Cardiff City 0-2 Brighton: The future looks bright for Potter’s young Seagulls

The League Cup might be a much-maligned competition in 2021, but try telling that to the young Albion players given an opportunity to shine and the few hundred Seagulls supporters who ventured to Wales to witness Cardiff City 0-2 Brighton.

Come the final whistle at the imaginatively named Cardiff City Stadium, there were scenes of celebration in front of the away end that would not have looked out of place if Brighton had just won a semi final to make it to Wembley as opposed to a second round success with just 6,013 in attendance.

Graham Potter was clearly delighted. Haydon Roberts clambered into the crowd to give his shirt away. Antef Tsoungoi danced as if he were in Popworld, a nightclub that we lest we forget he has only been able to enter legally for eight months since turning 18.

Want to feel old? The average age of the Albion side in Cardiff 0-2 Brighton was 20.5. Substitute Evan Ferguson was not even born when the Seagulls secured one of the most famous wins in their history in the same city as he was making his professional debut, beating Bristol City 1-0 in the Division Two playoff final a short hop away at the Millennium Stadium.

That an Albion side with three players who represented the Under 18s last season were good enough to beat an admittedly weakened Championship outfit bodes well for the future. Cardiff themselves named four teenagers with Mick McCarthy’s eyes very much focussed on promotion.

There is something very special going on at the training ground in Lancing for the Albion to be churning out these sorts of talents and the League Cup is the perfect opportunity to showcase them.

It is not all about homegrown players, either. Brighton spend a fair whack of money on hoovering up young talent from around the world. Mixed in with the likes of Tsoungoi, Roberts and Marc Leonard were £22 million Enock Mwepu, £9.5 million Jakub Moder, £5 million Michal Karbownik and £5.5 million Moises Caicedo.

All are full internationals and all showed their class against Cardiff. When players like that are considered at this moment in time to only be backup choices, then it shows you just how strong a squad Potter is working with. A repeat of last season’s 16th placed finish cannot be considered acceptable.

The good news is that after two games, Brighton look on course to do better than finishing fifth-bottom in 2021-22. Two wins from two in the bread and butter of league football has left a real feel-good factor around the Albion at the minute. Cardiff City 0-2 Brighton only added to that.

Potter got his team selection spot on in the Welsh capital, naming a side good enough to win the tie at the same time as resting all 11 players who started in the 2-0 win over Watford at the weekend.

It was a far cry from when he sent a team of children out at the Amex two seasons ago in a third round exit against eventual finalists Aston Villa.

That led to a lot of criticism, especially as supporters had forked out up to £25 per ticket to gain entry to the Amex, only to watch a side featuring seven players who could not legally join captain-for-the-evening Shane Duffy in going for a post-game pint at Molly Malone’s with their over 21s only door policy.

The League Cup represents Brighton’s most realistic chance of winning a first major piece of silverware in 120 years of trying, if you ignore the Charity Shield of 1910.

Potter could write his name into the history books in a bigger way than keeping in the club in the Premier League if he were to deliver a day out at Wembley, a rare cup for the Amex trophy cabinet and a subsequent European Tour. The prospect of a Thursday night in Kazakhstan has never sounded so good.

It took just nine minutes for Brighton to go 1-0 ahead. Mwepu was the architect, showing why he is known as The Computer by calculating the perfect weight needed on a 30 yard through ball played after advancing from right back. The pass split the Cardiff defence and their attempted offside trap wide open.

Moder was the recipient, racing clear to confidently fire past Alex Smithies with the sort of clinical finish rarely seen by a player wearing Brighton blue – or on this occasion, mint green – last season. Moder on the dancefloor, and you better not steal his moves.

Roberts was the next Albion player to demonstrate an ability to pick a pass, stepping into midfield and releasing Andi Zeqiri in a manner that was reminiscent of £50 million man Ben White. Zeqiri’s effort from a tight angle was wide of Smithies’ post.

Cardiff enjoyed some first half pressure but were unable to do much with it. In the Brighton goal, Jason Steele’s biggest contribution came with what he did with the ball at his feet, turning oncoming attackers and displaying a superb range of distribution.

Wearing the captain’s armband for the evening as the only player in the starting XI who would not qualify for a young person’s railcard, Steele gave a much more assured performance than on his last visit to the land of Nessa and Uncle Bryn.

On that occasion, he played like a man on MDMA before saving four penalties in the FA Cup shoot out win over Newport County back in January.

The hosts tried to exert a little more pressure after the break. Ryan Wintle should have at least hit the target when turning Perry Ng’s cross wide. What a name that is by the way, Perry Ng. Sounds like a cider.

Ng’s miss was punished a few minutes later when Brighton doubled their advantage. Caicedo could not be dispossessed despite a wild Cardiff challenge before sending Zeqiri away who fired low and hard past Smithies.

Potter talked afterwards about Zeqiri not really having been given an opportunity in his Brighton career so far to play as a striker. With dwindling options because of injuries to Danny Welbeck and Neal Maupay, perhaps the Albion boss will now afford him a chance in his actual position rather than using him at left back?

He certainly showed in Cardiff 0-2 Brighton that he can finish from the sort of position where Aaron Connolly fluffs his lines all too regularly.

Roberts and Tsoungoi managed to repel most Cardiff attacks after that. It was easy to forget both are teenagers. On the rare occasions the Bluebirds did get through, James Collins hit the bar and Steele was forced into an excellent reflex save to keep out Aden Flint’s back post header.

Most of the interest in the final 20 minutes of Cardiff 0-2 Brighton centred on not one, not two but three pitch invaders. The first was a streaker who ran onto the pitch and tried to hug Jason Steele. Imagine taking a five year ban for wanting a naked selfie with Brighton’s second choice goalkeeper during a League Cup tie.

The second bloke could not be bothered to take his clothes off and he was able to run around collecting selfies with three Cardiff players before stewards eventually caught up with him.

Pitch invader number three was the best of the lot. He ran on from the Cardiff end, looped around Steele and then tried to vault the advertising hoarding to get back into the stands.

Rather brilliantly, this was total failure and he only succeeded in backflipping into the air and landing in a heap to cheers from every single person in the stadium. Who knows what they put in the Brains SA they drink in Wales but whatever it is, I want it.

Round three will provide the possibility of seeing more pissed up Welshman doing stupid things as Swansea City come to the Amex.

A tie against another Championship club who will care only about promotion to the Premier League this season provides Brighton with a good opportunity to progress to the fourth round, providing Potter keeps taking the League Cup semi-seriously.

Welsh opponents in rounds two and three. English opponents in rounds four, five, semi final and final? Kazakhstani or Albanian opponents in the Europa League next season once Potter has become the first ever Brighton manager to win a major trophy? We can but dream.