Torquay - Home, Withdean Era
Season 2 (H) 2/9/00 - 6-2 ~ Zamora 3, Hart, Jones 2
Charlie Oatway had been a Torquay player but ended up nearer the Sussex coast, when Withdean became a Football League ground. Micky Adams had got several players to join Brighton from his old clubs like Brentford and Fulham. He wanted to build a promotion winning side to help attract support for a club proposing to build a permanent home at Falmer. Dick Knight had originally said, 'it is time to move on, rebuild the club, restore confidence, pride and a sense of purpose.' Performances on the pitch hadn't been that great so far this season but he seemed confident that things would improve. He added, 'the ultimate goal is a superb new stadium in the Brighton area.'
Matthew Wicks made his debut and sustained a cut that resulted in him re-emerging from treatment with a bloody bandaged head. Torquay were 3-1 down approaching halftime and struggling with injuries but still managed to pull one back in Wicks absence. Zamora had headed the opener from Watson's cross - to kick-start a previous dearth of Albion goals into a ninety-minute surfeit. Hart became the second striker this term to bag a goal, in a re-run of pre-Withdean poaching days. Jones got two to make midfield a force to reckoned with and lay the ghost of his sending off here in March when with Southend. He found the net for once, or rather twice with a shot and later a header - that's luvlee! A sensational goal machine that was to become Zamora the scorer, completed a second half hat trick. He nutted a second in fine style from a Mayo cross, then used his trusty left peg to claim a first match ball and top marksman lists. Gulls had a bloke sent off but by then they'd been brought down to earth well within rules of engagement. Season ticketed south standers saw six again and suddenly were glad to re-new for a second year. That Helen Chamberlain turned up wearing a yellow Torquay away shirt and with very little imagination, looked more than just broody for a bird at the seaside.
Div 3 (League 2) . P 5 . W 2 D 0 L 3 . F 8 A 9 . Pt 6 Po 15

Season 1 (H) 21/8/99 - 0-1
There it was in black and white, Albion on top of the table and we'd scored eight already in two matches. Micky Adams said, 'I don't want anybody getting carried away at the moment. It would be folly to believe that we are anything other than a decent third division team and only time will tell us if we are that. It's a marathon this season and I make no promises how we will fare. Our first and at the moment only target is to reach fifty points. How quickly we get those points will determine what sort of season we will have. We shall assess the league when eight or more games have been played, then that will give a more accurate reflection of how the season will pan out.'
Adams had brought quite a number of new faces into a squad he'd swept through like a new broom. His chosen captain was Paul Rogers from Wigan who would operate up and down in midfield. Three players from Brentford, Paul Watson a fullback, Charlie Oatway a ball winning midfielder and Brighton boy Darren Freeman a forward, had joined in pre-season. Just before opening day Andy Crosby had signed from Chester to go straight into central defence. Jamie Campbell and Chris Wilder were both fullbacks employed to bolster a depleted squad. Dave Cameron had come from Scotland to try his luck on the south coast and hopefully get some goals.
Torquay had finished the previous season just above the drop zone in twentieth place. They hoped for a better year and like Seagulls, maybe fly higher to a play-off perch. In the event Gulls went home happy and it was due in part to their aged keeper Neville Southall. He single-handedly stopped us scoring and played a blinder for an old fat b... He also added to cult status by tipping BHA for promotion - clever bloke! Albion were shocked by a late United counter attack and bang, we'd gone and lost at home. Adams said, 'I feel you learn more from your team's defeats than you do from their victories. New players need time to settle in. We sign players for the long term and they should be judged after forty-six games.' Er, ok then.
Ormerod, Johnson (Watson), McPherson (Thomas), Crosby, Hobson, Campbell, Freeman, Rogers, Oatway, Hart, Cameron (Newhouse).
Div 3 (League 2) P 3 . W 2 D 0 L 1 . F 8 A 2 . Pt 6 Po 6

Torquay - Away, Withdean Era
Season 11 (A) 2/1/10 FAC3 - 1-0 ~ Crofts
BHA badly wanted to get into round4 and had a chance to get past Gulls for the second time in a couple of years. United might have once been a non-league outfit but had put 4 thru Stockport, in a r3 rearrangement at neutral Macclesfield. This tie also hung in balance before k-o, as Ref inspected a frozen pitch in early afternoon on a sunny day. Brighton fans were on tenderhooks until 45min before 3pm, so k-o was put back ten mins - for locals to get there from off the beach. Poyet went with an attacking 433 formation and FDM, Virgs and Crofty were started, the squad being mindful of January transfer windows and suchlike. GP wanted a win down there to continue winning form into 2010 and he needed to do somet coz 2009 had been a disaster.
It was nil-nil at halftime and you know what, nobody could see either unit beating defences. Anyway on it went and gradually Albion found a better rhythm going forward. Gulls began a touch of clog but Ref let it go due to slippery conditions. We weren't gonna get involved in rough stuff, although our cent-def pair got stuck in to keep it clean. Nearly into those hectic final 10mins, BHA got a set piece and Crofts did what he managed at Exeter, heading the vital winner (78min). Locals pressed for a home equaliser but we soaked 'em up and hit yellows on the break. Our lg1 side probably knew too much for plucky small club lg2 reps at the death. A pro job done and dusted in frost to boot.
Kuipers, Hoyte, Virgo, Tunnicliffe, McNulty, Crofts, Dicker, Cox (Navarro), Forster, Murray, Dickinson

Season 9 (A) 1/12/07 FAC2 - 2-0 ~ Forster 2
Up for the cup, or should it be down to the English Riviera? Weather was typical for early December - cold, windy and showery. Plenty of Brighton fans turned up however, for this FA Cup tie against Blue Square Premier opponents. They had fallen out of the FL but had done Yeovil in R1 by 4-1 and it was on TV for all to see. A potential banana skin but Wilkins had done his homework on a free scoring side.
The first half wasn't much to write home about, or even text - to those B'fans who stayed in Sussex. Nil-nil was probably fair and there was a lot of lump it and hope - from both outfits. Brighton had to keep a clean sheet and our defence was doing the do, big time. Perhaps we shoulda played more football and showed some class really. It took an hour before Forster headed his first from a Savage cross and a Cox assist centre. United then hit us with everything and did all but level on a soft pitch in blustery conditions. In time added on, Forster got a second on the break from a Cox pass. Two super quality finishes made the difference and we went into round 3, although Torquay were far from push-overs.
Kuipers, Whing, El-Abd, Lynch, Richards, Robinson (Martot), Fraser (Loft), Hammond, Cox, Savage, Forster.

Season 2 (A) 3/2/01 - 1-0 ~ Zamora
Three of four div3 clubs on the south coast were in Devon and like proverbial buses we went to two of 'em one after another. The date 3/2/1 was almost a countdown to crunch time after a pathetic performance and defeat at Exeter the week before. Withdean had been a washout since New Year and hurriedly forced a new pitch to be laid. This perpetuated a period without a home match but left a sequence of four away games instead. BHA form had been in and out from before Xmas and needed to get on an even keel once more. Some argued it was better to take three points every two fixtures, than extend an unbeaten run through draws - in truth another defeat could seriously rock the pleasure boat. We were at the seaside again and had to avoid sailing into choppy waters for risk of capsizing. Merely a few less than 1000 of those floating Albion hordes steamed into Plainmoor to become one third of the crowd. Torquay conveniently provided a roof over the old Babbacombe End terrace, which was jolly well nice of 'em and helped with an ambient vibe. For another trip to foreign fields, Brighton wore their 2001 shirt that proved so popular among fans in celebration of 100 years of existence. That of course was thanks to Dick Knight's leadership but amid all those planned events, ordinary b&w terrace masses sensed our centenary could well mean promotion as well, to top the lot in festivities.
A wide-mans role includes slinging over corners, free kicks and crosses and Freeman duly obliged. Although surrounded by United defenders, Zamora zeroed in and headed past a helpless keeper. BZ had a good game but even when slightly below par managed to do his hold-up job justice, operating as a sole front man. Central defence had enabled Cartwright to keep a clean sheet on his first start since September. Cullip was suspended and Carpenter injured but with the spine of this team rigidly sound, there were no worries against pesky pecking Gulls. Adams said of his unit, 'they were magnificent from start to finish.' He really meant it too. A week is a long time in fulfilling fickle vagaries of the fixture list.
Cartwright, Watson, Wicks, Crosby, Mayo, Freeman, Rogers, Oatway, Melton, Jones (Steele), Zamora (Virgo).
Div 3 (League 2) P 27 . W 17 D 3 L 7 . F 42 A 21 . Pt 54 Po 2

Season 1 (A) 22/1/00 - 0-0
Some clubs seemed to be permanently on fringes either geographically, which was irreversible or in div3, which was not. In 1996 Torquay were propping up the Football League but got to stay because the upcoming Conference side didn't meet ground requirements. Subsequently they were 21st in '97, 5th in '98 and 20th in '99. Brighton had got four points off United last season which was enough to keep us clear of the drop zone. A large travelling army had gone to Devon then for a New Year fixture and over 500 turned up for this mid winter's trip to the seaside. Some improvements had been made to their ground since the place burnt down but an open terrace behind a goal was usual fare in typical fourth tier circumstances. At least Albion could play in b&w stripes instead of away red, due to Gulls yellow and navy blue strip. Torquay were in a going year and now pushing for a p-o spot with a chasing pack of mid table clubs. Brighton were on fringes of this group and... here we go again.
Torquay didn't score but hit the bar. Brighton didn't score and could not even hit the woodwork. When you see a flock of mixed Gulls on the deck they forever seem to be scrapping for titbits. There aren't many prisoners taken anyway, especially on a cold miserable afternoon. Once in the air there is grace and power from flight and if only Seagulls could have swooped it may have been more rewarding. With Pinamonte up front and the big three C's coming forward for set pieces you might think we already had a head start. Alan Cork said, 'Micky missed the match but our performance would have encouraged him. At this stage of the season many matches are a scrap and against a team that's very hard to beat, we were a bit unfortunate not to come away with all three points. We need to roll our sleeves up and start winning games regularly. We've scored from all over the pitch and have just got to prove it again now.'
Walton, Watson, Cullip, Carr, Crosby, Mayo, Freeman (Thomas), Rogers, Oatway, Hart, Pinamonte (Ramsay).
Div 3 (League 2) P 27 . W 9 D 8 L 10 . F 38 A 32 . Pt 35 Po 14