Dons lose and Seagulls win as they build up for the Big One. Also how a Scot helped Brighton win the Charity Shield in 1910

The next stop on the Road to Wembley from Scotland is Brighton where the Seagulls will host the MK Dons on Saturday January 7^th  2017. Over the last two days the two days the protagonists have been in league action with mixed fortunes. While the gladiators have been battling I have been researching as I have been advised that my last post was inaccurate and Brighton and Hove Albion have won a major trophy! Read on MacDuff.

In Milton Keynes on Boxing Day a decent crowd of over 10000 turned up at Stadium MK to see the Dons play Charlton for the third time in December. Having eliminated the Addicks from the FA Cup a couple of weeks ago the Dons were not able to repeat the trick and they went down 1-0 in a tight game. The men from Stadium MK dominated the first 25 minutes but did not make the onion bag bulge. They paid a heavy price when the much sought after Lookman of Charlton scored the only goal of the game late in the first half.

Boxing Day action as the Dons take on the Addicks (again !) at Stadium MK

Scot watch: The Dons are now being managed by the Scottish Mafia with boss Robbie Neilson being assisted by fellow Scots Stevie Crawford and Neil MacFarlane. Robbie described the game as part of a learning curve and that his tenure was a ‘work in progress’. He also noted that he is looking forward to bolstering his squad in the January transfer window. I wonder how many of the new arrivals will hail from north of the border?

Robbie Neilson: Frustrated that his Dons did not make the most of their early dominance

On the pitch, there were no Scots appearing for the Dons on Monday. Glaswegian centre back Jack Hendry was an unused sub on this occasion.

Yesterday on the south coast the Seagulls entertained Queens Park Rangers in a Championship fixture shown live on Sky TV. Hence I was able to see Albion in action on the telly for the first time since the draw for the third round of the FA Cup was made. I was massively impressed as the Albion dominated the match and won 3-0 with plenty to spare. The first goal was scored by ex Milton Keynes Don Sam Baldock and was a spectacular strike from outside the penalty box.

Pick that out of the net! Ex MK Don opens the scoring for the Seagulls yesterday

Scot watch: The Seagulls have one Scot in their squad and it is the tricky wide player Jamie Murphy. The ex Motherwell man has been injured of late but yesterday was deemed fit enough to be listed as a sub for the first time for a month. He was introduced into the action in the 70^th minute and looked sharp. Some good passing and some direct running from the 27 year old Glaswegian.

In between eating and drinking too much over the last three days I have been intermittently checking out the claim from The Albion Roar (@albionroar) twitter feed that Brighton and Hove Albion have won a major trophy – namely the FA Charity Shield in 1910. As every football fan knows the Charity Shield is contested annually between the FA Cup Winners and the League Champions. An early scan of the honours boards for these two competitions quickly revealed that the Seagulls had never won either competition. Hence I was surprised when I was informed that they had won the Charity Shield. Apparently the cup winners v league champions format was only introduced in 1922 and prior to that the Shield had been contested by teams nominated by the FA worthy of competing for this august prize. In 1910 the fixture was a challenge match between the winners of the Football League (Aston Villa) and the winners of the Southern League (Brighton and Hove Albion). The gallant Albion beat the Villa 1-0 at Stamford Bridge in front of 11000 spectators. Typical of that era almost all of the players playing for top English sides were English. Indeed the entire Villa team were Sassenachs. Nine of the Albion team were English but they also had an Irish forward and a Scottish centre half. The Seagulls pivot was Scotsman Joe McGhie.

 

Scot Joe McGhie (middle row extreme left) helped the Seagulls win the Charity Shield

 Despite increasingly frantic google searches I have been unable to find any information about Joe McGhie other than the fact that he was Scottish. Maybe my new friends from The Albion Roar can help me out here?

Meanwhile back in 2016, the flights are booked, the ticket for the away end is ordered and the overnight accommodation at Chez Poots in Horsham is arranged. The match between Brighton and MK Dons is now only 10 days away. Will the latter day Joe McGhie (Jamie Murphy) inspire the Seagulls or will Scotsman Robbie Neilson guide his MK Dons to cup glory? It is all good fun on The Road to Wembley from Scotland. Come back here at the weekend for more of the build up to the big match.