[Albion] A question about Hereford

[Bry Nylon]

Andy DeBont was in goal, not Trevor Wood.

 

[Deleted member 2719]

Great memories eh Mouldy?

We will never forget walking past those HUGE Cardiff fans who were looking for trouble. Luckily for us they looked at us and couldn't be bothered. Brilliant atmosphere at the end.



* Yes there were Cardiff fans there looking for trouble.

I don't remember them being huge, just covered in blood and I had to walk through them on my own because my mates were in the toilets together (allegedly)!!

 

[Seasidesage]

That’s really crap. We booked a private coach after realising it was going to be ball ache travel and organising everyone, coach co. had no problem with loads of booze going up, no one said anything as we got stuck back into it in the coach park waiting to go and they stopped off at a sainsburys on the way back to allow us to replenish stocks.
Were you with Puritan Travel?

I think PC Beard may have had a word....

On the way back we err managed to avoid the local constabulary and ended up in a village somewhere. The Police in this case all one of him, came in and demanded we leave. Then he gave us an hour, then he came back and said we had to leave by nine. In the end we stayed till closing time and he wished us a good journey home and told us how nice we were

 

[spence]

I was there. Kicked off straight away after the game.

 

[Weststander]

Cardiff ... what was their problem with us, and not with equally English, Hereford fans?

 

[spence]

Did a load of Cardiff fans attend in or outside the ground, simply to attack Brighton fans?

Yes

To back up Hereford fans

 

[Giraffe]

Bought ours in Feb or March as I recall when it became increasingly likely to be a big game. Still regard it as the biggest match I’ve attended. Much bigger than the FA Cup Final, play offs and World Cup semi final.

 

[knocky1]

Cardiff ... what was their problem with us, and not with equally English, Hereford fans?

Yes

To back up Hereford fans

Good point. Cardiff would not be arsed.Never saw nor heard any Taffies but the locals made me run.

 

[Seasidesage]

Bought ours in Feb or March as I recall when it became increasingly likely to be a big game. Still regard it as the biggest match I’ve attended. Much bigger than the FA Cup Final, play offs and World Cup semi final.

I was at all of those games too and I agree with you

 

[pastafarian]

Cardiff ... what was their problem with us, and not with equally English, Hereford fans?

They were a bit miffed about hove park, took them ages to get over it.

 

[Weststander]

They were a bit miffed about hove park, took them ages to get over it.

What year roughly was the Hove Park clash?

 

[pastafarian]

What year roughly was the Hove Park clash?

Few weeks before Hereford if my memory serves. Seem to remember they were going for play offs or promotion, brought loads down.

 

[Hampster Gull]

I loved that day, that match. What a rollercoaster.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

From my memory that was the standard away end which they gave to all visiting teams and they never sold-out the home area anyway.

Also I believe that tickets went on sale very early for this game and at that time no one had any idea just how important that fixture was to become. Our lot were originally going to go in fancy-dress for the last day of the season beano...When we realised it was going to be a relegation shoot-out we ditched the idea, as it would have been bloody stupid walking around like Dennis The Menace and Fred Flintstone had we just been dumped into the Conference.

Albion & England forever.

Thimble Keegan
Westminster BHA

I couldn't get a ticket.

Albion and Faversham forever.

ps what are you doing in Westminster? Are you an MP now?

 

[Weststander]

Few weeks before Hereford if my memory serves. Seem to remember they were going for play offs or promotion, brought loads down.

You’re right about their hopes, Cardiff made the playoffs but then got knocked out immediately.



An ‘interesting’ division with both Swansea and Cardiff in it that season. I remember a mutually agreed exclusion of away fans in their derbies. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/cardiff-city/10422282/How-the-once-friendly-rivalry-between-Cardiff-City-and-Swansea-City-turned-poisonous.html

 

[knocky1]

You’re right about their hopes, Cardiff made the playoffs but then got knocked out immediately.

View attachment 103722

An ‘interesting’ division with both Swansea and Cardiff in it that season. I remember a mutually agreed exclusion of away fans in their derbies. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/cardiff-city/10422282/How-the-once-friendly-rivalry-between-Cardiff-City-and-Swansea-City-turned-poisonous.html

...and some of their fans missed their last match of the season to go to Hereford....

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

*REALLY long post alert*

I've posted this before, but as we are talking all things Hereford in this thread, I've copied below something that I have previously posted on NSC, about that day.

As a bit of context, I had the privilege of meeting RR in 2002, back in the days when Roz (Lady Bracknell on NSC) was running the 'Brighton Rockz' fanzine, and I interviewed him about that day at Edgar Street... I can't find the link anymore, so have copied the interview below for those that may be interested in reading it. Any errors or omissions are of course, purely down to me.

For the record, he couldn't have been nicer the day I met him, and said that he still looks out for the Albion result before any other, come 4:45 on a Saturday afternoon. I just wrote him a letter (remember those?), asking if I could interview him for the Brighton fanzine and he just phoned me up and said, "yeah - come round my house, no problem!"

ROBBIE REINELT - BRIGHTON LEGEND

And now, the article..... (... skip ahead NOW if you can't be arsed).


THERE’S ONLY ONE ROBBIE REINELT

Five years ago Robbie Reinelt secured a place in Albion folklore by coming off the bench at Edgar Street and grabbing the most important goal in the club’s history. All in all, high time Brighton Rockz paid a visit to the man still regarded round these parts as a living legend.

Saturday 6 April 2002 - Peterborough away...

I closed my eyes and just for a split second it was almost like being back in the middle of the old North Stand. Thousands of Albion faithful raising the rafters with ear splitting renditions of Good Old Sussex By The Sea, small kids being passed to the front and shifty looking strangers peeing in your pocket through rolled up copies of the Racing Post. But hey – we couldn’t stay in The Cherry Tree all day; nice pub, shame about the service, but we’d come to Peterborough on important business. Fat Barry down at London Road had three points to give away, and it wouldn’t do to be late.

There was just under an hour to go before kick off when I arrived at the ground but already 3’500 Albion fans were squeezed onto the Moys Road terrace. Dozens of red and black balloons swirled overhead in a stiffening breeze sweeping across the East Anglian fens, and the low tin roof covering the concrete steps reverberated to the din of another promotion party in full swing.
Brighton were back - standing on the brink of the First Division having been only a matter of minutes from the Conference just five seasons before. Suddenly, from somewhere towards the back of the stand came the cry: “ONE ROBBIE REINELT…!” Instantly the rest of the crowd responded: “…THERE’S ONLY ONE ROBBBBBIE REEEEINELT…ONE ROBBBIE REINELT!!”

He may have long since parted company with the club, but in the eyes of the fans Robbie Reinelt - scorer of the last gasp goal that saved Brighton's skin in May 1997 – will always be an Albion legend.

‘It’s really, really flattering that the supporters still sing my name,’ says Robbie when I meet up with him one Saturday lunchtime earlier this summer.
‘I was out shopping with Lisa one day and this bloke came across to me and said, “you’re Robbie Reinelt aren’t you?” I was desperately trying to think where he knew me from, and then he just said, “I was at Hereford.” It’s one of those things that just makes you go cold; being recognised for something good that you’ve done.”

* * *
So far as Brighton and Hove Albion is concerned, the Robbie Reinelt story began in the February of 1997. Robbie had moved to the south coast from Colchester United in search of regular football, and although the Albion appeared to have taken out a long- term lease on 92nd spot in the Football League, results under new boss Steve Gritt were showing a steady improvement. But even so, in most bookies up and down the country Brighton & Hove Albion to go down was about the closest thing you could find to a racing cert.
Real estate vultures had been circling above Hove Park for months, waiting to pick over the Goldstone's decomposing carcass and everywhere you looked there seemed to be another fat lady - just waiting to burst into song. All things considered, coming to Brighton in '97 can't have been the most attractive gig in the Football League: did Robbie really know what he was letting himself in for?
"I’d be lying if I said I didn’t read the papers to find out what was happening," he replies. “Brighton was my club now, and I wanted to know what was going on."
"All the players knew that things weren’t right," he continues, "but as soon as we crossed the white line there was nothing we could do about Archer and Bellotti. As professionals we had a duty to go out and prove that we were worthy of pulling on the blue and white shirt. And if we weren’t, then Steve would have brought in somebody who was. Simple as that."

As far as proving his worth was concerned, Robbie needn't have worried too much. As winter melted into spring such was the measure of his increasing influence on the Albion’s improving fortunes it's sometimes easy to forget that prior to the Hereford game Robbie had only made eleven appearances in an Albion shirt - and half a dozen of those had started from the bench. But already Robbie was slipping into the welcome knack of knocking in some particularly crucial goals. In early March he’d come on as sub against Northampton Town to grab the winner in what was only his third appearance for the club; and a fortnight before the Hereford game he’d slotted home the equalizer in Albion’s 1-1 draw at Cambridge.

As an addition to the Albion's established strike force Robbie was proving to be very useful indeed, and as the team bus rolled slowly into Hereford at lunchtime on Saturday May 3rd, he must have been feeling confident about making it three from twelve.
‘No, not really,’ he replies. ‘I knew that I would be starting the game on the bench so I never imagined for one minute that there would be any way in the world that I would come on and end up scoring that goal. It’s funny - but if I had started it wouldn’t be me sitting here now; it’d probably be somebody else.’

Certainly Steve Gritt had made sure that the Albion weren’t short of experience up front going into the Hereford game.
Craig Maskell and Ian Baird had cracking on for a thousand career appearances between the two of them, notched up at seventeen different clubs and their Albion partnership had already yielded twenty seven goals for the season. Robbie recalls how their calm, measured approach proved invaluable when it came to settling any pre-match jitters in the camp.

“The old heads like Bairdy and Maskell were able to take it all in their stride,’ says Robbie. ‘I was more excited than anything else as I’d never been in that sort of situation before. We’d travelled up on the Friday and stayed in Ross on Wye the night before which was a trip in itself,' he laughs. 'We had a guy called Dave Martin’ (Martin had joined the Albion on loan from Northampton on Transfer Deadline day), ‘and him and Bairdy were the two people you really needed at a time like that. They were going around making sure everybody was nice and relaxed and generally just taking the piss out of everybody.’

But as the players tried to keep the mood light-hearted the one topic of conversation that was strictly off limits was the match itself.
'Footballers are a very superstitious lot,' says Robbie. ‘Deep down in the back of our minds I think we believed that we would do it. But it was like if we’d said anything it would’ve been tempting fate, which is the worst thing you can do. Personally speaking I thought all along that we would do it. But that was easy for me to say', he smiles, 'I knew that I'd be starting on the bench.’

Given the tension surrounding the fixture was it a blessing in disguise to be isolated from the pressure?
‘Not at all,' replies Robbie. 'I was desperate to play from the start – as a professional those are the games that you always want to be involved in; whether it's fighting relegation or going for the championship – they're the ones that really count.'

As the players went through their last minute rituals and Steve Gritt issued his final instructions the noise from thousands of supporters who’d made their way up from the South Coast drifted down the tunnel and seeped under the dressing room door.
‘The changing rooms at Hereford are under the main stand,’ says Robbie. ‘We could hear this noise that was the Brighton fans singing. That really got the old adrenalin pumping; no matter how focused you are on your own game you can’t shut out four thousand people.'

By half time however the Brighton fans had gone a good deal quieter and a deep sense of foreboding had descended across the Blackfriar's Street terrace. One nil down, and Albion had saved one of their most ineffectual performances for months for the last game of the season.
'Hereford had come into the match knowing they needed the win which probably helped them a bit,' remarks Robbie.
Having spent so many months as the underdogs with nothing to lose, it suddenly looked as if the psychology of ‘only’ needing a draw was working to the Albion’s disadvantage.
Fifteen minutes played in the second half and Steve Gritt's last chance to change things around. Paul McDonald, virtually an ever present on the left side of Albion’s midfield that season received the signal that he was coming off.

Jeff Wood, Gritt’s assistant, leant across to Robbie: "You’re going on Rob - just go out there and do your best.”

'I was so excited that I don't remember if he gave me any instructions other than that,' recalls Robbie. 'I was just desperate to play.'
Robbie had been on the pitch for just under nine minutes when Craig Maskell shaped to shoot from outside the area. Instinctively Robbie and Ian Baird started to accelerate towards the goal line in case Trevor Wood in the Hereford goal spilled the ball. But Maskell's effort screamed past Wood, thumped the base of the post, bounced back out and ran diagonally across the box. By now Robbie was in full stride and arriving on the edge of the six yard box.
‘It was a straight chase between me and Bairdy for the rebound,' says Robbie, 'and I knew that I was gonna win that race,' he grins. 'The ball just sat up for me on my left foot, which if I’m being honest isn’t my best so I decided just to spank it. From that range if you can get a contact then nine times out of ten you’ll hit the target so you just have to hope the keeper doesn’t make a save.' Wood however was stranded, and before the net had even had a chance to ripple the Albion packed fans behind the goal and in the Len Weston Stand to Robbie's left knew that Brighton were right back in it.
'Yeah, luckily I hit it across the keeper,' smiles Rob. 'If I’d had time to think about it - and what that goal meant - I’d probably have ballooned it over the bar.'

A little over twenty one minutes plus stoppage time on the clock and Robbie Reinelt had done it again.
'It was just a mad adrenalin rush after I'd scored,' he says. 'You can tell that by the fact that I was even coming back for corners – I mean, I never come back for corners,' he smiles. 'To be honest I was just I was just running around like a blue arsed fly, trying to chase everything down.'
Robbie was still running as the referee signalled full time and he sprinted straight to the touchline nearest the tunnel.
'My wife and family were sat in the main stand,' he says, 'and I went straight across to wave to them.'
But as dozens of police streamed onto the pitch to deter any potential crowd incursion, they weren't too impressed to find the Albion goal scorer leaping around like a lunatic in front of the dugouts and gesturing at the crowd.
'I nearly got arrested straight after the game,' laughs Robbie. 'I was only trying to wave to Lisa and my mum and dad, but the police thought I was trying to wind up the Hereford fans!'
As he joined the rest of the squad jigging up and down in front the jubilant travelling supporters Robbie famously unlaced his boots and tossed them into the crowd.
‘I got a right slating from Lisa afterwards,' he laughs. 'She’d bought them for me as good luck boots. They cost £120 and it was the first time I’d worn them. When I finally met up with Lisa outside the main entrance after the game she said, “Couldn't you have just given your shirt away instead?"'

* * *
The shirt, like the boots, is also gone now, (it fetched £1500 at the Centenary Dinner) but Robbie does still have a momento from his days at the Goldstone.
'I've got a piece of turf in a box,' he says. 'About an hour after the final game at the Goldstone against Doncaster; I thought I’d go out and take one last look at the pitch. As I walked down the tunnel it was unbelievable – there were about a thousand people out there still digging up lumps of turf. So I thought to myself “right, okay - I’ll go on and get some too.” It was really moving digging out a little piece of the pitch; although I’d only been there three months I’d heard all the great stories about the Goldstone. Brighton's result is still the first one I look for on a Saturday when I finish playing.’

* * *

Together the supporters, players and manager had come through Brighton & Hove Albion's most traumatic season ever. By the time Robbie Reinelt arrived in the right place at the right time to score the most important goal in the club's history the team had played over 3,760 minutes of league football. Put it another way, there was only 0.5% of the season left. I don't care what anybody says – that’s about as close as it gets.

And as for Robbie – well, he had proved a point of his own.
'Some people in the game were knocking me for going down to Brighton,' he recalls. 'So that goal was two fingers to the people who were saying, "What do you want to go there for?"
‘But going to the Albion - ' smiles Robbie, ‘well, it was probably the best move I ever made.’

And so say all of us.

Stunning. I spent that afternoon playing magic 'lucky' darts and getting excessively pissed on Hungarian wine (a big hit at the time). Emotional

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

They were a bit miffed about hove park, took them ages to get over it.

The Cardiff game was my first.

Got attacked by a lovely welsh gentleman despite being 13!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Gwylan]

How come Baird was playing in the Hereford game? Didn't he get sent off the week before? My memory's not what it was but was it not an automatic suspension 20 years ago?

 

[AZ Gull]

How come Baird was playing in the Hereford game? Didn't he get sent off the week before? My memory's not what it was but was it not an automatic suspension 20 years ago?

Suspensions used to take effect 14 days after the event that led to them. Baird missed the first 3 games of the following season. I think it was season 2004-05 when the change was made (just at first team level) to have suspensions commence from the next match.

At U-18 and U-23 level, it was only last season that suspensions took effect from the next match (rather than a fortnight later).