Tonight the Seagulls face Blackburn Rovers in a tricky encounter at Ewood Park. To set the pulses racing, here’s a riot of Rovers-related goodness from yesteryear…
First up, we have a YouTube video of a narrow but gallant away defeat from November 1991. In the previous season, Brighton had completed the league double over Rovers. However, Kenny Dalglish’s men, backed by Jack Walker’s millions, were to turn the tables on Albion that season and were helped by red cards to Gary O’Reilly and Mark Beeney, Blackburn secured a 1-0 victory.
Over the years, there have been many players who have worn the shirts of both Rovers and Albion. Among them, Graham Moseley, Dave Turner, Allan Gilliver and Mike Hickman. Part of the 1971/72 promotion side, striker Ken Beamish made 99 appearances for Albion between 1972 and 1974 before signing for the Ewood Park side in May 1974. *A real Albion favourite, he returned to the Goldstone Ground one last time in the 1980/81 season. His role was as part of Tranmere’s side facing First Division Brighton in the first leg of a League Cup tie. In the second leg, the experienced centre-forward used his know-how to help get Mark Lawrenson sent off, as Lawro wistfully recalled.
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Unlike Lawrenson, Blackburn Rovers holds better memories for Dave Busby, Albion’s first ever black player. The striker made his full debut at Ewood Park in September 1974, and it took a professional foul to stop him from scoring.
Helped by a strike force that included Ken Beamish and Pat Hilton, another ex-Albion player, Rovers gained promotion from Division Three that 1974/75 season.*
In 1977, Alan Mullery’s high-flying Brighton side joined the Lancashire club in Division Two. With 1977/78 taking shape, both Brighton and Blackburn looked like contenders for First Division football, eventually finishing fourth and fifth respectively. Ian Hine has scanned the entire programme for the November fixture in his wonderful seagullsprogrammes.co.uk website.*
From the same website, you can view the photos from this match here, with Teddy Maybank getting his first goal for the Seagulls
And finally, here are highlights of Brighton’s 2-1 triumph over Blackburn towards the end of the 1978/79 season. Aided by a smoke bomb at the Goldstone, again it’s Teddy Maybank who pops up to guide his header past 6ft 3in keeper John Butcher to set Albion on the way.
Original article
First up, we have a YouTube video of a narrow but gallant away defeat from November 1991. In the previous season, Brighton had completed the league double over Rovers. However, Kenny Dalglish’s men, backed by Jack Walker’s millions, were to turn the tables on Albion that season and were helped by red cards to Gary O’Reilly and Mark Beeney, Blackburn secured a 1-0 victory.
Over the years, there have been many players who have worn the shirts of both Rovers and Albion. Among them, Graham Moseley, Dave Turner, Allan Gilliver and Mike Hickman. Part of the 1971/72 promotion side, striker Ken Beamish made 99 appearances for Albion between 1972 and 1974 before signing for the Ewood Park side in May 1974. *A real Albion favourite, he returned to the Goldstone Ground one last time in the 1980/81 season. His role was as part of Tranmere’s side facing First Division Brighton in the first leg of a League Cup tie. In the second leg, the experienced centre-forward used his know-how to help get Mark Lawrenson sent off, as Lawro wistfully recalled.
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Unlike Lawrenson, Blackburn Rovers holds better memories for Dave Busby, Albion’s first ever black player. The striker made his full debut at Ewood Park in September 1974, and it took a professional foul to stop him from scoring.
Helped by a strike force that included Ken Beamish and Pat Hilton, another ex-Albion player, Rovers gained promotion from Division Three that 1974/75 season.*
In 1977, Alan Mullery’s high-flying Brighton side joined the Lancashire club in Division Two. With 1977/78 taking shape, both Brighton and Blackburn looked like contenders for First Division football, eventually finishing fourth and fifth respectively. Ian Hine has scanned the entire programme for the November fixture in his wonderful seagullsprogrammes.co.uk website.*
From the same website, you can view the photos from this match here, with Teddy Maybank getting his first goal for the Seagulls
And finally, here are highlights of Brighton’s 2-1 triumph over Blackburn towards the end of the 1978/79 season. Aided by a smoke bomb at the Goldstone, again it’s Teddy Maybank who pops up to guide his header past 6ft 3in keeper John Butcher to set Albion on the way.
Original article