cambridgeshire canary 6,721 Posted February 3 I'm sure everyone can remember that time years back we claimed to play and beat Saint-Christophe Vallee d'Aoste 13-0, only for it to turn out that we had lied and had in fact seemingly played a bunch of local Itallian lads from the nearby pub (And this is only slightly an exaggeration..) but what other strange or interesting football matches can you think of? Like the time Watford played and beat China 5-1, or prehaps when AS Adema played SO l'Emyrne and won 149-0.. With all of those being protest own goals. Or when West Brom set up a "White players vs black players" match. No, seriously. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Len_Cantello_Testimonial_Match Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man 3,821 Posted February 3 This must've been a fun watch: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbados_4–2_Grenada?wprov=sfla1 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheGunnShow 5,940 Posted February 3 My old vets team had a game where we won 5-4. That doesn't sound too unusual, but we were 2-0 up in the first ten minutes, it got to 2-2 then I got injured (as goalie), reserve goalie fumbled one in and we were 2-3 down at half-time. They scored again early in the second half with a penalty, then their goalie got sent off for a foul in the box then abusing the referee. We scored that penalty to be only 3-4 down, equalised with ten to go and hit the winner via another penalty with less than five minutes to play. So, one goalie injured, the other sent off, three penalties, and a late winner after being 2-0 up and 2-4 down. Not bad for an 80-minute vets game. Think the personal favourite from my refereeing days was the U13s game on a notoriously sloping pitch where, to make matters funnier that day, if you were playing downhill you also had half-a-gale behind you too. A team near the bottom was playing a team near the top and won the toss. They made the amateur error of playing downhill with the tailwind first half, but went in at half-time 4-0 up. The other team banged in seven without reply in the second half. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheBaldOne66 684 Posted February 3 England played the mighty Aylesbury in a warm up for Euro 88, went and won 5-0 and then lost every game at the Euros 🤣🤣🤣 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
K Lo 224 Posted February 3 (edited) The season Coventry played their home games at St Andrews then they played Birmingham City in a Cup match. Apparently, the Cov fans were singing to the Birmingham fans "You're supposed to be at home". Edited February 3 by K Lo Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dylanisabaddog 4,929 Posted February 3 Liechtenstein plays its home games at a stadium located yards from the border of the Swiss border. It's a tiny stadium with a capacity of around 7,000. During their first game there around 20 years ago their captain made a thumping last ditch tackle, kicking the ball out of the ground. In doing so he became the first player ever to kick the ball into a different country during an international match. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fen Canary 826 Posted February 3 3 hours ago, TheGunnShow said: My old vets team had a game where we won 5-4. That doesn't sound too unusual, but we were 2-0 up in the first ten minutes, it got to 2-2 then I got injured (as goalie), reserve goalie fumbled one in and we were 2-3 down at half-time. They scored again early in the second half with a penalty, then their goalie got sent off for a foul in the box then abusing the referee. We scored that penalty to be only 3-4 down, equalised with ten to go and hit the winner via another penalty with less than five minutes to play. So, one goalie injured, the other sent off, three penalties, and a late winner after being 2-0 up and 2-4 down. Not bad for an 80-minute vets game. Think the personal favourite from my refereeing days was the U13s game on a notoriously sloping pitch where, to make matters funnier that day, if you were playing downhill you also had half-a-gale behind you too. A team near the bottom was playing a team near the top and won the toss. They made the amateur error of playing downhill with the tailwind first half, but went in at half-time 4-0 up. The other team banged in seven without reply in the second half. Had a similar situation to your U13 game. We played a match in a gale force wind behind us and went in 5-0 up at half time. Ended up drawing 5-5. Our keeper at one point tried to clear it and the ball ended up being blown back behind him for a corner 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheGunnShow 5,940 Posted February 3 1 minute ago, Fen Canary said: Had a similar situation to your U13 game. We played a match in a gale force wind behind us and went in 5-0 up at half time. Ended up drawing 5-5. Our keeper at one point tried to clear it and the ball ended up being blown back behind him for a corner The worst one I remember was a game of five-a-side, Snowed heavily and thawed and even though there was freezing standing water on about a quarter of the pitch the ref said we could play it. We did, somehow - often by trying to play down the wings where you didn't need flippers, and Sod's Law dictated we'd come later and got the more saturated goalmouth. Had to dive full length straight away and splashed into this freezing water. Their first goal was hilarious. Back pass didn't reach the edge of my box as it stuck in one of the puddles, I couldn't come out otherwise I'd concede a penalty so just threw myself to the edge of my box - and their lad shovelled it out of the water to chip me. We got to half-time, I think we were 3-2 up and I said "right, that goalmouth is far drier, we're DEFINITELY swapping sides!" and got the ref to agree that at least. We won that one 9-5 - second half was messy as both teams got tired through all the extra weight/resistance, as well as trying to remember to play down the sides where it was drier. Main thing I remember though was that even after a hot shower, it took about three hours to get all the feeling back in my toes. Since then, I've always played five-a-side in such wet conditions when wearing waterproof socks and also waterproof hiking pants. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Robert N. LiM 4,360 Posted February 3 Norwich 2-1 Coventry 3 Feb 2024 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fen Canary 826 Posted February 3 5 minutes ago, TheGunnShow said: The worst one I remember was a game of five-a-side, Snowed heavily and thawed and even though there was freezing standing water on about a quarter of the pitch the ref said we could play it. We did, somehow - often by trying to play down the wings where you didn't need flippers, and Sod's Law dictated we'd come later and got the more saturated goalmouth. Had to dive full length straight away and splashed into this freezing water. Their first goal was hilarious. Back pass didn't reach the edge of my box as it stuck in one of the puddles, I couldn't come out otherwise I'd concede a penalty so just threw myself to the edge of my box - and their lad shovelled it out of the water to chip me. We got to half-time, I think we were 3-2 up and I said "right, that goalmouth is far drier, we're DEFINITELY swapping sides!" and got the ref to agree that at least. We won that one 9-5 - second half was messy as both teams got tired through all the extra weight/resistance, as well as trying to remember to play down the sides where it was drier. Main thing I remember though was that even after a hot shower, it took about three hours to get all the feeling back in my toes. Since then, I've always played five-a-side in such wet conditions when wearing waterproof socks and also waterproof hiking pants. We also had an away match for the school where the other schools pitch had a manhole cover in the middle of it. The teacher put a traffic cone on the manhole and we had to play around it 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cornish sam 954 Posted February 3 10 hours ago, cambridgeshire canary said: I'm sure everyone can remember that time years back we claimed to play and beat Saint-Christophe Vallee d'Aoste 13-0, only for it to turn out that we had lied and had in fact seemingly played a bunch of local Itallian lads from the nearby pub (And this is only slightly an exaggeration..) but what other strange or interesting football matches can you think of? Like the time Watford played and beat China 5-1, or prehaps when AS Adema played SO l'Emyrne and won 149-0.. With all of those being protest own goals. Or when West Brom set up a "White players vs black players" match. No, seriously. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Len_Cantello_Testimonial_Match Wow, and yet the blacks had a white playing for them and the whites had two browns on their team... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Robert N. LiM 4,360 Posted March 1 Norwich 3-2 Watford 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lord Horn (again) 132 Posted March 1 When I was at school, we were meant to be playing the UEA 2nd or 3rd team. By mistake we ended up playing their first team and got stuffed about 9 or 10 nil. What was funny was after every goal that they scored they apologised.......... but they were a bunch of Hippies so I suppose you should expect that! 😂 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
C.I.D 302 Posted March 1 1 hour ago, Lord Horn (again) said: When I was at school, we were meant to be playing the UEA 2nd or 3rd team. By mistake we ended up playing their first team and got stuffed about 9 or 10 nil. What was funny was after every goal that they scored they apologised.......... but they were a bunch of Hippies so I suppose you should expect that! 😂 9 or 10 nil!.............wow,that's really heavy,man.......as Neil from The Young Ones might say 😁 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheRock 171 Posted March 1 The Shock Of Gilbraltar, when Celtic lost to Lincoln Red Imps. 😂 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Red_Imps_F.C._1–0_Celtic_F.C. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Barham Blitz 653 Posted March 1 I once played in a local league game where I scored an own goal, gave away the penalty to make it two nil, then scored two headers from corners to gain a draw. Still maintain it was a dive for the penalty mind. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
king canary 7,607 Posted March 1 30 minutes ago, Barham Blitz said: I once played in a local league game where I scored an own goal, gave away the penalty to make it two nil, then scored two headers from corners to gain a draw. Still maintain it was a dive for the penalty mind. Jonathan Woodgate has nothing on you. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yobocop 1,099 Posted March 1 On 03/02/2024 at 07:22, cambridgeshire canary said: I'm sure everyone can remember that time years back we claimed to play and beat Saint-Christophe Vallee d'Aoste 13-0, only for it to turn out that we had lied and had in fact seemingly played a bunch of local Itallian lads from the nearby pub (And this is only slightly an exaggeration..) but what other strange or interesting football matches can you think of? Like the time Watford played and beat China 5-1, or prehaps when AS Adema played SO l'Emyrne and won 149-0.. With all of those being protest own goals. Or when West Brom set up a "White players vs black players" match. No, seriously. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Len_Cantello_Testimonial_Match You are very economical with the truth sometimes to suit your own agenda my friend. As I understand it there were no claims we played them and no one lied, it was just a clerical error Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yobocop 1,099 Posted March 2 On 03/02/2024 at 07:22, cambridgeshire canary said: I'm sure everyone can remember that time years back we claimed to play and beat Saint-Christophe Vallee d'Aoste 13-0, only for it to turn out that we had lied and had in fact seemingly played a bunch of local Itallian lads from the nearby pub (And this is only slightly an exaggeration..) but what other strange or interesting football matches can you think of? Like the time Watford played and beat China 5-1, or prehaps when AS Adema played SO l'Emyrne and won 149-0.. With all of those being protest own goals. Or when West Brom set up a "White players vs black players" match. No, seriously. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Len_Cantello_Testimonial_Match To answer your question, I remember turning up to Bedford ones and they were genuinely clearing snow from the pitch. It was like an ice rink and called off within 10 minutes. Norwich probably the 7-1 home reverse to Colchester and everything that came with it Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mason 47 1,379 Posted March 2 I don't have a match to add, but the thread reminded me that I've played in a game in which our goalkeeper put the ball straight out for a corner from a goal kick by accident. No gale force winds to speak of. To this day I still don't really get it. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,761 Posted March 2 Apparantly documented in his autobiography, former Brighton,Villa ,Luton central defender Steve Foster, in a league game for Brighton vs Notts County just prior to the 1983 FA Cup final against Man United picked up a yellow card, this yellow card took him to an accrued number that would result in being suspended and missing the FA Cup final. However a red card on the other hand meant that any suspension wouldnt kick in until after the FA Cup final meaning he could play Foster then proceeded for the rest of the game to try and get either a second yellow or a straight red by clattering into and two footing any Notts County player that moved. The referee knew full well the situation and told Foster that regardless of what he did that game he was not giving him another card. Foster saw this as a challenge and his conduct became more and more violent as the game went on, sparking 22 man brawls and inciting crowd trouble True to his word however the referee stuck to his word and didnt book him a second time and Foster was indeed suspended for the FA Cup final vs Man Utd The final ended 2-2 and Foster returned as captain for the replay where Brighton were thumped 4-0 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sheva 123 Posted March 2 Norwich City playing a good Cambridge United side, Ron Atkinson and John Bond as managers, behind closed doors on a mid week afternoon. It was hardly behind closed doors, as was at somewhere like Catton Rec and ‘ old Fred ‘ and his dog could have walked up and watched! 😂 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AJ 1,221 Posted March 2 Having a black moment but there was a game where the power went out and Tierney was doing flips in the centre circle to keep the crowd entertained Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheBaldOne66 684 Posted March 2 (edited) I refereed a game once in the South Norfolk League where the pitch had a bit of a slope, can’t remember the name of the venue but the slope was so bad you couldn’t see both goals from the centre circle 🙈 Edited March 2 by TheBaldOne66 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Paint Me Yellow 200 Posted March 2 The Disgrace of Dijon - World Cup 1982 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disgrace_of_Gijón West Germany scored an early goal against Austria, only for both teams to play out a very lethargic, plodding game for the remainder of the match. The 1-0 scoreline enabled both teams to advance to the knockouts at the expense of Algeria, who were very unhappy to say the least. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Addick/Canary 72 Posted March 3 While playing during the mid-60s to late 70s around the Kent / South London borders, I was involved in three games with combined scores of 20, 16 and 14 goals. Note: all terms in "old money", so 9 = centre-forward, 8 = inside-right, 10 = inside-left and we played in a W formation. Game 1 - worst day ever, and not just the scoreline! I was late home from work on Saturday morning one February, ran a mile to the bus depot, only to see the bus come out of the garage and disappear in the other direction with me a hundred yards adrift. It was bitterly cold, raining in torrents and blowing a gale. I was left with a 4 mile walk/jog to get to the council pitch; thinking all the time I was going to miss the start, but actually was one of the first to arrive, by which time my coat, jeans and even socks were soaked through. I changed out my wet clothes into dry football kit in an old, draughty, wooden barn., used by about 10 teams that day. By the time we had walked the 200 yards to our pitch we were soaked through again. The pitch was already sodden, with little riverlets of water trickling from one side to the other down the slight crossfield slope. Warming-up' that day meant huddling under a bare tree, trying to get some protection from the wind and rain, and trying to persuade the referee to call-off the game. Half-time was spent huddled under the same tree and trying to persuade the referee to abandon the game. To no avail. I seem to remember being so cold that all I could do was patter about like a penguin with my hands withdrawn as far as possible into my sleeves, in a vain effort to keep them from freezing. I can't remember touching the ball other than, playing centre-forward, I must have kicked-off 20 times during the match, which we lost 1 -19. Game 2: We were a young team, in our late teens,. Without an available goalkeeper, our 40-something manager took his place between the sticks. Within 5 minute, a 'goalkeeping error' gifted the visitors an early lead. I equalised a few minutes later, back-heeling the ball through my legs into the net at the near post, from a corner. It trickled over the line past their 50-something manager/goalkeeper.who clearly couldn't bend quickly enough to save it. All in all a good game left us 15 - 1 winners. Having totted-up the various goalscorers, it was decided that I had scored 9 of them (I had lost count myself). Game 3: Another satisfying win (10 - 4), of which I scored 4 from inside-left, and our inside-right scored 6. He might have scored even more, but as he was starting to get close to my club record, I stopped passing to him! Note to Godly: No offence intended to 40-something goalies, if that applies to you in your later career. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
littleyellowbirdie 2,550 Posted March 3 On 02/03/2024 at 01:06, Mason 47 said: I don't have a match to add, but the thread reminded me that I've played in a game in which our goalkeeper put the ball straight out for a corner from a goal kick by accident. No gale force winds to speak of. To this day I still don't really get it. That sounds like most of the goal kicks I took at school... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lord Horn (again) 132 Posted March 8 On 01/03/2024 at 13:20, C.I.D said: 9 or 10 nil!.............wow,that's really heavy,man.......as Neil from The Young Ones might say 😁 That's exactly how they sounded! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
