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Brentford Report: "Out-thought, out-fought and outplayed"	Posted by David Snowball at Sunday, February 11, 2007
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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Brentford Match Report	Posted by David Snowball at Monday, August 14, 2006
BRENTFORD nicked a point at Withdean with virtually the last kick of the game and few could genuinely deny they deserved it. But Albion were the architects of their own failure to take all three points, rather than anything particularly special produced by Brentford. Two-nil up before 15 minutes were on the clock, the Seagulls shamefully took their collective feet off the pedal and allowed the Bees to get back into the game - and then sting them right at the end. Was it youthful naivety? Maybe, but we've seen it before with Brighton - scoring two goals in a game has become so rare in recent times they think that's enough, when going on and burying a team is actually allowed. Brentford could - and should - have been out of sight before Albion ran out of steam. It was the third game in a week and maybe one or two were beginning to think League One is going to be a doddle. As media commentator Mike Ward said on the truly awful post-match fans phone-in, the result actually may do us more good in the long-run because people will now take a look at themselves rather than thinking it's a piece of cake. Expect changes for the Forest encounter. Mark McGhee wasn't getting carried away even before this disappointment and dropping two points will give him the perfect excuse to shake up the starting line-up to avoid any complacency drifting into the squad. Wayne Henderson may well return from his midweek international call-up to discover he's only on the bench at the City Ground next Saturday. The young Irish 'keeper made two superb point-blank stops against Gillingham but he was back to last season's line-rooted jitters on too many occasions in the second half against Brentford, and he will not want to watch a replay of the last-minute equaliser. Adam El-Abd, who has so far performed admirably alongside Joel Lynch in the heart of the defence, might also pay the price for his culpability in failing to deal with Chris Moore's last gasp effort. There's no doubt Henderson is a better kicker than Kuipers - with both feet. But the former Dutch Marine deserves a run-out after impressing pre-season, and an early exchange of places would probably benefit both of them - and the team - in terms of encouraging even better performances. Keith Lowe, brought in from Wolves as centre back cover, hasn't yet been given a start, but the Brentford result now gives McGhee the perfect excuse to give him his debut. The highly impressive Lynch once again looked a class above his team-mates and it will be a miracle if the cash-strapped Seagulls can retain his services until the end of the season. In fact people are already saying they're nervous that he'll be snapped up before the end of the August transfer window. The way he burst forward down the left side to cross for Gary Hart to stab in the second goal was, as the official website reported, reminiscent of the way Mark Lawrenson used to play for the Seagulls. The similarities are not lightly bestowed upon him. West Ham youngster Tony Stokes has shown some decent touches since his introduction but tackling is obviously not a strength and too often against Brentford he committed needless fouls. One, just outside the penalty area, led directly to O'Connor's goal from the resultant free kick (but why wasn't there a defender on the post?). Richard Carpenter is back on form after an indifferent season in the Championship and seems to be revelling in the holding midfield role, but he needs a few more experienced heads around him to help bring on the youngsters. Dean Hammond got off the mark with a penalty after Stokes was upended in the box, but he seems uncertain of exactly where he should be playing in the new 4-1-2-3 formation. The shaven-headed Kerry Mayo ought to be lending his experience to the youngsters but against Brentford he was once again struggling to get his own game together and with McGhee's reported enthusiasm to give Sam Rents a go, this could be another change we'll see at Nottingham. It will also be interesting to see whether want-away Colin Kazim-Richards will return to the fold against Forest. Many of us forget he's still only a young man: there's no doubting his potential, if only he'll allow it to be harnessed in the right way. I hope he knuckles down in training this week and plays his way into the starting line-up. It is difficult for him because Jake Robinson is looking confident and dangerous, and will have been buoyed by his winner against Gillingham. Alex Revell is clearly enjoying a second chance at league football, but maybe now needs a game or two coming off the bench. Gary Hart continues to give his all, as ever, but the need for a tall hold-up striker was there for all to see against Brentford. It'll be interesting to see if that elusive player can be brought in before August 31, otherwise I fear another season of frustration after what had been a promising start. Nick Turrell Labels: Brentford, League One, Nick Turrell
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