West Ham v Brighton & Hove Albion
The FA Cup sponsored by E.ON
Third Round Proper
Saturday 6 January 2007
Winning clubs will receive £40,000 from The FA
Third Round Proper Draw - Click Here

Brighton's Guy Butters has fond memories of playing at Upton Park and the burly centre half is hoping for a dose of deja vu on Saturday afternoon.

Butters was the hero the last time the Seagulls played at West Ham, heading in the winner just over two years ago as Brighton stole an unlikely win.

"We played there a couple of years ago," he recalled. "We were under the cosh for the first 15 minutes - our keeper had to make some great saves. But we gradually found our rhythm and started playing football.

"I got the winner. It was a free-kick from Richard Carpenter, I managed to get my head on it. They then brought on two forwards and played four up front. It was like the Alamo but we held on."

But the veteran stopper, who also enjoyed spells at Gillingham and Portsmouth, knows it would be an even bigger surprise should Brighton repeat the result when they take on the Hammers in the Third Round.

"It will be a difficult game," he insisted. "They are two leagues above us and have class throughout the team.

"But we are excited about it. We don't often get the chance to play in front of a massive crowd. Playing in front of 30,000 fans gives you a great buzz. It will be a great day out for our fans. We've had a disappointing Christmas period, we want to stop our losing run."

However, Brighton only need to look at West Ham's form this season to know they have a chance. Third from bottom in the Premier League and thrashed 6-0 at Reading on New Year's Day, Butters says confidence is low at Upton Park.

"I think it could be a good time to play them," he said. "They will be down after losing 6-0 against Reading, but you know their manager will be at them in training all week. It depends what team turns up."

Butters might find himself marking former Brighton striker Bobby Zamora - the pair played together at the Withdean Stadium for one season - and he has plenty of respect for the hitman.

"When he was with Brighton, his record spoke for itself. He'll get a good reception from the Brighton fans. A couple of the guys are still in touch with him. A few of them met up with him recently and I'm sure he's been getting some stick since the draw," he added.

When Brighton reached The FA Cup Final in 1984, they beat Newcastle, Manchester City, Liverpool, Norwich and Sheffield Wednesday before meeting Manchester United at Wembley.

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