Trip to memory lane: A look back at the Brighton & Hove Albion – Crystal Palace rivalry

Most rivalries in English football are caused by two clubs being close to one another or continuously challenging one another for championship titles. However, the Brighton & Hove Albion and Crystal Palace rivalry is unique.

The unlikely rivalry has captured English football fans’ attention for years, given that both club’s homestead is separated by nearly 50 miles, and they don’t even share the same country.

Their hatred for each other is as mystifying to the fans of other English football clubs as it is seriously intense for the two clubs’ supporters. It’s time to take a trip to memory lane and reflect on how English football’s fiercest rivalry escalated.

Match Summary
Throughout the years, Brighton and Palace have played 137 matches together, including 16 Premier League Matches. The Palace leads the head-to-head record, 50-48-39. However, in their 16 Premier League matches, Brighton holds the lead 6-3-8.

Brighton and Palace’s very close head-to-head record has thrilled English football fans. Whenever they have matches on the schedule, it’s always considered a major sporting event in English football. This is why both teams now have massive fan bases outside their home territory.

However, some avid English football fans are still afraid to reveal which team they’re supporting publicly. They don’t want to experience any heat from fans of the team they didn’t choose.

Luckily, there’s now a way for them to show their love and support for either Brighton or Palace without the heat and have a chance to earn money as well. They can bet on either team on any sports betting online platform. The history of the rivalry to be.

Beginnings
Both clubs were founding Football League Third Division members in 1920, having transferred from the Southern Football League. Brighton and the Palace met 21 times during the 1940s and 1950s.

The 1974-75 season opening day match was their first match in 12 years. Multiple police were deployed during the match to control the 26,000 crowds who watched the match in Goldstone Ground. That day, multiple arrests and fighting between the fans were recorded.

That match, played on August 17, 1974, was the igniting match that sparked this fierce rivalry. After this, both clubs competed heavily to be promoted to a higher tier.

It prompted the Brighton fans to change their nickname to Seagulls in direct response to the Palace fans’ chants of Eagles.

During the 1976-77 season, the famous feud between then-Palace manager Terry Venables and then-Brighton manager Alan Mullery happened.

The clubs played each other five times, twice in the Third Division and thrice at the FA Cup. During the final FA Cup match, Palace won the tie controversially as Brighton missed a penalty in the match’s final moments.

After the match, Mullery gestured a middle finger to Palace fans, increasing the tension. He also allegedly threw coins at the grounds telling the crowd, “That’s all Crystal Palace are worth!” As a response, Venables and Palace fans heavily booed Mullery.

1990s and 2000s
Due to Brighton’s ownership problems, the rivals only met four times between 1990 to 2011. Brighton was struggling in the third and fourth tiers of the English football league, nearly drifting out of the league when they finished 91 out of 92 in 1997 and 1998.

2010s
The Brighton-Palace rivalry peaked for the second time during the 2012-13 Championship playoff semi-finals. The first leg was held at the Palace’s homestead, ending 0-0 and an injury to the Palace player Glenn Murray, a former Brighton striker. The Palace dominated the second leg with a historic performance led by Wilfried Zaha.

During the 2017-18 season, Brighton was able to return to the Premier League. Still, the Palace was more successful in winning more matches against Brighton. In fact, the Palace had a come-from-the-find during their final match of the decade.

2020s
Due to the pandemic, Brighton and Palace met a few times. The most intense match so far this decade happened last September 2021, wherein Brighton went to the Palace’s homestead knowing a win would propel them for the first time in the club’s history to the top of the English league system.

The Palace took the early lead, but an equalizer was made, giving Brighton the win. Because of this win, Brighton fans broke through advertising hoardings to celebrate the win. Some altercations between Brighton and Palace fans were recorded after the game.

Final Thoughts
To conclude, based on the Brighton-Palace rivalry’s history, it has the same trajectory as other rivalries. It had its ups and downs throughout the years; there were times when one team dominated the other; and occasions when the rivalry was silent.

However, what makes the Brighton-Palace rivalry unique and mystifying is the circumstances that should not have led it to be rivals.

The teams aren’t from the same county. Brighton and Palace had moments where they weren’t in the same tier. These proved that teams don’t have to be local rivals to have a fierce rivalry; they should have a storied and intense history together.