That winning feeling from the driver’s seat to Cornwall

Whilst Brighton went to Wolves in search of a result to surpass their all-time Premier League points high of 41, I was busy driving from Sussex to Cornwall for a week in the west country.

This was not an ideal way to concentrate on the game, even as the Albion audio commentary coming through painted a really good picture of what was going at Molineux whilst we weaved our way through the back roads to the seaside village of Downderry.

Something which I had forgotten about until the Albion’s goals started raining in was the delay in the commentary, whereby my watch notifies me of goings on about a minute before the audio caught up.

It was a busy afternoon in that regard, the watch going beep beep beep followed shortly afterwards by Johnny Cantor and Warren Aspinall leaping out of their commentary positions with excitement.

Brighton put three goals past Wolves and kept a clean sheet to shoot up to ninth in the Premier League. It certainly made the long drive more enjoyable, and of course we now sit on a record points tally with a further nine up for grabs in the final three matches of the season.

I was expecting Wolves to give us a real test having lost their past two matches. They never got the chance to do that; according to Johnny and Warren, this was the best football of the season played by the Albion.

Watching the extended highlights from Wolves 0-3 Brighton back once we arrived in Cornwall, it was clear that the assessment on the radio was right.

From the moment Enock Mwepu fired an early shot off from about 30 yards which put Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa at full stretch to save, the Albion were brilliant.

Mwepu had a second shot which again kept Sa on his toes. Wolves’ Joao Moutinho saw a rare Wolves effort deflected by a Brighton defender before the first major talking point arrived.

Solly March moved swiftly down the right, beat his defender and delivered a cross followed by appeals for handball against Romain Saiss.

VAR checked and because Saiss’ arm position did not appear natural, referee Simon Hooper pointed to the penalty spot after watching the incident back on the pitch side monitor.

Up stepped Alexis Mac Allister. Suddenly, it dawned on me that my watch had not buzzed for a goal as the radio commentary was about to describe the penalty.

So when Johnny told us that Mac Allister had hit the post, it did not come as a surprise. I felt sad for Mac Allister as he has been playing so well over the past few weeks and missed penalties can have an impact on players.

Little did we know that there would be a quick chance to put things right. A foul on Moises Caicedo led to a free kick inside the Brighton half. Lewis Dunk took it swiftly, dropping the ball over the top for Danny Welbeck to collect.

Welbeck was swiftly brought to the ground by Willy Boly and Brighton had a second penalty in the space of nine minutes. To the surprise of many, Mac Allister stepped up again to take.

He placed a powerful shot to the same side as his first effort, only this time it was inside the post. Sa got a hand to it but could not keep the ball out because of how hard Mac Allister had hit it.

It showed great bravery for Mac Allister to have another go from the spot having missed that first penalty. He has a top mentality and that is why he has become one of the Albion’s most important players.

Brighton scored their second on 70 minutes when a series of moves put Welbeck into a position to lay off to Trossard, who made no mistake with a shot past Sa into the far corner.

The football in the build up to that goal was different class, cutting apart a Wolves defence who do not normally concede many goals.

Boly had Wolves’ only shot on target next, a header from a well placed corner which found the safe hands of Robert Sanchez. The Albion goalkeeper made it look so easy.

Brighton added a deserved third with five minutes left to play. The move was started by Trossard getting wiped out, although referee Mr Hooper played a good advantage.

Marc Cucurella found himself with the chance to cross. The ball was headed clear by a Wolves defender but only as far as Yves Bissouma, who swiftly moved onto his right foot and struck a low shot which hit the back of the net from outside the penalty area.

Wolves hit the left hand post through Pedro Neto with the final kick of the game. That piece of luck was deserved by Brighton, who had played well enough to earn the clean sheet and a three goal margin of victory.

Those Albion fans who made the journey must have enjoyed their day. It certainly sounded like it, the away supporters being heard loud and clear over the airwaves.

The noise our fans generate on the road is always louder than what we can manage at the Amex. Perhaps that is why we have such a poor home record?

Maybe we need a couple of chanting managers in the East and West Stands to get the entire stadium working in conjunction with the North?

Saturday evening games do tend to have a better atmosphere and that is where we head next, a 5:30pm kick off for the visit of Manchester United.

The late start means that we can get back to Sussex from Cornwall for the game, even if it will involve a 7am departure. There will be no radio commentary or watch alerts to keep me company for the return journey.

Instead, it will be back to watching the Albion live – and I fancy us to beat United too on our way to claiming nine points over the next three matches. Up the Albion!

Once last thing – can I ask for your support in the elections for the Albion Fan Advisory Board? I am listed as Anthony Noble and if voted onto the board, I will do my utmost to put forward all fan ideas and suggestions. Thanks in advance.

Tony Noble @Noble1844Tony