Albion in Japan Part II: Tokyo Verdy 2-4 Brighton photos
Thanks to Tokyo Verdy 2-4 Brighton, we have photos for the first time ever of a warning message telling fans what to do in the event of an earthquake occurring in the middle of an Albion game.
Bend down to protect your head and ensure your own safety could double up as advice for those sat behind the goal whenever Lewis Dunk lines up to take a direct free kick.
Earthquake warnings were one of the many differences Brighton supporters in Japan noticed from attending a Premier League game in England.
Heat and humidity was another. Both the victory over Verdy and the 5-1 win against Kashima Antlers four days earlier were played in temperatures above 30 degrees.
The standard of opposition was not great either. Fabian Hurzeler’s first game in charge of Brighton on English soil in a friendly against Queens Park Rangers will provide a sterner examination of where the Albion currently are.
But as they say, you can only beat what is in front of you. And the Albion did that relatively comfortably against Tokyo Verdy at the National Stadium, bar a few concerning moments defensively.
Jan Paul van Hecke struck a rare goal to give Brighton an 11th minute lead. It was short lived though with Yudai Kimura latching onto a brilliant through ball to beat Jason Steele and level only 180 seconds later.
New signing Yankubu Minteh scored his second goal in two matches on the stroke of half time to put the Albion back ahead going into the break.
Simon Adingra made it 3-1 four minutes after the restart. Fireworks started going off outside the stadium on 53 and 60 seconds later, Naoki Hayashi was left completely unmarked to head home and cut the deficit. Had Brighton been distracted by the pyrotechnics?
Once the fireworks stopped, the Albion regained their composure. Jeremy Sarmiento added the final goal of the game with 15 minutes remaining, bringing the curtain down on a successful week in the Land of the Rising Sun.
If you were in Japan and have any photos you would like included in our Tokyo Verdy 2-4 Brighton gallery please e-mail them to wearebrighton@hotmail.co.uk or tweet them to us @wearebrighton
