I clocked them as soon as I walked in, two colossal bouncers standing proud wearing blue and white scarves. Me and my mates knew the odds were stacked against us from the start.
We had to endure 90 minutes of silence as we watched the game surrounded by blue noses. Trips to the toilet were short ones as our silence was questioned regularly.
Being a regular second city derby goer it felt strange for me to have to find a pub to watch the match. What we stumbled upon was a hostile Birmingham City pub.
The hostile atmosphere in the pub was matched on the stands at St Andrews as after only 10 minutes a blues fan ran onto the pitch and threw a punch at lifelong Villa fan and star player Jack Grealish.
The cowardice in this act was there for everyone to see as Grealish had his back turned to the attacker. He was quickly apprehended by match stewards and police, while being bundled off the pitch he blew kisses to the blues fans and he was received by cheers and applause but it left a bitter taste in the mouth of many football fans around the world.
In a week where a fan was arrested at Hibernian for entering the pitch and shoving Rangers captain James Tavernier, the topic of crowd trouble and hooliganism has reemerged.
The reaction to Grealish’s assault in the pub was eye opening. Many fans roared at the TV’s as Grealish hit the deck. It felt like going back in time, watching a hapless Roman fight a raging lion in the Colosseum with the fans roaring at the sight of the violence.
The pure hatred and hostility towards each other was running true, the thought of an opposing fan being in their pub was met with aggression and violence. I’m not going to be ignorant and say that this doesn’t happen on the other side of the city. Football rivalry is intense and this was on show yesterday.
When Grealish scored a couple of fans jumped with joy and they were quickly escorted out of the pub while soaked in cheap lager. Me and my mates certainly bit our tongues for what was remaining of the game.
This incident was followed up by another fan entering the pitch at the Emirates during the Arsenal vs Manchester United clash. He ran towards Manchester United defender Chris Smalling, threatening to assault him before being apprehended.
A week loaded with incidents regarding fan misbehaviour has raised the question, are the dark days of the 80’s resurfacing? Never before in my lifetime have I seen such an incident at a football game and you don’t expect to.
Jack Grealish certainly left the pitch as the real winner as he went on to score the winning goal. He’s now scored against his local rivals twice this season and he silenced the crowd for sure.
Hopefully the lifelong ban from football matches should be enough to deter true football fans from replicating this behaviour in the future. I left the raging pub rather smug, however knowing I won’t be returning there to watch the match next season.
Tom Hartley's blog 