A VIEW FROM WEST STAND LOWER

"And labour shall refresh itself with hope"

FOOTBALL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP

23rd February 2013

Brighton and Hove Albion (1) 1
David Lopez 20

Burnley (0)0

Attendance: 25,836

Gus does not make "winning ugly" but if he did it would look like this game. The victory over Burnley was achieved on the back of outstanding goalkeeping, solid defence and a dash of Latin flair. Seagull fans will gain quiet satisfaction from this season's double over Burnley given the trials and tribulations of last year's encounters.

At least they kept warm

The game was played in a subdued atmosphere as most fans concentrated on keeping warm on the Amex's coldest afternoon to date. Most of the excitement came in the first half with both sides coming close on several occasions. 

Burnley showed first with Kuszczak turning a cross come shot over the bar. The Albion began to open up Burnley down the left with Vicente and Orandi combining several times to put Bridge away to deliver tempting crosses. From one of these Orlandi back headed the ball deep into the Burnley area to the unmarked David Lopez who dispatched the ball wide of Lee Grant for his fifth goal of the season.

More crosses followed with Vicente missing a header by a whisker and the same player could not quite get hold of a shot and keep the ball down. Just before half time the hard working Ulloa was guilty of a terrible miss as he somehow put another Bridge cross over the bar from inside the 6 yard box.   

For their part Burnley were denied by yet another Kuszczak world class save as he somehow clawed a Shackell shot from behind him off the line. Shortly after he had reason to be grateful to Dicker for shanking another Shackell shot off the line. 

So a close fought first half ended with the Albion narrowly ahead. They clearly missed Bridcutt and some players were understandably a bit leggy after the tough midweek tussle at Cardiff. While Hammond effortlessly slipped into the holding midfield role Dicker was guilty of giving the ball away on several occasions. Uncharacteristically captain for the day Bruno was likewise guilty of surrendering possession easily. Vicente, although not quite at his best, showed us some several touches of Spanish magic.

The installation of these seats means the Amex now has no gaps

To be honest the second half was a bit of non event. Burnley saw the ball bounce just wide of Kuszczak's left hand post following a goal mouth scramble, Austin headed over and a Vicente free kick was deflected away for a corner.

Poyet's intent was pretty clear on the hour mark when he introduced  Barnes for Orlandi who played more or less as a second left back. Bridge rarely ventured forward in the second half. The Albion packed their midfield and invited Burnley to play in front of them and they duly obliged. In the end the visitors brought on former Albion loanee Vokes and resorted to lumping the ball to the far post. This no longer scares the Albion as it once did with the Stoke City trained Upson in the back line to head the ball away all day.

The fourth official found 4 added minutes and this is usually panic time for an Albion side when narrowly ahead but not today. They spent most of that time down in the right hand corner with CMS and David Lopez winning a succession of corners and throw ins as they successfully kept possession.   

CMS was a bundle of energy when he came on for the exhausted Ulloa and again opened up the intriguing prospect of them playing together.

The North Stand keeps warm on a bitter day

David Lopez was worthy of special note. Some doubted his worth when he first arrived last August but now he has settled into English football he has become indispensable to the side as he can occupy any position down the right and clearly score goals.

So the day's hard labour saw the Seagulls back in a play off place for the first time since the beginning of October and opened fresh hope of a place in the Play Off Final.

MAGIC MOMENT: Has to  be Kuszczak's save from Shackell. The shot appeared to have beaten him until the goalie somehow arched backwards and clawed the ball off the line. 

REF WATCH: Better than in recent weeks as both sides played in the right spirit for the most part. Had a habit of warning players before booking them if they offended again. Did not have any major decisions to make. Harsh on Ulloa given the  battering he received but that is par for the Championship. 

ALTERNATE MAN OF THE MATCH: The stadium award went to Vicente but for me it was ADAM EL-ABD although Upson ran him close. He was constantly heading away dangerous crosses and was usually first to the ball on the ground. With Greer fit Gus now has an embarrassment of riches at centre back.

 

A VIEW FROM WEST STAND LOWER

"That haunted us in our familiar paths"

12th February 2013

Football League Chanpionship

Brighton and Hove Albion (0) 1
Vicente 57(pen)

Blackburn Rovers (1) 1
Dann 23

Attendance: 24,759

Three questions about last night's game will remain unanswered until the end of eternity. How did Brighton not win? Why was Danny Murphy still on the pitch at the end of the game? Why were the sprinklers turned on before kick off?

The day the Albion filled the away end at Villa Park

Blackburn turned up at the Amex like many teams before them, and no doubt like many more to come, with a very limited game plan - defend in depth, try to hit on the break and hope for a bit of fortune at a set piece. In there more bolder moments Blackburn managed to mount some serious pressure on the half way line!

Since Appleton's arrival Rovers have climbed the table on the back of a succession of 1-0 wins. They score rarely and concede even less often. I once saw the Blackburn of Douglas, Dougan, Dobing and Clayton play and they would have buried their heads in their hands at this negative and defensive display.  

If this is the best that one of countries up and coming managers can do no wonder the national team is in such poor shape long term. This style of play may frustrate other teams but will not get Rovers back in the Premiership.

Some may call Gus naive but at least his sides try and play football and if last night proved anything it was that it is easier to defend a goal than it is to score one. Perhaps the FA should change the rules and award a discretionary point to the team showing the most determined effort to win a game. With a shot count of 16 to 6 it was pretty clear who would have won the point last night.

Some Blackburn fans on Twitter last night were telling me soccer is a results game. Well I disagree! It's part of the entertainment industry and they may wish to reflect on that next time they are staring at the empty seats at Ewood Park.

Taking the field for the cup tie at Stoke City

The result was a travesty; an injustice as the Albion totally dominated particularly in the first half but just could not find the back of the net. Kean pulled off 3 stunning saves and saw the ball whistle past his woodwork on several occasions. The Albion did not miss easy chances but just could not find the back of net. 

The chances were to numerous to describe here but suffice to say, with Vicente's prompting, Ulloa, Hammond and Vicente himself drove narrowly wide early on. Played in by Vicente Buckley stabbed the ball goal wards for Kean, running back , to scoop the ball off the line. A powerful header from Hammond seemed destined for the net but for Kean to stick out an arm and deflect the ball over the ball. A Ulloa header appeared to strike a hand before being cleared.

From an Albion corner Rovers broke away and were stopped by an Upson trip for which he was rightly booked. From the free kick a corner was awarded. Dann lost his marker and headed in at the near post. This was a sickening blow following perhaps the Albion's best opening 20 minutes of the season which could have seen then 5-0 up.

Things got worse shortly after when Hoskins went down in a clash with Kean going for a Ulloa centre. After a lengthy delay for treatment he was carried off. This was his big chance to show he could play with Ulloa so let's hope the injury is not to serious and that he is back soon. 

The restart gave us one of the game's less sporting moments. When the ref blew for Hoskins' treatment the ball was with Ulloa out on the right mid way inside the Blackburn half - a promising position. On the restart the ref ordered the Blackburn defender to give the ball back to Brighton but instead the ball was hit out for a throw in half way inside Brighton's half. The advantage the Albion had was lost, the crowd booed and the ref did nothing!

The pressure was maintained at the start of the second half with Vicente at the centre of everything. The pressure mounted, Rovers became more and more rattled, more of them were finding their name noted by the ref and from a Vicente centre the assistant linesman spotted a handball and Vicente cooly converted from the spot. This lead to time wasting by Kean and more bookings. The ref took 5 Rovers names so his pencil must have been pretty blunt by the end. 

The Cup tie at Watford

How Danny Murphy, once of Liverpool, remained on the pitch is a bit of mystery. He fouled persistently and was eventually booked for a nasty tackle on Bridcutt for which he was lucky not to see red. He celebrated by fouling LuaLua not long after but without further punishment.

Albion strove for a winner to the last with LuaLua driving inches wide just before the end. 

The victory Albion's play deserved just would not come. 

So the Seagulls were frustrated by a visiting team yet again with a familiar game plan. If they keep playing this way and assuming Vicente can hold his fitness and form surely the play off push can be maintained.

MAGIC MOMENT: a mazy dribble by Vicente into the penalty area past several defenders and then used his strength to find space to get a shot away.

REF WATCH: not firm enough on the time wasting and pretty easy going with Murphy give that he booked LuaLua for his first some what innocuous foul. He only allowed 3 added minutes for Hoskins' injury which was totally bizzarre. He needs a new watch.

MY PERSONAL ALTERNATIVE MAN OF THE MATCH: Dean Hammond - not quite at the races last Saturday but this was probably his best performance back in an Albion shirt. Unlucky not to score and kept the ball moving.

 

A VIEW FROM WEST STAND LOWER

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

Football League Championship

9th February 2013

Brighton and Hove Albion (0) 1
Vicente 83

Hull City (0) 0

Attedance: 25,367

Are the Seagulls now poised for an end of season run to the play offs? Well if we go by last evening's performance at the Amex they have every chance. The Albion deservedly won a tightly fought game against a hard working but limited Hull side separated by a bit of Spanish flair.

In the 83rd minute Orlandi won a free kick right on the edge of the penalty area when he was barged over. Up stepped Vicente. All 10 visiting out fielders lined up in front of him. The whistle blew and the wall jumped to block Vicente's shot but instead the ball shot along the ground and into the back of the net off an unsighted Stockdale. Did Vicente mean it? Well who cares and I doubt if he did as he galloped in joy towards the corner flag pursued by gleeful Albion players.

Hull's game plan was obvious from the outset and followed the pattern of previous promotion aspirants visiting the Amex. In the first half Hull defended in depth with Manager Bruce conducting defensive operations from the technical area. They showed little intent going forward. Suddenly in the second half they showed more and opened up the game and could have been ahead but for Kuszczak's acrobatics.  They worked the ball wide and launched it towards the far post but more often than not it ended up in the goalkeeper's arms. Bruce's frustration grew. 

Although in terms of chances Hull shaded the second half they were fortunate to be level after 45 minutes thanks to a tale of 3 penalties that were not and 2 fine saves from Stockdale.

Early on Orlandi glided through the Hull defence into the penalty area and went down. The ref waved play on. If it was not a penalty why was not Orlandi booked for diving? A few minutes later Orlandi found himself on the right and drove into the penalty area and over an outstretched foot but again no penalty. The third one looked the best shout. A fine turn and run by Ulloa took him past several lunging defenders and he eventually went down in the area but the ref was of the view the offence took place right on the line.

From the resulting free kick Orlandi hit a fierce swinging free kick goalwards which Stockdale managed to turn over the bar. Shortly before he had beaten away a tremendous drive from David Lopez. 

A fine move down the centre opened up the Hull defence but with Ulloa to his right and the goal in front of him CMS got caught in to 2 minds and shanked the ball goalwards.

Into the second half and Orlandi's South Stand goal jinx continues. A fine move down the left opened up the Hull defence and the ball rebounded to Orlandi in acres of space on the edge of the penalty area with the goal gapping before him. He miss-hit his drive over the cross bar and buried his head in his shirt. Haven't we seen him do that in front of the South Stand before?

The Albion were nearly made to pay for the missed chances but Kuszczak pulled off 3 great saves that should win him a place in the Polish national side.  A deflected shot seemed to be flying in over his head but he got up in the corner to tip the ball wide, he turned a powerful swinging drive over the bar and saved the best to last. Hull appeared to have taken the lead when Koren drove the ball through a tangle of legs towards the inviting open space on Kuszczak's right. When suddenly the goalie went down and flipped the ball around the post. Steve Bruce nearly exploded with frustration.

He really had no complaints as the Albion took control in the final quarter with the arrival of Vicente. Hull were workmanlike, well organised and had a "snatch a goal and defend" plan but the Seagulls had a touch of Spanish flair. In the end flair won the day.

So Tuesday's game in hand against Blackburn takes on great significance.  They are another well organised physical team. Will Spanish flair triumph again?

Gus has a couple of selection dilemmas beforehand.  While Ulloa was a thorn in the side of the Hull defence CMS had, by his standards, a poor game. I suspect Gus has given him the 3 games that Barnes is away to cement a place alongside Ulloa playing that central striker/wide right role. He has not scored for 11 games and some might suggest the ever willing Hoskins should be given a chance.

The other selection issue is Hammond. He again did not appear quite at the races last evening and rarely plays 2 games in a week anyway. Given that Crofts is out of favour will Dicker return or will Gus go for broke from the outset and play Vincente in midfield with only one defensive midfielder plus Orlandi and David Lopez?

Additional seats in the noth east corner nearly ready

A quick word of praise for David Lopez who played in 3 positions in the game and put in the usual full shift. He started on the right side of midfield and then went to right back when Buckley came on for Bruno followed by a further move to central midfield when Calderon came on for CMS to secure the win in the last few minutes.

Magic Moment: A wonderfully weighted pass inside the full back from Vicente to send Bridge clear for a centre. The  ball moved on to Ulloa and the movement petered out. It deserved a better fate.

Ref Watch: Oh dear! The FA should really remind officials they should quietly get on with their duties and not seek to be the centre of attention. Well into the second half Bridcutt asked to go off to have a cut seen to. He was patched up and a new shirt (numberless) planted on him but the hapless Mr. Attwell would not let him back on for no apparent reason.  Even Steve Bruce was pleading for him to be allowed to return. He also gave Gus a talking to for only wanting Hulll to take a throw in from the right place. It was something of an overreaction by the official.

My Personal Alternative Man of the Match: It surely has to be Tomasz Kuszczak. After a quite first half he pulled off three fine saves in the second, the last of which was quite breath taking. When Hull resorted to hoof ball to the far post he came and claimed the centres. A welcome return to form by the Pole in the goal.