Brighton finally collect their Wembley debt

Brighton didn't just beat Manchester United on Sunday night. They avenged a murder that happened forty-three years ago. And the best part? They made United fans watch the whole thing.

In 1983, Gordon Smith had a chance to win the FA Cup Final in the dying seconds. He missed. This wasn't just a near miss, "and Smith must score..." is burned into Brighton fans' DNA as much as "...they think it's all over...it is now!" That said, in hindsight and after speaking with Gordon years later, in his defence he does say "...no one ever remembers I scored the first goal.." All academic, as four days later United beat Brighton 4-0 in the replay. The memory of "Stevie Foster who the f**k are you?" being sung by the Mancunians still haunts every Brighton fan who was there. But Sunday night was payback time.

This was different. Brighton showed up at Old Trafford missing half their defence, which should've been a disaster. Instead they played like they'd finally figured something out: United are beatable. Always have been. Brighton just needed to stop acting like guests at their own mugging.

Gruda scored after twelve minutes. Simple finish, slammed home a rebound. Gordon Smith is somewhere watching that thinking "Oh, so that's how you do it."

Then came Danny Welbeck. United's academy product. The one they threw away. He's now scored eight goals against them, the same number he's managed against West Ham, which tells you everything about how United view their own history. In the 64th minute he took one touch and buried a shot in the top corner with the kind of precision United haven't shown since they last won something that mattered.

United got one back late through Sesko, which gave their fans just enough hope to make the ending hurt properly. Then Shea Lacey, an 18-year-old substitute, got himself sent off for dissent in stoppage time. Imagine being that young and that stupid. Actually, imagine being Manchester United and making an 18-year-old feel like dissent was his best option.

When the whistle blew, Brighton had finally beaten United in the FA Cup. It only took 43 years. Gordon Smith is 70 now. He's spent more of his life living with that miss than he spent being a professional footballer.

Sunday night didn't erase that. Nothing erases that. But at least now when Brighton fans think about Manchester United and the FA Cup, they've got one good memory.