When Saints returned to the First Division in 1978/79 they played Liverpool on 24th April at the Dell and funnily enough on the same date 3 years later. Mick Channon's last ever goal for the club would prove to be his best.

Saints were originally due to play Liverpool at the Dell in between Xmas & New Year 1978, this presented a bit of a problem for me in that back then I used to spend every Xmas in Liverpool, so the first thing I did in arriving there that year was going to Lime Street Station and booking myself on the special train down to Southampton for the fixture.

But this was a harsh winter and the game at the Del was cancelled, indeed we only played one League game between Boxing Day and Derby County at home on 3rd February, the country was in the middle of a big freeze and indeed the winter of discontent that would see the Labour Government fall in May 1979 and the beginning of Thatcherism.

Anyway I managed to get back to Lime Street and get my money back on the train fare , so when the fixture was rescheduled on April 24th 1979 it was a Tuesday night and we had started a fixture catch up that would see us end the season playing 10 fixtures in only 3 weeks and 4 days, so when players these days are moaning that they might have to play 9 games in 6 weeks they really have nothing to complain about in the eyes of the players back then.

So when Liverpool dd finally arrive at the Dell they were closing in on the League title and we were safely in mid table as the largest crowd of the season 23,181 gathered.

The visitors got off to a good start with David Johnson scoring after only 12 minutes and Nick Holmes equalising with 16 minutes left to end the game honours even.

Fast forward three years and it was a very different looking Dell on April 24th 1982, both ends of the ground had been rebuilt and the largest crowd of the Keegan era 24,704 packed into the old/new ground with both sides needing the three points, Saints to get into Europe and Liverpool to stay ahead of Ipswich Town who were only two points behind them in the title race.

Little did they know when the game kicked off they would not only see one of the best games of the era, but arguably one of the best team goals scored at the Dell.

Ironically Liverpool again scored on 12 minutes exactly the same time they had opened the scoring three years earlier, but this time we did not take so long to equalise, on 36 minutes Mick Channon rounded off a 16 touch move executed at speed between 8 players that ended with Channon firing the ball into the roof of the net.

This was to be Mick's last ever goal for the club, his 228th in 602 appearances and although perhaps his finishing touch from close range would not make it the best individual goal he scored it was the best Saints goal ever seen on the ground, it was voted Goal of the season by Match of the Day and also Saints goal of the Millennium by Saints fans.

The scoring patter in the second half started the same way, Ronnie Whelan scored 12 minutes after the restart and then two minutes later Kevin Keegan from the penalty spot made it 2-2.

That's the way it stayed for the next half an hour and then came the final goal of the game, harsh for any side to lose this game, but it was Saints that did when Whelan got his second in the final minute.

But I don't remember too much disappointment after only talk about what a great game we had watched and of the great goal with no one being too sure exactly how many passes had been made in the build up till Match of the day that evening.

Liverpool would win the League with Ipswich finishing 2nd by 4 points for the second year running.

Photo: Action Images

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