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The Great Escape: Part 2! Bristol Rovers 1 - 2 Brighton & Hove Albion
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Posted by David Snowball
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Wednesday, April 22, 2009
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Bristol Rovers 1 - 2 Brighton & Hove Albion
By Colin Snowball
What a great night last night. The transformation from the team we saw at MK and against Swindon is unbelievable. Who would ever of thought that Gary Hart would be our saviour?! He had a great game and, as you've probably seen, made both goals with great crosses.
Andrew’s header for the second was particularly impressive too, considering that "Footballer", "never" and "hole in my arse" are words contained in many phrases heard about him!
I hadn't rated Gary Dicker much before either but he impressed last night by being very calm in midfield and playing simple balls out of trouble whenever necessary.
Dean Cox went off with a bad injury before half time and judging by the way he hobbled onto the pitch at the end of the game, he won't be playing on Saturday.
Owusu was also injured towards the end but hopefully he isn't as bad as he's been a different player recently too.
I feel sorry for Craig Davies. He so badly needs a goal and you can tell that he wants to be loved. He came on as sub near the end but looked lacklustre and at the end came over to the fans but was largely ignored, probably due to the fact that Calvin Andrew had dived into the crowd and was being mobbed - not a bad reaction for a Palace player!
Hinsh got better as the game went on but at one point in the second half he slipped and went down holding his knee. You could tell by the look on his face and Tommy Elphick's reaction that he thought that he’d done his ligament again but after treatment he got up gingerly and hobbled on. I thought that it was a dead cert that he’d soon come off (El Abd was immediately warming up) but soon after he sprinted across the area to make a last gasp tackle to save a likely goal. I wouldn’t mind betting that he'll be back in the treatment room very soon, though.
Credit also to Adam Virgo who had a great game with Elphick in the back four (Borrowdale too, come to that) but Bob Booker made a special point of acclaiming him to the crowd at the end and he put in a number of crunching tackles. It really looked like it meant something to him which was great to see.
Having seen their goal again, it was a deflection that wrong footed Kuipers but apart from a couple of saves, he didn't have a lot to do, the defence doing a great job of protecting him and it always seemed to me that we were the more likely winners.
Credit all round then, except to my usual whipping boy Tommy Fraser, who, I think, just doesn't contribute enough but perhaps I'm missing something.
I see that there was nearly 700 Albion fans there. A great turn out and a brilliant night for us all. I really don’t believe that all of the plastic Premiership fans that you see everywhere can ever experience the emotions that we do on such occasions.
My voice has gone this morning from all of the singing! I'm off to Huddersfield on Saturday for more of the same!Labels: Bristol Rovers, Colin Snowball, League One
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Albion's Great Escape: Albion 3 Oldham 1
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Posted by David Snowball
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Sunday, April 19, 2009
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By Nick Turrell
Lloyd Owusu raised the non-existent Withdean roof with a gutsy two-goal contribution to keep Albion's Great Escape hopes alive.
Playing in tandem with the buzzing Gary Hart, who rolled back the years with the sort of performance many had not thought they would see again, Owusu took the man-of-the-match honours for his goalscoring but the award could easily have been shared between the two.
Owusu probably edged it for his assist for the opening goal - a neat cross to the far post for an unmarked Dean Cox to head home.
The Withdean faithful responded positively to the level of on-pitch urgency that's all-too-often been missing this season and really got behind the team as they totally dominated Oldham in the first half and deservedly went in 2-0 ahead courtesy of a rather fortunate pinball experience when Owusu's misplaced header bounced fortuitously off Crossley and back to him to net.
After witnessing the shocking collapse to Swindon at the start of the second half only seven days earlier, everyone was hoping the lesson had been learned.
But amazingly it didn't seem to have been. Albion, forced to replace Elphick with El Abd, looked jittery beyond belief at the back and after some harum scarum moments in which Kuipers failed to inspire confidence and Dicker was forced to clear off the line, Oldham pulled one back when El Abd let a long punt sail straight over his head and allowed Alessandra to glide past him with ease and bury the ball in the back of the net.
Fortunately, Oldham's defence was similarly generous almost immediately and Hart and Owusu combined to unlock the visitors defence a third time.
Apart from the injury to Elphick, the other black mark of the day was the sending off of Andrew Whing for a second bookable offence, although it appeared a harsh decision from a fussy referee (Steve Cook) who at times lost the plot - as well as struggling to rummage for his cards - as the already-booked right back gently toe-poked the ball away following a free kick award against him.
However, a welcome three points which were even more vital when news of results elsewhere came through.
I believe Albion need one more win and a draw so long as Crewe and Carlisle continue to falter.
Player ratings v Oldham
Kuipers 6. One quality stop but very edgy and loads of unnecessary dramatics.
Whing 7. Sending off spoilt his fine run of form which sees him likely to be named player of the season.
Virgo 6. Can't fault his application but didn't inspire confidence.
Eplhick 7. Played on bravely until half time despite receiving nasty thigh gash.
Borrowdale 8. Played another solid, key role.
Dicker 8. Probably best he's played; put himself about and tidied up effectively.
Fraser 6. Usual contribution: energetic but erratic. Subbed.
Loft 7. Best I've seen him play for Albion. A few misplaced passes but lots of energy and justified his selection.
Cox 9. A box of tricks and sealed a lively display with opening goal.
Hart 9. Wholehearted never-say-die performance; would have been top marks if he'd got on the scoresheet.
Owusu 9. Top contribution from the experienced striker. Can't do much more if he's hoping to earn a contract for next season. His goals could keep us up.
Subs
El Abd 4. At fault for Oldham's goal and looked like his confidence is completely shot.
Jarrett 7. Brought much-needed stability to central midfield as Fraser began to lose it.
Andrew. Took over from the tiring Owusu with just a few minutes left.Labels: League One, Nick Turrell, Oldham
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Feckless, spineless, gutless: MK Dons 2 - 0 Brighton
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Posted by David Snowball
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Sunday, April 05, 2009
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By Nick Turrell
Feckless, spineless, gutless. Any of these could be used to describe the way Albion meekly succumbed to Milton Keynes Dons.
As an Albion supporter of more seasons than I care to remember, I've seen my fair share of defeats.
We all accept there are occasions when you're going to lose, but as long as you feel everyone has given their all you accept it.
What is wholly unacceptable is when your side rolls over without a fight.
More than 2,000 Brighton fans put themselves out to travel some distance to support the team in a desperate hour of need.
Yet the players - with the exception of Andrew Whing and, to some extent, Dean Cox - ambled around in the sunshine without displaying anything close to the passion and commitment of the supporters.
It was a shameful exhibition of professional footballers at their worst.
Astonishingly, in his post-match interview, Russell Slade claimed he couldn't fault the players for their effort and commitment.
Well, we all watch football with a different perspective, but if he couldn't detect the number of shirkers wearing sky blue, then he's got no hope of holding the manager's job past the end of this sorry, painful season.
Whing found himself the subject of fan worship simply because he took every opportunity to get stuck in and chased and harried in a way none of the others came close to matching.
It was ironic then that it was Whing who failed to stop a pinpoint cross to the far post which Michel Kuipers and Adam El Abd also failed to get close to, leaving the on-rushing Jason Puncheon to bury with a bullet header to put the Dons 2-0 up.
They'd taken the lead when Ali Gerbera stepped all too easily past Matt Heath to drill the ball past Kuipers.
Given an equally simple task in the second half, the incomprehensibly inept Craig Davies yet again failed at the job he's paid to do and missed the most golden opportunity to bring Albion back into the game.
Davies and Lloyd Owusu could have taken on the title of the Powder Puff Girls such was the level of threat they posed.
It was so desperate to see such a feeble amount of effort from a team wearing the Brighton & Hove Albion badge.
Player ratings out of 10
Kuipers 6
Whing 8
Virgo 6
Heath 5
Loft 3
Fraser 4
Dicker 3
Cox 7
Owusu 3
Davies 3
El Abd 3
Subs:
Carole 5
Jarrett 5
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Slade lifts the Withdean gloom: Brighton 5 - 0 Yeovil
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Posted by David Snowball
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Sunday, March 15, 2009
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Division One safety may still be Far Far Away but Mama Weer All Crazee Now after Slade began to lift the gloom around the Withdean.
Big, bright and bubbly Russell Slade has injected a new energy into the sagging Seagulls and against his old club Yeovil it all suddenly came good.
The resurgent Dean Cox had by far, far and away his best game of the season as he scored twice and had a hand in the other goals as rampant Brighton blitzed dismal Yeovil 5-0. It should have been that even more clinical-sounding 6-0 if only substitute Craig Davies hadn't blazed over a glorious chance at the death.
Returning skipper Nicky Forster also plundered two goals and left the arena with the score 3-0 to a highly-deserved standing ovation.
But even though sponsors' man-of-the-match Cox and Forster took the glory, it was a good all round team effort and mention should also be made of Dave Livermore's sound contribution at left back and Jason Jarrett's performance in midfield - in particular for his pass that set up the opening goal for Cox.
Lloyd Owusu also worked his socks off and deserved a goal for his battling display against his former team-mates.
Apparently he was well narked that substitute Glenn Murray grabbed the ball to take the penalty which made it 4-0 because he rather fancied scoring against his old club.
After two thirds of the season in which Albion's front two have either been out injured or under no competitive pressure in terms of their places, with the arrival of Owusu and Davies there is now genuine healthy competition which can only serve the club well in what is a difficult run-in.
Murray, back after a long absence through injury, looked lively during his brief run-out and might have added to the penalty, given when Yeovil player-boss Terry Skiverton handled a Cox cross.
Albion will be hoping this major-confidence booster will augur well for Tuesday's visit to the Bescot Stadium where Walsall astonishingly collapsed 0-5 to Bristol Rovers.
Nick TurrellLabels: League One, Nick Turrell, Yeovil
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Beeby booby blights Slade opener: Leyton Orient 2-1 Brighton
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Posted by David Snowball
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Sunday, March 08, 2009
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Albion fans once had a lot to thank Richard Beeby for when he awarded the decisive penalty kick in the club's 2004 play-off final against Bristol City.
At Orient the same official was guilty of evening up a much-derided decision by awarding a soft penalty which gave the home side a totally undeserved route back into the game.
Albion, with five debutants in their line-up, totally dominated the first half at Brisbane Road and led just after a quarter of an hour when centre back Matt Heath prodded home a loose ball in the six-yard area after Orient's keeper Jamie Jones failed to grasp the ball.
It was all very comfortable for Brighton until shortly before half time the diminutive Al Bangura challenged for a high ball and caught an opponent with his trailing arm.
It didn't look malicious but with the Orient faithful baying for a red card, Beeby took his time before brandishing just a yellow card.
Straight from the resulting free kick, there was an innocuous challenge in the Albion penalty area which looked like a fairly routine clearance by Heath until the official stunned everyone by pointing to the penalty spot. It certainly felt like it was directly linked to righting the perceived wrong of the previous decision.
Orient's recently returned veteran goalscorer Scott McGleish stepped up to bury the spot kick past Brighton's new great Dane goalie and the momentum of the equaliser galvanised Orient to run out in the second half with a lot more determination.
It wasn't long before the crossbar was rattled by a McGleish shot and Albion generally were second best as the home side tried to press home their superiority.
The ponderous McLeod not surprisingly gave way to Seb Carole and to enable him to forage on the right, Tommy Fraser was withdrawn to be replaced by back-from-suspension David Livermore.
Unfortunately, with Craig Davies snatching at the few good chances that came his way and Lloyd Owusu appearing to struggle with a hamstring injury after an impressive earlier stint in which he won a fair number of headers, Albion never really looked like getting the hoped-for winner. Just when it seemed proceedings would peter out to a draw, Sean Thornton picked up the ball around the edge of the area and fired home an unstoppable winner with some aplomb.
There was no way back for Albion as Orient did a highly professional job of running down the clock.
Player ratings
Mikkel Andersen - looked a little edgy and stuck to his line when he needed to be a bit more commanding
Andrew Whing - familiar Whingy display; wholehearted and some impressive runs in support of more forward players. But passing was wasteful at times.
Matt Heath - commanding and eventful debut. Got on the scoresheet by being in the right place at the right time. Penalised harshly to hand Orient their equaliser.
Adam El Abd - another wholehearted display from the stand-in skipper. Didn't deserve to finish on the losing side.
Gary Borrowdale - tidy debut at left-back. One or two understandable communication issues.
Tommy Fraser - surprise inclusion wide right of the midfield four: it hasn't worked before and didn't work today. Substituted.
Al Bangura - energetic debut and showed good touches at times. Quite evident he hasn't played much recently but showed promise for the run-in.
Jason Jarrett - a bit of a frustrating afternoon for him and less effective after being booked for a cynical trip.
Kevin McLeod - can't work out what his problem is; he's got a sweet left foot but he looks like he's labouring. Unsurprisingly subbed - again.
Craig Davies - at times looked like he was posing a threat but seemed to lack a killer touch and wasted some good half chances.
Lloyd Owusu - looked like quite a handful and won a high percentage of high balls in his direction. Looked to be struggling with a hamstring pull towards the end.
Subs
Seb Carole - never really got into it.
David Livermore - good to see him back after suspension. Not an impact player, though. Had one header from edge of the area which was easily held.
By Nick TurrellLabels: League One, Leyton Orient, Nick Turrell
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Report: Millwall 0-1 Brighton
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Posted by David Snowball
at
Friday, February 27, 2009
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As the final whistle blew at the New Den, matchwinner Adam Virgo slumped into a squat position and held his head in his hands.
It must have been a curious mixture of emotions that filled his head.
Having seen the man who brought him back to the Albion dispensed with on the eve of the Millwall clash, he went on to play out of position alongside Nicky Forster - and score the all-important deciding goal, flinging himself at Chris Birchall's cross from the right with a little over quarter of an hour to go.
No-one epitomises the spirit of Brighton & Hove Albion as much as Virgo.
How frustrating, then, that three days later he got involved in a totally unnecessary wrestling match with Northampton powerhouse Akinfenwa and saw red, meaning an instant three-match ban.
There were so-called supporters within my earshot who reckoned it was a good thing he'd be missing. But are the alternatives really any better?
Of course Virgo isn't our most accomplished footballer but if others shared his never-say-die attitude we probably wouldn't be stranded in the bottom four.
I believe the team will miss his physical presence, but let's see how the squad responds - especially with a new manager to impress.
It would be good to think David Livermore might be able to step into Virgo's boots - except he's also sidelined due to his sending off at Luton.
Craig Davies impressed when coming off the bench against Northampton and taking Virgo's place alongside Nicky Forster. Unfortunately all the good things he did paled into insignificance as a result of a glaring miss when clean through in the 92nd minute.
There really looked to be only two scenarios as he scampered clear of the Town defence thanks to Forster's through ball - he would either be hacked down by the defender or he would bury the winning goal of the game. Astonishingly, he missed the target altogether. The absence of a consoling word from any of his colleagues at the final whistle (although there was a belated "low five" from El Abd) told its own story.
It was perhaps understandable why White and Booker stuck with the team which won at Millwall but this was a game Albion should have won and the impact of Davies and Seb Carole as substitutes showed what might have been earlier in the game.
There was a lot of huff and puff, as usual, but Dean Cox in particular needed to convert some of his industry into goals. Two good chances failed to trouble the Cobblers' 'keeper.
It was unjust when Town took the lead in added-on time at the end of the first half, but Albion's defence gave the striker time and space to get his shot away.
The reply from Tommy Elphick, emphatically heading home Carole's corner from the right, will have boosted his confidence and was certainly deserved.
But the senseless sendings off seemed to kill off any likelihood of a win either way - until that moment right at the end when Davies looked certain to score.
Albion player ratings:
Kuipers 5 - not yet recovered his confidence after his absence from the team; kicking was woeful.
Whing 7 - wholehearted as ever and one particular whipped-in cross might have been buried by Forster, but too often his passes go astray.
Elphick 7 - took his goal well; still too much hoof for my liking.
El Abd 7 - centre back is certainly his best position but might have done better in stopping Northampton's goal.
McNulty 8 - comfortable on the ball, looked good carrying it forward; think that £150,000 looks money well spent.
Birchall 6 - occasional moments of inventiveness but not dominant enough; could struggle now his mentor Adams has gone.
Fraser 6 - a typical Tommy performance - can't fault the effort but the quality's lacking. Carole replaced him.
Jarrett 8 - settling into the kind of influential central midfield player we've been crying out for.
Cox 7 - worked hard but should have scored.
Forster 7 - another industrious performance but not at his clinical best; probably should have got goal 201.
Virgo 6 - toiled manfully as ever but let the side down with a stupid sending off.
Subs
Davies 8 - Albion looked far more of a threat going forward after his introduction. Should have won it though.
Carole 8 - Virtually first contribution was to strike a quality corner for Elphick's goal. Did enough to warrant starting v Crewe.
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Becs show their class: Leeds 3 - 1 Brighton
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Posted by David Snowball
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Tuesday, October 14, 2008
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WHILE Becks of England awaited his cameo role against Kazakhstan, the Becs of Leeds ran riot against the Albion.
Luciano Becchio and Jermaine Beckford gave Tommy Elphick and Colin Hawkins a torrid time at Elland Road.
A goal apiece for the Leeds front pair and bookings for Albion's central defensive duo told the story of the first half.
Removing Hawkins from the fray at half-time was a sort of kindness more akin to putting down a wounded animal.
In truth he was lucky he made it to the half-time whistle because the referee could so easily have shown him red for the number of infringements the Irishman was guilty of as he struggled even to get close to the skilful and pacy Leeds forwards.
It was no surprise to see Adam Virgo drop back into Hawkins' position after the break - and he saw yellow for a virtually identical kind of foul inflicted by his colleagues.
If the class of the Becs was too hot for Albion to handle, so was the midfield prompting of Fabian Delph who was the architect of all that was so good about Leeds.
If Robbie Savage looked at the fixture list before he put pen to paper on his month's loan to Brighton, he would presumably have been licking his lips at the prospect of performing on the Elland Road stage. The shame was he didn't - and he was upstaged by the exquisite Delph.
In fact the only credit that Savage emerged with was his trotting over to the away fans' corner during the pre-match kick-about to pose for a picture with some enthusiastic Albion lads who had gone out of their way to don long-blond-haired wigs in tribute to the Welsh midfielder.
On the pitch, Savage did well to avoid the baiting of the crowd and several Leeds players, but his footballing contribution was minimal.
In fact, the killer second Leeds goal came direct from his failure to get a shot away in the Leeds penalty area, the ball being pinged straight down their left for a pinpoint cross which Beckford buried with a stunning header in off the underside of the bar.
It came in first half injury time only a minute or so after the Leeds opener from Becchio, whose initial shot was well blocked by Andy Whing. While Albion's beleaguered defenders watched, Becchio reacted quickest to smash home the rebound.
At least Adams reacted positively at half time in removing Hawkins from the action, along with David Livermore, who had also been booked and was another lucky not to have seen red.
The only trouble was, by Adams' own admission after the game, their replacements didn't do the job they were put on the pitch to do - namely get into wide positions and put in crosses. At least Kevin Thornton got on the ball and did some neat foraging on the right side, combining fairly well with Joe Anyinsah and Whing. But none of his work caused any damage. On the other flank, Dean Cox barely touched the ball and, frankly, didn't look too interested in getting involved either.
Anyinsah's pace and hard work gave Leeds some problems to handle but Glenn Murray was often too isolated up front with very little support around him.
His injury time strike was consolation for a tough afternoon - both for player and fans alike. He certainly dispatched it with aplomb having shaken off the attention of a couple of defenders.
Sadly, by then Albion were dead and buried after another horrendous late-in-the-game defensive lapse when Kuipers completely lost his head, careered way off his line to try to play sweeper on the edge of the penalty area and Beckford rounded him easily before calmly burying the ball into the net to give Leeds a 3-0 advantage.
To be honest, if Beckford in particular and Leeds in general had been more clinical rather than sitting comfortably on their 2-0 half-time cushion, Albion could - and probably should - have been buried out of sight.
It could quite easily have been 5-0 by the time Beckford struck again, such was Leeds' domination.
Obviously the atmosphere generated by a crowd of more than 22,700 was amazing for a League One fixture, but it would be a great surprise to me if Albion return to play at Elland Road next season. Leeds surely won't blow their chance to escape the division this time round. Albion have got it all to do if they have any hope of joining them.
Albion player ratings (marks out of 10):
Kuipers - 5,
Whing - 7,
Elphick - 4,
Hawkins - 3,
Richards - 6,
Anyinsah - 7,
Virgo - 6,
Thomson - 7,
Savage - 5,
Livermore - 4,
Murray - 7.
Subs:
Thornton - 6,
Cox - 3.
Nick Turrell
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