Albion Nostalgia: When Kevin Keegan denied Brighton victory at the Goldstone

Our rivalry with Southampton is as old as the club itself, with our first game against them taking place 120 years ago, almost to the day.
The front cover of the programme when Albion met Southampton in 1982The front cover of the programme when Albion met Southampton in 1982
The front cover of the programme when Albion met Southampton in 1982

The newly-formed Brighton United took their place in the Southern League, ready to kick off the 1898/99 season.

We travelled along the coast to play the first game at the Dell, itself a brand-new stadium. A crowd of 8,000 saw us lose 4-1. We were also the visitors at the end of the life of that great old stadium, when we played an end-of-season friendly in May 2001.

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For my column this week however, I’m going back to our first spell in the top flight, for a Division One game at the Goldstone in April 1982.

After Alan Mullery’s departure the previous summer, new boss Mike Bailey had enjoyed a season of relative safety, but his defensive tactics were beginning to wear thin with the Albion faithful.

In the middle of March 1982, we were in ninth place, dreaming of qualification for the UEFA Cup. Two defeats, to Birmingham City and Ipswich Town, had dropped us a couple of places but the visit of Southampton was a chance to put things right.

In his ‘From the Manager’s Chair’ column in the programme, Bailey was on the back foot, defending his tactics. Responding to comments made at a recent Fans’ Forum, he said, “people are entitled to their opinion, but I am paid to get results for Brighton and that is my first priority”.

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His selection for Southampton was unchanged from the previous week, with Perry Digweed behind a back four of Don Shanks, Sammy Nelson, Steve Foster and Steve Gatting. In midfield, Mickey Thomas was alongside Gary Stevens, Tony Grealish and Neil McNab. The strikers were Andy Ritchie and Michael Robinson.

Southampton were challenging at the very top of the table, and were a point clear of Liverpool, although the Reds did have three games in hand.

With so much at stake, it was perhaps not surprising that the game lacked a little composure. McNab’s penalty separated the teams at half-time and the crowd of just over 20,000 was dreaming of a move up the table.

The second half was a different story and Southampton came back strongly. They were rewarded when Kevin Keegan’s goal brought the scores level.

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Albion had chances to win and it was only a couple of magnificent saves from Saints goalkeeper Ivan Katalinic that kept us at bay. We couldn’t find a way past him and the game finished 1-1.

With nine games left, hopes were high for a strong finish. Defeat in seven of those meant we fell away to eventually end up in 13th place, although this remains our highest ever top flight finish.

The form of Foster led to an England call-up for the World Cup in Spain, where Nelson also played two games for Northern Ireland. Player of the season was Andy Ritchie, who scored 14 goals in league and cup games.