Those Leeds fans who put one finger up to our coach got the score right

It is all go for football fans at the moment. The games are coming thick and fast, with Leeds the latest visitors to the Amex on another sunny Saturday afternoon.

We all knew this would be a keenly contested match as games against Leeds always are. The visitors were coming off the back of a 3-0 win over Chelsea and a midweek cup success.

Jesse Marsch has them playing well and confidence in the Leeds camp would have been high. It was great to see Brighton playing their hearts out, edging it 1-0. With a bit more luck, it would have been a more convincing victory.

Our journey this week involved the Seagulls Travel coach from Lindfield. We use Seagulls Travel on occasions and the decision was a good one as we enjoyed an air-conditioned coach rather than a crushed train.

There was a bit of confusion beforehand as not many Albion supporters seemed to know where the coach was stopping.

It turns out that Seagulls Travel have changed the route to the stadium. Rumour has it that next week for the Leicester City game, the normal way via Lewes will be reinstated.

Here is hoping. Had our driver not displayed some quick thinking on the way, then we would not have arrived at the Amex until after 2.30pm.

It was a little bumpy driving over that central reservation, but worth it in the end. (That is a joke by the way, just in case anyone at Seagulls Travel is reading and thinking our driver went off-piste!)

We got chatting on the coach to a fellow Brighton fan who sits with his wife in the East Lower. He said that during the 0-0 draw with Newcastle, he put his programme over his arm to try and prevent getting burnt as the suncream he had on was not strong enough.

What he did not expect when he removed the programme sometime later was that the heat combined with the pre-match fireworks display would have transferred the ink onto his arm.

He found himself with the front cover of the programme tattooed onto his skin. It washed off when he got home, which was unfortunate as it looked like one of those designer tattoos people pay good money for. And he had it for free.

It will not be long until we are arriving at the Amex in pouring rain and heavy wind. The idea of a programme melting onto a man’s arm will seem a million miles away then.

Interrupting our conversation on the way down the A23 was a bus full of Leeds fans, who our coach became involved in a lot of overtaking with.

Every time we passed each other, the Leeds fans would show us one finger. How clever of them to predict that Brighton would win 1-0. That is what it meant, right?

The only downside of going to games via coach is you do not get as long to take in the atmosphere. Our coach arrived late so I barely had time to buy my Albion wine gums.

Perhaps that is something the club and Seagulls Travel can look at? I daresay the Albion would want people arriving earlier to get a drink and a sausage.

I like to get there in plenty of time to soak up a matchday. The feel of the crowd. The smell of burgers and fish & chips.

The feel of a freshly printed programme (before it gets tattooed onto your arm). The sound of the visiting fans chanting in the South Stand.

Then into our East Upper seats to the music of Elton John & Dua Lipa whilst Robert Sanchez, Jason Steele and goalkeeper coach Ben Roberts warm up in front of the North Stand.

Along skip both Gully & Sally. Two giant seagulls always make me laugh. It is my dream job. One day maybe they will let me dress up as Gully.

There was another large pyrotechnic display before kick off. Hopefully, nobody had their programmes touching their skin. I did wonder what my new friend from the East Lower was doing.

Leeds supporters were in great voice, as were our own North Stand. Even the East Stand were singing along, which was great to hear. The flying start the Albion have made to the season has clearly got everyone really excited.

Straight from kick off it appeared that Leeds’ tactics were to make silly fouls to stop Brighton playing. One of these fouls was on Solly March, who was grabbed around the throat by Diego Llorente and pulled down on the right side of the pitch.

Another foul led to Pascal Gross floating over a beautiful free kick for Adam Webster. Webster took it well, however the header passed Illan Meslier’s right hand post.

Pevis Estupinan was enjoying an encouraging Amex debut. He looks a promising talent who can help fill the void left by Marc Cucurella departing for Chelsea.

March on the other side of the pitch to Estupinan was having a great game. Some fine midfield control from Alexis MacAllister saw the ball played out to the right to March whose shot was saved by Meslier.

Leandro Trossard had a good chance from the resulting corner but he could not keep the volley down as it went over the bar.

Most of the attacking football seemed to be coming from the Albion. March was again denied by Meslier and the rebound cleared away from the Leeds goal.

Then March was fouled again down that right side, this time by Marc Roca. Another free kick beautifully placed by Gross to Webster who headed wide. Never mind Adam, it will come – give it time, I say!

Leeds had offered only very little on the break and I felt a Brighton goal was coming. The second half began with Gross just a second too late to convert an Estupinan cross. The build up to that chance was great, involving Danny Welbeck and Estupinan.

Gross played a real peach of a through ball into the path of Solly March. He accelerated away, going one-on-one against Meslier once again.

Unfortunately for March, Meslier saved to deny him a goal. Like Webster, March is another player who just needs to keep trying for it to come.

Webster did some attacking next, crossing the ball to the left where Trossard was. Trossard passed to Estupinan and his great cross fell to March. Sadly, it was not to be March’s day as the ball flew right over the bar.

An error from Estupinan at the other end gave Leeds a golden opportunity to score. Somehow, they put the ball wide of an open goal from yards away. Can anything beat that when it comes to miss of the season? We will have to wait and see.

Brighton became a little nervous after that as Leeds had several attempts. It needed our Doc GP to settle the players, which he did to help the Albion take the lead.

The move started with a series of passes out from the back. Lewis Dunk to Estupinan, through to Welbeck laying off to Caicedo who feeds Trossard to square to Gross.

Gross does not pass up the chance, striking low and hard to Meslier’s left to make it Brighton 1-0 Leeds United. There was a wait whilst VAR at Stockley Park checked for an offside. Once it was confirmed as being a legal goal, we were able to celebrate a second time around.

Marsch felt this was all unfair and soon his remonstrations with the referee earned him a yellow card. That caused things to get a little heated with Webster drawing a yellow card. Leeds put the free kick Webster had conceded narrowly wide of the past post.

Brighton were hanging on a bit, to the point that I felt a little sorry for those in the North Stand. Apart from the goal, all the action in both halves had taken place at the opposite end of the ground with the Albion dominating the first half and then Leeds better in the second.

The Seagulls were the ones who got the result they wanted when the full time whistle blew. Brighton finished the weekend in fourth spot with 10 points from 12 so far.

We even enjoyed a brief few minutes at the top of the Premier League after that Gross goal. I wonder if that might also be what the Leeds fans meant when giving us all the finger, that Brighton would be number one? They are a visionary bunch.

Tony Noble @Noble1844Tony