Beating Ajax a night no Brighton fan will ever forget
A late October evening in 2023 will forever have a place in Brighton & Hove Albion history. The Seagulls secured their first ever European win and not just against any opponent, but Ajax Amsterdam, one of the most famous and successful clubs in Europe.
The naysayers might say the current Ajax side are not a patch on their teams who won four European Cups, but they remain a giant of the game. And Brighton managed to beat them on a night no Albion fan will ever forget.
My evening began on the Seagulls Travel coach from Lindfield to the Amex. A journey I have done many times before.
I set off in good time to call in at the Prize Fighter Fish & Chip Shop in Crawley Down to get some piping hot chips with salt and vinegar before driving to Lindfield, where none other than Gerry Ryan used to own a pub.
Lindfield is a great village and its pubs are amongst the best things about it. Little did I know though that Gerry ran The Witch following his retirement after an Albion career of 199 appearances.
It felt right that a moving minute of applause for Gerry preceded Brighton’s first win in Europe following his recent passing, in view of everything he did as an Albion player.
I spoke to a Brighton fan called Chris on the coach and he shared some special memories of Gerry, who he and his family knew well.
What initially got us chatting was me promoting The Seagulls Best Ever Season to the captive audience on the coach. Thank you to Seagulls Travel for their support and approval… and Chris even purchased a copy of the book.
The bus did its job and we arrived at the Amex by 6.50pm. There was plenty of time to embrace the electric atmosphere building at the Amex, but we were too late for a hotdog in the East Upper.
They had all sold out an hour before the start. Come on chefs, you can do better than that. I was now left hoping the lack of hotdog was not an omen for the game to come.
The Ajax fans numbered 1,500 in the South Stand… plus one sitting next to me. How did he manage to get a ticket, I wondered? He told me he had travelled by train all the way from Amsterdam. By the way, he left before the final whistle!
When Sussex by the Sea played, thoughts of laying in the East Surrey Hospital MRI Scanner the night before thankfully faded away for me.
The teams emerged to the Europa League anthem as a light show and towering flames lit up the night sky. The question now was would the players be up for it?
And boy, they were. The Albion played with a real purpose and opportunities presented themselves one after the other throughout the game.
The first real excitement was Kaoru Mitoma racing away down the left side and crossing the ball beautifully to Joao Pedro, who was brought down in the box.
Brighton appealed for a penalty but the referee waved away the claims and we instead had to settle for corner. Lewis Dunk met the delivery with a towering header popped back across goal to Simon Adingra. It was not the easiest of balls for Adingra to control and the effort went over the Ajax bar.
The opening goal arrived on 42 minutes. Ajax goalkeeper Diant Ramaj parried an amazing shot from Mitoma straight into the path of Joao Pedro, who made no mistake with a poacher’s finish into the back of the net.
It was easy to imagine what Roberto De Zerbi might say to the players at half time. Plenty of passion, determination and a clear message not to allow Ajax to get a goal back early.
Brighton moved further ahead eight minutes into part two. Ansu Fati was so cool in front of goal, picking a spot with a perfectly placed shot to the right of Ramaj.
The Amex exploded and I will be the first to admit I had tears in my eyes. Ajax never stood a chance of coming back from that and De Zerbi was able to rest players and get his subs onto the pitch.
What was most pleasing for me was a first clean sheet of the season. There were no silly mistakes at the back leading to the opposition scoring. Brighton were in total control in the manner we saw so often last season.
We have so much to be excited about right now as Brighton fans and we should be savouring every moment. What a night. A win for Gerry.
Tony Noble @Noble1844Tony
Seagulls Best Ever Season Volume 2 charts Brighton’s record breaking 2022-23 campaign through the eyes of Tony Noble, an East Stand Upper season ticket holder at the American Express Stadium. It is available from Waterstones, WHSmith, Amazon Bookstore and all good bookshops as well as the Albion Superstore at the Amex and via this link.
