Just like my washing, Spurs were hung out to dry by Brighton
Just like the previous Saturday when the sun shone and blue skies showed their face as Brighton won at Arsenal, it was a glorious afternoon weather-wise for the trip to North London’s other club, Spurs
So nice was it in fact that I washed and put on the washing line all my Brighton shirts. They were not the only things hung out to dry; Spurs were too, their good run of form coming to an end against an Albion side making it two wins from two in our capital city in the space of seven days.
Spurs have a cockerel on their badge but they did not live up to the famous saying of being the “Cock of the Walk”. They did certainly did not dominate, failing to have a shot on target for the whole game as it finished Spurs 0-1 Brighton.
When you think about how they have controlled games and scored goals for fun over recent weeks, it is extraordinary that Brighton were able to prevent Robert Sanchez from needing to make save.
The planning and preparation that went into blocking out both Son Heung-min and Harry Kane was spot on from Graham Potter. The players carried out our managerial maestro’s tactics brilliantly to complete another memorable victory.
Audere est Facere (to dare is to do) is the Spurs motto. Brighton reversed it with a daring performance in what was a tough match.
I also did something daring – no, not another bet on my new Ladbrokes app – by inviting a Tottenham-supporting friend around to watch the game with me, having paid for a BT Sports subscription to witness the action.
He thought that Spurs’ recent form would carry them to victory. That and lightning never striking twice. Brighton had already used up their quota of wins in North London in beating Arsenal 2-1, right?
Wrong. He was gobsmacked when in the 90th minute, Leandro Trossard slotted one home with the outside of his right foot.
My settee springs took one of their biggest bashings of the season and why not? Once the six minutes of injury time were successfully ridden out, this was one of Brighton’s best wins so far.
My friend was gracious in defeat. He had said how badly Spurs were playing, but as the game went on that changed to the realisation that Brighton were playing so well as to make Tottenham look poor. A Spurs supporter saying how good the Albion are? Now that is what we like to hear!
Brighton were relentless throughout the 90 minutes, running their socks off and closing down any Spurs advances. That helped to silence the home crowd.
The official attendance was announced as being 58,685, but the Spurs supporters were eerily quiet. It was the three thousand Brighton fans making all the noise, singing their hearts out and making us all watching from home proud.
Antonio Conte seemed to have decided that Brighton’s most dangerous player was Enock Mwepu. Spurs appeared to be out to get Mwepu one way or another, eventually leading to him picking up a yellow card.
Potter had to make an important decision at half time, taking Mwepu off to ensure that the Albion did not drop to 10 men in the second half.
There were six bookings in the 90 minutes, three per team. Referee Craig Pawson managed to not see a clear red card however, when Marc Cucurella was elbowed in the face by Dejan Kulusevski. He clearly looked angry about being out played so many times by Cucurella!
In my last two pieces, I predicted that Brighton would do things the hard way. Of course, not beating Norwich was always going to set us up for wins at Arsenal and Spurs.
Both victories serve as a reminder that we do have a great squad and a tactical coach who can teach these players and get the best from them.
The Albion are now just one point off their highest ever total in the Premier League. They will certainly exceed 41, and may even equal it with a draw at Manchester City in midweek.
Then, it is back to the Amex to face Southampton at home. If the football against the Saints can match what we have seen in North London these past few weeks, then we will be in for a treat. Up the Albion!
Tony Noble @Noble1844Tony
