Brighton did us proud – and will be back at Wembley again soon

From the moment the full time whistle blew on Chelsea 1-2 Brighton at Stamford Bridge, the anticipation had been building towards the FA Cup semi final between the Albion and Manchester United at Wembley.

On Tuesday evening, there was the Albion Unlimited podcast on BBC Radio Sussex with Johnny Cantor and Warren Aspinall. On Thursday, Lewis Dunk was interviewed by talkSPORT and Glenn Murray interviewed the captain on the Pier for television.

The Premier League might be the most watched in the world, but the media attention the Albion were receiving for the FA Cup was unlike your everyday match.

Compared to United, Roberto De Zerbi enjoyed a smooth week of preparation too. The win against Chelsea left a fantastic mood with everyone now talking about Julio Enciso after his tremendous winner which rifled into the back of the Blues goal.

Joel Veltman and Evan Ferguson had been hit with injuries, but the Albion still had eight days between games. United in contrast played on Thursday night in Spain against Sevilla… or shall we say instead they turned up.

If you watched that game on television, you would have been quietly encouraged going into Wembley because United were poor, well beaten and out of Europe.

They then appeared to have flown straight back to London, as Erik ten Hag’s press conference for the semi final looked like it was taking place in a makeshift media centre in a hotel.

De Zerbi and his Brighton players were not the only ones preparing for the day. Soo too were Seagull Travel, who moved hell and high water to get as many fans as they could to Wembley by coach.

The final total was, I believe, 78 coaches on the road. They also arranged at great expense, a reserve coach based at Cobham Services on the M25 in case of a breakdown.

It was a well-oiled machine and the communication with travellers was fantastic. They kept in touch with everyone booked onboard throughout the day and helped and assisted an injured traveller who fell and cracked his head open, according to their reports.

Our coach from Lindfield set out at 11.10am. By 1.15pm, we had navigated the M23 and M25 and were pulling into the pink carpark at Wembley.

It was all so easy. No stress, no hassle and a driver who knew his stuff. From the carpark, we walked towards this most iconic of stadiums through what can only be described as nasty drizzle rain.

We had plenty of time to explore. However, the older you get, the more tiring it becomes to get around these huge buildings and complexes. Our entry point was J and we whisked through security and the turnstiles; boy, was I excited.

As I said last week, I have never been to Wembley before. Work commitments have always prevented it on the five previous times Brighton have visited.

Being a little peckish, I decided to get a burger and chips for my wife and I before it got busy. £27.90. Yes, I nearly had a coronary for two burgers and chips in a small bun.

Thank the lord for our fabulous fish and chip van at the Amex. The £27.90 burger and chips turned out to be the first of three robberies on the day.

To make matters worse, it was the most disgusting burger I think I have ever had as well. The staff also looked at me as if I was barmy when I asked for a little salt on my chips.

“We don’t have salt,” they said. The whole burger experience was not a highlight for me. I still don’t know if it was worse than robberies two or three, which we will get to shortly.

After getting rid of this barely warm, barely cooked burger in a cold bun, I feasted my eyes on some of the incredible outfits Albion fans had turned up wearing.

Nobody could have been in any doubt if they did not already know that Brighton wear blue and white, and are called the Seagulls!

Claire and Brian White from Uckfield had gone all out with a hairdo and wig combination along with some face paint. A great job from both.

I also came across Michaela Norris, who was even more suitably dressed for the occasion. Do we need more people turning up to games at the Amex in full seagull costumes?

Next it was time to investigate block 136. Walking into that stadium even when it is filling up is something else.

When we got to our position, we discovered the club had gone to the expense of putting a blue or white flag on every seat. The spectacle must have looked fantastic on TV. Thank you, Mr Bloom!

The atmosphere turned out to be electric. 3pm arrived and the national security alert went out on all our phones, thankfully only as a test run.

A fascinating afternoon was taking place across the Premier League at the same time. Spurs went 5-0 down at Newcastle in only 20 minutes on their way to losing 6-1, leading to Christian Stellini being given the sack the day after.

Bournemouth lost 4-0 at home to West Ham, leaving us all hoping there would be as many goals and as much entertainment at Wembley.

The prediction I feared the most was BBC correspondent Chris Sutton, who predicted that United won win on penalties after a 2-2 draw.

Sutton was right about the penalties of course, and that was the second robbery of the day. The third robbery was that somebody stole my Brighton FA Cup scarf afterwards.

I dropped it on my seat when leaving and even though I realised before I had reached the end of the aisle and went straight back to my seat, it was gone.

You may have noticed that I have not said much about the football itself. So much has already been written, that I do not want to dwell on it.

Brighton played well. Manchester United played slightly better. One kick of the game decided the whole show. A cruel way to lose.

Nonetheless, this being my first time at Wembley meant it was a very special day for me. I was convinced beforehand that whatever the outcome, I would be proud of the Albion.

This turned out to be very much the case; they all played their hearts out and Solly March should not linger on his miss but instead remember all he has achieved in his decade at Brighton.

Mr Paul Barber wrote an open letter the day after the game, saying: “And, as with the successes we’ve enjoyed together this season, we’ll endure yesterday’s loss together too – and we’ll rally around Solly, who has had a magnificent season so far and is a big reason why we’re in this position going into the business end of the season.”

“We all need to demonstrate our strength and resilience today, for the rest of this week and the remainder of the season. There’s a lot of football left to play and so much more we can achieve.”

“Thank you to everyone – not least our players, Roberto and his staff – for all the hard work and enjoyment we’ve shared to date. And thanks to all our staff who worked so hard at Wembley.”

“Let’s make sure we remain positive and focused, and let’s all get ready to go again and support the team at Nottingham Forest on Wednesday and Wolves at the Amex on Saturday. We’ve got a few big weeks ahead, and your support will be so important”.

Mr Barber is right. We must put Wembley firmly behind us and instead focus on three points on the banks of the Trent, followed by giving the players a proper homecoming against Wolves at the Amex.

Dunk channelled his inner Winston Churchill in a very brave interview immediately after the game with BBC Radio Sussex.

Mr Churchill was famous for saying never give up. Brighton will not either, and as Dunk told listeners, Brighton will definitely be back at Wembley again and fighting for trophies.

We should believe him. Our time is coming and this is only the start for Brighton. Up the Albion.

Tony Noble @Noble1844Tony