Bournemouth - Home, Withdean Era
Season 12 (H) 9/10/10 - 1-1 ~ LuaLua
We met again fairly early in this season, like in '01 when Albion were on the up. Both clubs had endured some tough times since and gone through see-saw periods of transition in the infamous Withdean era. Beforehand, Adams for Taylor and similarly Coppell for McGhee had each got us started to get out of L1 straight away. Then later Wilkins, in his second year, had also gone close to L1 p-o's with a scratch squad. Elphick and El-Abd were still at the back, although Gus Poyet had radically changed previous personnel in a bid for top-six or better. It was to be our very last season at good old Withers and wanted it to be the regular fortress of back in the day. Poyet wanted to see exciting, attacking, passing football and fans wanted it too, plus three points on alternate Saturdays. Over 7300 turned up on a warm, sunny Indian summer lunchtime in front of TV cameras.
At half-time it was nil-nil, although Ankergren had gotten a broken nose and Albion rather pulled punches when getting in and around the scoring area. B'mouth were ok but seemed flattered for actually reaching 3rd place in L1 at this stage of the season. Some of B'tons build up was a tad pedestrian, interspersed with quick breaks of flowing movement. Just over the hour mark, LuaLua smashed in Dicker's sideways f-k from 30ish yards (61m). Gus decided to settle for one-nil and ten min from time replaced Kish for Bridcutt. Baz also came on as formation changed to 442 from 4132. In stoppage time, Ref blew for hands by Elphick on edge of our area. Lino said it was a penalty, so the ball, officials, bench and fans got put right on the spot (92). TV replays appeared to show otherwise. We'd definitely been robbed of two extra points at the death but shoulda sewed it up earlier. Never mind, Seagulls still flew high at top of div3.
Ankergren, Calderon, Elphick, El-Abd, Painter, Bennett, Dicker, Kishishev (Bridcutt), LuaLua (Baz), Barnes, Murray.
League1 P 11 . W 6 D 4 L 1 . F 15 A 8 . Pt 22 Po 1

Season 9 (H) 1/1/08 - 3-2 ~ Revell 3
It was New Year and although not raining, was kinda cloudy and a tad gloomy after a dismal Xmas period - for both results and players leaving. Richards and O'Callaghan went back to Ipswich and Savage didn't re-sign. There were telling words from Mr Knight but why should he lie about anything? We'd go with what we'd got and worry about Falmer and Championship participation next year. Oh, it was next year anyway but what would-be, will er, be. Wilkins found sixteen players, what with illness and all, by recalling kids Gatting and Fogden from on loan. Lynch and Fraser were sick. Elphick returned from surgery and Butters from the bench. Reid started a first game for over 15 months out, while El-Abd moved to left back. Revell had scored on his return in the last match.
Revell then scored a hat trick in a fixture that saw Albion lead three times. He drove home Forsters square pass (15 min) but Cherries levelled (24) as B'ton failed to clear. Forster repeated his assist in the second period for a Revell shot(58) as B'ton looked sure to go on and win convincingly. But no, another cock up in the box (78) and Cherries got level again. In stoppage Robinson took a corner and Revell nodded inside the near post, catching Bournemouth cold. We got 3 points, they got nowt and musta been pig sick. Forster was class in a scratch side and if only it would all come together, we'd be a decent outfit. A patchy display but ok for this division, maybe even top ten.
Kuipers, Whing, Elphick, Butters, El-Abd, Robinson, Hammond, Reid (Loft), Cox, Revell, Forster.
League 1 P 23 . W 9 D 6 L 8 . F 30 A 27 . Pt 33 Po 10

Season 8 (H) 12/9/06 - 2-2 ~ Hammond, Revell
Sussex Sharks came along with their mascot to parade the C&G Trophy, after a nail biting victory at London's Lords cricket ground. Dick Knight invited them back, if they could also raise the County Championship champagne bucket before summer ended. Less than a 6000 crowd attended and even on a warm evening, stadium concerns raised their heads. CPRE had claimed our little bit of Falmer was to be within the proposed National Park. They never seemed to give up delaying due process, spreading mis-information or stirring up an anti lobby, to satiate those social saddo's need for over protection.
Caretakers Dean & Dean were having a first game at Withdean and did their dual heads in, trying to manage from the dugout. The 2DW game plan seemed to be in disarray as Bournemouth went one up by half time. A chat without teacup throwing redressed the balance and B'ton looked better in the second 45 minutes. Well they should have, as Cherries saw red just before that fruity break.
Hammond quickly headed an equaliser and Revell grabbed a lead from deep inside opponents box. Historically, Albion proved incapable of scoring three, which was a legacy of McGhee's reign since God knows when. One of the problems with, how shall we say, a 'height restricted team' was defending at set pieces. Bournemouth netted a face saving point from a free header. Dean flushed, Dean blushed and Withdean hushed. A feeling of embarrassment only served to set off those other know it all, 'do gooders' on that radio phone-in, at supper around South Downs dwelling places.
Kuipers, Reid (El-Abd), Santos, Lynch, Mayo, Fraser (Loft), Cox, Hammond, Frutos, Hart (Robinson), Revell.
League 1 P 8 . W 3 D 2 L 3 . F 9 A 11 . Pt 11 Po 13

Season 5 (H) 21/2/04 - 3-0 ~ Hart, Benjamin, Knight (pen)
Our twin towns' side from this 'provincial' city conglomeration restored the big-boys metropolitan image, against upstarts from Bournemouth & Boscome. From kick-off there was only one winner. Since that awful away weekend in sunny, sandy Dorset we now witnessed a re-shifting of those in the play-off pile at cold, windswept Sussex in favour of chalk cliff channel coasts. A rare solo effort from OGH, a gift-wrapped present to Benjamin that ripped in and Knight, cunningly converting a penalty - all inside half an hour. Job done.
Knight reached 20 goals in 31 appearances, which figured as 64% - a superb return by standards set in those Championes years. Trevor Benjamin had come on-board temporarily from Leicester and became half of another little and large duo. His replacement Iwelumo would prove equally as successful. Youth products Virgo and Harding made for an interesting full-back pairing and Brighton fans sensed kids could play their part in our chase to play-off knock out stages.
Roberts, Virgo, Cullip, Butters, Harding, Hart, Carpenter, Oatway (Lee), Jones, Benjamin, Knight.
Div2 (league 1) P 32 . W 14 D 7 L 11 . F 46 A 35 . Pt 49 Po 7

Season 3 (H) 22/9/01 - 2-1 ~ Watson, og
Brighton & Hove Albion had clocked up 100 years in professional football and this was our Centenary match. It had long been in preparation but came only eleven days after the outrage of 9/11. A massive blue and white striped flag was shown to supporters prior to kick-off, dedicated to the memory of Robert Eaton, a fan who died as a direct result of terrorism in New York. There was also the named Centenary Boards commemorating each of those 100 years, given courtesy of generous individuals or companies by way of tribute. Bobby Zamora received an award for being PFA div3 Player of the Year and among many other celebrations, BHA were top of div2 in glorious sunshine. Dick Knight made a 'once in a lifetime' speech, Attila recited a new poem covering a literary century and Micky Adams kinda got philosophical. There were also five birthday cakes, alas unable to feed 5000 success hungry Brighton fans musing another miracle. In fact, sliced and devoured, they rightly ended up at kid's hospitals - hungry fans had other fare.
Watto floated a cross-cum-curve ball over, that ended up nestled in our opponents net, to apparently confirm 100% home form and yet another 3 points. After holding Brighton's superb early play to just one goal, Bournemouth hit back. Good luck then prevailed when their goal scorer headed a second - conveniently self inflicted at the away end, between south coast derby posts. Result or what? The Gods of football had evidently granted Albion ripe Cherries, to make their abundant harvest a festival to remember for many a decade. That's history for you.
Kuipers, Watson, Cullip, Morgan, Mayo, Jones (Mayo), Rodgers (Hart), Carpenter, Oatway, Brooker, Steele, Zamora.
Div2 (league 1) P 9 . W 6 D 2 L 1 . F 13 A 6 . Pt 20 Po 1

Bournemouth - Away, Withdean Era
Season 12 (A) 22/1/11 - 0-1
This was our first match for second half of the season, although several postponements in December had forced a re-schedule of earlier fixtures. B'mouth were on a roll and chasing B'ton for auto promo. A huge turnout of travelling fans helped swell the Dean Court gate to over 9700 - biggest crowd there to date this term. It was bloody cold, especially for those on the open south terrace facing a north wind. Gus Poyet selected his usual suspects, although goal-getter Glenn Murray was on the bench - he had yet to sign a new contract. The squad was ticking over nicely and next, we'd even got to FA Cup r4 against Championship opposition to show how far we'd come.
Oh dear, it all ended in tears. Brighton played usual passing footy and probed from the back in slo-mo mode. We had chances but failed to grab a first half lead versus pumped up Cherries. After that cat and mouse game, the second half got going with B'mouth attacking. They duly went ahead past the hour mark with a Prem style strike from distance (62min). It certainly was a set back and unexpected but that's footy for yer. Gus subbed three in one go (66m) and went from 41212 to 433 to try and get something back. Ankergren was pumping it up-field and b&w shirts chased everything. Murray had a header ruled off-side and drove a fair effort over the top. We drew a blank but hey-ho, you can't win 'em all. Perhaps a more clinical approach was required, it got a tad desperate at the death. Brighton fans went home disappointed not to have earned a point from below par display.
Ankergren, Calderon, Greer, El-Abd, Painter, Bennett, Bridcutt (Kishishev), Sparrow (Dicker), Noone (Murray), Wood, Barnes.
League1 P 24 . W 13 D 7 L 4 . F 42 A 20 . Pt 46 Po 1

Season 9 (A) 2/10/07 - 2-0 ~ Cox, Savage
A night out at rock-bottom Cherries and a stone bonker certain three points. Well maybe because we'd only one pt from four previous away trips and hadn't scored on the road since day one. It was a calm, mild evening and the pitch was pukka so with a big fan following, Albion set off at 100 mph to win early. It didn't happen and our football reduced to route one as chances went begging. Our front men hadn't exactly set the division alite with their collective tally and some fans wondered why Wilkins hadn't shaken 'em up by changing his 'favourite' side. Robinson was out of favour and Elder got a seat on the bench - for 90 min!
Suddenly, seconds into the second period an inspired Wilko team talk paid dividends as we went one up. Savage got to the by-line and Cox drove in his cut back. Just over the hour, Forster got behind Cherries in similar fashion and Savage netted at the near post. Brighton weren't at their best, nor B'mouth their worst but we got 2 and from sound defence they had nowt. We were hanging in for a top ten spot and could this be start of an unbeaten run? Remember, fortune favours the brave - did Albion have the guts to boot?
Kuipers, Whing, Elphick, Butters, Richards, Savage, O'Callaghan (El-Abd), Hammond, Cox (Loft), Revell, Forster.
League 1 P 9 . W 4 D 1 L 4 . F 12 A 10 . Pt 13 Po 10

Season 8 (A) 1/1/07 - 0-1
To put the cart before the horse, Hendo slipped in the 90th+ minute and Bournemouth got an undeserved win. Nil-nil was probably fair, as defences did a good job in abysmal conditions of constant heavy rain. Wilkins started at 4-3-3 and although Brighton pushed up, there was a hole in midfield that the Dorset seaside outfit used to channel attacks through. Periods of play swung both ways and there were several goalmouth incidents, to warm cockles of a cold New Years Day crowd's collective heart.
Wilkins went with 4-4-2 in the second period and for a while it appeared we might snatch it but failed to connect at the appropriate moment. As Cherries hit back and tried to stone us with a hail of crosses, B'ton's defence stood firm and headed away countless high balls. Counter attacking was the way to relieve pressure but chances went begging as time marched on. The simple push and run stuff made more of an impact than fancy shooting from distance or speculative cross field passing. Considering conditions, it was reasonable entertainment for a goal-less 'draw', before entering those final seconds.
Henderson, Hart, El-Abd, Butters, Rents, Fraser, Hammond, Cox, Revell, Gatting (Mayo), Robinson.
League 1 P 26 . W 9 D 4 L 13 . F 33 A 40 . Pt 31 Po 15

Season 5 (A) 18/10/03 - 0-1
Managerless BHA racked up a third 1-0 defeat and possibly the worst display so far. Thirteen hundred travelling support gave a good account of themselves throughout, as that single goal deficit would eventually expect to be eradicated. B'ton seemed comfortable holding B'mouth to a slim lead. Unfortunately the second period was no different in terms of scoring attempts and all we got was a late suntan. A lot of passing to Brighton's front two was not getting through and even down the flanks it was a bit of a struggle. Bournemouth had a big share of possession but pressure remained in build-up mostly, as attacks were mopped up. We probably gave the ball away easily, failing to find feet and a tad static at critical moments. Up in the air stuff isn't Albion's best game plan and crosses were generally a waste. In a bruising encounter, the Fitness First boys were up for it and stretched Seagulls were found wanting. It left us with few cherries to devour, as only a couple we could actually reach.
Kuipers, Hinshelwood, Cullip, Butters, Mayo, Hart, Carpenter, Rehman, Jones (Watson), McPhee (Robinson), Knight (Pethick).
Div 2 (League 1) P 14 . W 8 D 3 L 3 . F 24 A 10 . Pt 27 Po 1

Season 3 (A) 26/2/02 - 1-1 ~ Brooker
Cherries fans rescued their club and stuck AFC in front of the name. A familiar story of spiralling debt caught up with the Board at Dean Court and old Bournemouth & Boscombe bombed. A steady sequence of years in div2, bar the odd blip in this season, saw them re-establish and rebuild on that very site the Fitness First Stadium. Their new pitch rotated 90 deg to run east - west and Albion fans would have had low sun in their eyes but for kick off at 7.45. Relegation threatened Bournemouth took a lead and shaded exchanges under floodlights. Brighton appeared beached until Brooker netted a wind-assisted cast from range. You probably know all about force eights on the channel coast. It was never really going to be a classic of bygone halcyon days. Close to 1400 devoted or 21% of total paying punters witnessed BHA share a vital point apiece with er, AFC who in a former life were B&B. Peter Taylor wasn't too upset, as matches were coming thick and fast and he didn't have time to dwell on additional anorak analysis. He simply knew if B'ton could maintain close to 2 points per game, we would be going off to much bigger venues, whether or not Cherries dropped from their precarious overhanging branch.
Kuipers, Watson, Cullip, Virgo, Mayo, Melton (Steele), Carpenter, Lewis, Pethick, McPhee, Brooker
Div 2 (League 1) P 35 . W 18 D 12 L 5 . F 47 A 34 .Pt 66 Po 2

Season 1 (A) 11/1/00 AWS2 - 0-1
It might have been a turbulent time in those awful mid nineties for both Brighton and Bournemouth but while we were hopelessly relegated in 1996 to div3, they continued to cling on to div2 status. Each club had come through tough times since meeting at Dean Court, when Brighton fans were protesting about sale of the Goldstone and decided to let a TV audience know we had major problems at our club. Bournemouth appeared to be going to that proverbial wall as well and before tumbling down called in the receivers. For a couple of years it looked more than possible Albion would end up a homeless Conference side. Meanwhile Cherries began to turn things around and finished 16th in '97, 9th in '98 and 7th in '99. Their fans had formed a Trust Committee to steer a passage toward survival and indeed explore much more. Almost incredibly Bournemouth got to an Auto Windscreens Shield final at Wembley in 1998. Unfortunately they lost to Grimsby but were backed by 30,000 plus supporters to show they truly were alive and kicking. Albion too had risen from clinical un-dead and improved on 23rd in '97, 23rd in '98 and 17th in '99. We were now back in Brighton and a bright new century dawn was breaking.
Our next coming together was at old Dean Court on a Tuesday night in January of the third millennium. The Brighton Beach end was under threat but mainly from draft plans to rebuild completely on this site. On a cold and damp evening more than 500 travelling BHA devoted added to a few more in King's Park making up a 4400 crowd. Micky Adams took a regular first eleven along the south coast to compete against a team still in that higher division. If we wanted to be given credibility as a resurgent club, a better performance than versus Millwall in round one and Gillingham in the League Cup was desirable, if not to say totally necessary. Cup competitions and this particular trophy for lower league outfits hadn't exactly been where Albion excelled in those nasty nineties. At 90 minutes it was goal-less. In extra time Bournemouth scored and immediately got those cherries on the cake - it was called a golden goal.
Walton, Watson, Cullip, Carr, Crosby, Campbell, Rogers, Oatway, Aspinall, Freeman, Hart (Cameron)