The history of Brighton v Sheffield Wednesday

For two clubs that have only met on 35 occasions and who are based 230 miles apart, there is an unusual amount of animosity between the supporters of Brighton and Hove Albion and Sheffield Wednesday.

The history of the fixture is littered with big games, from FA Cup Semi Finals to Championship Play Offs. There are last minute goals and of course Brighton’s diabolical record at Hillsborough, which read no wins in 17 attempts prior to the Albion’s 2016-17 promotion season.

Perhaps the biggest reason for the dislike of Wednesday is their supporter’s perceived arrogance. Massive Wednesday is the term used on Albion forums, a reference to the way in which Owls fans seem to view their club as one of the biggest in the land who should be playing in the top flight, regardless of the fact that they haven’t graced the Premier League for over 20 years now. Must be a Yorkshire thing given The Leeds United’s similar delusions of grandeur.

The irony about all this is that when the first two games between Brighton and Sheffield Wednesday took place, Wednesday were a massive club. Twice in the space of 13 years between 1914 and 1927 the sides met in the FA Cup at Hillsborough and twice the top flight Owls ran out victorious.

The first of those fixtures came on February 21st 1914. Wednesday had already lifted the famous trophy twice by that point in its fledgling history and so it was with great excitement that 400 Seagulls supporters made the long trip to South Yorkshire.

They were said to have been impressed by the newly opened “swagger” stand at Hillsborough which cost £15,000 to build, the equivalent of £1,742,209 today. Even more notable was Brighton’s first half display as they took the game to their top flight opponents with Charlie Webb and Albert Longstaff causing considerable problems for the hosts’ defence.

Sadly for the Albion, Wednesday got their act together after the break and ended up running out 3-0 winners. It was a similar story in the third round on January 8th 1927 with the Owls winning 2-0 on that occasion.

It would be another 31 years before Brighton and Wednesday renewed rivalries, this time in the second tier in the 1958-59 season. The next notable meeting came on May 3rd 1976 when Wednesday visited the Goldstone to face an Albion side who knew that victory would secure their promotion out of the third tier.

A bumper crowd of 30,756 packed into the old ground but Wednesday were in a party pooping mood and took the lead inside a minute. They were ahead right up until the hour mark, thanks partly to a Peter Ward missed penalty in the first half.

Ward made up for that by levelling things up with his 30th goal of the season. Brian Horton then converted a penalty of his own and Steve Piper made it 3-1 with four minutes remaining.

Wednesday did manage to pull another back, but that proved to be too little, too late as Alan Mullery’s men held on to confirm their place in Division Two for the 1976-77 season.

Six years passed until the next meeting between Brighton and Wednesday, easily the most famous of the lot. Saturday 16th April 1983 is a day that is etched in Albion history forever as goals from Jimmy Case – superb from Jimmy Case – and Michael Robinson gave Brighton a 2-1 win over the Owls and with it, a place in their one and only FA Cup Final to date.

A victory to savour – which was just as well as since then, it’s been Wednesday who have dominated the fixture. They inflicted defeat on the Albion in both Chris Cattlin and Sami Hyypia’s first games in charge and we went six games without scoring a goal against them in the middle of the 2010s.

The Owls relegated Mark McGhee’s side from the Championship with a 2-0 Withdean win on Easter Monday 2006. Prior to that, they scored goals with the last kicks of the game in consecutive campaigns at Hillsborough, earning a 1-1 draw and a 2-1 win in the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons respectively. To add insult to injury, we’ve even had to suffer the ignominy of losing to a goal from Leon bloody Best.

And then there was the 2015-16 season play offs. Never in Brighton history has there been a single game blighted by so many injuries as that first leg at Hillsborough on Friday 13th May 2016. Don’t believe anyone who tells you that Friday 13th being unlucky is just a myth.

In the 39th minute, Tomer Hemed went off. In the 40th, Connor Goldson. In the 50th, Steve Sidwell. And in the 60th, Anthony Knockaert was stretchered off. The biggest game of the season and the Albion ended up having to play the final half hour with only 10 men.

The players gave it their best shot but in the end, they understandably came up short. You couldn’t fail to be impressed by the bravery or effort though, summed up best by Liam Rosenior stood on the pitch at the end in a blood-spattered shirt, urging Albion fans to keep their chins up.

We did for the return leg and the Amex was rocking. Wednesday got the job done though, drawing 1-1 on the night to advance to the final at Wembley where they were beaten by Hull City. Brighton got revenge of sorts the following year, winning 2-1 in two more memorable games.

The first of those victories gave the Albion their first ever success at Hillsborough at the 17th attempt. The second saw Glenn Murray sent off for a wonderful deliberate handball, leaving the Albion to finish the game with 10 men.

Despite playing shorthanded against Wednesday once again, this time they found a way to win. Knockaert was at his unplayable best, scoring twice and David Stockdale pulled off an unforgettable double save from a Fernando Forestieri penalty.

So frustrated were the Owls by the end that they ended up finishing the game with nine men after petulant late red cards for Steve Fletcher and Sam Hutchinson. Final score – Ten man Brighton 2-1 Nine Man Sheffield Wednesday.

Six months previously, “We’re on our way” had reverberated around the away end at the Amex as Wednesday taunted us about their date with destiny at the Amex.

Now it was Brighton’s turn to sing it. The difference being we really were on our way, while they remain in the Championship. Massive Wednesday, indeed.