Victoria sponges and the chance for Brighton to go top at Fulham
There is something about watching Brighton at Fulham which makes the trip to Craven Cottage a must-do away day – and not just because it is the only ground in the country known to have allowed a supporter to enter with their own Victoria sponge.
You must have seen the photo by now. A Cottagers fan takes a Victoria sponge into the ground, places it on a wooden seat and then begins cutting it up to eat. It is the most middle class example of football supporting you will ever see and it is incredible.
What would you give to be allowed to take a cake of any sort into the Amex, along with a tool to cut and distribute it? The Albion have decreed that a flask of tea is akin to a nuclear weapon.
Rock up to the turnstiles of the West Stand with a pineapple upside down cake and you would probably be arrested on the spot and personally transferred to The Hague by Paul Barber to stand trial for war crimes.
Moving away from Victoria sponges for a minute (we know you don’t really want to, but we should probably talk about football) and the other reason Fulham away is such a good day out is because of what tends to happen whenever Brighton arrive at Craven Cottage.
Okay, so you might have to sell a kidney to afford the drinking session around Putney Bridge. But the cost has been offset by goals, drama and entertainment in West London since hostilities between the clubs were renewed in 2014.
We had Nathan Jones going mad in front of the away end after he oversaw a crucial 2-1 victory as caretaker manager, which proved a turning point in the ultimately successful battle against Championship relegation in the 2014-15 season.
Tomer Hemed hit a last minute penalty a season later for another 2-1 win in August 2015. Then came that December night in the promotion winning campaign.
Brighton were terrible and yet still came from behind to win – no prizes for guessing the scoreline – thanks to Hemed and Lewis Dunk scoring in the space of 90 seconds and a David Stockdale penalty save.
The Albion’s last visit to Fulham with fans had a lot of action packed in, although not much of it good from a Seagulls point of view.
Craven Cottage looked like something from a Christmas card as heavy snow fell, leaving those near the front of the 7,000 strong Brighton following in the away and ‘neutral sections’ freezing cold and soaking wet.
Not that anybody cared when Brighton went into half time 2-0 to the good. By full time, the impact of the blizzard was keenly felt as the Albion have fallen apart alarmingly.
So often the scourge of the Brighton, Aleksandar Mirtovic netted twice as Fulham rallied to win 4-2. Nobody could have guessed at the time that the Cottagers comeback would prove to be the beginning of the end of Chris Hughton’s reign as Brighton boss.
The Seagulls never recovered, winning only twice over the final four months to avoid relegation by the skin of their teeth.
Hughton paid with his job, a move seen as controversial by most of the football world, but one which nobody questions four years later with Graham Potter at the helm and Brighton flying high in third place in the Premier League.
Third place could become first by the end of play on Tuesday night. With none of Arsenal, Manchester City or Spurs in action until Wednesday, victory over Fulham would guarantee at least 24 hours at the top of the table for the Albion.
Who would ever have predicted that when we were trudging through Bishops Park on the way home from that 4-2 defeat, wondering if our feet would ever feel warmth again?
Beating Fulham in 2022 is easier said than done, of course. The continued presence of Mitrovic in the Fulham line up will be a cause of worry for Brighton.
Lewis Dunk being bullied by a centre forward is rarer than finding a nice clean beach in England to swim in. Mitrovic is one of the few to have managed it (bullied Dunk, not found a beach which hasn’t been pumped full of human shit) and on more than one occasion.
To add to the concern, it seems likely that Joel Veltman will miss the trip to the Cottage through injury. The dependable Dutchman was withdrawn after just over an hour of Brighton 1-0 The Leeds United at the weekend. Potter has since confirmed Veltman is a doubt.
Fulham away and the threat posed by Mitrovic – who appears to have the Albion’s number – is not the sort of game you want to be going into missing any members of your first choice defence.
Potter will have a big tactical call to make if Veltman is absent. Does he go with a back four and promote Tariq Lamptey into the starting XI at right back in an attempt to stifle the Cottagers down the flanks, cutting off the sort of crosses into the box Mitrovic thrives on?
Or do Brighton hand Levi Colwill or Jan Paul van Hecke a first Premier League debut, using three central defenders to try and stifle Mitrovic?
It is a tough one, although at least the days of Potter picking his team with a roulette wheel and landing on something stupid like Solly March at centre back appear to be over.
Mitrovic is not the the only threat, of course. This Cottagers side under Marco Silva look to be the best Fulham have had turning out for them in the Premier League in many years.
They won the Championship title at a canter and have taken five points from four games so far. A win over Brentford and draws with Liverpool and Wolves suggest Fulham might shake their recent tag of yoyo club and avoid relegation come June 2023.
All of which means that the Seagulls are in for a tricky evening in West London. Pass the test and there will be more songs about Tuesday nights in Paris and Brighton & Hove Albion, we’re top of the league.
Struggle and it will be no disaster. Especially if somebody brings a Victoria sponge.
