Top 10 Brighton & Hove Albion EFL Trophy Moments

Great excitement has gripped the Amex with the news that Brighton and Hove Albion will compete in the EFL Trophy (or Johnstone's Paint Pot to you and me) for the third successive season.

One of the biggest negatives about not being in the bottom two tiers of English football used to be that you could no longer take part in a competition which was so attractive that is bought nine away fans to Withdean once or that offered Kerry Mayo the opportunity to score the winning penalty in a quarter final shoot out.

Since the Football League began inviting clubs with Category One Academy's to take part alongside the 48 League One and Two teams who have no choice in the matter in 2016, that has all changed though. Last season voyage into the competition was particularly enjoyable for a first ever competitive trip to Stevenage and the chance to field Tim Krul in the competition, a man who three years previously had been part of the Netherlands squad that finished fourth at the World Cup.

In order to celebrate this fantastic news of the Albion's continued involvement, we've put together our top 10 Brighton and Hove Albion EFL Trophy Moments. Frankly, no-one who reads this list and doesn't end up salivating over the prospect of further games in the competition should just give up on football completely,.

	Getting rich at Kenilworth Road Luton Town 1-1 Brighton - Tuesday 17/02/09 You've just made a Wembley final via a tense penalty shoot out victory, so how do you celebrate? If you are Luton Town fans, you swarm onto the playing surface in a mass pitch invasion, head straight to where the away fans are gathered and start pelting them with coins. Luton as a place was born to have the phrase "You'd have to pay me to go there" attached to it, and on this occasion thanks to the locals generosity we effectively were.
	Kerry Mayo wins a penalty shoot out Millwall 1-1 Brighton - Tuesday 28/11/06 For some reason, we'd taken 900 fans to a Paint Pot Southern Quarter Final game at The Den. And those who went can proudly say they were there the day Kerry Mayo won a penalty shoot out for the Albion. The game had finished 1-1 in normal time and in the shoot out, Wayne Henderson saved one, Millllll couldn't even hit the target with a couple before Mayo stepped up to slot home the winning spot kick and send the travelling support wild.
	Boston United bring nine away fans Brighton 2-0 Boston United - Tuesday 17/10/06 Boston may be more northerly on the map than Nottingham, but that didn't stop them being in the southern half of the draw for the 2006-07 Football League Trophy. The result? A first round meeting with the Albion and a 380 mile round trip on a Tuesday night to one of the worst grounds in the league. We can only salute the nine United fans who made the journey and just sat among the Brighton support. They must have been mad.
	Virgo scores in extra time Brighton 3-2 Fulham - Tuesday 17/12/96 No, not that one. This was Adam's pretty-much-forgotten brother James' crowning moment in a Brighton shirt and only a crowd of just over 1,000 were there to see it. It also remains only one of two games the Albion ever won by a golden goal. Just three days after Steve Gritt shocked Hull City by winning his first game in charge, Division Three leaders Fulham were vanquished by Virgo's strike as Brighton ran out 3-2 winners at the Goldstone.
	Discovering the coldest toilet in the world Shrewsbury Town 0-0 Brighton - Tuesday 16/12/08 On our first - and so far only - visit to The New Meadow we discovered what is now officially ranked as the coldest toilet in the world. Someone in all their wisdom had decided to make the toilet out of pure stainless steel which, on a freezing night five days before Christmas, rendered it colder than sitting on an iceberg to have a crap. Nobody was brave enough to try it, but we'd confidently predict anyone who did would have become stuck.
	Russell Slade's victorious return to Withdean Brighton 0-2 Leyton Orient - Wednesday 01/09/11 Without Russell Slade, who knows where the Albion would be. Relegation to League Two in 2009 would have equalled no Gus Poyet and no first season at the Amex in the Championship. Slade's first return after his unceremonious sacking came as boss of Leyton Orient and he guided the O's to a 2-0 win (a certain Dean Cox scored for Orient as well), getting a great reception afterwards and throwing his trademark baseball cap to the crowd.
	Shrewsbury serve a ham baguette Shrewsbury Town 0-0 Brighton - Tuesday 16/12/08 Football ground food is usually, for want of a better word, wank. So take a bow Shrewsbury Town. The New Meadow may have the coldest toilet in the world, but it also has the best food. A win on penalties thanks largely to John Sullivan's heroics both in the shoot out and the 90 minutes preceding it is forgotten, but we will always remember the Shrews serving the sort of ham baguette you can pay up to £10 for in a London pub for just £3. Amazing.
	Jake Robinson becomes the clubs youngest scorer Brighton 2-0 Forest Green Rovers - Monday 13/10/03 Brighton supporters have declared so many players to progress through the youth system as "the next big thing" that it is hard to keep up. But with Jake Robinson there was genuine hope that he could go onto become a star. Thrown into the first team at 16, he marked his home debut as a sub with the second goal in a 2-0 win over Forest Green. The sky looked the limit for the clubs youngest ever goalscorer. And now he plays for Whitehawk.
	Micky Adams resigns Luton Town 1-1 Brighton - Tuesday 17/02/09 As if picking up £20 in loose change from the Luton fans wasn't enough, there was another positive of that Southern Final defeat in 2009 - it signalled the end of Micky Adams Mark II reign of horror. Adams resigned in the aftermath, paving the way for Russell Slade to come in and pull off his great escape. We missed the comments about players needing a hug and playing The Leeds United, but we certainly didn't miss his management skills.
	Playing Cheltenham Town three times in 10 days Brighton 4-1 Cheltenham Town - Wednesday 14/11/07 It's often been said that if there is one fixture Brighton fans could happily watch over and over again, it is a meeting with Cheltenham Town. Well, dreams were realised when we ended up meeting three times in 10 days in November 2007. There was a 1-1 draw at Whaddon Road in the FA Cup on the 10th, the Albion won 4-1 at Withdean in the EFL Trophy four days later and six days after that triumphed 2-1 in the FA Cup replay. Happy days.