First published in The Pink on Saturday February 13, 2010

BY THE time you read this, I will either be nursing a horrendous hangover after trying to block out the memories of the cup match, or I’ll be attempting to recall what happened after a heavy night of celebrations.

Either way, Valentine’s Day is not going to be the most romantic of occasions in my home.

Such is my desire to spend Saturday watching sport and drinking beer, I’m not writing this after the Pompey clash, but rather on Friday.

However that does afford me one fantastic luxury – my judgement is not yet clouded by footballing emotion.

With that in mind, I can safely say that even if the worst has happened against Pompey, this has still been a great week for Saints fans.

Having booked a place at Wembley at a canter in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy, this season has afforded us at least one fantastic memory.

Trips to the national stadium are rare for all but a handful of clubs – namely the big four and bizarrely, Carlisle, who all play there regularly in finals and what have you.

For the rest of us, we have to be grateful for what we get.

When your club was a day or so from vanishing altogether less than a year ago, it truly does become something to savour.

I remember back in 1992 going to the old Wembley for the Zenith Data Systems Cup. Although I was disappointed by the bricks and mortar, the atmosphere was unforgettable.

The same at Cardiff in 2003 – more so in fact, thanks to the design of the stadium and the size of the prize on offer.

As I’ve said before, the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy is no FA Cup, but I don’t think we care about that. We just want to walk up Wembley way and be able to cheer on our team. It may sound a bit twee, but at its base level, that’s all it is.

So while on Sunday we may be feeling a bit tender – either because Pompey won or we’re bleary-eyed and suffering from hangovers – we still have a day under the arch to look forward too.

As far as weeks go in football, I think that is enough reason to make this a good one.

Pompey face daunting replay

POMPEY’S biggest match of the week was we know, at the High Court in London, where they face a replay on Friday.

For all the jibes about them going out of business I never really believed it would happen.

Now I fail to see how they can get out of it.

Updating The Daily Echo website on Wednesday with all the latest from the court, there was a ten minute window when everyone here in Newspaper House genuinely believed the final whistle had gone.

When the taxman and the registrar say in court that a company appears to be insolvent, usually there is only one outcome.

Christine Derrett gave the club seven days to prove otherwise and, with the Premier League effectively ruling out the possibility of giving Pompey their parachute money early, I fail to see how they are going to convince the revenue that they are solvent and settle their debts.

Seeing as they have missed the chance to enter administration – unless someone who they owe money to pushes them into it – it truly does look bleaker than ever.

With that in mind, perhaps Herr Liebherr may have to put his hand in his pocket to extend St Mary’s to accommodate the football fans down the road who might be without a team to watch before too long…

Dashing for the try-line

Every year, February presents me with the same old problem – how can I make it from stadium to pub while missing as little of the football and rugby as possible?

I don’t have any great affinity to any rugby club sides – although if I was pushed I’d call myself a Leinster fan – but I can’t get enough of international Rugby.

And it doesn’t get much better than the Six Nations.

Last year I was strangely lucky as not a single moment of Ireland’s Grand Slam clashed with a match at St Mary’s.

Just as well really.

My days as a distance runner are long gone and the sprint from the Chapel Stand to The Alex pub can be a bit of a long one after a burger and a Bovril.

It’s a shame many football fans don’t care for a spot of egg chasing. Football is my first love, but you can’t beat the excitement of a great game of Rugby.

This year’s Six Nations seems wide open and while this weekend’s game in Paris between Ireland and France may be seen by many as the Championship decider already, I can see a dark horse like Scotland or England coming up on the inside.

Making sure I see as much of it as possible is surely going to be the biggest challenge though.