A  VIEW FROM WEST STAND LOWER

"In your fair minds let this acceptance take"

Brighton and Hove Albion (2) 2
Hammond 6
Orlandi 26

Bristol City (0) 0

Attendance: 24,044

So this is what a routine win looks like - or as near as one is likely to find such a thing in a highly competitive Championship.

2 early goals, tight at the back, get the competition passing and running around in front of you to no particular end and that did it. This game was not as exciting as last Saturday's nor were there as many scoring chances but what came along went into the back of net and a tight last 35 minutes saw the game out and 3 much needed home points bagged.

I was personally disappointed we did not go for City's jugular in the second half and look to improve the goal difference but, let's be realistic, this is a results game and energy needed to  be preserved for Saturday's big match up the railway line.

The Albion got what they needed so badly last Saturday - an early goal. Early on the only way Buckley could be stopped was by fouling him and both goals came from resulting free kicks. The first was well worked and the second had a touch of farce to it.

Orlandi went to clip in a long free kick from the right but instead chipped the  ball sideways to Bridcutt whose accurate ball to the far post was expertly headed in by a delighted Dean Hammond. His first goal since his return and first by an Albion midfield player this season. He deserved that after rattling the cross bar on Saturday.

Like number 13 buses coming along in groups, on 26 minutes we had the second goal of the season from a midfielder and, again, a debut goal for the club. Another foul on Buckley and another Orlandi free kick from the right. This time Orlandi bent the ball into the centre of the City area. It looked like a rountine headed clearance but the Bristol defender Matthew Bates missed the ball. This wrong sighted goalie Heaton and the ball went into the back of net. Orlandi's celebratory run down the wing was a mixture of delight and embarrassment. 

The Albion had more chances to extent their lead but would have been more than happy with a two goal half time lead. City played their part in an entertaining half with lots of tight control and passing but they badly lacked a cutting edge until, out of nowhere, Pearson rattled Kuszczak's bar with a crashing shot from outside the penalty area.

The second half started with the Seagulls going for a third and they had a couple of good chances. A move down the right ended with the ball landing with Orlandi as he arrived late in the penalty area, but he could not properly control the bounce of the ball and he screwed the ball over the bar.

An even better chance arrived moments later when the Albion robbed City of the ball midway in their own half and Hoskins used his pace to get beyond the City defenders, but his firmly struck shot flew clear off Heaton's legs.

And that was the last meaningful action as Albion shut up shop for 35 minutes and let City huff and puff very attractively but with no penetration. 

The Albion can take a number of positives from the game apart from the clean sheet and goals from midfield. Hoskins looked impressive after waiting nearly a season and half to make his full first team home debut. If he can break his goal duck he might prove difficult to shift from the team. Dunk looked back in the groove and is a major challenger to El-Abd to partner Greer.

As for City they played very attractively and retained the ball for long periods and clearly have a number of very skilful players but badly missed someone to plant all that nice approach play in the back of net. In patches they played some of the best football seen at the Amex this season but I do fear for them.

As I left the Amex I reflected on the points that have recently slipped away because of missed penalties and last minute concessions which would have taken us to the top of the Championship. Still must not cry over spilt milk - we remain very handily placed with all to look forward to in the second half of the season. Now where are we off to on Saturday?

MY PERSONAL ALTERNATE MAN OF THE MATCH: Marcos Painter - Orlandi quite rightly got the main award but a word about Marcus. He defended solidly and got forward when he had the opporutunity. He is obviously well versed in the Gus way and played his full part in a solid victory. It is just possible that could have been his final appearance in a Albion shirt with Bridge due to resume this weekend. 

A VIEW FROM WEST STAND LOWER

"And let us do it with no show of fear"


Brighton and Hove Albion (0) 1
Bruno Saltor 54

Bolton Wanderers (0) 1
Ngog 90+5.45

In the 6th of 5 added minutes Bolton struck with one of their few meaningful visits to the Albion penalty area. As the ball bounced off the post and apologetically into the back of the net the faithful were reminded what a cruel game football can be. Bolton's stolen point gave a new meaning to "day light robbery". The Albion were well and truly mugged.

Where Mr. Haywood found his extra minute from nobody knows. Perhaps he had been on the Fergie Time course. It was strange that he completely failed to deal with Bolton's time wasting in the first half but somehow found 5 minutes plus in the second.

The truth is that Mr. Haywood's time telling problems should have been irrelevant. The Albion completely outplayed their visitors and made them look like a League 1 side for much of the game. Plenty of Albion's play had the purist purring. Bolton never looked like scoring until they did. Never could a team have played so well and be denied the victory they deserved. As I queued for a train a Bolton fan on the phone back to the land of mills said his team could have lost 8 or 9-1 - I could hardly disagree.

For 95 minutes the Albion were denied by the returning combination of bad luck, inspired goalkeeping and appaling finishing.

Orlandi was a victim of 2 of these. Midway through the first half a shot from distance bent in the breeze leaving Bogdan clutching at thin air only to bounce off the post. In the second half a superb left foot shot as he cut across the edge of the penalty area flew agonisingly inches wide of Bogdan's right hand post. But he was also guilty of one of the worst misses of the match shortly before. He got clear in the penalty area as a cross came over from the right and from 5 yards, in trying to place the ball beyond the goalkeeper, under hit the ball which gave the scampering Bodgan the opportunity to palm the ball away.

Apart from Orlandi the Abion hit the woodwork twice more in a first half purple patch. A long distance strike from Hammond was flicked on to the bar by Bogdan but he was left helpless as a powerful header from CMS following a cross from the right thumped against the bar.

Bogdan was again in fine form as the game went into added time - this time turning around the post a strike from Hoskins.

When it came to the awful finishing Barnes took all the prizes. Many of his fans must have felt totally frustrated as his words in the week about improving his goals to games ratio came back to haunt him. In the 14th minute Mr. Haywood awarded the Seagulls a penalty when Darren Pratley was adjudged to have handled a CMS cross. Barnes picked the ball up and I doubt if anybody in the stadium thought he would score given he had missed his previous 2. He just cannot get a clean connection on the ball and hit the pen low and hard more or less straight at Bogdan who conveniently knocked the ball back to Barnes. Faced with an open goal he tried to place the ball to Bogdan's right instead of driving it into the roof of the net which gave the goalie the opportunity to palm the ball away.

No Brighton player gave him an encouraging pat on the back as he adopted his hangdog expression and drifted out to the left wing. A few minutes later he got his head to an Orlandi free kick from the left but characteristically could not hit the target as he headed wide. The hapless Barnes missed another sitter just after half time when he completely miskicked when left free in the penalty area. His confidence shot to pieces he horribly screwed a left foot shot into the North Stand just before he was mercifully taken off.

As for Bruno's 54th minute strike - just look at the replay. One the best goals to have graced the Amex and a wonderful clean strike from distance. 

It was galling watching the Football League Show in the evening as teams up and down the country and in all the Divisions confidently tucked away penalties - a skill which seems totally beyond Albion players. 

Gus was right to praise the performance as it was probably their best 95 minutes since returning to the Championship but missing penalties and conceding late goals is proving costly. This combination has cost the side 7 points in the last month alone. We should be confidently sitting in the play off positions challenging for an automatic promotion spot. The Albion may not be the finished article when it comes to playing in the Premiership but does anybody seriously think there are teams above us in the Championship that are so significantly better? 

If CMS or Buckley do not score we struggle to find the net and the age old problem of not having a scoring midfield is still there.

So it is on to Tuesday and I suppose the big question is: will Barnes play? Gus has always been reluctant to drop him but Hoskins and Dobbie must wonder why they are here if Barnes is getting the nod ahead of them.

Lastly, a mini moan about the fixture list and the lack of Saturday home games. Bolton was the Albion's first home Saturday game since 20th October and the next one is not for another 3 weeks. The last 2 Saturdays have been away games as will be the next 2.  Whatever happened to alternate home and away games mostly played on Saturdays?

My alternative man of the match: Andrea Orlandi - a class act and best player on the pitch by a country mile. His skill and vision makes up for the lack of Vicente and he is pretty good at dead  ball situations. Just needs to get that first goal for the club.

 

A VIEW FROM THE WEST STAND LOWER

"Hold hard the breath, and bend up every spirit"

Brighton and Hove Albion (0) 1
Dobbie 90

Peterborough United (0) 0

Attendance: 23,703

After a winless run stretching back to September 22nd at Millwall I had to do something to change the Albion's fortunes. Clearly the lucky t-shirt, rugby shirt and fleece were not working so time for a complete change in matchday clothing. I wore nothing blue and white apart from a scarf and it did the trick - eventually. 

My journey to the Amex starts here

To the joy of nearly everybody in the Amex Stephen Dobbie calmly chipped the ball over the Posh goalie in the second of 4 added minutes to give the Albion a much merited victory. The game was probably the most one-sided affair the Amex has witnessed and Albion could easily have scored 5 or 6 but the familiar failings of missed opportunities, bad luck and inspired goalkeeping denied them.

The bad misses came from Crofts who somehow managed to scoop the ball over the bar after Buckley had put him through with some excellent wing play early on. CMS then took on the mantle of chance misser. He had 2 similar headers in the first half from fine crosses from Bruno but the first he put straight into Olejnik's arms and second he put narrowly wide. After the break he had his worse miss when under intense pressure and the Posh defence all over the place the  ball fell to him about 12 yards out and in plenty of space but he hurriedly screwed his shot well wide. It was just not his day and soon after he was subbed.

The bad luck belonged all to Orlandi who saw a fierce low drive from 25 yards strike Olejnik's left hand post with the goalie just a spectator. The thump of the ball hitting the post could be heard in the West Stand. A fraction of an inch the other way and this would have been a goal of the season contender.

Olejnik followed a recent line of visiting goalies having their game of the season. Early in the seond half he tipped a swerving low shot from Barnes around the post and later tipped a Bridge blaster over the ball and followed this by turning aside a Buckley shot at full length. 

It was clear Darren Ferguson had watched his DVDs carefully and learnt well. His team lined up with one striker, doubled up on the wings to prevent Bruno and Bridge getting forward and three in midfield to create traffic the Albion could not pass their way through. For long periods Posh watched us pass the ball around in front of their packed defence and midfield hoping to steal a goal on the break. This time there was to be no dodgy penalty or deflected goal for the visitors instead the second half was 45 minutes plus of attack v defence. When added time arrived Gus had 5 forwards on the field. 

I change trains here

At the death all that pressure told as Barnes caused confusion in the penalty area and the ball fell to Dobbie who as calm as you like just chipped the ball over Olejnik who was in front of the East Stand celebrating before the ball rolled into the netting. 

Clearly going down so late in the evening greatly upset Ferguson who was on the receiving end of a stern lecture from a largely unocuppied ref. Apparently Ferguson felt the Albion were lucky. Teams that show little attacking intent and can hardly muster a shot on target deserve to lose and it appears the Posh chairman agrees!

Amazingly it could have easily have been 2 goals in added time as David Lopez swept a 20 yard shot inches past the post with Olejnik beaten. 

and eventually arrive here!

The Seagulls still have a problem of converting all the possession and shots into goals but perhaps we have a cure on hand. With Dobbie and Hoskins (whose name was not even in the programme squad list) on we suddenly no longer appear  soley dependent on CMS to score the goals. If Dobbie has now found his range and Hoskins fitness and form we may have attacking options that did not look to be there at 7.45pm last night.

Would anybody like to make me an offer for my unlucky Albion t-shirt, rugby shirt and fleece?

My personal alternative man of the match: Ashley Barnes - for getting stuck in and showing some much needed midfield steel when moved back after the attacking reinforcements arrived in the second half. His determination and presence late on helped create the winning goal.

 

"Now set the teeth, and stretch the nostril wide"

Brighton and Hove Albion (1) 2
Mackail-Smith 16 (pen) and 48

Leeds United (1) 2
Diof (pen) 36
Becchio 66

Attendance: 26,402

I glanced up to the Amex roof. Surely we must have a sniper in the superstructure as why else would Luke Varney have crashed so dramatically to the ground? But worry not it turned out to be a prize winning piece of simulation generously rewarded by a penalty from Mr. Mason. 

It was evidence that despite the advancing years Neil Warnock has lost little when it comes to the dark arts of acquring Championship points. Immediately after we saw another example as Leeds took an absolute age to celebrate the penalty conversation and line up for the restart. I guess this was done to frustrate the crowd and wind up the Brighton players hoping they may do something rash. Clearly the Brighton players pleas to the ref to restart the game as Leeds dawdled around fell on deaf ears. 

With El-Hadji Diouf and Michael Brown in the ref's ear from the kick off it was no wonder that at the end Warnock said you gain points in this League via "blood and guts". Sometimes who can argue with him as Leeds became the fourth team in a row to leave the Amex with something, after minimal determined efforts to score. Leeds had 3 shots on target - a penalty, a deflected shot and a hit into Kuszczak arms that barely qualified for the description shot.

In contrast the Albion had 9 attempts on target and a further 8 off target for just the same return. As in previous weeks we were denied by a combination of bad finishing, bad luck and inspired goalkeeping.

While Orlandi's return added much needed craft he missed an absolute sitter when a fine cross from Bruno found him unmarked with only Kenny to beat but somehow he hit the ball into the ground and it bounced over the bar with the goalkeeper watching helplessly. Orlandi buried his head in his shirt afterwards!

Another sublime cross from Bridge was steered just the wrong side of the post by Barnes and just after his penalty CMS saw a shot turned on to the post by Kenny.

A fierce cross shot from Barnes could have gone anywhere but flew off an unknowing Leeds boot and away for a corner.

The turning point may have come midway through the second half when Brown should have been sent off for a foul worse than the orginal one he was booked for. By this time Brown and Mason had had so many conversations they must have felt like old friends and the ref could not find it in his heart to send him off. From a Brighton point of view it meant Brown was on the pitch to equalise for the second time via a deflected shot a few minutes later. 

Bruno saw a fine free kick fly inches over and then we missed another penalty - this time CMS was the culprit. I recall a famous manager once saying the same player should not take more than one penalty in a game. The following day Glen Murray did the same for Crystal Palace.

In the final push Dobbie drove a shot just over the bar but try as they might the Seagulls could not conjure up a winner. The final chance fell to Crofts when from 10 yards out Kenny turned his shot brilliantly around the post. 

It was no wonder Warnock and Kenny looked so pleased with themselves as they left the pitch together. 

Sadly not for the first time this season the Albion had enough chances to bury Leeds. If we had scored five or six it would not been an injustice. But all Leeds needed was a bit of co-operation from the ref and to pounce on Buckley giving the ball away in midfield and that was a point for them thank you very much.

On the positives we played with far more urgency than in recent homes games and started each half at pace. The ball was played forward more quickly to CMS and Orlandi offered some much needed creativity - his pass in the build up to CMS's second goal was a joy to behold.

Having checked a number of Leeds' Blogs over the weekend I was amused that they were universally critical of their team and disbelieving of how they acquired a point on Friday night. I bet Warnock's Manual of the Dark Arts knows!

Finally, a shout out to my season ticket seat buddy who had a nasty accident at home recently. I hope you are feeling better soon and a win over Peterborough speeds the recovery.