A LIFELONG Albion fan has had her poem displayed in front of thousands of match-day supporters.

Sandra Gillingham, of Hollingbury in Brighton, said: “It’s a great feeling to see it up there.

“When I first went out to look for it, I was shocked by how big it was.”

Sandra, who has supported the Seagulls for more than 40 years, wrote the poem at the end of last season to celebrate the club’s survival in the Premier League.

She said: “There was about 12 of us at a game at the end of last season and I decided I’d write this poem to celebrate the season, and to celebrate all of my friends who I go with.

“I have a book of poems that I keep for all the important things in my life like friends and family members, and this is another one.”

Sandra wrote the poem, but kept it to herself until seeing an appeal from the club for fans’ memories.

Now, the club have displayed her poem, which pays tribute to Albion’s success, outside the stadium for all to see.

She said: “I went to every home game last season, and a good number of away matches as well.

“I’ve been going on and off for more than 40 years and I’ve seen some great games down the years.”

She said a particularly memorable fixture was a 3-3 draw with Sheffield Wednesday in the 1970s.

She said: “I never leave games early, but that game we were 1-0 down with five minutes to go and my friends wanted to leave.

“So they left their seats, and as soon as they had we equalised.

“Then we went 2-1 down and they went to leave again, but I stayed put.

“We scored, they scored and then we scored again, so the game finished 3-3.

“It was a very dramatic finish, and that’s why I never leave my seat before the game is over.”

Sandra said that other fond memories included getting the match shirts of both Tommy Elphick and Alex Revell after staying behind at games.