Fratton favourite Steve Claridge admits surprise choice for favourite Portsmouth goal

The Fratton favourite was asked by the club’s official Twitter account to select his top six.

And leading the list is the winner against Stockport in February 1998, representing his first for the Blues.

The Division One occasion also occupies Fratton folklore, with many of those 8,622 present providing a non-stop rendition of ‘Alan Ball’s Blue and White Army’, which remains talked about to this day.

With Ball’s side bottom of the table at the time, it provided the platform for a successful fight against relegation, culminating in a final-day victory at Bradford.

In a series of videos, Claridge told @Pompey: ‘My top goal might leave people scratching their heads a little bit because it was against Stockport.

‘The club at this stage had real problems, we were certain to get relegated. I think we were about six or seven points adrift, running out of games, running out of belief.

‘I remember my first game when I came to Portsmouth, it was Oxford away and we got beaten 3-0 and I’m thinking “Blimey I can’t remember playing for a worse team”. It was absolute carnage, they were in disarray.

‘But the fans stuck with us, we managed to turn it around and this night really was one of those seminal nights for me that I will never forget.

‘There were 8,500 – sorry ,85,000 people – sorry, 8,500 people at the game. You would have thought there were 85,000 with the amount of people who actually said they went to it.

‘Then fans sang “Alan Ball’s Blue and White Army” for the entire 90 minutes. I don’t exaggerate there, they certainly did, I remember it very, very well, and managed to get my first goal for the football club.

‘So yes, Stockport at home. It never stopped raining and was wet Tuesday night, which hardly sounds like an auspicious occasion, but let me tell you, if you were there, you would know exactly what I am talking about.’

In total, Claridge made 124 appearances and scored 37 times before leaving in July 2001.

Positioned second in his top six is a 2-1 win against Sheffield Wednesday in October 2000.

It represented his first manager as player boss, having replaced Tony Pulis.

Next is a 3-2 triumph at Crystal Palace later that month, the manager netting in a 3-2 success after fighting back from 2-0 down.

In fourth is a 3-3 draw at Swindon in February 1999, when the striker scored twice and Jeff Peron bagged the other.

Moving to fifth, it’s sublime effort at West Brom in February 1998 during a 3-0 victory.

And completing the top six is a penalty against former club Wolves in August 2000, thereby sealing a hat-trick in a 3-0 victory.