ASTON VILLA 2 CITY 1
League Division 1
25th November 1961
attendance 26,617
scorers
City Dobing
Villa Burrows, McParland
Ref H Hackney
City Trautmann, Betts, Kennedy, Sear, Ewing, Young, Oakes, Barlow, Dobing, Hannah, Wagstaffe
Villa Sims, Lee, Aitken, Crowe, Sleeuwenhock, Deakin, MacEwan, Wylie, McParland, Thomson, Burrows
NEIL YOUNG WRITING IN HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY
I made My debut at Villa Park on November 25th 1961. We lost 2-1 but I’ve still got the cuttings in a scrapbook and the reporter says I was the best player on the pitch!
Before the game I was extremely nervous. The rest of the team were brilliant with me, to be fair. Bert, who’d given me a pair of his boots to wear said “Look after those boots, make sure you play well in them”.
I had a few pats on the back and then it was down the tunnel we went onto Villa Park, a huge arena and one of the best grounds in the country. Instead of playing in front of a few hundred in the reserves I was now playing in front of tens of thousands of people.
It felt bizarre being on the field at the start because I was aware of how my brother would be there and all of a sudden, the pitch which I used to master no problem, seeemed smaller than ever. I had to find space. I had to do little things to build my confidence. So I made sure I got a few early touches, even going deep to pick up the ball from Bert and then releasing it. A few passes later and after 15 or 20 minutes I was into my stride. The difference here was that now when I had the ball I had to release it much more quickly.
…As it turned out I was voted ‘Man of the Match’ in that first half.
…My brother Chris came down down for that first game, and even though we lost I felt immensley proud that I was part of the first team and that he’d seen me play.
AN EXCERPT FROM CATCH A FALLING STAR BY NEIL YOUNG, WITH DANTE FRIEND
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