M23 rivalry all his fault!
BRIAN HORTON was at the heart of the spot-kick row that he reckons sparked the BrightonCrystal Palace rivalry more than four decades ago.
Tomorrow night’s ‘M23 derby’ is sure to be hardfought and Horton says he knows the root of the raw Brighton-Palace animosity.
The sides were paired with each other in the first round of the FA Cup in 1977 and the tie went to a second replay at Stamford Bridge.
Phil Holder gave Palace the lead in the first half and Horton thought he had levelled from the penalty spot – but referee Ron Challis ordered a retake.
“One of the Palace players pushed [Brighton forward] Peter Ward into the penalty box and the referee deemed that was encroachment,” remembered Horton, whose autobiography ‘Two Thousand Games: A Life In Football’ is out now.
“I didn’t see it because it happened behind me, retook the penalty and it was saved.
“We went on to lose
1-0 and the gaffer Alan Mullery went ballistic with the referee and the fans.
“That incident lit a fire that’s been there ever since. It became a huge rivalry.
“Seagulls and the Eagles is always massive. They were always big clubs getting crowds of over 30,000 and are only a few miles apart.” Horton had been wanted by Palace in the summer of 1976 before deciding to join Brighton from Port Vale.
“In 1976, we played Crystal Palace just before transfer-deadline day,” he said. “Terry Venables [Palace’s player coach and soon to be manager] got a message to me beforehand saying, ‘Don’t sign for anyone, I’ll sign you in the summer’.
“We drew 2-2 and afterwards I was told I was being sold to Brighton for 30 grand and the deal was already done.
“Next day I went to Brighton and met the boss Peter Taylor. He offered me a deal and my then-wife came down to look around.
“We watched them play Shrewsbury that night and the next morning I tried it on over wages – there were no agents then – but he called my bluff. He said, ‘Take it or leave it, but if you sign I’ll look after you’.”
Horton had to wait until his TENTH derby clash to be on the winning side and remembers a huge match between Brighton and Palace when both were scrapping to stay in the top flight at the end of the 1980-81 season.
He recalled: “We won our last four games of the season to stay up, and one of the wins was a 3-0 win at Palace.
“It helped keep us up – and send them down.”
■■Manchester United have won four of their last five Premier League games against Newcastle (L1), winning the last two by a 4-1 scoreline.
■■Newcastle have won just one of their last 35 away league games against Manchester United (D9 L25), winning 1-0 at Old Trafford in December 2013.