Losing to Luton meant Brighton were destined to beat Palace
Having woken up in the southern hemisphere last Sunday morning to find Brighton had beaten Sheffield United in a game which kicked off at 4am local time in New Zealand, the trip to Luton Town took place at a much more convenient 8.45am in the morning.
I settled down in the dining room of our cruise ship with earbuds firmly in place for the BBC Radio Sussex commentary from Johnny Cantor and Warren Aspinall.
It was pretty rough out in the Tasman Sea as we steamed towards Sydney, skirting the edge of Ex-Tropical Cyclone Kirrily.
Obviously, it was obviously about to become a whole lot rougher for Albion fans at Kenilworth Road. Even Mr Tony Bloom was struggling to put on a brave face, as seen via the highlights.
With Brighton 2-0 down after just three minutes, I choked on my Rice Krispies in disbelief at the first goal and then nearly went head first down the ship’s main stairwell in disbelief at the second.
The Albion had gone from being on top of the world (or in my case, on top of the bottom of the world) after winning 5-2 against the Blades to the bottom of the toilet by getting flushed by Luton just three days later.
A final score of 4-0 came as a shock and disappointment, but one which should have given Crystal Palace plenty of cause for concern ahead of their visit to the Amex.
We all have bad days; it was just unfortunate at Kenilworth Road that every single Brighton player had a bad day at exactly the same time, You can get away with one or two below par performances but not 11.
The Albion also have history when it comes to bouncing back after a reality check. That 5-1 loss to Everton last season was followed by a 3-0 win at Arsenal.
Being beaten 3-1 by Nottingham Forest followed by winning 6-0 against Wolves. Losing 6-1 to Aston Villa followed by a fine 2-2 draw against Marseille.
In a weird way, I felt like losing 4-0 to Luton could help the Albion by increasing focus on the months ahead. It would give more motivation to beat Palace. This squad after all is full of great players who always have the right attitude and response to heavy defeats.
Believing Brighton would ride the crest of a wave to comeback and win against Palace, I wished I could have been at the Amex rather than riding 30 foot waves between New Zealand and Australia.
It is our dog who is meant to have separation anxiety with us away for a month. He though seems very happy with his uncle.
I have the separation anxiety instead, being away from the Albion. Thinking I could be about to miss a famous win for the Seagulls over the Eagles did not help.
And guess what? It happened. Brighton not only won against Palace, but more than made up for the Luton game by winning 4-1 over the Eagles.
The damage done to the goal difference by Luton was almost repaired – and would have been if the Albion completed a perfect game with a clean sheet. What a day it must have been for those of you there.
Clean sheets have been elusive for Brighton this season with only two so far. Before the Luton game, Warren told us BBC Radio Sussex listeners that he thought the Albion needed to record a clean sheet to have a chance of success at Kenilworth Road. That was obviously out the window within 18 seconds.
Johnny and Warren also relayed that the Hatters have the smallest pitch in the Premier League. Did that make a difference I wonder, explaining why the Albion gave the ball away so regularly?
You also had to give credit to Luton. Rob Edwards is the best looking manager in the division according to my wife. On the football front, he has one aim for his team this season – to finish one place above the relegation zone.
Who would bet against Edwards and the Hatters achieving that? They certainly looked a more capable side than Palace and have the added motivation of trying to survive for captain Tom Lockyer, who collapsed on the pitch against Bournemouth a few weeks ago.
Lockyer was at Kenilworth Road for the Albion’s visit and received a great reception from both sets of supporters. He had tears in his eyes, the poor guy. We wish him all well and hope he can safely play Premier League football again.
Brighton set the tone for what was to come straight from kick off, losing possession to an aggressive Luton press. It did not sound great from 12,000 miles away and became even worse when Elijah Adebayo put the ball in the back of the net.
Never mind, I thought. There were now 89 minutes and 42 seconds plus injury time to get back into the game. However, it did not take long for another moment of disaster to occur.
A long ball was missed by Pervis Estupinan. Jason Steele charged from goal to challenge Chiedozie Ogbene, only for the Luton player to easily go around Steele and slot home. Luton Town 2-0 Brighton and all in three minutes.
Now I was deflated, like a rubber ring which has been punctured. Things got steadily worse from there, James Milner going off injured and then Danny Welbeck missing a cross by inches as he tried to slide in.
Albert Sambi Lokonga was lucky to escape a red card after rough tackles on Pascal Gross and Facundo Buonanotte. The Gross foul was not deemed worthy of a yellow, whilst the boot planted on the thigh of Buonanotte could have been a straight sending off on its own rather than the booking it earned from referee Rob Jones.
Another Luton interception gave Adebayo his second and the Hatters their third goal of the evening. At half time, Warren reported Brighton had not managed a single shot on target.
De Zerbi attempted to pull a rabbit out of the hat by throwing on Tariq Lamptey and Evan Ferguson for the second half. Neither though made much difference.
The Albion survived a Luton goal disallowed for offside but it did not take long for the Hatters to score a genuine fourth, Adebayo completing his hat-trick to round off a miserable evening.
For most teams, a 4-0 defeat at opponents fighting relegation sparks a crisis. At Brighton, it creates an opportunity. The best managers and players use setbacks as motivation to improve. And boy did we see that against Palace…
Consider the season back on track – if it even was ever off track. Tally ho to Sydney!
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.
