Southampton vs Aston Villa

32 / saints
january
21
BY Duncan Holley
Looking back at
three Saints
matches played on
this date...
21ST JANUARY 1961
Saints victories on this
particular day are infrequent,
in fact only three post-war
league matches have ended in
wins. The first was in 1960/61
when, in a Second Division
game, Middlesbrough were
despatched 3-2 at The Dell
thanks to a Terry Paine shot
which took a deflection, a
Derek Reeves special and a
Harry Penk finish from 12 yards.
21ST JANUARY 1978
Seventeen years later and
Saints were back in the Second
Division but were mounting
a serious challenge for one of
the two automatic promotion
places. Notts County were the
visitors and for 20-year-old
Tim Coak, a local boy from
Portswood, it was his home
debut. The Football Echo
headline (see right) gives
two-goal Phil Boyer the credit
for Saints’ 3-1 victory which
only became comfortable in
the 89th minute when Steve
Williams flicked home from
close range. Most of the 20,174
in attendance went home
happy, even though Saints’
main rivals for promotion,
Bolton and Spurs, both also
posted wins. Many of that
crowd would have bought this
same Football Echo on the way
home, paying the princely sum
of 7p and would take extra
pleasure in noting that while
Saints were still tucked nicely
in third, along the South Coast,
managerless Portsmouth were
struggling third from bottom
of the Third Division.
They would have also learnt
Bournemouth had been held
1-1 at Dean Court in a Fourth
Division clash with Scunthorpe
and Johnny Giles had just
resigned as the Republic of
Ireland’s manager. Meanwhile,
the weather had virtually
wiped-out football north of
the border. Inside, on page
three, Peter East’s “With the
Saints” column focused on the
recent beating of Grimsby in
the FA Cup, after two replays
and looked forward to the
forthcoming Fourth Round tie
at Bristol Rovers while also
featuring a caricature of Saints
young defender Mike Pickering.
Further into the paper there
were photos of Netley Central
Sports, currently topping
Division 1 of the Hampshire
League, Southampton Senior
Division 2 side, Old Edwardians
and a smart looking Colden
Common squad who were
leading the Southampton
Sunday morning League.
The Football Echo first
appeared on Southampton
streets in 1898 and picking
one up on the way home from
a match became a ritual for
Saints fans that lasted well
over 100 years. Indeed, it often
found its way all over the world
and was the only way, back
then, that fans could keep up
to date with the goings on at
the club. It is sorely missed by
fans of the Saints and local
football. It has provided an
archive of the club’s fortunes
and without it there would
be no history books on
Southampton FC.
21ST JANUARY 2020
Before drowning in the
nostalgia of how better
things used to be, we end
with a brief mention of our
last win on this date, which
came just three years ago
when Nathan Redmond and
Stuart Armstrong goals were
responsible for a 2-0 win at
Crystal Palace. This elevated us
into the top half of the table.
Now that is nostalgia worth
wallowing in.