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Brentford Report: "Out-thought, out-fought and outplayed"
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Posted by David Snowball
at
Sunday, February 11, 2007
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Report By: Rhys Turrell
The curse of Griffin Park did for Brighton again, as they succumbed to defeat in what was thoroughly disappointing for everyone involved with the club.
It must be hard for Dean Wilkins to take many positives out of the game, and in particular the first half, when the seagulls' performance was atrocious. They struggled to get a foothold in the game until around the 10 minute mark, but by then they could have already been a goal behind. A terrible back pass by Joe O'Cearuill left Kuipers stranded, who after a fortunate slip from the Brentford forward, horrendously miss kicked his clearance, which was equally scuffed by a Bees player.
The Albion, who started the game with a reshuffled formation, looked disjointed and failed to possession of the ball for large periods, and it was hardly surprising when the hosts took the lead after a simple goal from top-scorer Jo Kuffour. Debutant Alexis Bertin conceded possession in the centre of the park, and Kuffour was set through for a one-on-one with Kuipers, whom he coolly slotted the ball past.
The new formation employed by the Albion, 4-4-1-1, failed to trouble the home side for most of the first half and it was disappointing that a change was not made earlier in the match. With Cox playing just behind a lone Robinson, there was very little width on either side, particularly as both Ward and Hammond are accustomed to central midfield roles. This lack of width caused the Brighton fullbacks problems, as they were frequently exposed, and this led to the sending-off of Kerry Mayo. He quickly accumulated a yellow card for persistent fouling and it seemed almost inevitable that any tackle after this would result in an early bath. What was disappointing was that the Albion management didn’t react to the situation quickly enough and on the stroke of half-time, Mayo hesitated as he lost possession and made a desperate grab for the opposition player's shirt.
It was obvious that the Albion needed to start the second-period with renewed vigour, and they were courageous in their attempts, but ultimately unsuccessful. The introduction of Bas Savage provided the Albion with a physical presence in the forward line, when he replaced the unproductive Nick Ward. The reshuffle also saw Cox move to the right hand side and Hammond remain on the other while Bertin continued in central midfield. El-Abd moved to right back and surprisingly O'Cearuill was moved to left back despite struggling for confidence and seemingly possessing nothing in terms of a decent left foot.
Credit to the Albion though as they battled well, despite being a man down, and had decent possession and forward running. Headers from Hammond and Savage both tested the Bees 'keeper but he was able to pretty easily catch them. He also saved decently from Savage, after the striker tried to place a shot past him at the near post. The Albion had to be grateful to Kuipers for making some decent saves and to Joel Lynch for a superb performance at the heart of the seagulls’ rearguard.
The second-half was a dramatic opposite to the first as they began to put some crosses into the box and seriously test the opposition. However the lack of balance, possibly because of the one-footedness of O’Cearuill, meant that almost all of the Albion's play came from down the right flank and resulted in us becoming a little predictable. However Brentford failed to shackle Cox and he continually attempted to cross but to no significant avail.
One has to wonder whether the Brighton managerial team will look at themselves after today and conclude that they may have made some errors of judgement. The team selection and shape seemed to be incorrect and the hurry to change it was non-existent. This seemed to be proved when Sam Rents came on as sub (belatedly) in the 84th minute to replace O'Cearuill at left-back. He had been standing on the touchline waiting for a good 5-7 minutes before the management decided to bring him on. Gatting also took to the field for the last 5 minutes but was unable to connect with a cross in his only meaningful contribution. And while the referee was poor, the Albion can only have themselves to blame after this lacklustre showing, in which they got what they probably deserved. Nothing.
Match Ratings:
Kuipers: 6 - Redeemed himself after earlier kicking errors with some good second-half saves, but didn’t look as comfortable as he can do. He got in a fracas with the stand behind him late in the second-half and this hardly helped to increase and maintain the kind of tempo that Brighton needed to get back in the game.
Mayo: 5 - Was exposed all too frequently and his lack of pace wasn’t helping him. His dismissal was after a panic pull on the opposition player’s shirt in an area of the field where it was probably unnecessary.
Butters: 7 - Led well by example and cleared a few shots off the line in the second half.
Lynch: 9 - MOM - Was a man mountain and cleared up everything that he had to: tackled strongly, headed well and passed efficiently, one of few highlights.
O'Cearuill: 5 - Seemed to struggle again at right back, in what is clearly not his natural position, and struggled equally so at left-back. Will be lucky to keep his place for Orient.
Hammond: 5 - Was out of position and struggled to influence the game as he has done previously this season. Led by example however, with some strong, yet fair, tackling.
El-Abd: 7 - He had little of the ball in the first half but grew in stature in the second half when he played at right back. He led well from his position and got forward well at times.
Bertin: 6 - Looks to be an accomplished player who can tackle and pass, new Chippy possibly? He faded in the second-half and conceded the ball a little too often.
Ward: 5 - Had a poor 45 minutes and looks a little stranded on the right flank. He also seems to revel in fancy skill and flicks but could actually do with controlling and passing the ball a little more simply.
Cox: 6 - Was far more useful when switched to right midfield and tried as hard as he could until the very last minute.
Robinson: 5 - Desperately short of form, and he wont have been helped by yet another one-on-one miss, even if he was offside. He probably needs to be dropped as he is costing the team points with his misses and a lot of possession is breaking up around him.
Subs
Savage: 5 - Huff and puff but very little impact and his goal record is scarily poor. He is by no means the finished article, but do we have enough time to develop him?
Rents & Gatting: 5 - No time.Labels: Brentford, League One, Rhys Turrell
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