Some AFC Bournemouth supporters might not remember the last time their side faced Peterborough, some may not have even been born!
But for Cherries right-back, Adam Smith, he didn’t just play in the 3-3 draw at London Road, he also got on the scoresheet.
Fans will have to cast their minds back to 1st April 2011 for that game, Lee Bradbury’s side coming from 3-1 down to secure a point thanks to goals from Danny Ings and Steve Flethcer, alongside Smith.
A first season back in English football’s third tier saw the club finish in an impressive sixth place and Smith played a prominent role in the campaign, making 38 league appearances having arrived on loan from Spurs in September 2010.
Ahead of this evening’s game with Posh, the first meeting between the sides in over a decade, the 31-year-old recalled the part he played last time out.
“I remember it being a very difficult game,” he began.
“I think we struggled in the first half and found ourselves 2-0 down. In the second half, we came out and got back in the game at 3-2. Then in the last few minutes, I scored the equaliser that we’d been after.
“It was my first goal as well! It wasn’t a great goal, but the lads were buzzing at the end.
“I've actually spoken to Fletch before about it and I remember him scoring too. He said I scuffed my shot – in fairness I probably did because the keeper chucked it in a bit!
“It was a long season, I think I played every game after I joined and it was nice to score my first goal. I really enjoyed that year.
“It was a different experience for me coming from a youth team at Tottenham. They were all good lads at Bournemouth and helped me out. I think at the time I was only 19 but I really enjoyed it.”
Remarkably, Smith’s early years at Spurs saw him cross paths with certain members of the current coaching cohort for the first time.
Having come through the youth team, the likes of Matt Wells and Rob Burch were both budding young footballers, while Scott Parker arrived in north London a month before Smith was loaned to the Cherries.
He recalled those playing days and went on to discuss how he’s now finding life working under his former teammates.
“I played a year or so up in the reserve team when I was younger, so I played a few games with both Matt and Rob.
“Then obviously I played a bit with the gaffer as well – I’m showing my age a bit here! The fact I knew them from before helped me make the decision to sign on here.
“It was a tough start because I missed two weeks of pre-season as I came in late. Then I got fit but ended up being ill for a few weeks and I was back to square one.
“I’ve played four in a row now and obviously the Championship is very physically demanding, but it’s credit to the sports science lads here that they’ve got me fit, so I’m lucky I had a good base.
“The gaffer wants us to play with that attacking style of football and it’s definitely enjoyable. I think it suits all of us full-backs, be that me, Jordan Zemura, Jack Stacey or Leif Davis.
“It was nice to get an assist at Cardiff. While we’re focusing more on getting clean sheets and being solid defensively, it’s always nice to help the attackers score some goals.”
Looking ahead to this evening’s game, Smith spoke of a feel-good factor within the squad, who secured their fourth straight win after a 2-1 victory over Luton on Saturday.
“When you’re winning, its enjoyable and it’s definitely the same feeling around the team,” he continued.
“We’re near the top of the table now, but we know it’s a long season and we’re not going to get carried away. We know we need to improve and work even harder.
“We’ve got another important game which we know is going to be difficult at Peterborough. They’re quite strong at home, but hopefully we can get three points and move onto Saturday.”
While the side are towards the top of the pile in terms of league standings, there’s another table that the defender is also climbing up rather rapidly.
Smith sits on a total of 290 appearances for the club and could make his way into the top 15 of all time by the end of the season.
Despite the milestone, he admitted it’s not something he has his sights set on, choosing to focus very much on the here and now.
“To be honest, I just think about it game-by-game and I don’t really think of my appearances.
“I guess it’s something that you look back on when you retire and then you can assess a bit more closely how many appearances you’ve made. It does make me feel a little bit old hearing what I’m on though!
“It shows that you’ve played a lot of games and done quite well, so I suppose it is a big achievement.”
Across all those appearances, one constant has been the support of fans and Smith concluded by discussing their absence and how much they’ve been missed over the past 18 months.
“Last season, I didn’t enjoy it without fans whatsoever,” he explained.
“You come in to play and it’s like a reserve game with no crowd. It’s harder to get yourself motivated and to get the adrenaline going.
“Even for away games, I think it was even worse going away and there not being a crowd. You feed off it sometimes when the crowd is against you.
“Generally, it just makes it so much more enjoyable and you get that adrenaline rush, which we’ve missed.
“That’s why you play football, so hopefully things can stay that way for the rest of the season and the fans will be back for good.”
Tonight’s game with Peterborough can be streamed on afcbTV Live, with match passes available for £10. Click here to purchase.
