Oldham - Away, Withdean Era
Season 12 (A) 19/3/11 - 1-0 ~ Barnes
Ok, so what was different about BHA twelve months on from our last visit to Greater Manchester? Well, Falmer was properly built and being fitted out and coming on stream as per Martin Perry's project manager's schedule. Gus Poyet had taken Albion to top of league1 from end of September and made a bid for auto-promo early doors. The chasing pack couldn't seem to attain the same consistency and a handy points cushion developed between us and p-o places. Meanwhile Oldham were skint and had flopped into mid table after being pacesetters when visiting Withdean - see home fixtures.
Brighton ground out a single goal victory, just like the Zamora years - although not so against Athletic nine seasons before. Anyway, the home mob had a right go and probably shaded the first forty-five mins. Albion couldn't get our trademark passing game going and Gus changed things early into the second period with a double sub. Brighton's flexible 4132 had been a touch too defensive and Gus wasn't afraid to take the game to opposition. Both sides created chances and Ankergren played his part in a clean sheet. On 67min Barnes strode through with Murray o/s but not in play. Ash duly went solo and netted with a strike to the far post. A little later he was clattered down by the dugouts and got swapped for Noone. Brighton withstood an Oldham onslaught but held out as the kitchen sink got thrown on too with giant Latics subs. Not very pretty to watch and a tad nervy but hey, three more vital points and no.1 was ours to lose now.
Ankergren, Calderon, Greer, El-Abd, Painter, Bennett, Bridcutt, Kishishev (Dicker), Sparrow, Wood (Barnes, Noone), Murray
League1 P 35 . W 22 D 8 L 5 . F 65 A 26 . Pt 74 Po 1

Season 11 (A) 20/3/10 - 2-0 ~ Bennett, og
IT1st signed up again for shirt sponsorship and were also first in line for brand new corporate hospitality suites at Falmer. Our new community stad was growing out of the ground at a fair pace and main stands were already built in basic structure. That said, with so many changes in a year, Brighton's predicament on the pitch was almost as dramatic as off it. Micky Adams was initially replaced as manager by Russ Slade when stad bank-roller Tony Bloom took over chairmanship from Dick Knight. RS kept us up in L1 at very end of '08/9 and after a big squad cull, got more new players in. But just like Adams, it went tits up from early doors and Gus Poyet took over for rest of '9/10. It took him quite a while to stabilise our position, with the club again facing threat of L2 next term around. We'd been used to such struggles but for many B'fans it was now beyond a joke. Anyway, he started to turn it around and what happened then was pretty good for a while.
Albion weathered early Athletic attacks and settled into their usual 451 shape to take control in midfield. This fixture on a wet afternoon up north, looked as if it might go to stalemate as in last three years. However just before h-t, Bennett beat two men and sent a perfect shot into the top corner (40min). Brighton dictated terms in the second period and went further ahead when pressing a home back pass. Murray seemed sure to score but an Oldham boot found their net first (og 57m). Seagulls cruised high up the pitch and didn't let opponents near their nest, er sorry net. In a panic packed final ten minutes, Brezovan made super saves, including pushing a pen onto the bar. Virgo and Hart came on and BHA rode out a late storm. It was a controlled performance and deserving of three points. What could Poyet do next to improve our lot for '9/10, or more important, our last year at Withdean in '10/11? He was fielding a settled side, which was quite different to other elevens seen here in the recent past few seasons.
Brezovan, Calderon, Elphick, El-Abd, Painter, Bennett, Crofts, Navarro (Virgo), Dicker, Carole (Hart), Murray.
League1 P 37 . W 11 D 11 L 15 . F 45 A 52 . Pt 44 Po 14

Season 10 (A) 6/12/08 - 1-1 ~ Murray
Albion enjoyed a ten-day break since a fourth defeat on the trot versus local rivals Stockport. We were in deep doo-doo in League1 and Adams was doing his head in trying to fix issues. The team was a bit Jekyll & Hyde in performance but especially from poor results. It didn't do what it said on b&w shirts - itst. The squad was bolstered by on-loan signings and had hardly put out a settled side. Finding the secret of team play would go a long way toward success. We hoped Adams could see who was capable and build tactics to suit styles of play. Apparently they'd all been doing extra fitness training in the interim and indulged in 'pre-season' sessions, rather than any holiday happy hours. It was bitterly cold up north for suffering as per usual.
Brighton was a goal behind inside 10 minutes. Virgo allegedly tripped a geezer in the box and he didn't really dive (9m). Kuipers went to left, the ball going right. Ten mimutes later we were level again. Forster played in Murray to hunt down a dob upfield. He kept on and drilled one over goalies head (20m). Oldham may have been in a p-o position but they couldn't put us in our place by warming coffee time. Brighton gave as good as they got and it all hung in balance for second period. On resumption there was something of a turn around when Athletic pressed. Virgo got sent off for a 2nd Y-card just after restart. Albion then defended like heroes for 40minutes. We had real chances and actually might have nicked it on more than one occasion. Ref gave us nowt and we left feeling relieved to pinch a point in such circumstances.
Kuipers, Whing, Virgo, Hawkins, Richards, Cox, Thomson, El-Abd, Johnson, Murray (Fleetwood), Forster.
League1 P 19 . W 4 D 8 L 7 . F 22 A27 . Pt 20 Po 20

Season 9 (A) 12/1/08 - 1-1 ~ Elder
In the week before this second mid-winter fixture in 13 months, Oldham were up and we a bit down. Mr Knight had gone on radio to mention getting 5 new players in but this was straight after Mansfield dumped us out of FAC3 and forty odd grand. In midweek B'ton also lost at Swansea in JPT s-f, with a depleted squad thru illness and injury. Meanwhile Oldham went to Everton and round4 here they come. Albion's p-o push was also flagging because we'd lost 3 out of last 5 and couldn't keep it clean. Brighton had to start beating middle order outfits, especially in p-o positions and soon.
Hammond was sent off after 9 minutes for a 2 footed tackle. It was obviously going to be one of those afternoons. After half an hour Wilkins subbed youngster Fogden, who was in his first league match. But he also shaped to keep up attacking options and the match didn't close down to one sided defending. On 40 min Latics lively striker got clear of a pushed up rearguard and netted on the burst. After hot beverages on a cloudy and chilly day, Brighton continued to probe and mostly via route one. Athletic seemed to huff and puff and were content to hang on. It was a mistake due to BHA all-out attack in final moments. Albion got a corner (90+) and from ensuing melee, late sub Elder poked us level. Away fans went berserk and players celebrated at final whistle - you'd have thought we'd got 3 points by their reactions.
Kuipers, Fogden (Mayo), Elphick, El-Abd, Whing, Martot, Hammond, Fraser (Elder), Cox, Revell (Hart), Forster.
League 1 P 24 . W 9 D 7 L 8 . F 31 A 28 . Pt 34 Po 9

Season 8 (A) 16/12/06 - 1-1 ~ Hammond
A trip to Oldham was always going to be a fair test of how far Wilkins had brought his young squad forward. The home club had made it all ticket at only a couple of pounds a seat to attract a crowd, their team were also in a play-off berth and really tough to beat at Boundary Park. Nearly 10 thousand went through turnstiles on a bleak afternoon in Lancashire. A few hundred travelling fans did their level best to support the lads, who had picked up a few injuries as this hard season approached halfway stage.
A turgid performance imposed upon Albion by an athletic Athletic, on a turbid surface not far from 'always rains in Manchester', saw Latics lead at the break one-nil. Brighton had struggled to put any sort of game together and hung on, failing to exert pressure up the Oldham end. A different shape was adopted for the second 45 min, Carpenter coming on as Lynch had got injured, then reshuffling and pushing three in front. Albion played better from the whistle and suddenly a confident home outfit were rattled. With an hour gone Hammond picked up on a loose ball from a Rents free kick, to drive it past Latics custodian. There were tons of close calls in our box right up to the end but woodwork and rank bad aiming, helped preserve a well earned point.
Henderson, Whing, Lynch (Carpenter), Butters, Rents, Fraser, Hammond, Mayo, Bowditch (Gatting), Revell, Robinson.
League 1 P 21 . W 9 D 4 L 9 . F 30 A 32 . Pt 31 Po 10

Season 5 (A) 9/8/03 - 3-1 ~ Knight 2, Henderson
Brighton kicked off the new campaign back in div2 at hotchpotch Boundary Park, on a warm sunny summer afternoon in Lancashire. During close season, Bobby Zamora was sold for 1.5M pounds and Steve Coppell acquired keeper Ben Roberts and strikers Leon Knight and Darius Henderson on loan. Albion were seemingly on the up, while Latics had endured financial difficulties and were on the back foot. Coppell accepted he had no cash to splash but hoped to replace Zamora's goal scoring abilities by this couple of shrewd signings. After he took over as manager, BHA had come close to maintaining a place in div1 with a half decent run of form. If that period was 'enhanced' to cover 46 games, we would easily have survived, attaining mid-table mediocrity.
Henderson converted a penalty with a little over 20 mins gone. Brighton in new away strip of all yellow (certainly a different look to vivid scarlet of a year ago) played like a quality outfit - reminiscent of successful red and black stripe days. Knight bagged a brace of headers, one just before half time then another around the hour mark. Taken all together, a really promising start.
Roberts, Watson, Cullip, Hinshelwood, Mayo, Oatway, Carpenter, Rodger (Pethick), Jones, Henderson (Hart), Knight (McPhee).
Div 2 (League 1) P 1 . W 1 D 0 L 0 . F 3 A 1 . Pt 3 Po 4

Season 3 (A) 9/2/02 - 0-2
Bobby Zamora, selected sub, came on and got sent off - sensations or what? Taylor had decided to rest BZ after 30 continuous league appearances. He put him on at a goal down, watched as the leading goal-scorer hit the bar and cursed the Ref, when reaction to reversals via retaliation 'earned' him dismissal. You just couldn't make it up. Cold, windy and miserable; also the team talk! One of 'Peter the Greats' better ideas, was to sign Junior Lewis as his midfield general. He also debuted, replacing Charlie and must have wished he could shine a cushy Leicester bench instead. On the face of it there was still a regular 'Adams' eleven, fielded from fourteen 'Championes' with numerous senior appearances. Loan keeper Royce, central defenders Crosby and Wicks, strikers Lehman and Ramsay had left the club. Melton, Webb, Lee and local boy Virgo were hoping to break through into the cherished sixteen. There was no such thing as blooding kids or very young pro's. Considered a liability they stayed struggling in Brighton reserves - cannon fodder for the big club dominated, Avon Insurance Southern Combination. They would eventually be fast tracked in div1 as an expedient to suit difficult circumstances. It hardly proved a fair introduction, on a very steep learning curve, to standards inevitably beyond their underdeveloped capabilities and experience.
Kuipers, Watson, Cullip, Morgan, Pethick, Rogers (Melton), Carpenter, Oatway (Lewis), Brooker, Hart, Webb (Zamora). Unused; Rogers, Lee. Squad; Mayo, Steele
Div 2 (League 1) P 31 . W 16 D 10 L 5 . F 42 A 32 . Pt 58 Po 2

Oldham - Home, Withdean Era
Season 12 (H) 25/9/10 - 2-1 ~ Barnes, Sandaza
For openers, this fixture also came at a time like last season, when Albion had yet another manager and replacement squad trying to get us out of League1. But hey, so far so good. Coaching and training were completely revised and we now had a development group of young pros under Luke Williams. Gus Poyet had gotten BHA to play passing footy and was getting positive results in more ways than one. He wanted the whole squad down to Steve Brown's youngsters to operate in similar ways, so reserves or those inexperienced could move seamlessly upward - fast tracked if necessary. It was a strategy designed to take us to higher level at Falmer and you could see the logic in it at grassroots Withdean. On a chilly autumn afternoon, over 7000 got along to watch how things were progressing.
Athletic didn't come to defend, pressed the ball and were physical to boot. Perhaps it was coz they were big buggers. The dirty northern bastards took the lead against run of play (30min), opening us up from deep while southern softies poured forward. Barnes headed us level from a corner (44m) but he'd put more than one previous chance high, wide or at the keeper. In the second period LuaLua foraged at will down left flank, rained over shots and crosses, although it all came to nowt. Poyet put Kish on to stabilise m-f (60m), then Sandaza (70m) to go win it. Albion were all over 'em and right at the death (96m) the Spanish new boy snatched a dramatic winner following a corner. You could hear the huge cheer at the Goldstone retail park.
Ankergren, Calderon, Elphick, El-Abd, Painter, Bennett, Dicker, Bridcutt (Kishishev), LuaLua, Barnes, Murray (Sandaza).
League1 P 8 . W 5 D 2 L 1 . F 12 A 6 . Pt 17 Po 1

Season 11 (H) 24/10/09 - 0-2
Slade had gotten a whole new squad together for '9/10 but hey ho, same old, same old, especially at Withdean. Big Russ record was similar to Micky Adams during his tenure of twelve months ago. What could this repeated prob be, maybe the W'dean effect had gone into overdrive after a decade of unsatisfactory circumstances. It couldn't just be down to bad luck - nobody had that much negativity thru random means. No, it had to be via coaching, training and other methods employed by management to turn our squad into winners. Yes, our squad - they weren't exactly Championship class. In fact they were barely div3 mediocrity, judging by results at least. Over 6k turned up on a dry afternoon after rain, to witness our latest attempt to prove critics wrong.
It was nil-nil at halftime and in a way it was a relief coz the first goal was gonna be crucial. On 57min Athletic had a dig that deflected and wrong footed FDM. Within moments Forster put a little dink over the bar that my granny woulda tapped in at a veterans match. Albion knew it was gonna be another of those days and yep - it was. Visitors sealed an unlikely win from a f-k. They curled it round BHA defence to the far post and bang - two nil. Where the runner came from, Slade, White & Booker are still working out. Plenty of fans left early and a few hurled criticism toward home dugout. It was a good job there was perspex between to separate vocal attacks from sensitive ears. Perhaps thick skins or poss, just thick was the real prob.
Kuipers, Hoyte, Virgo, Elphick, El-Abd, Bennett, Navarro (Cox), Dicker, Crofts, Dickinson (Hart), Forster.
League1 P 14. W 3 D 4 L 7 . F 15 A 24 . Pt 13 Po 21

Season 10 (H) 18/4/09 - 3-1 ~ Cox, Owusu 2
On a nice sunny day in April, Brighton were still in the sh!t. We'd certainly been struggling to put points in the bag all season, especially at home. At one time it appeared to be too late to save us from the drop into League2. But suddenly Albion hit form under Slade's guidance and we actually won a couple of fixtures. Things were looking up and supporters remained on side as B'ton fought for their lives in the drop zone. Slade was selecting from a depleted squad but getting both performances and results from a reserve eleven. The great escape seemed about to go into action.
BHA matched Oldham during opening skirmishes, then began to string moves together, plus had good vocal support from around Withdean. On 26 min, Hart slid Owusu thru down a wing and he crossed. Cox nodded in as the ball dropped. We were two up by h-t, when Hart got the assist with a deep centre. Owusu headed home at the far post (37m), with second time of asking. Athletic had a go second period and pulled one back from a direct ball over the top (62m). Within a couple of minutes BHA restored the two goal gap. Owusu chased down the middle and got on to a loose one after visitors got in a muddle. He stroked in a low shot and celebrated what appeared to be a decent win. But Athletic came back and Albion struggled with Hart limping. All subs were by then on and next, Whing was sent off for 2 bookables (88m). It was a bit nervy for home fans but alls well that ends well - and it did. Over the moon etc.
Kuipers, Whing, Virgo, Elphick (El-Abd), Borrowdale, Loft, Fraser (Jarrett), Dicker, Cox, Hart, Owusu (Andrew)
League1 P 43 . W 11 D 12 L 20 . F 50 A 67 . Pt 45 Po 22

Season 9 (H) 23/2/08 - 1-0 ~ Murray
We'd only been up to Oldham in January and here they were back at our place in February. It was dry, mild and cloudy but groundsmen didn't dare water too much because frosts at Withdean were a big threat in winter. Less than 5k punters bothered to attend but this was third of 5 homes in a 3 week row and stretched day to day budgets. The record low was 4300 and with more away supporters on a Saturday we got 4800. Brighton fans had been moaning and groaning of late but felt entitled as performances and points had kept us in lower mid table. Also Wilkins had injury problems and was trying to rebuild the squad following end of Jan transfers, with 3 out and four in.
Both teams were hoping to bag some points and Oldham had benefit of a good away record. Albion were better at home this year and trying to stretch to play-offs by assembling an unbeaten run. After an hour at 0-0 this fixture hung in balance as BHA couldn't find the net after a number of real chances. A minute later Richards ran up field from the back, carrying the ball to Latics area without challenge. He fed Murray who looked a class act in doing the biz as goalie went down. It was a bloody great goal, to even hush those season ticketed moaners. A second would have sealed it but Athletic didn't worry us too much on the break. There was plenty of room for improvement from Brighton but we'd strung together 7 points from 9, which in an up and down season represented progress of sorts. B'ton had games in hand on those above and possibly at last the will to succeed.
Kuipers, Whing, Elphick, El-Abd, Richards, Bowditch (Robinson), Fraser (Martot), Thomson, Cox, Murray, Forster (Lynch).
League1 P 31 . W 12 D 9 L10 . F 40 A 34 . Pt 45 Po 11

Season 8 (H) 28/4/07 - 1-2 ~ Cox
Oldham came to town needing a win to maintain a play-off push. Brighton gave them one, on a nice warm afternoon in the park with no pressure, or trouble at all. Albion had lost five on the spin and were only left mathematically safe from relegation worries with defeat to fourth from bottom, those other dirty northern ba$tard$. Home form was absolutely abysmal and many could not believe over 7500 punters came along to watch that total crap for the umpteenth week running. Hammond got player of the year and couldn't make the eleven, as he'd been under the knife for a hernia op. Dick Knight thanked everyone for attending and suggested they get out cards or cheque books and go on-line or visit the post box double quick - we were and are skint after all.
Two first half goals, from a routine header and a Champions League quality strike sealed our fate. It wasn't that visitors were that much better, Flinders had a quiet afternoon but they made and crucially took chances. Brighton pi$$ed about and up and down, round and round and mostly for nowt. We didn't do any damage in their box. Cox hit a volley home with five minutes left and that was it. Wilkins now had a new contract for 3 years but how many on the pitch would still be back for '07/8? Knight had to put his money where an athletics stadium was before too long. Anti-climax or what?
Flinders, Mayo (Elphick), Rehman, Butters, Rents, Hart (Elder), El-Abd, Bertin, Cox, Robinson, Revell
League 1 P 45 . W 14 D 10 L 21 . F 48 A 57 . Pt 52 Po 18

Season 5 (H) 10/1/04 - 0-0
Mark McGhee wasn't getting results going his way that enthusiasm, determination and willingness in Brighton's squad warranted. Ok then, so a new year, another winter campaign and different manager trying to get this club promoted. It was obvious to the smallest Seagulls' chick - improvement was required. The team that reached fair standards in division 1, although now diluted couldn't grasp a lower tier just there for taking. Average outfits came to town and didn't apparently fear once back-to-back champs in their return games. A solution seemed beyond fanatical financial clout of the Forty Note Fund, or other loyal punter's pockets. Youth therefore would be given every chance to star and shine.
Adam Virgo, Dan Harding, Adam El-Abd and Jake Robinson began to make an impact. Charlie Oatway started again, following a long spell out due to a surgical operation. Fringe players could also readily be subs to plug squad gaps. It was down to who wanted it most.
Roberts, Watson, Cullip, Butters, Mayo, Hart, Oatway, Rehman (Harding), Yeates (Virgo), McPhee (Marney), Knight.
Div 2 (League 1) P 25 W 11 D 6 L 8 F 37 A 27 Pt 39 Po 8

Season 3 (H) 20/10/01 - 3-0 ~ Rogers, Steele 2
Peter Taylor had got the Brighton & Hove Albion manager's job. Chairman Knight thought him, 'ideal, for a club poised to climb the league'. Taylor fittingly said about us, 'fans like that deserve success'. With two Falmer sites applied for, we speculated he'd likely end up in a pukka stadium anyhow in time. He believed and so did Brighton fans, given a level playing field we'd be a big club again but were just waiting to expand potential. A new book had come out, 'Albion, the first 100 years' and we truly wondered if an historic opening chapter, starting a further century was to be successfully accomplished.
In cool conditions of autumn, Albion ran riot on their great grass green surface and mowed awkward Oldham down. We stole an early lead via a Rogers' poach. Then Steele chipped a second, followed by a dig from close in with a whole hour to go. The Latics were having a 'mare, having ridden into Withdean in 4th place with 3 defeats from 13 fixtures. Athletic had also notched twelve goals away, testimony to manager Andy Ritchie's experience as a Goldstone favourite in the glory days. They had hoped to catch us cold but it was the div2 regulars, not ex-Adams' assembled southern softies who left with mass flu symptoms. Word was spreading B'ton had got their act together and if others hadn't known before, we'd now told 'em in Oldham. Ritchie was controversially sacked soon afterwards. Taylor, dumped by Leicester where Adams became assistant mgr, must have felt like a wanted man on both accounts.
Kuipers, Watson, Cullip, Morgan, Mayo, Hart, Rogers, Oatway (Pitcher), Brooker (Jones), Steele (Lehman), Zamora.
Div 2 (League 1) P 14 . W 8 D 4 L 2 . F 24 A 13 . Pt 28 Po 2