Great Story

**JOLearysgloves** Fri Aug 28, 2009 9:38 am

The fall-out of West Ham v Millwall and seeing fans on the pitch on SSN every five minutes has reminded of one of the funniest things I've ever seen at football game. However, it doesn't involve hooligans, bricks, bottle or even a fire.
Being Northumberland born, my club is and always has been Newcastle United but in my youth and into my early teens I would often get a weekend footy fix at any of the local non-league grounds on any Saturday afternoon when Newcastle were either away or had no fixture.
One of these given Saturdays in the mid 90s myself and a few of my school mates made our way to Croft Park, home of Blyth Spartans, as Newcastle had an away fixture that afternoon, it had become a quite common occurrence that season and there was usually four of us but on this particular day we took another mate for his first ever live football experience. So the game kicked off and a very un-common occurrence started to un-fold, Blyth were playing good football and were winning. They where three up inside 20 minutes and 5-1 up by half-time, it was a rout and the locals where loving it. My new-to-football mate was already loving his first live game and had already started talk of coming every week and getting a season ticket, we all headed off for a half-time pie and Bovril in good spirits.
When we returned to our spot on the terrace and set about trying to digest the recently-purchased pies and bovril, there is a tannoy announcement in the ground followed by a loud cheer from the Blyth fans. Now, I'm not quite sure whether my mate was deep in conversation, concentrating on too much on his pie or just a little deaf but he missed the announcement completely and wanted to know what was said.
Now the actual announcement was that Newcastle were winning at half-time in their game, hence the cheer. But one of my mates sensing the chance of a wind-up starts on a story that is now has a very fond place in my football-related memories. Obviously taking advantage of the lad's lack of football-going experience he tells him that the tannoy announcement was 'because Blyth haven't scored seven goals in a league game for so long it's has been decided that if they scored seven goals today all the fans will be allowed on the pitch to celebrate with the players'.
Myself and the two regular match going lad all have a little chuckle to ourselves and then think no more of it, at least I did. Well I think you can guess the rest. The second half kicks off and Blyth duly add a sixth goal and my mate proudly states 'just one more, lads' and again I think little more of it. Then it happened!! Another goal, Blyth 7-1 up and the action starts my mate springs into action, he leaps over the barrier, shouts 'come on lads' and heads of at pace towards the Blyth players who are all congratulating their most recent goalscoring hero, as my mate gets close to the players, he has a glance back towards the terraces and the realisation must have struck him, "Sh*t, I'm the only one on the pitch", trying to turn quickly on the turf only resulted in my landing arse first on the grass. Quickly scrambling to his feet and attempting to make it back the correct side of the barrier as if nothing happened must have been his next ploy and it would have worked had he not been in intercepted by the old bill en route.
By now me and my mates on the terrace are in a fit of laughter, as my mate is led away by two coppers. I can only imagine the conversation as he tried to plead he was on the pitch because the tannoy said he could if Blyth scored seven goals. His pleas must have fell on deaf ears because he was escorted out of the ground and told to disappear quick smart before he was locked up. We found him after the game and at that point he still had no idea what he had done wrong.
After that day me made the only logical choice, he became a rugby fan. He is nearly 27 now and getting married soon and if that story doesn't make into the best man's speech, I will be very surprised.
Willie