Cupset and sent off for being deaf – the night Brighton shocked the Foxes

Throughout the history of Brighton and Hove Albion, there have been plenty of weird and wonderful red cards. But none has been more bizarre than the time that Jimmy Case got sent off for Brighton away at Leicester City in the League Cup for being deaf.

Hard man Case remains one of the most popular players that the Albion have ever had. He was known for four things; being a tough tackling midfielder, scoring thunderbastard goals from distance (“SUPERB FROM JIMMY CASE”), liking a drink and being hard of hearing.

Even in his prime, Case had struggled with deafness. By 1994 when Liam Brady’s Division Two Brighton went to Premier League Leicester looking to pull off one of great League Cup upsets, Case was 40.

And what no deaf 40-year-old needs is to play in front of a crowd of 14,258 increasingly angry supporters when you haven’t got your hearing aid. Which is exactly what our Jimmy did.

There were just a couple of minutes left to play when Jeff Minton had been told by the referee to leave the field to remove a necklace.

Quite how the match officials hadn’t noticed that Minton had been sporting the jewellery for the best part of an entire game remains a mystery.

Anyway, Case was waiting for his midfield partner to return to the field. The Filbert Street crowd were losing their minds by this point at what they felt was a brazen piece of time wasting from the Albion.

The referee agreed with the Foxes’ supporters’ assessment and told Case – already on a booking – to hurry up. Case of course couldn’t hear him thanks to a combination of the noise of the crowd and lack of hearing aid, and so he was shown a second yellow for dissent.

Case’s reaction to getting sent off was priceless. He looked at the referee like he couldn’t quite believe it, and then slowly trundled off the field dumbfounded by what is going on. And who could blame him – after all, he remains to this day the only player ever to see red for the crime of being deaf.

It was a strange end to an extraordinary contest. These were the days when League Cup first and second round ties were played over two legs and Brighton arrived in Leicester with a 1-0 lead from the meeting at the Goldstone two weeks earlier.

The Albion were in good form in what was Brady’s first full season in charge, losing just two of the first 10 league games to sit five points off the top of the third tier.

That dizzy position in the table was largely due to the goals of Kurt Nogan, who had begun the campaign like a steam train.

Nogan had scored 12 times in all competitions and rumours were beginning to swirl that Premier League giants such as Case’s beloved Liverpool were interested in making a move for the Welshman.

Nogan had showed any potential top flight suitors his qualities with the only goal against the Foxes in that first leg.

After the Albion had been put 1-0 ahead by their top scorer, it took some dogged defensive work to keep out the visitors and ensure that Brady’s charges headed up the M1 with a slender advantage.

A large away following went with them, although it was in hope more than expectation. Filbert Street was a compact ground and the home support could generate quite the noise.

An intimidating atmosphere lied in wait for a young Albion side not used to playing in such a setting; and the one experienced player they did have had rather helpfully left his hearing aid at home.

Leicester were clearly the favourites to turn the tie around and progress on their own patch. Yet it was Brighton who controlled the second leg from start to finish, giving one of the best performances of the Brady era which pointed to a much brighter future.

For all the talk about Case and his hearing aid, it was an equally memorable night for Stuart Munday. The utility man played 117 times for Brighton between 1992 and 1996, scoring five goals.

The best of those – in fact, one of the best goals that any Brighton player has ever scored – came at Filbert Street. There seemed little on when Munday got the ball just inside the Leicester half.

Distance wise, a shot seemed hopeful at best. Positional wise, shooting seemed madness – not only was Munday miles away, but he was also out towards the flank.

Nobody in their right mind would have attempted an effort on goal, but Munday did. He was rewarded with a 40 yard screamer that left experienced goalkeeper Kevin Poole grasping at thin air.

Leicester were shocked and suddenly Brighton were 2-0 ahead and cruising to a League Cup upset. Nogan added a second towards the end and the Albion were through 3-0 on aggregate.

If you had watched the game knowing nothing about the respective teams, you would have though Brighton were the Premier League side and Leicester from Division Two.

You would also have promoted Munday into the England squad – this being over a year before David Beckham “did a Munday” for Manchester United against Wimbledon – and you would have wondered why Nogan was not playing for Barcelona.

That last question was answered over the following weeks as Nogan’s scoring touch deserted him. His goal against Leicester was his 60th in 100 games for Brighton, a strike rate better than the likes of Peter Ward and Bobby Zamora managed – but it also proved to be his last for the club and four barren months later, he moved to Burnley for £250,000 in a bid to rediscover some form.

Nogan wasn’t the only one who entered a slump after the thrill of beating the Foxes. It was largely downhill for the Albion as well from that point on, the early promise of a promotion bid falling away for a season of mid table mediocrity and a 16th placed finish.

Nobody got sent off for being deaf again though, which was at least something.