The fun watching table topping Brighton playing football like Brazil
Before Brighton took to the field at Molineux, I found myself going down a bit of a rabbit hole in researching the history of the famous home of Wolverhampton Wanderers.
According to the records, it was the first stadium ever built for specific use by a Football League club when it was opened in 1889.
I bet those Wolves fans who went to that first game all those years ago could never imagine that one day there would be football grounds charging £8,950 (plus a founding member’s fee of £2,500) to sit in a Tunnel Club, the likes of which opened at the Amex for the first time in last week’s 4-1 win over Luton Town.
Johnny Cantor and Warren Aspinall discussed the luxuries of the new premium hospitality area on BBC Radio Sussex before the Wolves game. That followed on from one of the guests on the Albion Unlimited podcast this week being head chef of the Tunnel Club, Steven Edwards.
He won Masterchef around 10 years ago and is amongst the best chefs in the country. As nice as his food looks and as fancy as the heated seats behind the dugouts complete with USB chargers are, the Tunnel Club is a little out of my budget.
It is though a great idea to generate revenue from those who can afford it. Only a couple of other Premier League grounds have areas like it.
Perhaps the club could even use the £10,000 they are making per person from the Tunnel Club to reduce the retail prices for the rest of us?
With no Albion wine gums or sweets in the East Upper for the Luton game, I considered buying a pie instead. Then I saw it would cost £5.30 and thought again!
Having watched Wolves be very unlucky to lose against Manchester United on Monday night, I was sure that the Albion’s trip to Molineux would be nowhere near as straightforward as the 6-0 win Brighton enjoyed when the sides met at the Amex in April. My hope was that we might repeat the 3-2 victory away against Wolves from last November.
Listening over the BBC Radio Sussex airwaves and catching glimpses on television as the players stepped out onto the pitch in the afternoon sunshine, I was forced into a quick change.
Brighton were wearing their blue and white home strip and I was sat at home in my green and black away shirt. I had to wear the same colours as the players, not that I am superstitious or anything.
Wolves fans sung “Hi Ho Silver Lining” loud and proud before kick off. Not to be confused of course with “Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it’s off to work we go.”
Speaking of work, Gareth Southgate was at Molineux for the game. Was he there to finally watch Lewis Dunk, Adam Webster, Solly March and the Albion’s English players?
Or just to enjoy a Saturday afternoon in the sunshine? We will find out when he names his next England squad in a couple of weeks time.
Brighton made a first start, winning a corner after only 90 seconds. The Albion were a little indecisive after that, passing up some early opportunities to shoot.
It would not be long until Brighton took the lead. You could hear the excitement in Johnny’s voice as Kaoru Mitoma broke down the left hand side from just inside the Wolves half, beating one, two, three and then four gold shirts.
Mitoma had his shirt tugged at least twice on his way to goal but still kept going before slotting the ball past Jose Sa.
Warren described the goal as world class and when you watch it back, you have to concur. The skill, determination and positive mental attitude to take the ball all the way and finish showed what a brilliant player Mitoma is.
Jason Steele had to make a great save which prevented Fabio Silva scoring, deflecting the ball behind with an outstretched right boot.
Pedro Neto then put a shot over the Albion crossbar and left back Rayan Ait-Nouri did likewise as Wolves continued to be wasteful, thankfully from a Brighton point of view.
When the half time whistle blew, the scoreline was still 1-0 to Brighton. Referee Andrew Madley had thrown yellow cards around as if they were confetti at a wedding. This seemed to be a common theme in matches across the weekend. PGMOL appear to be toughening up, which cannot be a bad thing.
Brighton had not been at their best in the first half, so to calm myself I put the kettle on and dumped teaspoonful after teaspoonful of sugar into my tea whilst looking at the Premier League table. The Albion sat in first spot; little did I know we would still be there at the end of the day.
Fans who leave their seat early in the search of a half time pint or come back after play has restarted are going to miss a lot of action this season.
Brighton showed that when Pervis Estupinan made it 2-0 in the 46th minute. Sa parried away a Danny Welbeck shot, Mitoma collected the rebound and expertly squared to Estupinan to apply the finish.
After that difficult first half, such an early goal sent Roberto De Zerbi on one of his celebrations. He raced around in a circle enjoying the moment, delighted for both player and team.
Just five minutes later and Brighton had a third. Billy Gilmour passed down the left to his target Julio Enciso, who broke and crossed.
The ball into Solly March from Enciso was absolutely perfect. March ran onto it and buried it into the back of the net. It was a sensational goal created by some great football.
Would you believe it, but the Albion had a fourth just four minutes later. Enciso popped up on the right this time with the end result being a case of deja vu, a pass into the middle which March arrived to finish once again.
Brighton were cooking on gas now and the game had not even reached the hour mark. My 3-2 prediction was by now well out the window. Was another 6-0 on the cards?
Warren said after the fourth went in that some of the Albion players should get out a deck chair, have a rest and enjoy the remainder of the game in the sun.
Wolves though put up a bit more of a fight than they had at the Amex last time. In the 61st minute, Hwang Hee-chan headed home a corner to make it 4-1 after some sloppy defending from Brighton.
Some home fans missed their side’s goal having departed Molineux. Personally, I think you should support your club through the good times and bad.
It cannot have been nice for the players to see their supporters giving up on them. They had only seen Gary O’Neil appointed manager four days before the start of the season and had done themselves proud at Old Trafford, with O’Neil still getting his feet under the table.
The new rules regarding taking time added on more seriously meant there were nine minutes to play after the 90. Neither side could improve on the scoreline and so it finished Wolves 1-4 Brighton, making it two wins from two for the Albion.
Brighton have received some great press for their performances so far this season. Even Gary Lineker tweeted how Brighton resembled Brazil, a compliment indeed.
Can the run continue when West Ham visit the Amex next? I am eagerly anticipating that one… although not so much the cost of a pie.
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.
