Four goal Bryan Wade-d in with the greatest of Albion home debuts
There can’t have been many Albion home debuts as good as Bryan Wade’s when Newcastle United came to the Goldstone Ground in January 1991.
The stocky little forward scored all four goals in a 4-2 win over the Magpies. It was his first start in front of the Hove faithful and needless to say, it made him a pretty popular guy. What made it all the more remarkable is that it came just four months after he’d been on the dole, signing on to collect weekly benefits whilst turning out for Haverfordwest in the Welsh League.
His employment situation was a result of his release by Swansea City at the end of the 1989-90 season. Wade had spent two years at the Vetch Field with other half of his 36 league appearances for the Swans coming from the bench.
Before that, he’d spent three seasons with Swindon Town, scoring 10 times as the Robins lifted the Division Four title in 1985-86 having moved to the County Ground after lighting up the south west’s non-league circuit with Bath City and Trowbridge Town.
Brighton boss Barry Lloyd had an eye for a bargain – if you excuse the Mark Farrington disaster – and you couldn’t get much more of a bargain than a striker who is collecting a state handout at his local post office every Thursday.
Lloyd therefore invited Wade for a trial at the Goldstone in September 1991 and he responded by promptly scoring a hat-trick in his first match for the reserves, a 5-0 win over Southampton. There was clearly something about the forward and it wasn’t long before Lloyd was offering him a contract. No more days spent in the Job Centre for Mr Wade.
He made the first team bench five times throughout the autumn of 1990, eventually making his debut as a substitute in place of John Crumplin in a 3-2 home defeat to Middlesbrough October 27th. A combination of a nagging hamstring injury and the form of Lloyd’s other striking options Mike Small, Robert Codner and John Byrne meant that his opportunities were largely restricted until four days in mid-January when he wrote himself into Albion folklore.
On Saturday January 12th 1991, the Albion travelled to Wolverhampton Wanderers. Wade was given his first start and opened his account for the Seagulls with a fine headed goal at Molineux as Brighton picked up their customary good result against the club for whom they are to this day still a bogey side.
Wade kept his place for the visit of Newcastle to Sussex four days later, resulting in a full home debut that has entered the history books. His first came just before half time when he demonstrated a superb first touch to pluck a 70 yard hoof from defence out of the air with his right foot, outpaced a defender and fired into the bottom corner from just inside the Magpies box.
Into the second half and Newcastle were 2-1 ahead through Micky Quinn and Kevin Brock before the Wade show really kicked up a notch. His second came via some more classic route one football, this time Perry Digweed smashing a goal kick into orbit which was flicked on to Wade who again tore past the visiting defence before rounding United goalkeeper John Burridge and firing into an empty net.
His hat-trick arrived with a looping header from a Crumplin cross and he rounded off a quick counter attack for his and the Albion’s fourth, Small sending Codner away who squared to Wade to slot home past the shocked Burridge. Some supporters from the North Stand poured onto the pitch at that point, keen to acclaim the first player to notch four goals in a game since Peter Ward 15 years previously. Only Glenn Murray has managed the feat in the 28 years since.
Wade made four more starts and six appearances from the bench over the remaining four months of the campaign, scoring once more in a 3-0 win over Leicester City to take his 1990-91 haul to six goals in 11 games. That turned out to be a small but vital contribution to helping the Albion reach the play offs, where they ultimately fell at the final hurdle to Notts County.
Lloyd promised after that defeat at Wembley that he would lead Brighton out of the second tier the following season and he duly delivered as the Albion went from being 90 minutes from the top flight to relegated inside of a year.
The sales of Small for £400,000 to West Ham United and Byrne to Sunderland for £225,000 didn’t help the Seagulls cause. Even with those two out of the way and despite the fact he hit three hat-tricks for the reserves over the course of the 1991-92 season, Wade found chances limited, making just seven starts and one sub appearance. Despite the lack of playing time, he still managed to weigh in with three goals.
Following the club’s relegation into the third tier, he was released with his Albion record reading a very decent nine goals in 22 appearances. A troubling knee injury saw him decide to quit the professional game and he returned to his native south west, turning out for Frome Town and then enjoying another spell with Trowbridge.
He never managed to score four goals on his full home debut for either of those two, mind. That was a trick he reserved for the Albion faithful and one which means he is still talked about to this day.
