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Flying High
Fans Report: (Brighton 0 - 1 Reading) |
Adam Virgo
is a genuine Albion hero. In spite of all his personal
trauma
off the pitch, his display against Reading was immense. Pressed into a new
central midfield role at the start, almost before
he'd
had a chance to make an impact he was filling in at centre back
for the injured Adam Hinshelwood.
And then
when we were chasing the game he was pushed up front because
the ineffectual Chris McPhee didn't
look like making any breakthrough - even
his penalty area tumble looked half-hearted.
It was
perhaps no surprise that Albion's best effort of the match fell
to Virgs, whose rasping shot from 20
yards was well turned round by Hahnemann.
Football
is seldom fair and the draw that Albion arguably deserved was
denied them by a dubious Forster
winner which owned more to his sleight of
hand than his goalscoring ability.
Any side
which loses three players to injury is going to find it
difficult
to adjust to the disruption so, in the circumstances, the
result
was perhaps not as bad as it might have been (particularly considering
how many goals were shipped in the previous two games). Reading are
certainly not Premiership material, but they're not in the
play-off
region by luck. The solid Sonko won virtually everything at
the
back and their passing at times left Albion chasing shadows.
Once
again, Butters did well, Dean Hammond grabbed the chance to
impress
as an early sub, and Dan Harding showed glimpses of why he made
it into England's Under 21s. Leon,
too, was his usual box of tricks - although
all his best work took place a long way from the danger area.
Unfortunately a few others were either below par or simply unable to
compete
with their better quality opponents. Oatway might have had his
best season ever but his contribution
both as a player and the captain against
Reading was poor. Hart also made little impression on the game
and Reid, who at times has been a
revelation at right back, misplaced far
too many important passes.
Poor
old Mark McCammon was obviously suffering the ongoing effects of
whatever it is he's picked up - and,
after learning of the enforced retirement
of Dean Richards, one can only hope it's not too serious. Shabaan has got
a lot more to do to convince Albion supporters - let
alone
managers in the Premiership - that he's got what it takes between
the sticks. He doesn't like to stray
far from his goal line and his decision-making
when it comes to punching or catching sets the nerves jangling.
Serious
injuries are now taking their toll on what was already a thin
squad. It's to be hoped we can bring
in at least two experienced loan signings
for the remainder of the season.
With seven
games to go, realistically we need to average a point a game
to guarantee safety.
Nick Turrell
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