Every time Brighton & Hove Albion and Crystal Palace play, questions arise about the origin of the intense animosity between the teams who are 43 miles apart, meaning they are in two different counties.
When the two teams meet again at the Amex Stadium on Sunday (2pm GMT), the first edition of a heated encounter will be between Brighton manager Fabian Horzler and Palace boss Oliver Glasner – a coach the Albion boss has held in high regard from their time in Germany. .
Horzler was St. Pauli's coach and eventually on a fact-finding mission when the two sides played out a 1-1 draw at Selhurst Park last season, while Glasner became Palace boss 16 days after their 4-1 defeat to Brighton on February 3.
Here are some history lessons that may have been told to the pair, as well as a look at some of the most memorable encounters between Brighton and Palace.
“There is a lot of emotion in it” 👀
Glenn Murray and Joby McAnuff discuss the fierce rivalry between Crystal Palace and Brighton 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ODNIGql8VM
– Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 21, 2023
The rivalry between Brighton and Palace: when did it start?
There were fixture problems between the two teams during the mid-1970s, as well as Palace's nickname being changed to “The Eagles” by Brighton fans which eventually led to Albion having their own nickname – The Seagulls – in direct opposition to Palace.
During the 1976-77 season, the two teams took part in an FA Cup first round tie which required three overs before Palace prevailed 1-0.
There were two very charismatic figures in the dugout: Alan Mullery for Brighton, and Terry Venables for Palace. The pair were Tottenham roommates as players, with Tottenham manager Bill Nicholson choosing Mullery over Venables as captain.
Mullery was furious after Albion lost the cup tie. His captain, Brian Horton, had a penalty canceled out by referee Ron Challis before the replay could be saved, and a goal by popular Brighton striker Peter Ward was also disallowed.
The manager produced an immortal piece of imagery when he passed the 'V' sign at Palace fans celebrating throughout, complained to Challis and threw the change at the opposition team, adding: 'Palace don't deserve it.'
LWT Big Match
October 1976
Two clubs do not meet!
Brighton 1-1 Crystal Palace
Commentator Brian Moore#BHAFC #CPFC pic.twitter.com/I4IE19UDdp– Football Television 1968-92 (@1968Tv) November 14, 2022
Alan Mullery vs. Terry Venables
Martin Hinshelwood, a Palace player at the time who became a youth coach at Brighton and briefly coached the Seagulls in 2002, noted that Venables “always seemed to get the better of Allan”.
Palace finished two points ahead of Brighton as both clubs were promoted from the Third Division that year, and began a relentless story of promotion struggles, dramatic matches and hatred between groups of fans.
Among them, Palace beat Mullery's Brighton to claim the title again in the 1978/79 season as both teams gained promotion, and five penalties were awarded within 27 minutes of Palace's 2-1 win in 1989, including a penalty kick. A stray penalty from Ian. Wright, who was rejected as a youngster by Brighton for being too small.
Palace lost eight and drew two of 10 derbies between 1979 and 1986, but they had the bragging rights between 1990 and 2001, spending three seasons in the Premier League and the rest in the Second Division while Brighton teetered on the brink of Premier League oblivion. The other end of the EFL.
Having been on the verge of being suspended and remaining in the Premier League for the final match of the 1996/97 season, Albion spent some time in two temporary homes before finally moving to the Amex Stadium in 2011.
In the 1976-77 season, Crystal Palace and Brighton played each other 5 times (including 3 FA Cup matches!) and a dispute between managers Terry Venables and Alan Mullery created a rivalry between the clubs.
Below are the programs for the first round and the replay matches.#CPFC #bhafc #face pic.twitter.com/D44dxen8Db-Aaron Porter (@AaronPorter) May 27, 2020
Palace vs Brighton: recent results
And when their almost 13-year wait to face Palace again came to an end, it came on a glorious day for the home fans at Selhurst Park, who witnessed a 5-0 thrashing in the Second Division, with future England striker Andy Johnson scoring a hat-trick. .
Palace have lost just once in eight meetings, losing 1-0 at Selhurst Park in 2005 and becoming the first team to defeat Brighton at the Amex Stadium, as well as defeating them there in the semi-finals of the 2013 Championship.
Jordan Ayew scored the only goal of the game in Palace's first Premier League win over Brighton in 2020, and great drama became a feature of the game over the subsequent four encounters, three of which were decided by 90th-minute goals.
Brighton's resounding win more than 10 months ago is the only time either side has won by more than one goal in their last 11 matches, and Henshilwood's nephew Jack was among the scorers on that occasion.
Palace's last two defeats to Brighton also preceded the departure of their coaches: Patrick Vieira's last game in charge was a 1-0 defeat at the Amex Stadium in March 2023, while their loss at the same venue last season proved to be Roy Hodgson's final away game. From his mandate.
.@DeJesusOffiicial We finished things off with our fourth match against Palace… 🥶 #AlbionComing #⃣1⃣4⃣! 🎄 pic.twitter.com/4UOeyeiqno
– Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) December 14, 2024
Why is the Brighton and Crystal Palace match called the M23 derby?
Reports tend to call the game the “M23 derby” to refer to the route between Brighton and London. The actual road that provides a direct connection is the A23.
Brighton vs Palace: Five episodes in the competition
Brighton 1-1 Palace, 2 October 1976
In the spirit of fairness, let's start with the tie at Brighton's original Goldstone Ground, watched by a crowd of over 27,000 in Division Three.
Mullery reportedly joked about Venables arranging for smoke bombs to be thrown onto the pitch, as he felt the fan boycott hampered his team's momentum.
As was often the case for either side, Palace took the lead against the run of play through Jim Cannon. Brighton quickly equalized through Kenny Sansom in his own net.
Palace 2-1 Brighton, 27 March 1989
A brilliant early goal for Ian Wright, a red card for Brighton's Mike Trosson and a winning penalty from Mark Bright put Palace 2-0 up and looking on course for a routine win despite Bright and Wright missing penalties in quick succession.
Alan Curbishley responded from the penalty spot after the break before defender John Pemberton fired a penalty over the bar for the hosts. Palace reached the Championship via the play-offs that season, while Brighton were close to relegation but survived.
Ian Wright talks about one of his best ever goals for Palace in the classic win over Brighton. 💥🔴🔵 @Ian Wright0 #CPFC #cpfcfamily pic.twitter.com/GLmBmrWoKk
– Screaming Alice (@screamingalice1) December 15, 2019
Palace 5-0 Brighton, 26 October 2002
Steve Coppell was Palace's coach in that five-penalty match, and his task when the two sides met again after a 13-year break was to rescue Albion from a hopeless start to the Championship season.
Sadly for Brighton, Coppell's first away game cemented his status as a Palace legend, with Johnson scoring twice in the first half. Current Palace sporting director Dougie Freedman then scored, as did Julian Gray after Johnson completed his hat-trick.
While Palace finished in 14th place, Coppell showed his wealth of experience to revive Brighton's season, taking their unsuccessful relegation battle to the final day of the season.
Brighton 3-0 Palace, 17 March 2013
It was Brighton's first win over Palace in more than seven years, their first at home in 25 years, their first at the Amex Stadium, and their only match win in eight attempts between 2005 and 2017.
Spanish midfielder David Lopez scored a stunning free kick between the goals, executed by Leo Ulloa. Brighton were gunning for a play-off place in the Championship at the time, while Palace were hoping for automatic promotion.
🎥 This is your second favorite moment at the Amex Stadium so far…
👏🏻 A step forward @David_Lopez_7#BHAFC 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/mx9SnjuMt4
– Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) January 22, 2018
Brighton 0-2 Palace, 13 May 2013
Palace had the last laugh that season in the Championship semi-final.
Following a 0-0 draw at Selhurst Park, Wilfried Zaha scored twice in 20 minutes of the second half to give the visitors a 2-0 aggregate win, with the manager who masterminded Brighton's promotion from League One leading them to their new home, Jos. Boyett leaves The Seagulls after two days.
Ian Holloway led Palace to victory over Watford in the final, and they have been in the Premier League ever since.
Brighton vs Crystal Palace
The very narrow overall record between the two teams reflects the see-saw nature of their matches and results against each other over the decades.
Exact numbers are a matter of debate, but Brighton have 42 wins to Palace's 38, according to 11v11.comfinishing 31st in a tie.
