Bad day at the office gives Brighton chance to show their mettle
The trip to Aston Villa on Saturday lunchtime was broadcast live on TNT. Please do not think that refers to Tony Noble Television, because it doesn’t.
I wish it did, as if I were in charge we would have Brighton games every week. Although maybe not with a lunchtime kick off if the result at Villa Park could be pinned down and blamed on the start time!
Our commentators were Darren Fletcher and Lucy Ward and it turned out they would be in for a busy day of it. I sat down to watch, still recovering from the shock of going back to work this week after my holiday, and it looked like a reasonably nice afternoon in Birmingham.
Roberto De Zerbi dropped a bit of a surprise with his XI, giving highly rated 18-year-old Jack Hinshelwood his first Premier League start.
Hinshelwood is unlikely to ever forget this day for either the occasion or the score… let us just say it was a bad day at the office and nothing more.
The teams emerged to a raucous home crowd but you could still hear the Albion away contingent. Our fans do us proud every time we hit the road, always coming through loud and clear to the watching world with never ending support through both good times and bad.
Our referee for the afternoon was Andy Madley and his VAR assistant was Stuart Attwell, an official who Brighton do not have the greatest history with.
The Albion kicked off right to left at Villa Park. In the first four minutes, Brighton seemed to settle down quite well. It was not long before a first chance to take the lead fell to Pervis Estupinan, but he could only put the ball safely into the hands of Emiliano Martinez.
Estupinan had a disappointed look on his face. He obviously felt he should have put the opportunity away. Still, it represented a good chance for which Billy Gilmour had to take credit for an excellent pass over the top of three Villa players to send Estupinan away.
Douglas Luiz picked up an early yellow card for a foul on Gilmour before Villa started to play some good football. Adam Webster made a great block from Moussa Diaby as Brighton found the hosts coming on strong.
It was with 14 minutes played that the rot set in. John McGinn played a pass down the right which gave Maty Cash a chance to run past Mitoma and cross to Ollie Watkins.
The Villa striker was placed dead centre and easily slotted past Jason Steele for the first of what would end up being a hat-trick.
Villa only needed another seven minutes to make it 2-0 and once again, it was Watkins. He put the ball into the tightest of spaces between the bottom left hand corner of the net and Steele’s hand.
There was some discussion as to whether an offside should be given due to Nicolo Zaniolo blocking the view of Steele from an offside position.
Mr Attwell in the VAR room decided though that the goal should stand. It was beginning to look as if this would be a long afternoon for the Albion.
Diaby just failed to score after breaking down the left and cutting inside. Villa were looking so dangerous that it began to feel as if they would add to their total every time they got near the Albion box.
Or in the case of the third goal, if Villa could not score then Brighton would do it for them. It was an unfortunate own goal from Estupinan, coming from a move which began with a long Martinez kick forward.
Webster headed away but the ball dropped straight to a Villa player. Solly March retrieved possession, only to be rugby tackled to the ground.
Mr Madley can be seen on the highlights glancing across and ignoring the blatant foul on March. Play should have been stopped and Brighton given a free kick.
But it wasn’t. Watkins broke and squared to Diaby. His first shot was deflected back to him and his second was blocked by Estupinan.
Unfortunately, our old friend Rick O’Shay was in claret and blue today and the ball bounced off Estupinan and into the back of the net. With only 26 minutes played, Villa already had a 3-0 lead.
March put a header over the bar just before half time but that was about it from an Albion point of view. Deep sigh, kettle on and think about what De Zerbi would say to the players. I was sure that I enjoyed my half time cuppa more than the Albion did!
Whatever words De Zerbi did use lifted the players as they came out all guns blazing, helped by a triple change. Joao Pedro, Ansu Fati and Tariq Lamptey replaced Evan Ferguson, Danny Welbeck and Estupinan.
Within five minutes of the restart, Fati scored his first goal for Brighton. Pedro played a great one-two and was fouled in the box in the process.
VAR would surely have given a penalty had Fati not put the ball in the back of the net to make it Villa 3-1 Brighton. Were the Albion on a charge? We all hoped so.
Those hopes were squashed 15 minutes later when a Watkins shot deflected off Webster’s foot, throwing Steele off course and ensuring Brighton were not going to launch a famous comeback.
Poor De Zerbi looked so upset on the bench. He had his hand over his face and was clearly feeling the pain his players and supporters were suffering.
De Zerbi made a couple more changes with Simon Adingra and Carlos Baleba coming on. However, this did nothing to stem the flow and Villa added further goals from Jacob Ramsey and Luiz in the 85th and 97th minutes.
Brighton will not want to dwell on this 6-1 defeat, but spare a thought for the players. They will have suffered physical pain from knocks and bumps whilst playing every three days; some are probably disguising it as they do not want to miss out, especially on the chance to compete in the Europa League.
Their confidence and spirit will also have taken a blow. But if any man can lift the mentality after such a heavy loss, it is De Zerbi.
Brighton tend to bounce back from disappointment by showing their mettle and getting instantly back on track. De Zerbi has already promised Albion fans that they will see “a different Brighton” in the south of France on Thursday night… watch out Marseille.
Tony Noble @Noble1844Tony
Seagulls Best Ever Season Volume 2 charts Brighton’s record breaking 2022-23 campaign through the eyes of Tony Noble, an East Stand Upper season ticket holder at the American Express Stadium. It is available from Waterstones, WHSmith, Amazon Bookstore and all good bookshops as well as the Albion Superstore at the Amex and via this link.
