OMG Charlton. Hilarious at the time. Bone chilling scary looking back in the light of Hillsborough.
If I remember right 2 of the 5 goals went in close together (the third and the fourth I think) and people hadn’t recovered from the first of the two. I got flawed twice but the first was the worst. There was a guy underneath me and at least two more people stacked on top of me in the Kippax. My cries of celebration were squeezed out of me. It was a lovely sunny day but, at that moment, everything was black. The crashing noise turned into silence for me and then a ringing in my ears. I went to breathe and there was nothing. I couldn’t get air in my lungs. It didn’t occur to me once that this was dangerous.
I think I couldn’t breathe for around a minute but, as everyone says, it seemed longer. Thankfully people started to move. The three mates I had gone with were, on average, now 20 metres away. I reached down and grabbed the arm of the bloke who had been underneath me and hauled him up. He said thanks and, as he did, City scored the fourth and I fell on him again. Thankfully people got up quicker this time. The bloke said to me “if this happens again don't help me anymore!” We both laughed and started jumping around together…mates for life even though we never saw each other again.
I’ve never ever been to anything like it anywhere before or since. Everyone has their own experiences of the craziest match atmospheres they’ve ever been to but if I see anyone not naming that match I think one of three things…
1. You didn’t go to City v Charlton.
2. You did go but weren’t in the Kippax.
3. Your brain has chosen to blank the day.
