrace and covered in snow and it was bloody freezing.
We were lucky to get it back to Portman Road as Bobby Gould scored for Rovers and it was disallowed for offside when he was clearly onside.
I remembering getting bombarded by the Rovers fans with stones on the way back to the train.
I think this was the closest we came to losing in the cup run. | | | |
| FA cup 78. Bristol Rov away on 21:22 - Jan 18 with 1872 views | colonel |
Went to the match with my Dad & his mates. We drove down there not knowing if the game was going ahead. No mobiles/internet then so radio was our only hope of finding out. We’d taken extra rations, shovel, blankets, just in case we got stranded.
The conditions were awful and enroute it went full circle from probably being off, then possibly on, then likely off, then maybe on… no-one had a clue, but as we were on the M4 there seemed little point in turning back. We were fully expecting it to be postponed and just in case we were checking the newspaper to see if there were any other games we could possibly get to. We were in Bristol by the time it was finally announced that it was game-on.
As for the match, freezing cold Artic conditions, our end was open and completely exposed to the elements. It was a greyhound stadium and reminded me a bit of a mini Stamford Bridge before the redevelopment. They had a pop band playing a song to the tune of Waltzing Matilda which started off with “Follow the Rovers, Follow the Rovers…” & had classic lines such as “under the shade of the M32 ” The motorway was kinda behind our end and cars were actually pulling over to watch the game.
Prior to kick off I seem to recall there was an incident involving some Ipswich fans and a food kiosk outside the ground with whispers going around that it had either been ransacked or set alight. Memories a bit sketchy.
The slippery conditions were a bit of a leveller and we went from being in control to nearly losing. We’d had some good cup runs in the seasons before and fully expected to win so it was a relief to equalise near the end and it made the whole experience worthwhile.
The replay was comfortable and the rest is history 🏆 💙🤍
I’d say it’s the second coldest I’ve ever been at a game. Barnsley was the worst.
In those days the FA Cup was the big one and attracted the bigger crowds. The dream of going to Wembley with its iconic twin towers was so magical and it was kept alive that day and became a reality a few months later. Happy times. |  | | |
| FA cup 78. Bristol Rov away on 21:50 - Jan 18 with 1826 views | swede |
Yes, I was another one on that snow covered open terrace that day and absolutely agree with those who have said that it was the coldest they have ever been at a match.
The conditions on the pitch were atrocious with players skidding and sliding all over the place. Even with an orange ball it was hard to work out what was happening on the pitch as we were so far from the action with a big track around the pitch.
When Bobby Gould "scored" their third, it really seemed like the cup dream was over for another year. Relief when that was ruled offside and even more when Robin Turner managed to scramble in the equaliser.
What a contrast to that steamy hot day three months later at Wembley!
I was so privileged as a teenager to be at all but one of those 1978 cup games. Extraordinary that nearly 50 years on we are still waiting for a repeat! | | | |
| FA cup 78. Bristol Rov away on 22:03 - Jan 18 with 1793 views | Churchman |
| FA cup 78. Bristol Rov away on 19:50 - Jan 18 by AndrewRatcliffITFC |
I went , 14 years old at the time, we left early morning but there was a lot of doubt if the game would be on as the pitch was frozen and covered in snow. It was one of the coldest games I have ever been to. there was ice all over the concrete terracing. We had a huge following that day the whole end was Ipswich probably 5000 plus, it went completely nuts when we equalised right at the end. Eastville was a dilapidated run down old stadium but it had character and quite atmospheric when they sang "Good night Irene"
I remember marching to the ground in a mob of 100 or so Ipswich lads, away games in those days were dangerous so adrenaline was pumping, as we went under a flyover everyone started chanting Aye O, Aye O we are the Ipswich boys, never forget the feeling it was electric for a 14 year old kid! The match was ridiculous really with players just slipping around all over the place, it would never be allowed to go ahead today- still we won the replay and the rest is history. |
I actually played that day on a frozen pitch for a rubbish team in a rubbish game. Got into the fetid, steaming, disgusting dressing room to listen to the scores. Heard it was 2-2 and thought no problem. Had no idea it was such a close call, but when I did I had ‘that feeling’ we’d go all the way.
We went to the replay and somehow wound up in the middle upper Portman/East/Cobbold stand. No idea how my dad got the tickets, but we travelled up from Kent for the replay and it was a comfortable 3-0.
Millwall next - now that was an event. Then beyond joy at Highbury and surreal at Wembley. |  | | |
| FA cup 78. Bristol Rov away on 22:25 - Jan 18 with 1758 views | Bigalhunter |
Yes,I was there and still remember it vividly.
Lived in Gloucester at the time and my father arranged for his rugby mate to drop us there.
Roads were atrocious, but we got there in reasonable time, only to find that said mate had dropped us at Bristol Memorial stadium, which was the Bristol rugby ground at the time.
We then had to make our way down the Muller Road to the Eastville Stadium, some three miles away, in ever increasing drifts of wet, slippery snow, unsure if the game would actually go ahead.
I had a crappy transistor radio that occasionally picked up a radio station, but couldn’t tune into Radio Bristol to find any updates.
The game was a farce really and a real leveller in those conditions. We were lucky to escape with a draw. I remember it for three main reasons:
That iconic, dark orange away shirt we played in. Don’t think it even had our badge on it.
The memorable walk back up Muller Road in the eerie early evening dusk, eager to catch our pre-arranged lift home, back outside the rugby stadium, my late father laughing as he slipped into heaps of cold, wet snow.
Someone had made a snowman outside the Eastville library and he stuck his Ipswich rosette on it.
I have subsequently lived in Bristol for thirty years and Bristol Rovers now do play their home games at that feckin egg-chasing stadium we were abandoned outside, forty-odd years earlier.
Great memories. |  |
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| FA cup 78. Bristol Rov away on 00:58 - Jan 19 with 1625 views | Blue_In_Boston |
Was on holiday last year and chatting to a Bristol Rovers fan. He was still moaning about a decision we got in that game (dubious penalty or goal that was offside).
Can anyone confirm if he has a valid gripe? | | | |
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| FA cup 78. Bristol Rov away on 01:50 - Jan 19 with 1582 views | Bigalhunter |
| FA cup 78. Bristol Rov away on 00:58 - Jan 19 by Blue_In_Boston |
Was on holiday last year and chatting to a Bristol Rovers fan. He was still moaning about a decision we got in that game (dubious penalty or goal that was offside).
Can anyone confirm if he has a valid gripe? |
Bobby Gould scored a goal for Bristol Rovers that was somewhat contentiously ruled offside that day.
Bearing in mind, he’d been allocated the sole job of trying to crock Hunter and/or Beattie in the cup semi for West Ham three years earlier, it was karma of the highest order.
I hated him, and the referee Clive Thomas, for his part in the infamous replay defeat, with a vicious intensity after that 1975 semi final injustice.
Met Bobby Gould about 12 years ago at Bristol Airport, both of us waiting for a delayed flight to Amsterdam. Actually, a really nice bloke, just laughed as I recounted my memories of his treachery and happily admitted it had been one of John Lyall’s tactics to leave a boot on Hunter and Beattie early doors.
I suppose it excorcised that particular ghost, but I never got the chance to trap that bast*rd Clive Thomas in an airport departure lounge and tell him just how much he ruined 1975 for every Ipswich fan. | |
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| FA cup 78. Bristol Rov away on 00:31 - Jan 21 with 1143 views | Blue_In_Boston |
| FA cup 78. Bristol Rov away on 01:50 - Jan 19 by Bigalhunter |
Bobby Gould scored a goal for Bristol Rovers that was somewhat contentiously ruled offside that day.
Bearing in mind, he’d been allocated the sole job of trying to crock Hunter and/or Beattie in the cup semi for West Ham three years earlier, it was karma of the highest order.
I hated him, and the referee Clive Thomas, for his part in the infamous replay defeat, with a vicious intensity after that 1975 semi final injustice.
Met Bobby Gould about 12 years ago at Bristol Airport, both of us waiting for a delayed flight to Amsterdam. Actually, a really nice bloke, just laughed as I recounted my memories of his treachery and happily admitted it had been one of John Lyall’s tactics to leave a boot on Hunter and Beattie early doors.
I suppose it excorcised that particular ghost, but I never got the chance to trap that bast*rd Clive Thomas in an airport departure lounge and tell him just how much he ruined 1975 for every Ipswich fan. |
Thanks for your reply. His gripe about a poor decision had some merit then. Interesting how certain games stick in people's memories. | | | |
| FA cup 78. Bristol Rov away on 09:51 - Jan 21 with 951 views | cressi |
| FA cup 78. Bristol Rov away on 00:31 - Jan 21 by Blue_In_Boston |
Thanks for your reply. His gripe about a poor decision had some merit then. Interesting how certain games stick in people's memories. |
I was there went via coach think we got to Reading before we knew the game was on. Saved by Robin Turner. His big moments. | | | |
| FA cup 78. Bristol Rov away on 09:57 - Jan 21 with 935 views | Radlett_blue |
| FA cup 78. Bristol Rov away on 01:50 - Jan 19 by Bigalhunter |
Bobby Gould scored a goal for Bristol Rovers that was somewhat contentiously ruled offside that day.
Bearing in mind, he’d been allocated the sole job of trying to crock Hunter and/or Beattie in the cup semi for West Ham three years earlier, it was karma of the highest order.
I hated him, and the referee Clive Thomas, for his part in the infamous replay defeat, with a vicious intensity after that 1975 semi final injustice.
Met Bobby Gould about 12 years ago at Bristol Airport, both of us waiting for a delayed flight to Amsterdam. Actually, a really nice bloke, just laughed as I recounted my memories of his treachery and happily admitted it had been one of John Lyall’s tactics to leave a boot on Hunter and Beattie early doors.
I suppose it excorcised that particular ghost, but I never got the chance to trap that bast*rd Clive Thomas in an airport departure lounge and tell him just how much he ruined 1975 for every Ipswich fan. |
Gould was a nasty piece of work on the pitch, but amiable off it. Not unusual for footballers - see our own Alan Lee. |  |
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| FA cup 78. Bristol Rov away on 13:20 - Jan 21 with 830 views | Meadowlark |
Four of us in a Mini Cooper S from Lowestoft.
We got a puncture somewhere on the North Circular, with no spare, but we had "Denovo run flat tyres" so we got there and home again without changing it.
Don't remember much about the match, except it was cold!
I've lost touch with the others in the car that day. We went to every match in the cup run after that including the final.
Anyone in that car reading this? |  | | |
| FA cup 78. Bristol Rov away on 13:53 - Jan 21 with 767 views | sotd78 |
| FA cup 78. Bristol Rov away on 00:58 - Jan 19 by Blue_In_Boston |
Was on holiday last year and chatting to a Bristol Rovers fan. He was still moaning about a decision we got in that game (dubious penalty or goal that was offside).
Can anyone confirm if he has a valid gripe? |
I was there with my brother. On a train returning home that got windows broken by presumably aggrieved home fans on the way out of Bristol so that we also froze all the way home. We were incredibly lucky to draw. One of the Robin Turner goals was probbly offside. They had a goal disallowed. VAR would have had a field day and we'd all have frozen to death waiting for the left frostbitten toenail to be decalred on or offside.
Interestingly we'd also been to Cardiff in Round 3 and this game made both of us think our name was on the Cup. We were right. |  |
| Blue shirts/white shorts - sotd78 |
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| FA cup 78. Bristol Rov away on 14:04 - Jan 21 with 755 views | MJR101 |
| FA cup 78. Bristol Rov away on 13:53 - Jan 21 by sotd78 |
I was there with my brother. On a train returning home that got windows broken by presumably aggrieved home fans on the way out of Bristol so that we also froze all the way home. We were incredibly lucky to draw. One of the Robin Turner goals was probbly offside. They had a goal disallowed. VAR would have had a field day and we'd all have frozen to death waiting for the left frostbitten toenail to be decalred on or offside.
Interestingly we'd also been to Cardiff in Round 3 and this game made both of us think our name was on the Cup. We were right. |
I must have been on the same train. Sat in a carriage with all the windows out with scarves hats and gloves on.
Got moved out by the police for “safety reasons”.
Just remember the huge celebrations at the late equaliser.
Took a few days to thaw out. | | | |
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