Why the ‘M23 derby’ is one of the fiercest in the Premier League

ByAdmin
Rate this post


Every time Brighton & Hove Albion and Crystal Palace play each other, questions arise about the origins of the intense animosity between teams whose 43-mile separation means they are in different counties.

When the clubs meet again at the Amex Stadium on Sunday (14:00 GMT), it will be the first edition of the fever pitch for Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler and Palace’s Oliver Glasner, a manager for whom the Albion coach has immense respect from his time in Germany. .

Hurzeler was St Pauli’s manager and ultimately went on a fact-finding mission when the sides drew 1-1 at Selhurst Park last season, while Glasner became Palace manager 16 days after the their 4-1 defeat at Brighton on 3 February.

Here are some of the history lessons that may have been taught to the pair, as well as a look at some memorable clashes between Brighton and Palace.

Brighton-Palau rivalry: when did it start?

There had been problems in matches between the teams in the mid-1970s, as well as a subversion of Palace’s ‘Eagles’ nickname by Brighton fans which eventually led to Albion taking on their own nickname, the seagulls, in direct opposition to Palace.

During the 1976/77 season, the teams were involved in an FA Cup first round tie that required three legs before Palace prevailed 1-0.

Two intensely charismatic figures were in the dugouts: Alan Mullery for Brighton, Terry Venables for Palace. The pair had been roommates at Tottenham as players, with Spurs manager Bill Nicholson choosing Mullery over Venables as captain.

Mullery was furious after Albion lost their Cup tie. Their captain Brian Horton had a penalty disallowed by referee Ron Challis before the recovery was saved, and iconic Brighton striker Peter Ward also had a goal scored.

The manager produced an immortal image when he waved a ‘V’ sign at the Palace fans at full-time, complained to Challis and threw a change towards the opposition team, adding: “Palace it’s not worth it.”

Alan Mullery v Terry Venables

Martin Hinshelwood, a Palace player at the time who would become a revered youth manager at Brighton and briefly manage the Seagulls in 2002, has noted that Venables “always seemed to outdo Alan”.

Palace finished two points clear of Brighton as both sides were promoted from the Third Division that year, and an inexorable history of promotion fights, dramatic matches and hatred between fan groups had been set in motion.

Between them, Palace pipped Mullery’s Brighton back to the title in 1978/79 as both sides were promoted to the top flight, with five penalties conceded inside 27 minutes of a 2- 1 for Palace in 1989, including a misguided throw from Ian. Wright, who was rejected by Brighton as a youngster for being too small.

Palace had lost eight and drawn two of 10 derbies between 1979 and 1986, but they had bragging rights between 1990 and 2001, spending three seasons in the Premier League and the rest in the second, while the Brighton was on the brink of oblivion. the other end of the EFL.

After almost going out of business and staying in the EFL in the last game of the 1996/97 season, Albion spent time in two temporary homes before finally moving to the Amex Stadium in 2011.

Palace vs Brighton: Modern results

As he ended his nearly 13-year wait to play for Palace again, it was a glorious day for the home fans at Selhurst Park, who witnessed a 5-0 second-leg thrashing, with the future England striker Andy Johnson scoring a hat-trick. .

Palace lost just once in eight meetings with a 1-0 defeat at Selhurst Park in 2005 and became the first team to beat Brighton at the Amex Stadium, as well as defeating them there in the 2013 Championship Playoff Semifinals.

Jordan Ayew scored the only goal of the game in Palace’s first Premier League win at Brighton in 2020, and exquisite drama became a hallmark of the game during the four subsequent meetings, three of which were decided with goals in the 90th minute.

Brighton’s emphatic victory more than 10 months ago is the only time either side have won by more than one goal in the last 11 games between them, with Hinshelwood’s great-nephew Jack among the scorers in that occasion

Palace’s last two defeats to Brighton have also preceded the departure of their managers – Patrick Vieira’s last game in charge was a 1-0 defeat at the Amex Stadium in March 2023, while their defeat on the same stage last season proved to be Roy Hodgson’s last away game. of his mandate.

Why is Brighton vs Crystal Palace called the M23 derby?

Reports often refer to the game as the “M23 derby” to mean the road between Brighton and London. The actual road that provides a direct connection is the A23.

Brighton vs Palace: Five episodes of the rivalry

Brighton 1-1 Palace, 2 October 1976

In the spirit of equality, we begin with a draw at Brighton’s original home of the Goldstone Ground, watched by a crowd of over 27,000 in the Third Division.

Mullery is understood to have joked about Venables arranging for smoke bombs to be thrown onto the pitch, feeling that fan disruptions had hampered his team’s momentum.

As has often been the case for either side, Palace took the lead against the run of play through Jim Cannon. Brighton quickly leveled with Kenny Sansom’s own goal.

Palace 2-1 Brighton, 27 March 1989

An excellent goal from Ian Wright, a red card for Brighton’s Mike Trusson and a successful Mark Bright penalty put Palace 2-0 up and they looked set for a routine victory although Bright and Wright penalties were missed in quick succession.

Alan Curbishley responded from the spot after the break before defender John Pemberton fired a penalty over the bar for the visitors. Palace reached the top flight via the play-offs that season, while Brighton flirted with relegation but survived.

Palace 5-0 Brighton, 26 October 2002

Steve Coppell had been Palace manager during that five-penalty game, and his task when the teams met again after a 13-year hiatus was to rescue Albion from a desperate start to their championship season.

Unfortunately for Brighton, Coppell’s first game away from home only cemented his status as a Palace legend, with Johnson scoring twice in the first half. Current Palace sporting director Dougie Freedman then scored, as did Julian Gray after Johnson had completed his hat-trick.

While Palace finished 14th, Coppell showed his considerable experience to revive Brighton’s season, taking their unsuccessful relegation battle to the final day of the season.

Brighton 3-0 Palace, 17 March 2013

This was Brighton’s first win against Palace for more than seven years, their first at home for 25 years, their first at the Amex Stadium and their only win in the game in eight attempts between 2005 and 2017.

Spanish midfielder David López has scored a spectacular free kick between goalkeeper Leo Ulloa’s goals. At the time, Brighton were chasing a Championship play-off place, while Palace were hoping for automatic promotion.

Brighton 0-2 Palace, 13 May 2013

Palace had the last laugh that season in the Championship play-off semi-finals.

After a 0-0 draw at Selhurst Park, two Wilfried Zaha goals in 20 second-half minutes gave the visitors a 2-0 aggregate win, with the manager who had guided Brighton’s promotion to the League One and took them to their new home, Gus. Poyet, leaving The Seagulls two days later.

Ian Holloway led Palace to victory over Watford in the play-off final, and they have been in the Premier League ever since.

Brighton vs Crystal Palace head to head

The extremely tight overall record between the teams reflects the seesaw nature of their games and results against each other over the decades.

The exact figures are up for debate, but Brighton have 42 wins to Palace’s 38, according to 11v11.comwith 31 ending as ties.



 
Report

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *