Brighton vs Crystal Palace
Brighton's fiercest rivalry, born in the 1970s.
Crystal Palace are Brighton & Hove Albion's main and longest-standing rival, even though the clubs are almost 40 miles apart. The rivalry grew out of the 1970s and the hostility between managers Alan Mullery of Brighton and Terry Venables of Palace, both appointed in 1976.
Quick Facts
- Rival
- Crystal Palace
- Since
- 1970s
- Media name
- A23; M23 derby
Facts from the source article.
Background
In 1976-77 the two clubs chased promotion from the Third Division together; Mansfield Town took the title but both went up. The next season Brighton sat top of the Second Division until Palace won a postponed game against Burnley the following weekend and took the title by a point. Because the A23 runs straight from Brighton to Croydon, home of Palace's Selhurst Park, the media call it the A23 or M23 derby, though neither set of fans uses the name. In 2012-13 Palace knocked Brighton out in the play-off semi-finals.
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