Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Q: How much do you hate Brighton? A:11 out of 10
LOAN STAR RUBEN REVEALS ZAHA HAS ‘EDUCATED’ HIM ON RIVALRY..
RUBEN LOFTUS-CHEEK knows all about Crystal Palace’s rivalry with Brighton after seeing Wilfried Zaha rate the Eagles’ hatred for their enemies as 11 out of 10.
Loftus-cheek, on loan at Selhurst Park from Chelsea, has had a crash course from his team-mates on the animosity between the clubs from south London and the south coast ahead of tonight’s clash.
And nothing explained it better than winger Zaha’s response to a question at a fan event in Croydon.
Loftus-cheek, said: “A few of the players have been educating me on the rivalry between Brighton and Palace, so it’s a massive game.
“We were at a signing the other day and Wilf was being interviewed. The guy said, ‘How much do you hate Brighton on a scale of one to 10?’ And Wilf goes ‘11’. So that tells me everything. “I didn’t know about the rivalry before so when Wilf said that I was like, ‘OK, they don’t like each other then’. “I look forward to playing in the game.”
The feelings are mutual, with Zaha now the player Brighton fans love to hate the most. Zaha rammed the Seagulls supporters’ taunts back down their throats in the last meeting between the sides.
He scored twice to earn Palace a 2-0 win at the Amex and a place in the 2013 Championship play-off final. And winding him up again tonight is only likely to inspire Roy Hodgson’s star man rather than put him off.
He recalled: “That is my best game for Palace because the stakes were high and you have to step up.
“That day I was focused on the job and we managed it.
“Scoring those two goals were crazy because I was getting so much stick, even in the warm-up.
“There was one guy that will always stick in my head – just as I went into the changing room before the game he shouted, ‘It’s over’ and I heard him above everyone, so it was nice beating them that day after all the chat.
“I’m looking forward to playing them again, it should be a good game. The atmosphere in those matches is crazy. I can’t really compare it to anything.
“As soon as you step out onto the pitch, it’s game on and I’m sure we will all be focused.
“All the players know the importance of it by now. We obviously speak about it among ourselves, so everyone knows it’s a big game and we need to win it.”