Brighton suffering from good players making bad decisions
There have been individual errors now from Brighton players against Fulham and Leicester City in the space of three days. But these should be a reminder of us to keep the faith and not let a couple of disappointing results affect our support for the Albion.
Bart Verbruggen played a bad pass to give Fulham their opening goal at Craven Cottage on Thursday. Igor then got caught trying to run the ball out of defence for Leicester’s equaliser on Sunday.
Neither of these mistakes is the end of the world as long as the players in question learn from them, which Fabian Hurzeler has said they will.
It was a miserable, wet evening in West London for those who made the journey to Craven Cottage. The journey home was even more miserable after Fulham saw off the Albion 3-1, meaning Brighton are still yet to beat the Cottagers in a Premier League fixture.
The weather was so terrible that Steve Sidwell’s umbrella blew inside out during the Amazon Prime coverage. Glenn Murray’s must have been doubled-ribbed as it stood firm.
I enjoyed a mix of viewing the game on Amazon Prime and listening to the BBC Radio Sussex commentary provided by Johnny Cantor and Warren Aspinall.
Amazon Prime have so much live football through December, providing a cost-effective and legal way for fans to watch.
The Daily Express recently carried a piece on streaming, warning that illegal sticks of any kind may soon stop functioning.
Hurzeler was at least dry having been banished to the stands due to a top up of yellow cards. He looked down on the pitch from up high, giving him a birds-eye view of the gift Brighton gave out after only four minutes.
Whilst accepting mistakes happen, I fail to understand how professional footballers can underestimate how fast their opponents are.
Alex Iwobi for example runs quickly and moves fast. Verbruggen should have realised there was a strong chance Iwobi would intercept a risky pass, in which case should be sending a long ball away to give the front players a chance.
Kaoru Mitoma had his hand in the air, stood waiting up the pitch on the left flank. If Verbruggen picks him out, Iwobi doesn’t score.
Brighton need to mix it up more and avoid dodgy passes. I had hoped we were over than when Roberto De Zerbi left.
The good news was that there were 86 minutes remaining to put things right. The highlight of the night from an Albion point of view arrived 11 minutes into the second half when Carlos Baleba equalised.
Jan Paul van Hecke played a long ball forward, clipped back into the path of Baleba by Pedro. It was a fantastic piece of skill from Pedro.
Baleba ran in and struck left footed first time into the back of the net. He celebrated with a series of Olympic gymnastic moves, all done without a springboard.
A foul was awarded against Lewis Dunk on halfway in a decision which should have had some bearing on the second Fulham goal.
The Cottagers delivered a corner and Dunk was pushed in the back in similar fashion. That meant Dunk could not clear, the ball hit Matt O’Riley and blimey O’Riley, in it went for an own goal.
Dunk appealed for a foul but referee Peter Bankes had no interest. You could understand Dunk’s frustration; officials have to be more consistent in their decisions.
Fulham then wrapped up their victory when Iwobi scored again in the 87th minute.
Tony Noble @Noble1844Tony
