Surround the ref, get a player sent off – The Manchester United way

A Tuesday evening, new batteries in the wireless and the anticipation that Brighton could go and win at Manchester United. The last part may not have happened but the Albion played exceptionally well at Old Trafford.

Unfortunately, we as a club know all too well that a good performance does not always mean a good result. Graham Potter tells us that on a regular basis and once again it came true in his 100th game in charge of Brighton.

You felt the players would want to mark the milestone in style for what Potter has done for them and the Albion. They certainly put up a good fight.

It was very frustrating that despite this being a game between two prominent teams sitting fifth and ninth before kick off, we were unable to watch it live on television.

There was plenty on the line after all; a United win would lift them into the Champions League places. If the Albion were lucky enough to pick up three points, they would climb to eighth at the same time as taking a first ever victory at Old Trafford.

Potter’s starting XI showed three changes from Watford with Tariq Lamptey, Adam Lallana and Danny Welbeck dropping out out for Yves Bissouma, Alexis Mac Allister and Leandro Trossard.

The media have been going on and on non-stop about United in the run-up to the game and not much of it positive coverage.

This must have left United’s players feeling under pressure and negative and I began to think to myself that maybe Potter and the Albion would look to harness that to their advantage.

They appeared to do so in the first 30 minutes. Backed by a noisy Seagulls following who could be heard loudly on BBC Radio Sussex, it was all Brighton according to the commentary from Johnny Cantor and Warren Aspinall.

Jakub Moder sounded like he was in the thick of things. He had a good chance when Pascal Gross crossed and then an even better one with a header from a Joel Veltman cross.

I was already out of my seat as the tone of the radio made it sound as if there was no way Moder’s powerful effort could be kept out.

The settee springs ended up taking one of their biggest bashings of the season as I crashed back down to the news that David De Gea had somehow made the save.

I must have watched it back about 20 times and how De Gea stopped it, I will never know. It was a save that has to be seen to be believed and it of course had to be from poor Jakub, whose wait for a Premier League goal goes on.

Yves Bissouma had a sight of goal before half time after a classy move from Brighton but his shot was just wide. It is good to see Bissouma shooting from distance again, his faith appearing to have been boosted by that goal at Spurs in the FA Cup.

0-0 and looking the better, more organised team was a good way for the Albion to go into the break. If they could keep up that tremendous pace in the second half, then we would have a chance.

Unfortunately, those hopes took a blow when Bissouma had a rare moment of losing possession. That gave United the ball and Cristiano Ronaldo had a run and shot which ended with him putting his side 1-0 ahead. “BUM” I thought.

Then came the game’s turning point. Lewis Dunk challenged Anthony Elanga and they both went down outside the penalty area.

Referee Peter Bankes immediately went for his yellow card which looked the right decision as Adam Webster was covering behind and so it could not be seen as a clear goal scoring opportunity.

Not that United agreed. Suddenly, Mr Bankes was surrounded by a red wolf pack who looked like they were going to tear his throat out if he gave anything less than a red.

Ronaldo was at the front giving it the big one when he was not even involved in the incident. Mr Bankes touched his ear. I think all the commotion forced him to go to the monitor and as everyone knows, it is never good when that happens.

A message must have flashed up on the screen: “Anything you can do to help Man United please do so.” Mr Bankes ran back onto the pitch and showed Dunk the red card.

United had bamboozled the referee into making an incorrect decision that paid no attention to the position of Webster.

The antics of those players in red was embarrassing. If Brighton had behaved as badly to the referee, then they would have had a player sent off and rightly so.

If United thought it would be easy from now on, they were mistaken. The Albion might have been 1-0 behind and down to 10 men but they never give up.

Brighton went on the attack when they had the chance, causing United problems. Robert Sanchez meanwhile deserved a medal for the saves he was making at the other end to keep us in the game.

Three or four amazing stops in the final 15 minutes forgave him from the one moment he faltered with a clearance. There was nothing he could do about the two goals, Bruno Fernandes making it Man United 2-0 Brighton in the last seconds on the counter attack.

Defeat was not a fair result in my opinion but we can take heart that this Albion team have shown that they can beat United on a level playing field.

Take away incorrect red cards and penalties awarded after the final whistle and Brighton are the better team. Maybe United know this and that is why they celebrated afterwards like they had just won the FA Cup, rather than beating 10 men?

Tony Noble @Noble1844Tony