PRIOR to May, 1997, a fixture between Brighton and Hereford was probably no more than your average football league or occasional cup match.
The final day showdown at Edgar Street, which resulted in a 1-1 draw and saw the home team relegated out of the Football League, will live long in the memory of supporters of both teams.
Back then our coach had an early morning departure from Chap
man's and disaster was to strike as early as the Washington roundabout when the gearbox failed. Were we ever going to get to see possibly Brighton's last ever game in the Football league?
The coach limped to Boxhill, and fed with the, as advertised, "Best Burgers in Surrey", we waited for a replacement coach.
The fanzine I co-edited with my great mate Peter Kennard, Gull's Eye, had had its 100th and final edition the previous Saturday at the last game at the Goldstone, and the BBC had invited Pete and I to appear live on Football Focus that afternoon.
Unfortunately the combination of the said gearbox and Herefordshire Police's reluctance to let us arrive at the ground so early, meant we had to pass, but then again it's always been commented on that I only had a face for radio.
We eventually made it to Edgar Street for kick-off and witnessed perhaps one of the worst first halfs I have watched Brighton play in, culminating in Kerry Mayo scoring an own goal.
At the break it wasn't so much that the Albion had one foot in the Conference, they were waist deep.
The second 45 minutes was marginally better than the first, although only three events really stick in my mind.
Robbie Reinalt's goal, which levelled the scores and put the Albion 23rd in the League, Mark Ormerod's point blank injury-time save and the final whistle, which, having watched it all these years later, I still believe has more to do with the fact that the ref was at the closest point to the tunnel at the time.
The Albion were saved and Hereford weren't. Thankfully, under the stewardship of Graham Turner, the Bulls did come back, in fact 11 years on.
They ended-up like the Albion, a full league higher than they were on that fateful Saturday.
Hereford arrive at the Withdean this Saturday, with the Albion almost desperate for a home league win, although with not the same high stakes as May, 1997. The three points on offer this weekend are much needed by both sides.
Let's just hope it's a better game this time...
- The Football fan is strange beast. Eleven months ago I sat in Wembley Stadium and watched 'keeper Scott Carson commit the howler that ultimately denied England qualification for Euro 2008, and it was almost as if the crowd instantly forgave him.
On Saturday Harty junior watched England eventually roll over Kazakhstan and witnessed Ashley Cole make a mistake which resulted in him being booed for the rest of the match.
Two mistakes, yet Cole is the one almost hung, drawn and quartered.
Perhaps the England fans can forgive mistakes, but the recording career of Girls Aloud is just too much to overlook...
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