The simple truth – Brighton failed to turn up for day at the Palace
Warren Aspinall said early on during the BBC Radio Sussex commentary of Crystal Palace against Brighton: “We can beat this lot if we turn up today.”
How right he would have been. Had the Albion turned up. Because they did not do so, with the result being a painful 2-1 defeat against an Eagles side who finished the game with only nine men on the pitch.
Brighton were simply not at the races. Which was ironic on Grand National Day. I hope if you had a little flutter, your horse came in to lessen the pain of what happened at Selhurst Park. Mine came in, so at least that was one small win for the day.
Here is another quote for you, this time from Lewis Dunk. The Brighton captain stated the last nine games would be played as if they were cup finals and that the squad knew what they had to do.
That was two matches ago after the FA Cup quarter final against Nottingham Forest. Brighton have not won a game since.
Where did things go wrong against Palace? For me, there seemed to be a lack of cohesion on the pitch. It sounded as if every Albion player was playing independently.
What has happened to the wonderful team spirit and link play we saw through those six consecutive wins and draw at Manchester City before the international break?
It took all of three minutes for Jean-Philippe Mateta to score a Goal of the Month contender when giving Palace the lead. Bart Verbruggen was beaten fair and square.
Danny Welbeck made it 1-1 in the 31st minute with his 31st Premier League goal for Brighton. Welbeck is now the Albion’s record goal scorer in the competition.
He deserves his place in the history books and that moment did at least provide a silver lining on an otherwise poor day at the office. Thank goodness for Welbeck.
Come half time and the score remained 1-1. 10 minutes into the second half and Daniel Munoz netted for Palace, leaving the Albion with everything to do.
The match became a real uphill struggles from there with the final 12 minutes turning into more of a Saturday afternoon scrap than a game of football.
Referee Anthony Taylor found himself issuing card after card. I am surprised he did not need more lead in his pencil for all the writing he had to do. Maybe the FA will provide him with an admin assistant to take notes?
Eddie Nkeitah picked up two bookings to leave Palace down to 10. Marc Guehi then did the same as the Eagles found themselves finishing with nine.
Brighton did not have a two-man advantage for long, however, as Jan Paul van Hecke also received two yellows.
Some reasonable efforts were made in an attempt to find that all-important equaliser but it was not forthcoming, meaning Palace recorded back-to-back wins against Brighton for the first time since the 1930s.
I sincerely hope that these two defeats against Aston Villa and the Eagles are not the start of another game of snakes and ladders in the Premier League table.
Things are so tight at the minute that once you land on a snake, you can go a long way down the board. With Fulham beating Liverpool, Brighton slid to ninth.
Six teams are separated by only six points. Goal difference could play a big part come the end of the season. Not only do the Albion need to start winning. But they also need to start scoring goals. Which means more shots on target.
Carlos Baleba, I am sure, can bring a smile to our faces in this department. He almost did with a volley from distance saved by Dean Henderson.
You never know what could happen if you have a go from 20 to 30 yards. Rick O’Shay might be playing and help you out. As happened with the Munoz goal for Palace.
One final quote for you, this one from Alan Shearer on BBC Match of the Day. Shearer was quite positive about Brighton, saying he still expects the Albion to qualify for Europe.
For that to happen, we need to get back to winning ways quickly. Leicester City at the Amex next looks absolutely crucial.
Let us hope a week in the Lancing sunshine can focus the minds of the players on scoring goals and hunting Foxes.
Tony Noble @Noble1844Tony
