On Friday evening
Crystal Palace host Brighton and Hove Albion in the first leg of the
Championship semi-final with the return leg being played at the Amex
on Monday.
There's no love lost
between the two sets of fans and whoever loses will feel the pain for
a long time.
Recent form would
suggest that Brighton have the upper hand but in these sort of games,
form counts for little, often it will come down to a bit of luck
somewhere and with Palace's success at winning penalties, not always
completely fairly it could be argued, a single referee's decision
could make all the difference.
In some ways I would
rather we weren't playing Palace, because losing would be so hard to
take, but on the other hand a victory would be so, so sweet; I would
imagine many Palace fans are feeling exactly the same.
Like many Brighton
fans, I have friends who support Palace and, although it pains me to
say it, they are all decent people with a genuine love of football
and of their team; none of them even lives in a caravan (at least,
not that they admit). We have a lot in common, having had our highs
and lows and I would much rather talk football with them than with
some of the “plastic” Premiership supporters I come across.
For 90 minutes on
Friday and Monday though, the friendship and cameraderie is put aside
and they are Palace scum to me, as I am Seaweed scum to them. We
would have it no other way.
Come Tuesday morning
some of us will be bouyed by victory the previous evening and looking
forward to an afternoon out at Wembley; some of us will be dejected
by defeat, a feeling that won't be fully overcome until victory
against the old rivals.
There will be those from both sides who will let the rivalry and passion spill over into trouble and violence but I hope that the police will control the crowds with firmness but understanding, despite the somewhat draconian conditions imposed on those buying a ticket.
Most of us, though will go along to one or other game (or both), cheer on our team and hope for victory without the need to resort to idiotic behaviour.
Whatever happens
though, it's certain to be an eventful couple of matches and, like the majority of people (based on attendances at least) I will be hoping for a Brighton win.
