Brighton's ten years at the Amex, season by season

Six years in the Championship, four in the Premier League.

Ten at the venue it sometimes felt might never be built in those Withdean years.

The first decade started with a momentous comeback to beat Doncaster Rovers at the dawn of 2011-12 as Will Buckley scored the winner for Gus Poyet’s side.

It ended with a momentous comeback to beat Manchester City 3-2 as Dan Burn scored the winner for Graham Potter’s team.

There has been so much more in between.

2011-12

Highlight: The opening day 2-1 win at home to Doncaster Rovers was not the best victory of the season but by far the greatest occasion - and the whole day was perfect.

Lowlight: The first defeat, at home to Crystal Palace from 1-0 up.

Fortress Amex? Seventeen points from 21 at home to start 2012 along with an FA Cup defeat of Prem side Newcastle.

Big result: A makeshift Albion were 16th as they took on Southampton but a 3-0 win kick-started a strong opening to 2012.

Great goal: Remember Inigo Calderon’s arrow into David James’ top corner in the win over Bristol City?

Funny old game: Even two players sent off inside ten minutes against Burnley is eclipsed by that bizarre banner unfurled by some Ipswich fans which read: “Some things money can’t buy. Football isn’t one: The Amex.”

2012-13

Highlight: The 3-0 win over Crystal Palace with two goals from Leo Ulloa and the famous David Lopez free-kick.

Lowlight: Play-off defeat and the fallout.

Fortress Amex? Twenty-four points from ten games after the turn of the year.

Big result: A televised 1-0 win at home to high-flying Hull, courtesy of a Vicente free-kick, put Albion in the hunt for promotion.

Great goal: Bruno introduced himself to the Amex with two brilliant assists in a 3-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday. The first saw him go all the way to the byline, double back and then fool the defence with a reverse pass to set up Craig Mackail-Smith.

Funny old game: Albion failed to score in their first three league and cup games but their (short-lived) former goalkeeper David Gonzalez handed them the breakthrough by dropping a free-kick at Ashley Barnes’ feet as Barnsley were routed 5-1.

2013-14

Highlight: An impressive 3-1 win over eventual champions Leicester City, the Foxes’ last defeat for four months.

Lowlight: Four days earlier, Albion were outplayed at the Amex by bottom team Barnsley, who were inspired to a 2-1 win by Paddy McCourt.

Fortress Amex? Albion never really built up winning momentum on their own patch but there were three successive 1-0 wins in January and February.

Big result: A 2-0 win over Harry Redknapp’s much-fancied QPR re-ignited hopes of a play-off push.

Great goal: A turn and left-foot curler into the top corner by Dale Stephens on the edge of the box to open the scoring against Blackpool.

Funny old game: Albion organised Spanish Day at home to Bolton and then went behind to a Spanish Dave own goal. But they won 3-1, their first come-from-behind success at the stadium since the famous first day versus Doncaster.

2014-15

Highlight: The 2-0 midweek wins over Derby and Leeds in quick succession are quite hard to separate.

Lowlight: The venomous atmosphere when Millwall won 1-0 just before Christmas as Sami Hyypia’s tenure drew towards its close.

Fortress Amex? Three successive home wins as Chris Hughton guided Albion away from the drop zone.

Big result: Only a draw this time but the 2-2 from 2-0 down at home to Reading as Nathan Jones took interim charge changed the season.

Great goal: Sam Baldock cut inside to score a cracker against Ipswich, then pretended to faint because he had scored at last.

Funny old game: Albion threatened us with goal music in an April Fool’s joke, then failed to score in their four remaining home games.

2015-16

Highlight: Wins by 5-0 against Fulham and 4-0 versus QPR inside a week late in the season to set up the promotion finale.

Lowlight: Play-off heartbreak, of course, although many fans also retain the build-up to the Sheffield Wednesday second leg and opening period of that game among their Amex highlights.

Fortress Amex? Ten unbeaten (eight wins) to start the season, 11 unbeaten (seven wins) to end it.

Big result: A 1-0 win over Hull, who were eventually promoted, felt right and was a big effort on that emotional afternoon when the Amex paid tribute to the victims of the Shoreham Airshow disaster.

Great goal: There were a couple of length-of-the-field counter-attacks but Albion had to re-open their goal of the season competition when Jiri Skalak belted home from long range against QPR.

Funny old game: Bobby Zamora scored his first home goal for the Seagulls for 12-and-a-half years when his close-range finish secured a 2-1 win over Bristol City.

2016-17

Highlight: The Easter Monday when promotion was more or less secured, celebrated, confirmed and then celebrated again.

Lowlight: The stage for the title trophy presentation remained unassembled in a corridor in the north-east corner of the Amex as Bristol City won 1-0 in the final home fixture.

Fortress Amex? Fourteen unbeaten (11 wins) either side of Christmas.

Big result: The 5-0 mauling of Norwich which sent out a massive statement of Albion’s intent (although, strictly speaking, wins over Huddersfield and Reading were more important. And let’s not forget beating Sheffield Wednesday with ten men).

Great goal: In a season when the very best goals seemed to come on the road, how about Sam Baldock’s superb take down of an exquisite Bruno pass before firing home against Reading?

Funny old game: Glenn Murray opened the scoring in a tense late-season game against Blackburn, then ran away telling 30,000 people to calm down.

2017-18

Highlight: The 2-1 win over Arsenal put safety within reach and was a landmark moment but the Friday night success over Manchester United which confirmed Prem status was even better.

Lowlight: Harsh punishment in the 5-1 defeat by Liverpool when the hosts had plenty of chances.

Fortress Amex? Four consecutive home wins (one in the FA Cup) in February and March.

Big result: The Pascal Gross-inspired 3-1 win over West Brom which kick-started the season.

Great goal: Jose Izquierdo’s fabulous dipping curler against West Ham was the best and among the most important of the season as it restored the lead in a 3-1 win.

Funny old game: 28.3mm – that was the distance by which Gross’s famous winner against Manchester United crossed the line.

2018-19

Highlight: The 3-1 win over Crystal Palace, secured in style despite losing Shane Duffy to a red card and Glenn Murray to injury.

Lowlight: The 5-0 humiliation at home to Bournemouth.

Fortress Amex? Ten points from four games from October to December.

Big result: An early one – the 3-2 success over Manchester United which was their only league win in the first seven games.

Great goal: Florin Andone’s sprint and finish to open a 3-0 lead against Palace.

Funny old game: Two teams clinched the title at the Amex – Manchester City in the Premier League and Arsenal in the FA WSL.

READ MORE: BRIGHTON USE THE AMEX AS FOUNDATION TO SCALE NEW HEIGHTS

2019-20

Highlight: The dominant 3-0 win over Tottenham to secure a first home win for Graham Potter.

Lowlight: Easy to say Palace but the manner of the 5-0 defeat to Manchester City behind closed doors made it very hard to watch.

Fortress Amex? Three successive wins in October and November was as good as it got.

Big result: The first game after lockdown as Albion grabbed a late 2-1 success over Arsenal to move five points clear of the bottom three.

READ MORE: TONY BLOOM'S VERDICT ON BRIGHTON'S FIRST DECADE AT THE AMEX

Great goal: Overhead acrobatics from Alireza Jahanbakhsh, of course.

Funny old game: When Albion drew 0-0 in a borefest with Newcastle, they clinched survival at the latest point of any of their four Prem seasons to date – the 37th game and July 20.

2020-21

Highlight: The first decade ended as it began, with a comeback to bring the house down. Manchester City were the victims this time.

Lowlight: You can go through the results – and think of a last-minute volley, for example – but empty stands for a season was the lowlight.

Fortress Amex? They ended well with five unbeaten (three wins).

Big result: It did not prove to be the relegation six-pointer we thought at the time but the 3-0 win over Newcastle was still a hugely reassuring result and performance.

Great goal: The poise and precision of Danny Welbeck to make sure of the points against Leeds.

Funny old game: Graham Potter upset Pep Guardiola as his side beat City. It wasn’t clear what he did - but it probably wasn’t as bad as Poyet kicking the water bottles on day one in 2011!