Easter 1969

It being Easter takes my mind back some fifty two years, to one of the best seasons in our history. We were in a good position in the league and had two tough matches for our Easter programme, but they were at home and I couldn’t wait. Good Friday started sunny but with that chill you get with a spring morning. I was up and out to Wallington station early, couldn’t afford to miss the train especially with it being a Sunday service and an 11.00 kick off. As I got off at Selhurst there seemed to be more people than usual and I worried that I might be late. Fortunately it was because the crowd was well over 40k that day, against a very good Middlesbrough side who were up there with us. The game itself was a bit of a stalemate with both sides happy with a draw rather than risk defeat. The good thing I thought on the train home was that I only had about twenty six hours to wait before I would be back watching us take on Pompey.
When I got into the ground on Saturday I remember seeing the ITV camera trucks, so knew we would be on the telly later! The game relatively easy for us,Cliff Jackson scored if I remember correctly but the highlight of the game was Steve Kember’s turn and volley from about fifteen yards into the back of the net at the Holmesdale end. The crowd of about 30k went home happywith a 3-1 win, and as I spend the journey home working out how many points we need etc.What I didn’t realise that i would never see my beloved team play on consecutive days ever again.