Brighton 4-3 Carlisle: The stuff of dreams, the stuff of champions

Crazy. That was the word Gus Poyet used to describe Brighton & Hove Albion’s 4-3 win over Carlisle United on Saturday 5th March 2011 following a breathless afternoon of football.

“I know spectators love these types of matches,” said Poyet as he surveyed the carnage which had unfolded at Withdean. “But for managers, they are crazy. Personally, I would prefer a 1-0 win.”

By the time the Cumbrians arrived in Sussex, the Albion had been top of League One for over five months. It was clear that Brighton were by far and away the best footballing team in division.

To be utterly dominant as Poyet’s side were, being good is not nearly enough. You have to combine it with an insatiable will to win. The manner in which Brighton saw off Carlisle was in many ways one of the most pleasing wins of that entire 2010-11 campaign as it showed how much those players wanted to succeed in blue and white.

After Liam Bridcutt swung his boot at a ball dropping out of the sky 25 yards out from goal in the 94th minute and it beat Adam Collin in the Carlisle goal, Johnny Cantor lost his mind on BBC Radio Sussex.

“The stuff of dreams, the stuff of champions,” he bellowed to Brighton fans listening across the county. Nothing summed it up better; Bridcutt’s goal was a dream player hitting a dream strike – his first ever league goal at the 53rd attempt for that matter – and the manner in which Brighton had found a way to beat Carlisle 4-3 was the stuff of champions.

A little over a month later and Poyet and his players would prove that undoubtedly when they were crowned League One title winners with four games still to play. Winning well, winning ugly, hammering teams, scraping wins… Brighton could do it all.

“In November and December we were playing much better but we didn’t get the points,” Poyet added. “Now we are not playing as well as that but we are getting the points.”

“It was the character and belief of a team which is used to winning at Withdean. We just have to start playing a bit better because if not I am going to start losing my hair and I’m still young!”

Carlisle at home was not meant to be the sort of game which caused premature baldness in the Brighton boss. The Cumbrians were safely tucked into midtable and even with 13 games still to play, their season was pretty much over – the playoffs were 10 points away 12 and points separated them from the relegation zone.

Any notion that this was going to be another straightforward day at the office went out of the window though inside of three minutes. Brighton failed to clear a corner effectively and Tom Taiwo was on hand to fire past Casper Ankergren for 1-0. Even the very best of Albion sides like Poyet’s champions struggled to defend set pieces.

Glenn Murray soon equalised with his 17th goal of the campaign after collecting a clever hooked pass from Ashley Barnes. Despite getting on the scoresheet, it was an unusually wasteful day for Murray.

He missed several other chances before half time, side footing a Gary Dicker free kick against the post and heading a Craig Noone delivery harmlessly wide. Noone drew a good save from Collin and Gordon Greer and Tommy Elphick should have done better with free headers.

The Albion rarely paid for their wastefulness in 2010-11. The chances always kept coming, like in October’s famous trip to Peterborough United when Brighton missed nine good opportunities and yet still managed to beat their closest rivals at the time 3-0 away from home.

In any case, a backline of Ankergren, Inigo Calderon, Marcos Painter, and two of Greer, Elphick or Adam El-Abd did not concede often. Four days before beating Carlisle 4-3 and Brighton had won 1-0 at Yeovil Town, a clean sheet earning three points.

Poyet demanded that sort of control of matches from his players. When Ashley Barnes latched onto Bridcutt’s through ball to put the Albion 2-1 ahead eight minutes into the second half, most were expecting Brighton to move through the gears and secure a comfortable three points.

The visitors though had other ideas. No home defender got close enough to Ben Marshall who took advantage of the space to beat Ankergren on the hour mark.

Parity lasted for all of three minutes. Greer showcased his underrated playmaking ability by splitting the Carlisle defence with a superb forward pass, releasing Barnes who again made no mistake.

Brighton led 3-2. Poyet sacrificed Murray in favour of introducing Radostin Kishishev to try and exert the control he wanted on proceedings.

Lord knows what an Amex-era Brighton fan would make of the manager replacing a striker with a holding midfielder, but it made perfect sense in such a madcap game. Little did anyone realise at the time just what a part that substitution would play come the final whistle.

Kishishev’s introduction worked, things calmed down and it stayed 3-2 for the next half hour, right up until the clock hit 93. Carlisle had fired a warning sign when Ankergren had to make a smart stop from Peter Murphy but nobody could have predicted the drama that was about to fill the last 60 seconds.

As was Withdean tradition, large numbers of the South Stand had abandoned their seats in favour of watching the final throes of action from the running track. Those stood at pitch level waiting to leave at the west end of the ground could scarcely believe their eyes when Carlisle equalised again at the opposite end of the Theatre of Trees.

Harry Arter marked his debut for the Cumbrians on-loan from Bournemouth by turning home a loose ball following a game of pinball in the box, Calderon’s failed clearance and Frank Simek’s miscued shot following to the feet of Arter who made no mistake.

3-3 for those at the back struggling to keep up – and with the Cherries sitting second behind Brighton in the League One table at the time, it looked as though Arter had done his parent club a massive favour in the race for title.

A lesser team would have been shell shocked by that late blow. Not Brighton though, who went straight up the other end. With Kishishev on the pitch, Bridcutt found himself in a more advanced role and he took full advantage as the ball fell to him 25 yards out, hitting the sweetest volley with so much power that Collin did not have time to move before it hit the back of the net.

When you talk about season-defining moments, that was it for 2010-11. The quality of the goal, the commentary, what it meant and the scenes on the running track where supporters were falling over each other.

It was one of the best Withdean moments, one of the greatest goals any Brighton player has ever scored and all accompanied by a piece of commentary which has become iconic in Albion history.

Brighton 4-3 Carlisle. The stuff of dreams, the stuff of champions.