The first ‘story of the season’ account is of Pompey’s opening fixture at Boro’s Riverside Stadium on Saturday 6th August 2011, written by Barry Thompson – read on for more.
With T-shirt and shorts being the dress code for the day and a hearty ‘full English’ courtesy of my wife I hit the road at 9am picking up Mike, Boro Sam and Mike (yes two Mike’s), an uneventful but pleasant trip saw us in Dr. Browns by 1 o’clock where there was a good mix of Boro and Pompey fans and a resident DJ bashing out SKA music, Punk music, The Jam, The Clash and many more giving a cracking atmosphere.
Leaving in good spirits this was soon dampened as everyone got rather wet whilst making their way to the ground although it still didn’t stop us stopping for what has to be the best value bite to eat in the country, 3 thickish cut pork slices, sliced roast potato, stuffing, apple sauce and a drop of gravy in a bun for £3.00, trust me, fantastic!
As he game kicked off Pompey were definitely the brighter of the two teams but after around 15-minutes Boro began to get back into the game and this was to be at Pompey’s cost as they took he lead with the aid of a slight deflection, both Kitson and Mullins might have done better with their efforts but the half ended 1-0 in monsoon conditions.
Pompey were quickly level as the 2nd half began with Norris drilling a lovely shot into the keepers bottom left hand corner, but not long after Boro led 2-1 following a tidy build up. During the 2nd half Boro could have sown the game up with poor finishing and Ashdown making a couple of notable saves, this, they were made to pay for when Varney equalised for Pompey in time added on. Pompey had been putting more pressure on in the final few minutes and when the ball dropped kindly for Varney following a Mokoena half blocked shot he wasted no time picking his spot. So 2-2 it finished with Pompey and us fans probably happier than the Boro camp.
An uneventful return journey was had, made even more pleasant with neither Talksport or 6-0-6 barely giving any airtime to the Premiership and focusing on the games which had been played etc.
Arriving home (well almost) around 21:00 it was time for a couple of pints in the local before really going home for my tea.
The round trip was 486 miles.
7/10 for their performance overall.
8/10 for twice coming from behind and earning a very creditable draw.
Play up Pompey.
Written by Barry Thompson.
The views within this article are the views of the individual who wrote and submitted this piece, sometimes solely theirs. They are not necessarily shared by the Vital Pompey Site Journalists.
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