When the Albion reached the FA Cup semi finals last season, some accused them of being the beneficiaries of an easy route. The same cannot be said if Brighton go all the way to Wembley this time around, with the fifth round giving the Seagulls an away tie at Wolves.
It is the second draw in a row which has sent Roberto De Zerbi and his players to a fellow Premier League club. The Albion easily swatted aside Sheffield United 5-2 in round four. Wolves though will provide a much tougher FA Cup test for Brighton.
The Old Gold have improved immeasurably this season under the management of Gary O’Neil, as the Albion discovered at the Amex just last week.
Having beaten Wolves 6-0 and 4-1 in the previous two meetings between the clubs, Brighton had very little clue how to break down a well-organised Old Gold outfit as the sides played out a 0-0 Premier League draw.
The first 15 minutes went off at such a blistering pace with chances at both ends that it genuinely looked like the sort of game which could finish 4-4.
Chance would be a fine thing. The next hour was dull as anything, save for Jason Steele making a couple of important interventions without which the Albion might have lost.
Fingers crossed that the FA Cup brings more entertaining. Ties take place in midweek around Wednesday 28th February. Anyone going to Molineux given the snooze fest at the Amex last time out deserves 100 loyalty points, let alone 15.
Brighton and Wolves have met only once before in the FA Cup. The Albion were four months away from winning their first ever promotion into the top flight of English football, finding Division One Wolves a little too good at the Goldstone Ground in January 1979.
The visitors ran out 3-2 winners with Gerry Ryan and Mark Lawrenson on target for Alan Mullery’s Seagulls.
Since then, Brighton have developed a very weird hold over Wolves, losing just six of the subsequent 42 matches played over the past 45 years.
What makes this record even more remarkable is that the Old Gold have almost always been the bigger and better club, finishing above the Albion in the football pyramid in 107 of the 123 seasons in which Brighton have existed.
Extending their impressive form over Wolves would take Brighton within one win of a return to Wembley, giving the Albion a shot at exorcising the demons of their semi final penalty shootout defeat to Manchester United last April.
Aside from decent historical results against Wolves, the one other good thing about the draw is the chance to hopefully see another absolutely incredible meltdown from home fans in one of the hospitality boxes directly behind the away section.
Almost justifies the trip to the Midlands on a Wednesday night in February…
