Might some Seagulls luck end this scoreless rut?
After a long 16 day break owing to internationals and Brighton being knocked out of the FA Cup by Spurs, the Albion returned to action against bottom of the table Norwich City looking to end their run of six consecutive defeats in which they had only scored once.
Not every Seagull was treated to a fortnight off, of course. Some represented their countries, a source of pride for both them and Brighton fans.
Players like Alexis Mac Allister, Leandro Trossard, Shane Duffy and Jakub Moder all performed well on international duty.
There was also Andi Zeqiri, currently on loan at Augsburg in Germany. He played for Switzerland against England, showing Albion supporters what he can do live on national television from Wembley.
The hope had to be that those who had gone away would return with their confidence boosted and ready to get Brighton out of their rut.
Graham Potter said in his press conference before the game that the players who had remained in Brighton had benefited from the rest and that the coaching staff had used the 16 days well to get across ideas and improve the recent form.
Despite the promising words of Potter, I was sceptical. We all know the Albion like to do things the hard way, and so my bet was that we would draw with Norwich before beating Arsenal and taking a point from both Spurs and Manchester City.
With it finishing Brighton 0-0 Norwich, so far I am onto a winner. The only problem being I am not a gambling man!
The Albion might not have been able to improve their record in front of goal, but one thing which has improved over the international break is the speaker system at the Amex.
It was so loud in the East Upper before the game that nobody could hear themselves think. I thought to myself that if the football was as good as the revamped PA, then we would be in for a treat.
And in a way, it was. Brighton created lots of opportunities and played some great stuff. They just had another of those days where the luck you sometimes need to score goals was not there.
The way Norwich set up made this like a game of bagatelle at times. Brighton were the billiards balls trying to find a way through and Norwich were 10 orange pins doing everything to protect their own goal.
If the Albion had a player called Rick O’Shay, maybe they would have found a way through. So many Premier League teams of late seem to get lucky with deflected goals, something which never happens to Brighton.
That is what we need to end this scoreless rut and with it, win a game. Once we get a piece of luck to break the duck, I have no doubt that more goals will follow, confidence will return and that we can start putting points on the board – even against the quality opposition Brighton face in their next three games on the road.
A nifty move and cross just eluded Danny Welbeck in front of the South Stand in the opening exchanges. Mac Allister then showed that he has been buoyed by playing alongside Lionel Messi for Argentina when firing not far wide of Tim Krul’s left hand post.
The best opportunity Brighton had came from the penalty spot. Pascal Gross crossed and a Norwich defender raised his arm right above his head to produce the clearest handball you will ever see.
The only conclusion I could reach for as to why the Norwich player had done it was that he was trying to keep the sun out of his eyes as the ball came into the box.
It was an easy penalty decision and yet it took an age from the offence taking place for the spot kick to be taken. In that time, Krul was able to walk up to Neal Maupay several times, delaying the kick further in an attempt to put Maupay off his stroke.
Not very sportsmanlike in my opinion but it worked. Maupay skied the penalty right over the bar. A golden opportunity which did not even hit the target, you cannot write this sort of stuff. It reaffirmed by view that we are going to end this run the hard way.
The crowd were at least supportive of Maupay when he was substituted in the second half. The North Stand sang his name as he walked around the pitch. That should at least give Maupay some confidence.
There cannot be any doubt that Brighton need to vary their strike force this summer however, a fact that Johnny Cantor and Warren Aspinall highlighted on BBC Radio Sussex and the Match of the Day pundits agreed with on Saturday night.
I would bet on Brighton getting some goal scorers in soon – although again, I am not a gambling man!
At half time, it was clear that the Albion would need only one goal to win the game. Norwich were not interested at all in venturing into the Brighton half.
The second 45 minutes saw the Albion have even more chances than in the first. So, so many chances. The breakthrough though never came. It was one of those days where nobody could get the ball in the onion bag, as Aspinall would say.
Watch the extended highlights and any disbeliever in this Brighton squad will see that the Albion have what it takes to start scoring and winning again soon.
Arsenal, Spurs and Manchester City are all difficult away games but we have tended to play better against the stronger teams. A change of luck, a fortunate deflection and Brighton can get back on track. Up the Albion and keep the faith.
Tony Noble @Noble1844Tony
