South Eastern League

Brighton & Hove Albion Southern Eastern League Overview

With just six teams contesting Southern League Division Two for the 1902-03 season, Brighton & Hove Albion took the decision to enter the South Eastern League to supplement what would have otherwise been a very bare fixture list.

The South Eastern League had been formed in 1901. It was contested by a mixture of amateur clubs such as Bedford Queen’s, Chesham Generals and St Albans Amateurs and some Southern League Division One clubs’ Reserve sides.

As a result, it gave the Albion their first exposure to more established professional clubs in the south, including Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Queens Park Rangers.

Brighton manager John Jackson selected his strongest possible line ups in all but two fixtures. Jackson’s hand was somewhat forced on both those occasions, the first of which came on Saturday 18^th October 1902 when the Albion were scheduled two games on one day.

Jackson picked his first choice players for the FA Cup Second Qualifying Round clash with Shoreham at the Goldstone, which Brighton ran out 12-0 winners in. At the same time, another Albion side were winning 1-0 away at St Albans. It is the only occasion in the club’s history that two competitive games have been played on the same day.

The second weakened South Eastern League line up came on Saturday 25^th April 1903 in the final game of the campaign, Brighton losing 5-0 at Grays United. With the Albion facing Watford 48 hours later in their Southern League Test Match for a place in Division One, it was little wonder that Jackson wanted to wrap his first choice players in cotton wool. The decision was justified as a 5-3 win over the Hornets secured Brighton’s spot in the top flight of the Southern League for the 1903-04 season.

That promotion gave Brighton an increased number of fixtures for 1903-04, which meant they had no need to extend their stay in the South Eastern League beyond one year. They finished their only campaign in the competition in fifth place with a record of 11 wins, two draws and nine defeats from 22 games. The Albion’s total of 45 goals was bettered by only champions Tottenham Reserves and runners up Queens Park Rangers.

There were some memorable results along the way. Hitchin Town were hammered 9-0, Bedford Queen’s 4-1, Watford Reserves 5-1 and Brentford Reserves 3-0.

While the Brighton footballing public showed little interest in the other additional and midweek competitions that the Albion entered during the early part of the 20^th century, attendances in the South Eastern League were strong with crowds of over 2,000 turning out for five of the 11 fixtures held at the Goldstone Ground.