May 9th 1987 and Burnley stood on the edge of oblivion. Needing a win to avoid relegation out of the football league, they were playing at a standard that made their league position perfectly reasonable.

I'm a life-long Burnley fan from a long line of Burnley fans and it was my duty to go to the match. I somehow persuaded a work colleague (Newcastle fan) to accompany me in the long bus journey to Turf Moor for the match. Fearing trouble, we managed to get let into the family stand despite being 20-somethings.

My memories of the match details are very vague. It wasn't a day for statistics and analysis but for emotion and feeling every kick of the ball. I probably had my scarf over my eyes anyway. But history tells of a superb display by the Clarets leading to a comfortable 2-1 victory. Best feeling ever.

Things haven't always gone smoothly for Burnley in the intervening years, but they have gradually crawled back up the divisions and are now in the Premier League on and off. But I can safely say that that match surpassed every other and made me every bit as proud as promotion ever has.

Language

English