Brighton 2-2 Wolves: Albion drop points in criminal fashion
“2-0 and you fucked it up” is one of my favourite football songs. Because to blow a 2-0 lead is fuck it up. And to blow a 2-0 lead held in the 88th minute against the club bottom of the Premier League is to really fuck it up. There us no other term to describe Brighton 2-2 Wolves than a total fuck up.
No more swearing from this point on, I promise. Even in trying to discern just what happened as the Albion went through four-on-one in the 92nd minute with the chance to make it 3-1.
Mats Wieffer could have given the ball to any of the one, two, three teammates breaking with him. He could have kept possession himself and headed into the corner or an area the one Wolves defender was not covering. Or he could have turned back and passed to one of the five blue and white shirts behind him.
He did none of those things. The way in which the club’s website always tries to sugar coat match reports is something very much enjoyed here at WAB Towers – and the Albion really have outdone themselves this time.
Apparently, Wieffer’s pass was “cut out”. It wasn’t. It was gifted straight to the one Wolves defender struggling to contain the four-on-one break. From there, the Old Gold went straight up the other end and equalised. To avoid what would have been a sixth consecutive Premier League defeat.
If such a fuc… sorry, no more swearing. If such a mistake happened at Waterhall in Sussex Sunday League Division Five, it would be criticised. For a professional footballer costing £25 million to do so is absolutely criminal.
Some Albion supporters have said “Don’t have a go at Wieffer for that!” But it was the sort of mistake which you can, one hundred percent, blame a vastly paid footballer for. It was diabolical.
If we want to try and shift the blame from Wieffer, however, then let us have a look at Fabian Hurzeler. The Youngest Permanent Manager in Premier League History spoke of a lack of maturity and professionalism costing three points in Brighton 2-2 Wolves.
Hurzeler was referring to his players and the manner in which they threw the game away. But those comments could equally be applied to his substitutions; specifically when removing the outstanding Carlos Baleba.
In fairness to Wolves, they did not look like a side starting the afternoon rock bottom of the table. They caused Brighton some problems which might have got them on the scoresheet long before the 88th minute had Baleba not done an outstanding job as a midfield disrupter.
Disruption is what the Albion lacked when the visitors broke to make it Brighton 2-2 Wolves. The Old Gold were able to saunter far too easily from end to the other after Wieffer gave them the ball, netting an equaliser which stunned the Amex.
There was little indication of the drama to come during a first half which was pretty turgid. A rasping volley from Baleba was the only chance of note for either side prior to Danny Welbeck opening the scoring in the 43rd minute.
An injury to Lewis Dunk in the warm up meant Welbeck wore the captain’s armband for the first time. A just reward for his flying start to the season which, before Brighton 2-2 Wolves, had seen Dat Guy score five goals in eight matches.
That record now reads six in nine. Georginio Rutter found Welbeck with a lovely pass straight into his path. Dat Guy did the rest, beating Jose Sa with a clinical strike.
For a man who picked up a back injury last weekend which meant he couldn’t feel his legs and was in a lot of pain as late in the week as Thursday morning, it was some comeback.
And speaking of comebacks, hopefully Thomas Tuchel was watching. There is no English striker in the world right now staking a stronger claim than Welbeck to play back up to Harry Kane.
An England recall over six years since his most recent cap would be magnificent for Welbeck and Brighton. It would be fully deserved, too.
Hang on a minute, this review from a match in which Brighton gifted away two points has become a little too positive. But we still need to say one more good thing before looking at the collapse.
Evan Ferguson. The Irish centre forward replaced Welbeck and delivered a lovely finish to score his first goal for club and country in 11 months.
Even more pleasingly, it was made by a fellow substitute also struggling for form. Tariq Lamptey broke down the right, showing shades of his lockdown self before squaring to Ferguson.
A couple of touches later and Ferguson had created enough space to pick out the bottom corner. Nicky Forster used to go on barren runs followed by one goal unlocking a whole heap more. Fingers crossed it will be the same for Ferguson now he has the monkey off his back.
Ferguson’s goal made it Brighton 2-0 Wolves with only five minutes plus injury time to play. It should have been job done against a visiting side out of form with a manager whose job was hanging by a thread.
This though is Brighton & Hove Albion. Most long standing Seagulls supporters said before the game that Brighton would drop points against the team bottom of the Premier League, having just beaten top six hopefuls Spurs and Newcastle United. It is the Albion way.
Nobody though would have predicted Brighton to do it in such style. Wolves pulled one back on 88 minutes when Rayan Ait-Nouri volleyed past Bart Verbruggen from close range after a corner was not cleared.
The 92nd minute saw Wieffer break with Brajan Gruda, Ferguson and Julio Enciso alongside him. Wieffer’s square pass only succeeded in going straight to Tommy Doyle, who sent Wolves countering via Matheus Cunha.
A decent shot from the lively Cunha took a wicked deflection off Jan Paul van Hecke and out of nowhere, it was suddenly Brighton 2-2 Wolves with seconds left to play.
2-0 and we fucked it up. Sorry, one last swear word.
