Creepy Crawley big day out at Brighton in FA Cup Sussex derby
The 1991-92 season was an unmitigated disaster for the Albion. One of the only highlights came when the FA Cup third round draw threw up a Sussex Derby and a first ever competitive meeting between Brighton and Crawley Town on Saturday 4th January 1992.
Just six months earlier and the Albion had been one game away from a top flight return. After losing the second tier playoff final to Notts County, manager Barry Lloyd promised Brighton would get out of the division the following season.
Lloyd was at least proving true to his word, although it was not the exit Seagulls supporters were hoping for. Just seven homes wins were recorded in the entire campaign. Along with 23 defeats, it was enough to send Brighton down into the third tier with a whimper.
Attendances reflected the slide taking place on the pitch. The average crowd in the 1991-92 season was just 8,010. Not since the great depression of the 1930s had the Goldstone Ground been so sparsely populated.
A home game against Grimsby Town two months prior to Brighton hosting Crawley in the FA Cup attracted only 4,420. The lowest crowd to watch the Albion in a home competitive came for 37 years did at least get to witness a 3-0 Brighton win for their troubles.
Public interest in watching the Albion was at its worst since World War II. The team were crap, unsurprisingly given Brighton flogged both Mike Small and John Byrne after reaching the playoff final without ever adequately replacing their goals.
A lack of decent striking options was made worse by a leaky defence and a lengthy injury list. Lloyd found himself chopping and changing every week. Only Robert Codner managed more than 40 appearances at a time when ever-presents were commonplace throughout the Football League.
But then along came Creepy Crawley. The Reds had twice reached the first round proper of the FA Cup in the 1970s. But never before had they advanced as far as the third round.
A shock 2-0 win against Northampton Town at their old Town Mead ground moved the Southern League outfit into round two. They then won 2-0 at Hayes.
The balls for the third round draw did the rest. For the first time, two Sussex clubs would meet in the FA Cup proper.
Brighton had taken on fellow Sussex outfits in the qualifying rounds before, most notably when they forgot to enter the FA Cup in the 1932-33 season.
The Albion were subsequently told they would have to go through four qualifying rounds with all of England’s amateur outfits to take their place in the first round proper alongside the Football League’s other 91 clubs.
Three Sussex sides were drawn to face Brighton in the process. Shoreham were despatched 12-0 at the Goldstone Ground. Worthing beaten 7-1. And Hastings & St Leonards thrashed 9-0 in front of 7,723 at the Pilot Field.
There was little prospect of any of those non-league outfits pulling off an upset back in the 1930s. Crawley coming to the Goldstone Ground, however, very much had the look of a huge banana skin for the Albion.
The residents of Crawley certainly thought so. Around 7,000 made the short hop down to the coast to watch from the East Terrace, handed over exclusively to away supporters.
Amongst their number were Crystal Palace and Chelsea supporters, hoping that Brighton would be humbled and it might kick off in a throwback to the hooligan days of the 1970s and 1980s.
11,000 intrigued locals and Brighton fans filled the other sections, giving an overall attendance of 18,031. The crowd would not bettered for the remaining five years Brighton spent at the Goldstone before it was demolished after being sold by Bill Archer, David Bellotti and Greg Stanley.
Brighton hosting Crawley offered countless classic FA Cup stories. There was Reds defender Steve Powell, whose day job was as a teacher.
Cue hundreds of students from his school snapping up tickets to make the most of being able to give him abuse without incurring a detention.
And how about the grizzled veteran returning as an amateur to the club where he made his name as a professional? 36-year-old Tony Towner came off the bench for Crawley to a rapturous reception from Brighton supporters.
Towner played 183 times for the Albion between 1973 and 1978, providing much of the ammunition from out wide for Peter Ward and Ian Mellor to fire Brighton through the divisions.
Whilst Towner had nothing to prove to Brighton, Crawley possessed players in their ranks who may have felt they never got a proper opportunity at the Albion.
Tony Vessey had a brief Seagulls career which included an appearance in the top flight. Damian Webber never progressed beyond the reserves.
It looked through the opening 20 minutes like Crawley could be capable of pulling off an upset. The Reds dominated until Mark Gall put Brighton 1-0 ahead against the run of play.
From there, it was a routine victory for the Albion. Clive Walker doubled the advantage, Ian Chapman scored a screamer and a penalty and Raphael Meade completed the rout. Brighton 5-0 Crawley Town. Banana skin, what banana skin?
For a brief week, it looked like a Sussex Derby win and place in the fourth round of the FA Cup might inject some life into the Albion’s season.
Brighton beat Barnsley 3-1 at the Goldstone seven days later, albeit in front of a much more normal crowd of 6,107.
The Albion then drew 1-1 at Tranmere Rovers but normal service was resumed in the fourth round when Brighton were beaten 2-1 away from home by lower division Bolton Wanderers.
