On this day in 1987!

[reamsofverse]

What a night!

[bilko]

Yep, Peter Shirtliff two goals probably saved the club going under, I hate to think what would happen with the club at that stage.

[Deleted]

I was lucky to get out of that game alive. Charlton fans were totally outnumbered.

[bilko]

May 29, 2024 11:20:10 GMT @dickplumb said:

I was lucky to get out of that game alive. Charlton fans were totally outnumbered.

Yep I was there also, but the atmosphere at Elland Rd the game before was far worse.

[aucklandaddick]

Went with my brother, there was about 1800 of us rammed in the corner and 18000 Leeds fans around the other 3 sides

Up there with the most intimidating atmosphere ever experienced, a mate of mine with his girlfriend was sitting in the main stand and was spat on by Leeds fans

Thought the game was dead and buried when Sheridan buried that free kick

We left just before the end and I remember a rather scared looking copper on the exit gate saying to us just run as fast as you can get in your car and leave Birmingham as quick as you can as this is going to go off big time…..🤣🤣

[manikin]

Wasn't there, but listened to the radio broadcast, they new how to commentate in those days and you could feel the atmosphere and tension. Shirtliff was a good player and skipper for us, shame about his private life.

[weststandfruitloop]

May 29, 2024 11:20:10 GMT @dickplumb said:

I was lucky to get out of that game alive. Charlton fans were totally outnumbered.

I went up to that game on my own, having just turned 17, and naively wore a Charlton top.

The walk from New Street station to St Andrews I didn't see a single other Charlton fan, but thousands of Leeds fans all around. The road was a traffic jam of Leeds coaches and the pavement/pubs a sea of white shirts.

I probably could have come to grief, but ended up just having to put up with a lot of jeers and at least a hundred different Leeds lads shouting "oi mate thanks for coming" (presumably joking that I was the only Addick there) at me.

Obviously I did my jacket up for the walk back to the station after the game, wading through a sea of Leeds fans who were now kicking the doors of any passing cars with Charlton shirts or scarves on view.

A few months later I went on my first holiday alone, a fortnight in Leeds, as part of which I went to Leeds' opening game of the next season, away to Barnsley.

Somehow one of the Leeds fans (in the police escort to the ground from the station) recognised me from St Andrews and outed me as a Charlton fan.

With a bit of quick thinking, I made out that I was a Londoner who supported Leeds and I'd been wearing a Charlton shirt that night after losing a bet with a mate.

A hard to believe story, but the fact that I was in the Leeds fans' police escort for what was literally their next (excluding friendlies) game obviously gave it credibility.

The only problem now was that I wasn't sitting in the Leeds section at Oakwell. I had a ticket in the Barnsley end and had to somehow extricate myself from the police escort (and my new 'friends') before we arrived at the turnstiles.

That was possibly even hairier than St Andrews tbh!

[lewisham]

Glad I didn't have some of you with me when it's kicked off at games

[paperboy]

I listened to it on the radio. When Leeds scored I thought that was the end of it but when we equalised the tension and nail biting went through the roof. After Shirtliff put us 2-1 up the last few minutes were almost unbearable until at last the ref blew for full time. Happy Memories.

[melrose555]

Was there with my old man brother and neighbour. When Sheridan scored we all thought it was over even though we had outplayed them. Very intimidating to say the least. We didn't hang about after the final whistle. We drove about 10 mins and stopped at a pub. We thought we were far enough out and we'd be OK in there. We decided not to show our colours just in case. We goes into this pub and immediately my old man starts waving his Charlton scarf about. A couple of Leeds fans were in there, but were OK and fairly gracious. Most, all blues fans loved it, saying thank fuck you beat those bastards/we fucking hate them. What a night. Peter Shirtliff and the 10 others, you should be fucking knighted

[valley]

www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cx88w2nneego

[valley]

May 30, 2024 15:01:57 GMT valley said:

www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cx88w2nneego

£100M too start off with.