Today I'm going back 38 years to 1983 and my first ever visit to Fratton Park to watch Portsmouth take on Aston Villa in the League Cup 2nd Round. This was a midweek game under the lights and I was able to go to it more easily because I was based in Winchester at the time en route to my accountancy qualification with the MOD and I went to the game with fellow trainee accountant "Big Stu" Phillips (RIP), a Newcastle fan through and through but interested in visited a famous old ground like myself.
I've previously covered my thoughts on Portsmouth and Fratton Park in an earlier edition of these articles and you can find that in my blog if you search under Portsmouth.
The game was an entertaining 2-2 draw which top flight Villa must have been relieved to achieve having been given a tough time by their Second Division opponents. Certainly it was an attractive tie for the locals as 18,484 turned out in the hope of a Cup upset. Villa would go on to scrape through into the 3rd Round by winning the 2nd Leg 3-2 after extra time. Villa would go on to reach the Semi-Finals of the League Cup that season knocking out Manchester City, West Bromwich Albion and Norwich City before succumbing to Everton in the two-legged Semi-Final. Liverpool (them again) would go on to beat Everton in the Final after a Replay at Maine Road, Manchester.
Villa, managed by Tony Barton, ended the season in 10th place in the First Division that season which must have been disappointing for fans of the club who had seen them win the European Cup less than two years earlier. Barton was sacked in June 1984 to be replaced by Graham Turner. Portsmouth, managed by Bobby Campbell, meanwhile finished 16th in the Second Division.
CRB Match No. 262
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