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The Palace v Brighton 'rivalry' explained

Instead, the rivalry stems from events in the early 1970s, when the two teams - once kept apart in the league ladder - began to play one another more regularly.

On the 11th August 1973, second-division Palace arranged a pre-season friendly with third-tier Brighton at the old Goldstone Ground, where a competitive atmosphere pervaded proceedings.

After Palace suffered back-to-back relegations, the two teams were scheduled to play their first competitive fixture in over 11 years on the opening day of the 74/75 season - 17th August, 1974, to be precise - when the rivalry between the two sets of supporters brewed further.

Following four further ill-tempered Division Three meetings - during one of which it was purported that Brighton gained their nickname 'Seagulls' (having previously been known as 'the Dolphins') in direct response to Palace supporters' chants of 'Eagles' - the rivalry entered its most famous chapter.

This transpired in the 76/77 season following a famous incident between Terry Venables, then-Palace manager, and Alan Mullery, then-manager of Brighton.

In that campaign, the clubs faced each other five times, twice in the Third Division and three times in the FA Cup. The third and final FA Cup tie occurred at Stamford Bridge due to the first two cup games being drawn.

Palace won the tie 1-0 under controversial circumstances as Brighton missed a penalty in the dying moments. Tensions boiled over at full-time as Mullery infamously gestured to the Palace fans before allegedly throwing some coins at the ground and claiming ‘that’s all Crystal Palace are worth!’

_Please note the video below was first published in the 17/18 season._

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