CLASSIC FA CUP PROGRAMMES - 1982 - BARNET v BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION

This Friday (8th January) sees the Emirates FA Cup Third Round start with Aston Villa v Liverpool and Wolverhampton Wanderers v Crystal Palace taking place.

The big games for non-league fans are Boreham Wood v Millwall on Saturday at 12 noon, Chorley v Derby County at 12.15pm and then the hugely anticipated Marine v Tottenham Hotspur game live on the BBC at 5pm on Sunday - the fact no fans will be attendance at these games obviously takes some of the gloss off the occasion but all non-league fans will be hoping for at least one shock result!  Also on Monday we see Stockport County host West Ham United which The Hammers won't be relishing. 

Many fans now knock the FA Cup but I firmly believe it's the worlds greatest knock out competition with the game at Rossett Park (aka The Marine Travel Arena) showing this really is the case! 

Over the next few days we'll be taking a look at classic FA Cup programmes of the past. Today we go back to 1982 and Underhill where Barnet (who at the time were second bottom of the then Alliance Premier League) entertained Brighton & HA who were sandwiched between Manchester City and Arsenal in eighth place of the football league Division One.

The Bees, under the management of Barry Fry, had started in the Fourth Qualifying Round at home to Corinthian Casuals winning 2-0 in front of 1,048 people. In the First Round they had travelled to Harlow Town and drawn 0-0 in front of a crowd of 1,200 before a 2-0 home victory at Underhill watched by 1,577. Wycombe Wanderers had visited in the second round which Barnet had won 2-0 with 2,015 people watching.

This game ended 0-0 in front of 3,842 people on a very muddy Underhill slopping pitch with the replay at The Goldstone Ground being won by The Seagulls 3-1 with 15,884 watching. They were knocked out by Division Three side Oxford United in the Fourth Round who won 0-3 on the south-coast. 

At the time of the Oxford defeat who would of thought Brighton would famously make it to the final in 1982/83 beating Newcastle United (D2), Manchester City (D1), Liverpool (D1), Norwich City (D1) and Sheffield Wednesday (D2) before losing the final in a replay against Manchester United (4-0) after a 2-2 draw at Wembley. The first game was famous for Gordon Smith's chance to win the game in extra time with the commentary 'And Smith must score' becoming a famous line used in many FA Cup highlight videos. 

Graham Pearce, then aged 22, who featured for Barnet in both games joined Brighton in the summer and played in the 1983 final.