It seems the ancient rivalry is a thing of the past perhaps? We’ve had bigger fish to fry. West Ham? For me Chelsea, but that’s because I live by Stamford Bridge and hate them anyway. As someone who was brought up in and around Brighton I was always a little detached from it.

The Daily Mail's top slob Martin Samuel letting-rip on the CPFC players after the game.

Petty protests show how hard refs have it

MARTIN SAMUEL

ANYONE still unaware of what match officials are up against in football need only watch the moments after the final whistle at the Amex Stadium.

Several Crystal Palace players, Yohan Cabaye, Bakary Sako, Wayne Hennessey, still went to referee Andre Marriner to protest about Brighton's winning goal.

Despite the fact they would have known that, this time, the official could be certain his call was correct.

'I'll prove it to you,' Marriner appeared to be saying, in defence of his judgment. He shouldn't have to prove it to anybody. Who do they think they are, these clowns, that they know more than an assistant referee with access to every conceivable angle? At his studio outside London, video assistant referee Neil Swarbrick would have studied the footage and informed Marriner there was no obvious mistake. If anything, scorer Glenn Murray was trying to get his arm out of the way. Most importantly, he succeeded.

Yet it still wasn't enough for Palace. Instead of taking responsibility for failing to hold on to their lead, they sought to place blame on that most familiar of scapegoats: the referee. And while the video referee process may be far from perfect, it did its job last night. It confirmed Marriner's correct calls, did not interfere with the flow of the game and exposed the childishness of the modern professional. The latter was an unexpected bonus. Palace's players looked small, self-indulgent and petty in their protests against all evidence. Grown-ups 1 Toddlers 0. A good win, that.