Ajax away, the game that most Albion fans earmarked as the must-see match when we drew the Dutch giants in September.
Fast forward to Thursday morning and we were among the 6,000 Seagulls fans making the trip by train, plane or in our case by car.
And what a night it was. Roberto De Zerbi’s side outclassed an admittedly poor Ajax team to put us second in group B with two matches left.
Our indecision when looking at flights two months ago cost us. The price doubled within hours of Albion’s fixtures for their first ever Europa League campaign.
We decided on the Eurotunnel which is about £150 both ways, not a bad price split between three people.
We left Sussex for Folkestone at 4.30am, bubbling with the excitement of the 320-mile European road trip ahead of us.
While I had some trepidation about driving on the other side of the road once we got across the Channel, the four-hour journey to Amsterdam was plain sailing.
As we homed in on the Dutch capital, we blasted out our favourite nostalgic music which has been played before and after matches during the Amex era.
A quick nap after the seven-hour trip door to door and we set off to the city centre.
We unfortunately missed most of the match-going Brighton fans who were in “De Dam” also known as Dam Square, one of the many landmarks in the picturesque city.
Despite not having tickets to the Johan Cruyff Arena, we were still among thousands in the city’s bars and coffee shops ready for the game.
Euro Pub was one of the main places Albion fans congregated but was absolutely rammed so we opted for another nearby bar that was still very busy.
The mood was excitable, and soon became ecstatic.
Just 15 minutes into the game, Barcelona loanee Ansu Fati was played in by Simon Adingra who intercepted a poor pass.
Fati finished past Ajax keeper Ramaj with the same ice cold composure as the reverse fixture two weeks ago.
The bar we were in erupted as fans young and old jumped around. I made the mistake of buying a round one minute before the goal.
My pint of Heineken, which already had the classic European head, was splashed around in the carnage and I came out of the celebrations with half a pint left.
Brighton looked at ease for much of the game, making it a fairly comfortable watch as a fan.
That could be seen during half time as fans bounced around to “Freed From Desire” as if we had already won the game.
Albion fans happy with that first half performance! #bhafc pic.twitter.com/fB20cepKkJ
— George Carden (@_GeorgeCarden) November 9, 2023
Just eight minutes after the second half started, Brighton pretty much sealed the victory.
A slick move to avoid Ajax’s half-hearted press saw goal scorer Fati turn provider for his pal Simon Adingra.
The Ivorian smashed it into the top-left corner to send the pub into ecstasy once again.
The final whistle came and the celebrations continued. Brighton fans poured out of the bars and danced around the narrow streets of Amsterdam, evading the occasional bicycle that whizzed past.
Lots of fans returned to Dam Square before dispersing into the streets of the picturesque city with barely a car in sight.
You have to pinch yourself as Albion fans seeing this club who 25 years ago were near the foot of the Football League and homeless get to where we are now.
These are the moments to savour, especially for the generations who witnessed all the pain of the late 90s.
What a journey it has been.
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