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44 years ago many called it Brighton’s Greatest Escape.
Seemingly sleep walking into relegation with four games left, Alan Mullery’s men then won their last four games.
They were still in the final relegation place even after a 3-0 Easter Saturday win at deadly rivals Crystal Palace*, but a Easter Monday win at home to fellow relegation strugglers Leicester saw them climb to a position of safety, and there they stayed after a memorable last gasp win at Roker Park against Sunderland before survival was guaranteed with a final day victory against Leeds United at a packed Goldstone Ground - the final game we would ever see either Brian Horton or Mark Lawrenson in a Brighton shirt.
It’s taken more than four decades for Albion to repeat the feat of four successive top flight wins, but this time it’s at the other end of the Division, and Saturday’s last gasp win against Fulham also set another first, the Seagulls’ first success against the Cottagers in ten EPL matches.
Jan Paul van Hecke, of Brighton & Hove Albion celebrates scoring his team's first goal with teammate Pervis Estupinan against Fulham on Saturday. (Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images)Jan Paul van Hecke, of Brighton & Hove Albion celebrates scoring his team's first goal with teammate Pervis Estupinan against Fulham on Saturday. (Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images)
Jan Paul van Hecke, of Brighton & Hove Albion celebrates scoring his team's first goal with teammate Pervis Estupinan against Fulham on Saturday. (Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images)
This Saturday’s visit to the Etihad to take on the under-performing Manchester City gives the opportunity for the Albion to go one better and chalk up a fifth straight victory.
With the Citizens indifferent form, the Albion travelling faithful head North up the M6 with a genuine belief we can come back with not only all three points but the double over Pep’s charges after the win at the Amex earlier in the season.
I can’t think of anyone who currently would want this ride to stop and us all to get off. But where will it all end, and how much is too much?
Even the most die-hard Albion fan knows we cannot get too carried away, but where we stand now, this is on the cusp of things that we could only have dreamed about 20 years ago playing in the Theatre of Trees at the Withdean Stadium.
With a potential unprecedented five Champions League qualification places up for grabs, can we dare to dream about playing in the most prestigious Club competition on the planet?
Maybe not quite yet, but watching Forest and City on Saturday lunchtime prior to the Fulham game, I’m almost getting the feeling that two years after Tony Bloom promised us a trophy very soon, never mind the Champions League, are Brighton finally going to lift the FA Cup?
*And just to highlight what a fickle bunch football fans can be, less than two years after over 51,000 packed into Selhurst Park to see them pip the Albion for the Second Division Championship by beating Burnley, less than 19,000 turned up in South London that day, and 4,000 of them were Albion fans!