2,000 Brighton fans will witness historic moment against their oldest rival Southampton

Our first game against them took place on 3rd September 1898, when the newly-formed Brighton United took their place in the Southern League, ready to kick off the 1898/99 season.

We travelled along the coast to play the very first game at The Dell, itself a brand-new stadium. A crowd of 8,000 saw us lose 4-1.

Southampton went on to finish top of the Southern League that season, while Brighton United folded in January 1901. The club re-surfaced in June of that year as Brighton and Hove Albion and the rest is, quite literally, history.

Southern League meetings continued until both were admitted to the Football League in 1920. Saints were promoted to Division two in 1922 and the rivalry wasn’t resumed until the 1950s, when both clubs again found themselves in the third tier.

Including those Southern League games, Albion have 20 wins overall, Saints have 35, with 18 fixtures ending in a draw, the latest of these being the 1-1 at St Mary’s in July, a result that all but secured Albion’s Premier League survival.

For my column this week however, I’m going back to our first spell in the top flight, for a Division One game at The Goldstone in April 1982.

After Alan Mullery’s departure the previous summer, new boss Mike Bailey had enjoyed a season of relative safety, but his defensive tactics were beginning to wear thin with the Albion faithful.

In the middle of March 1982, we were in 9th place, dreaming of qualification for the UEFA Cup. Two defeats, to Birmingham City and Ipswich Town, had dropped us a couple of places but the visit of Southampton was a chance to put things right.

In his ‘From the Manager’s Chair’ column in the programme, Bailey was on the back foot, defending his tactics. Responding to comments made at a recent Fans Forum, he said, “people are entitled to their opinion, but I am paid to get results for Brighton and that is my first priority”.

His selection for Southampton was unchanged from the previous week, with Perry Digweed behind a back four of Don Shanks, Sammy Nelson, Steve Foster and Steve Gatting.

In midfield, Mickey Thomas was alongside Gary Stevens, Tony Grealish and Neil McNab. The strikers were Andy Ritchie and Michael Robinson.

Southampton were challenging at the very top of the table, and were a point clear of Liverpool, although the Reds did have three games in hand. The Saints matchday squad of twelve contained no less than 10 English players, including Alan Ball, Mick Channon and Kevin Keegan.

With so much at stake, it was perhaps not surprising that the game lacked a little composure. Neil McNab’s penalty separated the teams at half time and the crowd of just over 20,000 was dreaming of a move up the table.

The second half was a different story and Southampton came back strongly. They were rewarded when Kevin Keegan’s goal brought the scores level.

Albion had chances to win and it was only a couple of magnificent saves from Saints goalkeeper Ivan Katalinic that kept us at bay. We couldn’t find a way past him and the game finished 1-1.

With nine games left, hopes were high for a strong finish. Defeat in seven of those meant we fell away to eventually end up in 13th place, although this remains our highest ever top-flight finish.

The form of Steve Foster led to an England call-up for the World Cup in Spain, where Sammy Nelson also played two games for Northern Ireland. Player of the Season was Andy Ritchie, who scored 14 goals in league and cup games.

We meet again this coming Monday in front of 2,000 at The Amex. Albion will be encouraged by recent performances, while Southampton will still be smarting after their last-minute defeat to Manchester United last weekend.

It all points to an exciting encounter and Albion fans will be hoping the team can provide some early cheer for those returning fans.