Albion have not beaten Chelsea since 1933 and no one went closer to changing that than present-day Amex regular Brian Tawse.

The former winger will be in the West Stand hoping to see the Seagulls pick up three precious points today.

It will be 51 years next month since he thought just for a moment, he had given then third-division Albion a momentous win over their guests, managed by Tommy Docherty, from Stamford Bridge.

Tawse struck five minutes from the end of a pulsating fourth-round FA Cup tie before 35,000 at a packed Goldstone, But the strike was ruled out and Chelsea survived before winning the replay 4-0 and eventually making the final.

Dave Turner cancelled out a very early strike from Bobby Tambling for Chelsea, who played most of the match with ten men.

Tawse, who lives in Westdene, told The Argus: “I get asked about this game quite a lot because it was a big game and we went very close to winning it.

“There was a big build-up, everybody was excited.

“We played well and I thought we held our own.

“We were fit and I think we were quite confident.

“I was up against Eddie McCreadie. He was quick. I thought I was as well until I came up against him! He was a good player – very fair.”

A contemporary report, filed down a phone line by reporter John Vinicombe as pandemonium was going around him, said Tawse’s goal was ruled out for offside.

The scenes were no doubt chaotic. Vinners would have been racing against deadline and clearly there were no TV replays to check.

Tawse reckons the goal was ruled out because of a foul.

He said: “It would have been goal of the season.

“I hit an unbelievable strike after Kit Napier had won a header.

“I was just outside the box and it flew in before Peter Bonetti saw it.

“Nobody had heard the whistle. We thought we had won the tie.

“Kit had fouled their guy. I think he had jumped on his shoulders.

“We were disappointed afterwards.

“I thought we had them on the ropes.”

Chelsea had John Boyle sent off on 29 minutes after an incident involving Wally Gould.

In his in-play running report, Vinners wrote: “This must rank as of the finest performances in Albion’s history.”

Half a century on, Tawse recalls it as something special.

He said: “I had a few with Arsenal but, with Brighton, that has to be one of my best memories.”

Albion: Burns, Magill, Baxter, Templeman, Gall, Turner, Oliver, Gould, Napier, Whitington, Tawse.

Chelsea: Bonetti, Kirkup, McCreadie, Hollins, Hinton, Harris, Cooke, Tambling, Hateley, Baldwin, Boyle.