Magic day in FA Cup quarter final: Brighton 5-0 Grimsby photos
The magic of the FA Cup was alive and well as this bumper selection of photos from Brighton 5-0 Grimsby is testament to.
League Two Grimsby were 2022-23’s giant killers, eliminating five teams from higher divisions to reach their first quarter final in nearly a century.
More than 4000 Mariners fans made the long journey to Sussex, taking over the Palace Pier on Saturday before creating a carnival atmosphere at the Amex on Sunday with their hundreds of inflatable haddock.
Brighton meanwhile were aiming to make the semi finals of the competition for the third time in 122 years. Robert De Zerbi has talked about how he wants the Albion to be viewed as a big team qualifying for Europe and nothing would underline that quite like winning the FA Cup.
This convincing 5-0 win means that Brighton are now just a victory over Manchester United and then a victory over in all likelihood Manchester City from achieving what even a year ago would have seemed a pretty improbable dream.
Having beaten both Manchester clubs within the past three seasons, the Albion will fancy their chances. No wonder there were such scenes of celebration afterwards, to go with appreciation for the efforts of Grimsby in going so far in the competition.
Deniz Undav gave Brighton a half time lead and although the Mariners did little as an attacking force, a one-goal advantage had Albion fans a little nervous.
It fell to Evan Ferguson to take the game away from Grimsby. He scored two sublime finishes with a Solly March diving header and a heavily deflected Kaoru Mitoma effort completing the rout.
This was an afternoon that will live long in the memory of both Seagulls and Mariners fans who were present.
For Brighton – next stop Wembley. And whereas the 2019 FA Cup semi final against Manchester City felt like a hopeless task, the Albion will not be going to the cathedral of football to merely make up the numbers this time.
If you have any photos you would like included in our Brighton 5-0 Grimsby Town gallery, please e-mail them to wearebrighton@hotmail.co.uk or tweet them to us @wearebrighton
