Dean Saunders played for both Albion and Cardiff.
Image by: The Argus
In Brighton & Hove Albion’s halcyon years of the late 1970s, Ninian Park proved to be an unhappy hunting ground for Alan Mullery’s men. The Seagulls lost 1-0 against Cardiff City in the Second Division in 1977/78 and then 3-1 in 1978/79.
At the Goldstone, it was a different story, as emphatic victories ensured the Albion promotion push stayed on course.
Despite being on the losing side in a 4-0 defeat to the seagulls in October 1977, the performance of Bluebirds winger Peter Sayer wowed the Albion boss, and £100,000 was enough to bring the welsh wizard to Brighton four months later. Read a recent interview with Sayer in Viva Brighton magazine.After the Goldstone match the following season, on Boxing Day 1978, the Evening Argus hailed Teddy Maybank’s superb hat-trick in a 5-0 success.
[h=2]LATEST NEWS FROM SEAGULLS.CO.UK[/h]
- HYYPIA: WE'RE ONLY FOCUSSING ON OURSELVES
- AMEX TO HOST ENGLAND RUGBY
- INCE BATTLING SECOND SEASON SYNDROME
- CROFTS: WE MATCHED FOREST
- SPURS CONFIRMED, BOURNEMOUTH DATE CHANGED
Both keepers of that late-1970s Albion side, Eric Steele and Graham Moseley, played for the Bluebirds in the mid-1980s. One much more obscure name, Welsh winger Mark Elliott, made three Albion appearances in an earlier promotion campaign, in 1976/77 before joining Cardiff two seasons later.Some players have a knack of scoring against certain sides. With defender Chris Hutchings, his golden touch came against Cardiff City. Making his Chelsea debut in October 1980, the Blues full-back got the winner at Ninian Park. When Chris joined Brighton, his first goal for his new club was also against the Bluebirds in May 1984. When the two sides met at the Goldstone the following season, Hutchings popped up with another goal, volleying home after a Brighton corner.
Speaking of set-pieces, in 1970/71, the BBC ran a competition to see which footballer had the longest throw-in. Here’s Cardiff’s Bobby Woodruff overcoming Albion’s Eddie Spearritt.
Many strikers have played for both Brighton and Cardiff, including Mark Farrington, Ian Baird and Dean Saunders. Only one such centre-forward has played for the Seagulls in the top flight. That honour goes to Chris Rodon, who played in our last ever match in the First Division in May 1983.Despite Rodon’s brief time at Albion, he did get a mention in the Brighton v Cardiff matchday programme in December 1983, even appearing in the Bluebirds team photo, due to his loan spell at Ninian Park in August 1983.
[h=2]UPCOMING HOME FIXTURES[/h][h=3]ALBION V CARDIFF
[/h]TUESday 30TH september, KICK-OFF 7.45PM
[h=3]ALBION V MIDDLESBROUGH
[/h]SATURDAY 18th OCTOBER, KICK-OFF 3PM
[h=3]Albion v ROTHERHAM
[/h]saturDAY 25TH october, kick-off 3pm
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