Albion's forefathers, Brighton United, were thrashed 4-1 in the first match played at The Dell.

The Seagulls played their part in Southampton's goodbye to 103 years of football at their old home with a much narrower defeat in the last match.

Saturday's carnival occasion along the south coast had all the ingredients for a repeat of the 1898 result.

Albion's champion season finished three weeks ago. They had just arrived back from a relaxing five-day break in Marbella free of training, they were missing four first team regulars and facing Premiership opponents eager to move out in style.

As if the odds were not already stacked against them, the team coach arrived late after getting caught in traffic and the Seagulls had to abandon their warm-up so that a team of Red Devil parachutists could deliver the match ball.

All things considered they performed admirably to restrict Saints to an early strike by Uwe Rosler.

Assistant Bob Booker was in charge, with Micky Adams in Wales to avoid inevitable questioning about Southampton's managerial vacancy.

"I didn't really have a lot to do," said Booker. "It was about the players turning up and adapting themselves in the proper manner, which I think they did.

"It was Southampton's day, a nice pitch, a full stadium and a party atmosphere. I was just able to sit back and enjoy it.

"It was a bit of a rush getting to the ground and our preparation wasn't the best, having to get off the pitch as the ball was being flown in.

"But you can always learn off better quality players and the lads thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

"For the first 25 minutes it didn't seem like an end of season game.

"It was fast and furious and I thought we played exceptionally well during that time."

Richard Carpenter, Danny Cullip, Charlie Oatway and Gary Hart wer.e all ruled out.

Carpenter is recovering from ankle surgery, Cullip has a similar operation this Saturday.

Oatway has been ordered to rest a troublesome knee, while Hart was excused to be with his unwell baby daughter.

Rosler rifled the only goal past Michel Kuipers in the 13th minute, a low left-foot volley from 12 yards when the Albion defence failed to clear a Matthew Le Tissier corner.

Bobby Zamora tried to gatecrash the party. Goalkeeper Paul Jones denied him at point-blank range in the opening minutes and a stretching second-half volley by the young hotshot clipped the outside of the post following a fine run and cross by Paul Brooker.

Zamora was also involved in an exchange of passes with Steve Melton, from which Nathan Jones fired just wide, and his transfer-listed striker partner Lee Steele had a shot cleared off the line by James Beattie.

Beattie was among no fewer than 17 substitutions in the second half, seven by Albion and ten for a Southampton side wearing red and white quartered shirts and extra-long shorts, just like the Southern League Saints 103 years earlier.

The Albion replacements included youth coach Dean Wilkins and they finished with half-a-dozen teenagers on the pitch.

Darren Carr is so far out of favour though that he still didn't get on!

The festivities included everything you might expect and more. A brass band preceded the parachutists, Le Tiss was kissed by a topless female as the players trooped off at half time.

Another spectator in a near capacity crowd including around 1,000 Albion fans discovered via an announcement over the tannoy that he had become a dad.

The Saints made Albion feel welcome. Skipper Paul Rogers led them out, clutching the Third Division championship trophy, to the sound of Sussex By The Sea.

Home fans held aloft their seats long before Lewes fireman Steve Tomlin blew the final whistle, which signalled the obligatory pitch invasion. Albion did not leave empty handed either. Southampton chairman Rupert Lowe presented counterpart Dick Knight and his fellow Board members with a silver salver to commemorate the club's participation in the start and end of The Dell.

Another trophy for the new cabinet. Now Knight and co will be praying it does not turn out to be a consolation prize from Lowe for their manager.

Southampton: Jones (Blayney 54); Baird, Marsden (Gibbens 76), Lundekvam (El Khalej 54), Richards (Monk 65), Le Tissier (McDonald 69), Draper (Ashford 89), Rosler (Beattie 54), Ripley, Benali (Caceres 86), Kachloul (Bridge 54), Gray (Beattie 89).

Albion: Kuipers (Packham 73); Watson, Mayo, Crosby, Rogers (Wilkinson 73), Brooker (Marney 66), Steele, Jones (Hammond 75), Melton (Wilkins 86), Wicks (Virgo 46), Zamora (Ramsay 70). Sub not used Carr.