Newport v Southport, Somerton Park, winter 1966 I think. A wet and wild Friday night match. In fairness it was really chucking it down. Nevertheless, the ref, a Mr. Kenneth Stroud, I believe either uncle or father of the poisoned dwarf Keith Stroud who is our ref for Saturday, decided the game could go ahead. It has to be said, Somerton Park was rarely a good playing surface but in the middle of winter it was usually a mix of mud and sand and a deluge of rain hardly helped. As ever Newport were desperate for points and actually played very well in difficult conditions which worsened as the game went on. On about 70 minutes Newport were easily winning 3.0. However Mr. Stroud decided enough was enough and abandoned the game. To say the crowd turned ugly was an understatement. And that is saying something for Newport. The players and officials exited the pitch through a corrugated iron tunnel in the middle of the grandstand. The upper level of this was about 15 rows of wooden benches. The lower level was concrete steps where fans had the option of using folding wooden seats. It was unfortunate for Mr. Stroud that one fan was disgruntled (how do you get gruntled?) enough to hurl his wooden chair towards the speedway track surrounding the pitch, with said chair colliding with the exposed head of Mr. Stroud. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why Keith Stroud and, indeed, all the Stroud family hate Welsh clubs. How that will work on Saturday I don't know. The replayed game was a boring 1.1 so Newport lost a point and the positive effect of a 3.0 win on their goal average.
Great story Blue I only ever went once to Somerton Park - 9/1/1979 - to watch County play West Ham. Amazingly, Newport ran out 2-1 winners in the FA Cup, beating a Hammers side that included the likes of Brooking, Bonds and Pop Robson. I was in my final year at UC Cardiff, and my flat mates fancied going to watch. None of us expected that result!
I was at that one Taff. I think Ferndale born Eddie Woods scored Newport's two. A great night. We had them from time to time. The best, although a 1.0 defeat, after a 2.2 draw out there, was home to Carl Zeiss Jena in the Cup Winners Cup quarter final. 13,000 squeezed into Somerton. You shouldn't pre judge a game but many of us had quotes for flights to Lisbon for the semi v Benfica.
It was a great night. One of my flat mates had spent the previous Summer working at an American Summer Camp, and an American friend that he had made during that stay had come over to spend January in the UK - so we took him (Rick) to the game.
