Brighton aiming for another memorable Easter at Spurs
Easter weekend has long been associated with some of the greatest days in Albion history. And Brighton winning away at Spurs and moving a step closer to Champions League football would be up there with the best.
It was of course Easter Monday six years ago when Chris Hughton delivered promotion to the top flight of English football via victory at the Amex over Wigan Athletic.
If Jesus thought he had a bad deal being dead for three days, he should have tried some of the hangovers permeating from the Sussex area following that fateful afternoon, evening, night and early Tuesday morning.
In 2002, Brighton secured three huge points in the battle for the Division Two title by committing an absolute robbery on Bristol City.
Michel Kuipers gave one of the greatest displays ever seen from an Albion goalkeeper, single handedly keeping the Robins at bay. That paved the way for Lee Steele to stoop and score a last minute header for a 2-1 Brighton win.
A year previously and promotion from Division Three was confirmed on Easter Saturday. The Seagulls won 2-0 at Plymouth Argyle which combined with about five other results going their way conspired to bring an end to a five year stay in the bottom tier.
Easter Saturday 12 months ago was not bad, either. The sun shone, Brighton were magnificent and Leandro Trossard scored a last minute winner against… Tottenham Hotspur.
At the time, that result came as something of a shock. The Albion had only just ended a run of six losses, one draw and only one goal scored by winning 2-1 at Arsenal a week earlier.
Spurs were better than their arch rivals and lightning surely couldn’t strike twice in a week in North London, could it? Oh yes, it could.
Since those six points in the capital, there has been no looking back for Brighton. Their form convinced Todd Boehly to pay £21 million for Graham Potter and to put him on a five year contract worth £60 million. Lol.
Roberto De Zerbi subsequently swept into the Amex in September and has pushed the Albion to a new level. In contrast, Spurs are going backwards having sacked Antonio Conte and with seemingly no idea of how to replace him.
It is in this context that Brighton return to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where a win would no longer be the surprise of a year ago.
In fact, a result from Spurs is almost expected now, such has been the change in mentality instigated by De Zerbi to both Brighton players and supporters.
The reason all those great memories of past promotions coincide with Easter it’s because April is the business end of the season.
No matter how good a start they made to the campaign, Brighton were long since meant to have fallen out of the race for Europe by this stage.
And yet here we are. Not only eyeing up Europa Conference or Europa League, but with a genuine shot of dining at the top table in 2022-23. Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Real Madrid, the impossible dream could be about to become a reality.
No Albion fan probably needs reminding of the state of play in the Premier League table, spending at least six hours per day staring at it to check it is not just one big cheese dream. But here goes anyway. Just to underline what an important game of football this is.
Spurs are fifth. Brighton sixth. Four points separate the sides, which will be closed to one with a Seagulls victory. The Albion have two games in hand. Win those and they would go five ahead of Tottenham.
The Champions League spots are seven points away from Brighton, who have one game in hand on Manchester United and Newcastle. The Albion also have to play those two teams and right now, De Zerbi has them fearing nobody.
Every game from this point on is a cup final for Brighton, except Wembley on Sunday April 23rd which is literally a semi final. The trip to Spurs though feels extra important.
Not only will it pull the Seagulls closer to overtaking one of the European Super League Elite Six, but it would be a huge statement ahead of the run in.
Brighton have beaten Chelsea and Liverpool at the Amex. They are yet to claim a big scalp away from home under De Zerbi, having drawn at Liverpool and suffered an unfortunate loss against Manchester City.
The quality of the Albion is no longer a secret. To beat Spurs however would be a result that confirms to the rest of the world Brighton deserve to be where they are and are going to be fighting tooth and nail all the way to the line for a top four place.
Harry Kane will attempt his gamesmanship unbecoming of an England captain. Son Heung-min will put in nasty challenges despite apparently being the nicest man in football.
Yves Bissouma will look on with regret that he swapped the Amex for Spurs, a lesson perhaps for Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo that the grass is not always greener and they should consider summer moves carefully for the good of their careers.
Brighton though can overcome all that and take three points from Spurs. Time to make some more Easter weekend memories.
