For Southampton legend James Beattie, the unforgettable occasion is a source of mixed feelings.
The Saints were the final visitors to our home of 80 years on the last day of the 2002/03 Premier League season as Gordon Strachan brought his top-eight chasing side to face Kevin Keegan’s Blues.
Not only were the south coast team looking to record their highest Premier League points tally with victory, but the former England striker was also aiming to claim the Golden Boot.
Ahead of the fixture, Beattie’s tally of 23 league goals saw him atop the goalscoring charts alongside Thierry Henry – with Manchester United’s Ruud van Nistelrooy close behind on 22.
Amid an electric atmosphere for Maine Road’s curtain call, Southampton won the fixture 1-0 following Michael Svensson’s powerful first-half header.
However, Henry’s goal against Sunderland in a 4-0 Gunners win and Van Nistelrooy’s hat-trick against Fulham saw Beattie drop to third in the hunt for the leading marksman prize.
And the former England international admitted he was doing all he could to score – to the anger of his teammates - especially then Saints captain, Claus Lundekvam.
“I played the last game at Maine Road and we won 1-0, Michael Svensson scored, but I was shooting all over the place trying to go for the golden boot,” Beattie declared.
“I was winning [ahead of the game] then Henry scored and Van Nistelrooy got a hat-trick and I’d been leading all the way.
“I remember the lads going mad [at me for shooting]. Claus [Lundekvam] ran the full length of the pitch to berate me because I was just shooting from everywhere.
“[I was] just getting the ball from 50-yards out and just banging it to try and score – which is probably not the right thing to do.
“I was just so desperate to try and get that golden boot. There were a lot of things, the possibility of playing European football, trying to get a result to get three points and win to try and cement that.
“I had my own personal [goal].
“Football’s a team game and you’re always thankful to your teammates because without any of them, the goals don’t come anyway because they’re the ones providing you the chances nine times out of 10.”
Despite Svensson’s goal being the final at Maine Road, it didn’t dampen the raucous party spirit among the home support after the full-time whistle.
Nonetheless, City still recorded a ninth placed finish at the end of 2002/03 season in what was a strong campaign by Keegan’s side.
But Beattie explained how Strachan’s Saints vintage revelled as underdogs throughout the term, as they also went on to make the 2003 FA Cup final.
He added: “We got the win and got into Europe which was great for the club, but I probably had my priorities sort of 50/50 there when they should be more based on the team.
“I can’t distinctly remember what Strachan said to us, it was probably ‘just do what you’ve been doing all season’ because during that season we were consistent.
“I’ve always said in that [Southampton] team there wasn’t any stars, but as a team we were really good because we were organised, we were fit and had really good morale.
“There was a little bit of ‘let’s spoil the party’ and be party poopers and all that because we used to enjoy that underdog [mentality] and this is the time when City were just starting to come.
“Moving to the new stadium and the investment. And you can see the names in the team [that day], they sort of weren’t the teams from 1998, 1999 and 2000.”
