Still unbeaten, clean sheet, record crowd the positives from Ipswich
It is that time of year again which takes me on holiday to Madeira. Normally, I only miss one Brighton game at the Amex during my time away.
This year though is a real pain because of how the fixtures have worked out. Back-to-back Premier League home matches with a League Cup tie against Wolves sandwiched between means I am absent for three Amex games in eight days.
I am therefore relying on our faithful BBC Radio Sussex commentators Johnny Cantor and Warren Aspinall to keep me fully informed.
About three hours before kick off, I was out strolling in Funchal proudly sporting my Albion shirt. I was tapped on the shoulder by a man I now know to be Michael.
He was proudly sporting his Ipswich Town shirt. This of course provoked some chat about the game to come. When Michael asked me what I thought the score would be, I decided to keep my prediction of 3-1 Brighton to myself. I am glad I did.
Johnny said on radio commentary in the lead up to the game: “The Albion cannot afford to drop points again this season to teams who have recently been promoted.”
He was alluding to Brighton failing to beat Burnley and Sheffield United at home in 2023-24. Unfortunately, come 5pm and the poor record against newly promoted teams had indeed been extended.
The points were shared as it finished Brighton 0-0 Ipswich. Many followers of the Albion felt it was two points dropped.
There were still positives for Brighton through. Eight points from 12 so far means the Albion remain unbeaten and Bart Verbruggen kept a comfortable clean sheet.
But Ipswich were clearly the happier of the two teams come full time. It must have felt like a win for them if the big smile on Ed Sheeran sitting in the posh seats with his blue baseball cap on was anything to go by.
Warren was late to join Johnny for the pre-game discussion and apologised for his schoolboy error. He stated he would admit to what mistake he made after the game if Albion won.
Those who were desperate to know only to be left waiting with baited breath had another reason to be disappointed with the full time score.
There was a change in approach to how ‘Sussex By The Sea’ is played before the game, which seemingly nobody had been told in advance about.
Johnny said he was surprised not to hear it at the normal time when the teams walk out onto the pitch. But sure enough, it was blasted out as the final song before kick off.
I wrote last season how impactful ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ is at Liverpool when played at the last point before the game starts.
Fan reaction to ‘Sussex By The Sea’ moving seems to have been mixed, but hopefully the club will stick with it for at least a few more home games to see if it makes a difference to the atmosphere.
Fabian Hurzeler of course was named Premier League Manager of the Month the day before the game. How great for him after only three matches in charge… although maybe not if it turns out to be a kiss of death from this point on.
It became clear quite early on that Ipswich goalkeeper Arijanet Muric was going to be their man of the match.
A far cry from last season, when Muric allowed us to score at Burnley by letting a pass slip under his foot and roll over the goal line. The result at Turf Moor that day was 1-1… another example of those dropped points Johnny talked about.
Carlos Baleba was unlucky not to score when he fizzed a low shot which Muric just got a hand to. Baleba showed how dangerous he can be with those driving runs forward throughout the game.
Next there was a slight disruption in Madeira as the housekeeper entered the room, vacuum cleaner in full flow. By the time that was finished, 19 minutes had been played and Brighton were on 73.6 percent possession.
Danny Welbeck was denied by Muric and then came an extraordinary series of play. Georginio Rutter hit a shot parried away by Muric.
Kaoru Mitoma followed up but his effort was saved again. Mitoma then had a second chance but it went wide of the far post.
How none of those opportunities went in was a mystery. But it also summed up this being one of those days for Brighton.
There were plenty of yellow cards shown and a lot of corners won by the Albion as the game wore on. Yankubu Minteh was perhaps lucky not to be sent off for a foul and then preventing the restart, given what we have seen in recent weeks with Declan Rice at Arsenal.
This lack of consistency between referees extends to time added on. How were there only three extra minutes at the Amex when there had been eight substitutions made and several other stoppages?
Omari Hutchinson meanwhile put in a terrible challenge on Lewis Dunk based on the shouting which could be heard clearly over the airwaves of Seagulls supporters near Johnny and Warren.
Their language could not be repeated here. And as Warren said: “They are in the posh seats as well, Johnny!”
Brighton kept plugging away but had to survive one scare when Liam Delap broke for Ipswich and hit Verbruggen’s far post.
I wonder how many of us were thinking the Tractor Boys might sneak it at that point? They did not. Brighton could have even picked up three deserved points entering the final five.
Evan Ferguson though curled just wide having only been on the pitch a matter of minutes in his first appearance since picking up an ankle injury at the end of last season.
As Liverpool found out when losing 1-0 to Nottingham Forest at Anfield, there are no easy games in the Premier League. And Forest are the Albion’s next league opponents at the Amex.
Brighton have nothing to fear going into that one. Performances will only get better as the new players learn to gel. The Albion put together some excellent moves and were unlucky they either came to nothing or were kept out by Muric.
One final note, how great to see the Amex attendance record broken. One fan noted the BBC and Premier League website both reporting a crowd of 41,573.
If anyone can let me know where the extra 10,000 people sat, please do!
Tony Noble @Noble1844Tony
