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Marine v Dagenham 1968

Barry Lenton

Monday, August 31st, 2015

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 Marine v Dagenham 1968

2 Leave a comment on verse 2 0 I climbed aboard my Time Machine,
The dial said ’68.
And saw myself, a teenage fan,
Outside the wooden gates.

3 Leave a comment on verse 3 0 In College Road the tension grew,
A buzz had hit the town,
The mighty Daggers were on their way
– A team of great renown.

4 Leave a comment on verse 4 0 The week before we’d stood outside
A frosty Rossett Park.
At 6am we’d seen the coach
Emerging from the dark.

5 Leave a comment on verse 5 0 Our first away trip to a place
Alf Garnett’s home was made.
Our stomachs filled with butterflies,
Nervous and afraid.

6 Leave a comment on verse 6 0 One by one our band got on
And headed for the rear.
We woke ourselves as non-stop chants of
MARINE filled the air.

7 Leave a comment on verse 7 0 Ned with his flag and captain’s hat,
The leader of our band,
Behind a goal that overlooked
A pitch of desert sand.

8 Leave a comment on verse 8 0 Heroes of the FA Cup,
The Daggers entered proud.
A cockney roar then overpowered
The scousers in the crowd.

9 Leave a comment on verse 9 0 T’was one way traffic all the way.
Big Favager was brave.
With Forster, “Telf” and Walker, too,
And Ogden with his saves.

10 Leave a comment on verse 10 0 We rode our luck, we said our prayers
And fortune went our way.
The final whistle blew at last
We’d kept the reds at bay..

11 Leave a comment on verse 11 0 My Time Machine moved on a week
The replay at Marine.
I wiped a tear as I looked down on
The biggest crowd I’d seen.

12 Leave a comment on verse 12 0 Three thousand fans around the pitch
With rattles, horns and flags
And stern old men in grey cloth caps
Lighting up their fags.

13 Leave a comment on verse 13 0 2-1 down with seconds left,
A corner from the right.
Big Fav’s header burst the net,
Wembley now in sight!

14 Leave a comment on verse 14 0 A pitch invasion followed this,
I ran onto the pitch
In extra time, O’Donnell scored,
But then there was a hitch.

15 Leave a comment on verse 15 0 The Daggers scored a couple more,
Our desperation grew,
As tears of joy turned into grief,
The final whistle blew.

16 Leave a comment on verse 16 0 Last glance at those who gave so much
-Both on and off the pitch,
Nostalgic bag of memories
I flicked the “forward” switch.

17 Leave a comment on verse 17 0 My Time Machine had brought me back
But I know I will return
To the “Good Old Days” at Rossett Park
To which my heart doth yearn.

18 Leave a comment on verse 18 0 Barry Lenton (Marine FC)

Notes

In 1968 Dagenham were the giants of non League football and Marine was an emerging force. The Amateur Cup was a magical competition and this was the first time we, as young Marine fans, had travelled to a game outside the north west. The game at Dagenham and the replay the following week in Crosby are still talked about with fondness by those who were there.

Source: http://footballpoets.org/poems/marine-v-dagenham-1968/