Sussex Sport Weekly - episode 32 - Evan Almighty and the Pizza Trophy

Name: Sussex Sport Weekly - episode 32 - Evan Almighty and the Pizza Trophy
Uploaded: 2023-09-07T12:18:38+00:00
Duration: 36 min 53 s
Channel: SussexWorld

00:00 Welcome to another episode of Sussex Sport Weekly podcast. I'm Matt Polk and I'm joined

00:04 by Brighton & Hove Abbey and writers Darren Howard and Frankie Elliott, as well as Crawley

00:07 Town expert Mark Dunford.

00:09 Brighton & Hove Abbey laid down a marker for another special Premier League season as they

00:12 made light work of Champions League-bound Newcastle United. Meanwhile, Crawley Town

00:16 became Sussex's great entertainers in both League and Cup, wheel of effect on an excellent

00:20 week for both the Seagulls and the Reds, and bring you all the latest from the thrilling

00:24 final weekend of the 2023 Sussex Cricket League campaign.

00:27 Teenager Evan Ferguson scored a hat-trick to demonstrate his remarkable potential as

00:31 Albion saw off Newcastle 3-1 at home on Saturday evening. The win leaves the Seagulls sixth

00:36 in the Premier League table, three points shy of Leeds Man City going into the September

00:40 international break. What a result that was Darren. How good were Albion and how good

00:46 was Evan Ferguson on the day?

00:48 Yeah, it was very impressive, both in terms for Albion and as you say for Evan Ferguson.

00:54 But what was really important was to get the three points on the board going into the international

01:00 break after the disappointment against West Ham. And Newcastle have been a team that Brighton

01:06 have previously struggled against. Last season they drew Neil Neil, never really looked like

01:10 scoring and then they took a bit of a hammering up at St James' Park towards the back end

01:16 of the last season. Brighton were struggling with injuries back then and availabilities.

01:21 But I think it was really important for Brighton to lay down the marker against one of these

01:26 sort of perceived big teams now. They're obviously a Champions League team, Newcastle, this season.

01:32 And I just thought that win made a really big statement for Brighton that they can perform

01:38 and that they can perform without Cosseiro and McAllister against one of the better teams

01:43 in the league. And yeah, as you say, Ferguson was just out of this world. His first goal

01:52 was a good poachers finish, a good strike from Billy Gilmore and then Ferguson was just,

01:58 you know, he had that natural movement in the right place to finish it off. And yeah,

02:04 I thought he was just really, really impressive all round. His second goal was just how he

02:10 dropped deep. Billy Gilmore almost lost possession in midfield but threaded it through to manage

02:15 to find his pass. And he just stroked it into the bottom corner. So he's, you know, just

02:19 like a training ground game rather than a Premier League game.

02:25 And, you know, lots of people are now talking about him. Manchester City were rumoured with

02:30 a bid to come in with interest for the January transfer window, looking to pair him with

02:36 Erling Haaland. You know, that would be quite some strike force. But I think at the moment

02:43 he's at the perfect club with deservedly tactics. He's got the likes of Mitoma, Soli March on

02:49 each flank, creating the chances for him. Behind, he's got the likes of Pascal Gross,

02:54 Billy Gilmore, threading the passes through. So for an up-and-coming striker, 18 years

02:59 of age, playing in an attack-minded team like this, it's just dream time for him. I think

03:05 he's at the perfect place for the time being. And, yeah, I think he'll be great for the

03:11 Premier League and going into the Europa League this season.

03:14 Well, Ferguson, as Deren mentioned, has been linked with moves to Man City, but in the

03:18 summer transfer window he was also linked with moves to Man United and Tottenham. Frankie,

03:22 would a move to a top-six club potentially be detrimental to his development at this

03:28 early stage? And do you agree with Deren's assessment of things at the moment for him?

03:32 Yeah, I mean, it's always difficult to say about whether a move would be good for a player's

03:38 development or not. You can't ever argue with a move to a bigger Premier League club, especially

03:43 in the top six. That's always going to have the glitz and glamour associated with it and

03:48 the opportunity to win trophies. But in regards to Ferguson's development, obviously being

03:53 at Brighton right now is a brilliant place to be for any young player. I remember looking

03:58 at Deserby's comments last week after signing Anssu Fati. He was speaking very much about

04:04 a responsibility he felt to make sure that, you know, world-class talent, as he put it.

04:08 And he didn't just mention Fati when he said this. He mentioned Fati and Cissé, Buonatte

04:13 and Ferguson. He said when he has world-class talent, he feels as a coach, he feels a real

04:17 responsibility to make sure they reach their potential. And I feel that really shows that

04:24 he believes his style of football is the best way for players to develop into great players.

04:30 And he's probably not wrong because obviously, you know, what a place to play football. You've

04:33 got a team that plays such an attacking brand of football, has lots of the ball. It's important

04:39 that every player in the team is technically proficient. We've seen that right from the

04:43 goalkeeper all the way through to the striker. And as Darren alludes to, you have so many

04:47 chances created each game. As an attacking player, as a young attacking player, it's

04:53 the best way to hone your craft and to get better. So for Ferguson right now, he's in

04:59 the perfect place, as I said, because every week he will have the opportunity to score

05:03 a hat-trick in some respects. If you look at the West Ham game, although he didn't score,

05:07 he had a number of great chances in that game as well. So it's the perfect opportunity.

05:11 But whether or not he does go, whether it be January, I mean, he is, you know, Brighton

05:17 fans might not hear it, but he is the next big money sale. That will happen somewhere

05:22 down the line. But whether it happens in January or the summer or whatever happens, the thing

05:26 that I can pretty much guarantee is that Brighton will get a brilliant deal out of it. So whenever

05:32 that comes, Brighton will still manage to do it successfully and not hamper themselves.

05:37 Whether it hampers Ferguson, we don't know. But right now they've got one of the best

05:41 young strikers in European football, some would argue. And the way that De Servi plays

05:46 really suits him and all the young attacking forwards that Brighton now have.

05:50 Another young player I thought did really well on Saturday was defender Jan-Paul Van

05:54 Hek, who returned to the Brighton starting XI after two games on the bench. We all know

05:58 how good Van Hek can be. You just need to look at how he defended against Haarlem towards

06:02 the back end of last season. So do you think he's done enough to force his way into Roberto

06:06 Di Servi's starting XI on a more permanent basis alongside Lewis Dunn? Or do we expect

06:11 to see Adam Wempster maybe return after the international break?

06:15 Yes, it's a really tough decision now for Di Servi. I think Van Hek was producing some

06:22 really good displays towards the back end of last season. He's now trusted by Di Servi

06:27 and trusted by his team-mates. Whenever he comes into the team, it's not like there's

06:31 a new guy coming in. He now comes in and he looks as though he's responsible. He looks

06:37 as though he's capable of dealing with the physical threat from the Premier League attackers.

06:44 And also he's good on the ball as well. He's proved a couple of times there. Some really

06:48 nice turns. He's composed under the press as well. He's perhaps not up to the standard

06:55 of Lewis Dunn in that regard, but everything goes through Lewis Dunn. But he's still very,

07:01 very good at it and he will get better.

07:05 Wempster looked really shaky against West Ham as well. There were a couple of occasions,

07:10 especially against Antonio, where the West Ham striker really got the better of Wempster.

07:16 Di Servi said before the match that it wasn't based on performance that Van Hek came in,

07:21 but I think it was. I think Wempster was poor against West Ham. I think the international

07:29 break may be a good chance for him to come back and get his fitness levels up to where

07:34 they can be. That's always been Wempster's problem, getting 100 per cent fit. When he's

07:39 really firing and really good, he's one of the best defenders in the Premier League and

07:46 very good alongside Dunk. But he does struggle with these niggling injuries and getting his

07:51 body to a position where it can deal with the Premier League.

07:55 So I think once he's back to full fitness, he's a really good option to have. It's a

08:00 great problem to have in a way with Van Hek and Wempster. Plus you've got Igor Julio as

08:06 well, who came in from Fiorentina. Joel Veltman, he can also play at centre-back. So I think

08:12 the central areas are now looking very, very strong indeed. Lewis Dunk plays when he's

08:17 fit without a doubt, but there's going to be a heck of a lot of games coming up this

08:22 season. Lewis Dunk is also in the England set-up now as well. So if it comes to the

08:27 point where Dunk does need a break, I think Wempster, Van Hek, Veltman, Brighton are really

08:34 well stacked in central defence now.

08:37 Meanwhile, Billy Gilmore, I think, has quietly become a film metronome for the Sea Eagles.

08:43 Unlike Ferguson and Van Hek, I thought he was brilliant against the Magpies at the weekend.

08:48 Frankie, is Gilmore now starting to show why he's thought of so highly for the Scottish

08:51 national team as well as former clubs Chelsea and Rangers?

08:55 Yeah, no, he really, really is. And I think what we're seeing from Gilmore now on the

09:00 Brighton side is a reflection of why Brighton have been so successful in the last five or

09:04 six years, despite all the setbacks. Because I remember when Paul Barber spoke on the High

09:09 Performance podcast about a couple of months ago, he was asked about how they've managed

09:13 to deal with people losing so many key figures in the football club, both on the pitch and

09:18 off the pitch. And he said one of the key things that Brighton did, especially when

09:21 Dan Ashworth left to join Newcastle, was they looked within. They looked within to promote

09:27 within obviously David Weir, who is now in the same role that Dan Ashworth was, was already

09:32 at the club. They saw he had the credentials and obviously knew the club already to take

09:36 that role successfully. And you can see that on the pitch as well. When Poussouma left

09:40 last summer, Kysaida had been there for six months. He took over that role as their key

09:44 midfielder. You've seen it with Trossard as well when he left in January. That loss wasn't

09:50 so big because of the emergence of Evan Ferguson and Karim Atom, who'd come in the summer.

09:55 And I think we've seen this, obviously now Kysaida and McAllister have gone this summer.

09:59 Everyone was asking who's going to replace them? Will Brighton spend a lot of money?

10:03 And I always felt that the answer, part of the answer, they already had in Billy Gilmore.

10:08 So when you see a performance like we did on Saturday, which he was, he was excellent.

10:14 He was a very, very classy performance, kept the ball very, very well, like you said, kept

10:18 it ticking excellently. I sort of watched that and I think Gilmore, Deserby and a lot

10:23 of people have been, that's what we expected, really, because he came in with such a, you

10:27 know, all the hype from those, you know, that performance against England for Scotland at

10:31 the Euros and that, you know, those number of performances for Chelsea in big games.

10:37 That's the sort of player that he can, he should be really. And last year, obviously,

10:41 it was very, very difficult. We know there's been some issues in his private life that

10:44 they've hopefully been dealt with now. Obviously, he was playing behind two of the best midfielders

10:49 in the Premier League at the time. So chances were for him, it was difficult for him. But

10:53 I have to say the sale of those two players, while everyone else is probably panicking,

10:57 it's the best thing that could ever happen to him. Because I think for all the talent

11:01 that is there, so far in his career, he's never had a long run of games. The Norwich

11:05 thing, he was playing in a very poor side that was struggling. So it was difficult for

11:08 him to shine. He never really got a run in at Chelsea. He was, you know, here and there,

11:12 he got a couple of games and did well. Brighton last year, he didn't either. This season,

11:17 you know, I think Deserby has trusted him as his main man, you know, and he's proven

11:21 so far that he can do it. I think this is the perfect opportunity now for him to have

11:25 a long stretch in the side and really develop as a player, but also re-stamp his authority

11:30 in the side, which he hasn't done yet. And I think a performance like on Saturday, we

11:34 can expect more of that because that's how good a player he can be when he's given the

11:38 opportunity. And it's taken the sale of two excellent footballers to get there. But I

11:42 really think that opportunity will now come for him. And I think Brighton don't really

11:45 have to panic as much as they maybe thought they did when they sold Mikailos and Kayserdi

11:49 because they have a player that can be as good as them in my eyes on their bench. So

11:54 yeah, he was excellent and I expect to see a lot more from him.

11:56 How good was that shot that set up the first goal as well from Gibson? I don't think I've

12:02 seen a ball hit so sweetly so far this season. It was incredible.

12:05 Stinger, yeah. Absolutely.

12:08 Norwich Amaresque.

12:09 Yeah, I think just to add to that as well, I think that's why Brighton got him quite

12:15 so cheap because he did struggle on loan at Norwich. And I think his stock went down after

12:21 that loan at Norwich, who were, like Frankie said, a really poor team. But that's why Brighton

12:26 were able to get him for such a good price. He's an absolute talented player and yeah,

12:35 a great piece of business from Brighton again.

12:37 Well, Brighton are now out of action until 16th December, only to another necessary worthwhile

12:44 and thrill-a-minute international break. As mentioned earlier, the Seagulls 6-6 in the

12:48 table after four games. I know it's still incredibly early in the season, Darren, but

12:52 how would you assess their season so far? What have the major plus points and positives been?

12:56 Yeah, the plus points, obviously, I think for me it's that they've started so well again

13:03 after losing. We keep going back to it, but after losing their whole midfield,

13:08 the actual focal point of the team last season, McAllister and Caicedo. I think after losing

13:14 those, it was a little bit of an unknown quantity as to how they would handle, especially the

13:19 bigger games. Against Luton Town, it was sort of, OK, fair enough, they've beaten Luton, but

13:25 they weren't the bigger tests. I think against West Ham, it was an odd game. They still played

13:32 quite well. Now, I think in that midfield area, although James Wilfrouse played quite well,

13:36 they weren't overrun in midfield. They kept a lot of the ball and it was still the same

13:40 Brighton style. And against Newcastle, it was just a really, really good performance all round.

13:47 So, I think those central areas, that was where everybody was looking to see how Brighton are

13:53 going to cope and I think they have proven that they will do, and especially with Carlos Bolivar

13:58 coming in as well. He will add to the options in there. But yeah, lots of positives to look

14:05 forward to. As you say, Van Gecke, I liked the look of Bart Verbruggen as well, who's come in

14:11 the goal. It's going to be a difficult one as well, who he picks going forward,

14:16 Steele or Verbruggen. But he looks very confident. His concentration levels look very good during the

14:23 match. Good shots stopping as well. And then you look at the likes of Ansu Fati, who have come in

14:30 as well, and with the likes of Ferguson Bolivar, I think it's looking very positive indeed. And

14:36 just one final one as well, Mitoma and Estupina, that link down the left-hand side is very strong

14:43 as well. So, yeah, lots to look forward to. And yeah, Man United after the international break,

14:50 followed by their first ever Europa League game against Athens at the Amox.

14:55 And in the same, Frankie, what are the negatives and lowlights been so far this stage of the

15:00 season? I'm assuming that West Ham will probably feature quite prominently in your thinking.

15:04 Yeah, I mean, there's not many, obviously. It feels very harsh to be criticising a side that's

15:10 won three out of four games, which is a brilliant start to any season. But the West Ham thing will

15:16 worry them, not necessarily the way they played, but the fact that that is the way to beat them.

15:22 I think the fact that they don't have Kai Seder anymore means they don't really have that

15:26 protection from counter-attacks. And it does expose people like Duncan Webster a lot more,

15:31 especially as we saw in that West Ham game. I think Antonio's hold-up play to allow runners

15:38 like Bowen and Ward-Prowse off him was crucial and that's what killed Brian in the end. And I

15:43 feel like teams like Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa, who have the quality to do that as well

15:48 as West Ham, I think that we could see a number of those results again this season, which is not

15:53 necessarily a bad thing because that's, you know, deserves sticking to its principles. And nine

15:57 times out of ten, it's very, very successful. But it just, especially when games can thicken fast

16:03 after this international break, you know, they're going to be playing three times a week. They're

16:06 not going to be as fit as they were last season because they're not going to be as well-rested.

16:11 It could lead to more of those results happening than we saw last year. It only happened about

16:17 once or twice last season and that was towards the end when they started to get a bit more leggy.

16:21 Now that happens earlier on this season, how are they going to cope? Because, like I said,

16:25 there'll be more sides like West Ham who can do that tactic well. And if they don't, if Brian

16:31 can't react to it, then they could see more sort of three, four, one scorelines going against them

16:36 post-international break. Darren mentioned that they've got United in the next game back. I

16:42 genuinely have the opinion that Brighton might end up walloping United. Does anyone else agree

16:47 with that? Yeah. That was the thing. Last year, those weren't the games they ever were beaten

16:56 heavily in. Those are the games they always deserved. I think if you look at all games

16:59 against the top six last season, they beat United twice. Liverpool, they drew and they drew and won

17:06 three at home and then drew three away. Chelsea, they beat home and away. I mean, Tottenham,

17:11 they were incredibly lucky not to win away. Those games are not the ones that they should really

17:16 fear. As I said, it's the games against West Ham, Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest, those Everton,

17:21 those are the games they actually need to be more wary of. Because as you say,

17:24 you look at the way United have been playing this season, Brighton have got absolutely nothing to

17:27 worry about. Really. And United won't be going there with the tactic of, right, we'll sit in

17:32 and catch them on the counter because the Old Trafford crowd won't allow them to do that. So

17:36 it really, as I say, you're absolutely right, Matt, that they go into that game

17:41 almost slightly favourites, bizarrely. And yeah, there's a fair potential for them to

17:46 run up a very high scoreline. I think you look at United's back four,

17:52 a potential back four, Owens, Windries, the likes of Aram being out and you see that the front players

17:57 that Brighton could potentially play against, and I think they could cause them all sorts of trouble,

18:01 but we will have to wait and see. Meanwhile, Crawley Town played out a 3-3 draw at Stockport

18:06 County on Saturday. The Reds trailed 2-0 just after the half hour mark, but rallied to 3-2,

18:11 courtesy of goals from Adam Campbell, Lawrence Maguire and Dino Orti. But Stockport substitute

18:16 Isaac Alofe scored late to end Stockport a point. It was a rollercoaster of a game, wasn't it, Mark?

18:21 What was the reaction after the game? It's quite a tough one to process, really, the way the game

18:26 went. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, given that the week before they'd gone away and got hammered

18:32 6-0 by Swindon, when they went 2-0 down, I thought a lot of people probably thought the worst was

18:37 going to happen. But they showed, I mean, Adam Campbell's goal was so key just before the break

18:43 and then, no, it was just after the break, sorry, so early on and then, yeah, just to have another

18:48 two quick-fire goals. Yeah, incredible, really. It's just a shame they couldn't hang on. But Scott

18:53 Lindsay and Lawrence Maguire, their new signing afterwards, clearly the better of the Maguire

18:59 brothers, yeah, they both said that, I mean, the fact that the players and the staff just went into

19:08 the changing room afterwards and were so disappointed to draw three all the way at

19:11 Stockport, a team with a huge budget and were one of the favourites to go up, got into the playoffs

19:16 last year, yeah, they were disappointed. But Scott Lindsay said the overriding feeling must be pride

19:24 after that, to show that they had the character to come back from 2-0 down, to lead and, yeah,

19:29 just a shame they couldn't hold on. But, yeah, a really good point away from home. I mean, again,

19:34 we talked about their opening fixtures. Nobody was looking at any points in the first few games

19:40 for Crawley. They were all predicted and they've beaten Bradford away. They picked up a point at

19:44 Sall for the point at Stockport now. So, yeah, they had that one blip at Swindon where it was 6-0.

19:50 But, yeah, really good, yeah, rollercoaster ride and I know we're going to come on to it, but it's

19:55 been, yeah, a rollercoaster ride for, what, 100 and, yeah, whatever minutes. It's been incredible,

20:01 really, this week. They've been possessed by the spirit of that '95 Newcastle side

20:05 under Kevin Keegan, haven't they, Mark? They have, absolutely, yeah.

20:08 A 3-3 home win over Charlton Athletic and I've put the pizza trophy here and it shows migrants.

20:13 I don't know what it's called. Is it the Papa John's trophy?

20:17 Yeah, no, it's the FFL trophy, yeah.

20:19 Oh, there you go.

20:20 Yeah, a lot of people still refer to it as the pizza trophy, so don't worry.

20:24 Oh, that's fine. It's not the Johnson's paint trophy or anything like that, is it? Anyway,

20:27 never mind. You were at the game for us, weren't you, Mark, on Tuesday? How much fun was that?

20:31 It was really good fun. It's the most entertaining game I've seen,

20:36 apart from when they beat Leeds 3-0, but that was entertaining in a different way.

20:41 But it was definitely the most entertaining game I've seen. I mean, Charlton made a lot

20:44 of changes from their normal side, but they still had a good sign-out and the second half,

20:48 they had Slobodan Tedic from Manchester City on loan. So, Charlton didn't come and

20:54 take it as a sort of a joke or anything. Crawley, on the other hand, made nine changes and we saw

21:01 lots of people having a lot of minutes that we haven't seen so far this season. And yeah,

21:06 it was incredible. I mean, I sent you guys in our little group chat the highlights just to say,

21:11 have a watch of all the goals and this, because there were some absolute quality finishes.

21:15 I mean, George Dobson's strike for Charlton that gave them a 3-2 lead was an absolute stunning

21:21 strike from 25 yards. Then you had Nick Sarula hit the top corner after a really good move from

21:26 Crawley. And then the winner from Raf Khalil was an absolute belter, just top corner from quite

21:31 a tight angle as well. So yeah, really good game. And I mean, yeah, we all might have a bit of fun

21:37 with the EFL trophy. Nobody takes it seriously. Pizza trophy. Crawley are one of the few league

21:42 clubs, I think maybe one of only one or two, that have never been to Wembley. They've never played

21:46 at Wembley. So, I mean, I don't know if Scott Lindsay's thinking about that or anything, but

21:52 why not? Why not make this season? Have the ambition. Make sure you're safe in the league,

21:56 obviously, which I think they will be given the start they've had. But give this competition a

22:01 run. Why not go out there? And it just showed the strength and depth that they've got, Crawley,

22:07 the young talent. He was a really young side, average age of 22 on Tuesday night.

22:10 The oldest player was Jack Rowles, who was 24. And he's a player that hasn't had stuff, but he was

22:17 absolutely superb. He ran things in midfield and he was involved in at least three of the goals,

22:23 I think. So yeah, no, amazing stuff to see. And Clydie Lollos as well. He is a mercurial talent.

22:29 If he can get a run in the side, he is going to wow a few people, I think. I mean, I did. I

22:36 tweeted a video just in the warm-up of they were doing a little one-touch six-a-side thing.

22:41 And just his footwork was incredible. And he leaps like, honestly, Cristiano Ronaldo header.

22:47 I'm not saying he is anywhere near Cristiano Ronaldo. I'm not being ridiculous. But his hang

22:52 time, when his header, when he scored, it just, yeah, it was just reminiscent of Ronaldo when he

22:57 jumped in the air as well. So he's good on the floor, good in the air. I think we could see him

23:03 starting in league games as well. He's going to make a difference, I think, at times.

23:08 We spoke about the fact that it's been quite an entertaining week for Crawley.

23:12 The Reds have now scored seven and conceded 12 in their past three games. Scott Lindsay will no

23:17 doubt be delighted that Crawley have hit a rich scoring vein of form up, but an incredibly leaky

23:21 defence will surely be a concern for the boss, I'd imagine. Yeah, I think it will be. I mean,

23:26 on Tuesday night, Charlton's first goal, Miles Lieber scored a header and it was

23:33 sort of a bit of naivety from Joey McKenna, who's, again, there was only a second start.

23:38 He played in the EFL Cup as well. But you've got to remember, Joey McKenna has only, he's been

23:45 playing for St Albans and National League South for the last three years. So he's obviously got

23:50 a lot of talent, but there's a bit of naivety there. And Scott Lindsay, in the post-match

23:57 interview, said afterwards, he highlighted that he made three changes at half-time.

24:02 And I said, did the substitutes make the difference? And he said, no, it was me going

24:06 mental at them because defensively they were quite poor for the two. They scored two goals in four

24:12 minutes, Charlton, to go 2-1 up. And it was, yeah, and there was a lot of naivety in there.

24:17 And he said he's been going for it. He showed them clips at half-time and he's like,

24:22 this is, I've been telling you how to defend all week. And he focused so much on defence,

24:28 certainly set pieces as well during the week. And they just weren't doing the simple things

24:32 that he had asked them to do. So, yeah, it will be a concern. But after we stopped filming the

24:42 post-match interview, we sort of said to him, I said, oh, I bet you'd just be happy with like

24:47 a good solid 1-0 or 2-0 win, wouldn't you? And I think, honestly, Scott Lindsay would be happy if

24:52 they win 4-3 every week. I mean, he won't be happy if they concede goals like they did.

24:57 But I mean, like George Dobson's goal was anyway, he would have scored that against any defence,

25:01 no matter how well you're defending. But yeah, I think he's happy that they're scoring goals.

25:07 Now there was a concern. Dom Telford left in the window. Ashley Addison left in the window.

25:11 All Crawley fans assumed that they were going to sign someone on deadline day. That never happened.

25:16 And there was all concern. And then suddenly they scored seven goals through seven different players

25:20 in the last two games. So I don't think there's a concern with goals. But what,

25:26 interestingly, I think because of how young they are and because of the football they're

25:32 trying to play, there are going to be results like Swindon Town result. They're going to lose 6-0.

25:36 But I think on the flip side, there's going to be results where they do it to other teams as well.

25:41 They are going to absolutely batter a team one day, 5 or 6-0. And who knows when that might be?

25:47 They've got two home games coming up against Newport and Tranmere. So it could be those games.

25:52 Well, before we move on to Tranmere and Newport, Frankie, as a member of the coaching staff

25:57 at AFC Vardinians, 1-0 win or a 4-3 win?

25:59 1-0 win. Keep the clean sheet.

26:02 Boo!

26:04 As a section of the Pilgrim, keep the clean sheet.

26:06 Go on, I'm not going to watch AFC Vardinians at reserves any time soon, I tell you.

26:11 Matt Marino, blow the arse off everyone.

26:14 Anyway, yeah, as Crawley, Mark mentioned there, Crawley are home to Newport this Saturday.

26:20 How are they stacked and what has Scott Lindsay had to say about the Big 2 clash?

26:24 Well, it's funny. I mean, I mentioned earlier about the fixtures they had at the start of the

26:32 season. And Scott Lindsay said to me the other day, a lot of people said to him, "Oh God,

26:37 the first time you might get some points this season is Newport at home." And yeah, which he

26:43 never believed that. But that's what people were saying to him. And I think that's what

26:47 general consensus was. But obviously, they've got their 16th and they're only five points off

26:52 the top at the moment. I mean, such a tight league. But Scott Lindsay actually said he thinks

26:58 from what he's seen of Newport, this will be their toughest game so far. Which we're interviewing him

27:04 this afternoon. We've got the pre-match. So I'm going to ask him to go into a little bit more

27:07 detail about why he thinks that. Because they've played Bradford, they've played Stockport,

27:11 they've played Swindon, they've played MK Dons, who are top of the league. But he thinks this

27:15 one will be the toughest one. So yeah, Newport have always been a good side. They haven't had

27:20 the best of starts, I don't think, sort of middling. But yeah, I think it will be a tough

27:26 game for them. They always have good games against Newport. But looking at who they've got, Ben

27:31 Gladwin came back last week, their skipper. I think Scott Lindsay sees him as such an important

27:36 player in the team. Just that experience and the leadership he brings. And he played, I think it

27:41 was something like 54 minutes, something like that on Saturday. I asked Scott how he was recovering

27:46 and he said, yeah, he was a bit sore after the game and that inevitably because he hadn't played

27:50 all season. That was his first minutes of the season. So I think, yeah, him being better,

27:55 he will be around still. Kellen Gordon, I think, is still a bit of a worry. But I mean, like I said,

28:02 looking at him on Tuesday night, you could bring a lot of those players that played on Tuesday night

28:05 into the side and they will fit in perfectly. There is this massive family ethos at Crawley

28:11 Town at the moment. Everybody is playing a part. Those people that came in on Tuesday night,

28:18 they're not just fringe players. They're squad players and Scott Lindsay sees this as a squad.

28:22 If somebody drops out, someone can come in. I mean, the prime example, Travis Johnson,

28:27 everyone saw him play his right back or centre back last season. He played in the central

28:32 defensive role on Tuesday night and Scott Lindsay has obviously seen something in him.

28:37 So Jay Williams, anything happens to him who's been so good in that central defensive role,

28:42 we know now that Travis Johnson can step into that role if needed. So, yeah, I think they're

28:47 going to be stacked. I mean, I think Crawley will go into the game as favourites, but it won't be

28:51 easy. Well, just listening to the way you talk about it, you compare that how we were talking

28:56 about Crawley about this time last year. What a difference a year makes, Mark, for Crawley.

29:02 It is incredible. I think I've seen quite a few comments on social media just saying,

29:06 wow, this Crawley side can play kind of thing. We weren't expecting this this season.

29:10 They are a really young side, but that's what Scott Lindsay wanted. And they've got a good

29:15 mixture with a few experienced heads in there. But yeah, they are going to be a fun team to watch

29:21 all year. I just can't wait till they play Wrexham because Wrexham are a bit of a side that

29:26 have scored loads, let in loads, although last couple of games they've been a bit tighter. But

29:30 whenever you watch Crawley Town, there will be goals, I think. And yeah, it is amazing. And just

29:39 the feeling around the club as well. I mean, I've written a piece this week, Six Things We Learned,

29:46 about the game from Tuesday night. And I put in there that the word family has been used so much.

29:55 And it's like the Fast and Furious franchise. It's ridiculous. And I think it is just a feeling

30:03 around the club is great. And the fans, there is still the quarter, wag me out, etc. and all that.

30:09 But there is a better feeling. And certainly not just at the ground in person, but on social

30:15 media as well, there is a slightly more positive feeling. And that is all down to Scott Lindsay

30:20 and what he's done with building this squad that he's got now. Good on him. As long may it continue.

30:25 Finally, moving, switching to cricket, the last round of the Cessna's Cricket League

30:30 fixtures were played last weekend and there were high drama in both Division Two and Division Three

30:34 West, wasn't there, Mark? There was, yeah. All the eyes were on those two divisions because

30:39 of everything being decided in the Premier League. So, yeah, in the second division,

30:45 it was a shootout between West Chiltington, Worthing and Hastings. Worthing and Hastings

30:52 were in the driving seat. If those two won, those two got promoted. But if either of them lost,

30:59 then West Chiltington, if they'd won, would go up. All three teams won, so Hastings and Worthing

31:03 go up. But they finished on exactly the same points, 383. Hastings on the Sussex Play League

31:10 website were top and I did investigate why that was. But between the two games, because of bonus

31:16 points, etc, they beat each other once, but Hastings got 47 points in those two games and

31:23 Worthing got 37, I think. It was 42-37 was the split. So that's why Hastings were champions.

31:29 Steve Bones written a good piece with Skipper Harry Dunne of Worthing. They're just happy to

31:34 be promoted and be in the Premier League next year. At the bottom, it was great. Burgess Hill,

31:40 a great escape. They looked doomed about five weeks ago, but they won the last four games of

31:45 the season and beat Chichester again in a straight shootout. Whoever won that game survived. So

31:52 Brighton and Hove, Crowhurst and Chichester went down to their respective Division 3s.

31:56 And in Division 3, again, the top three of that league was incredible. All year,

32:02 it was Finden, Stenning, Ifield. And it was mainly in that order as well. Finden were top for most

32:08 of it, Stenning second, Ifield third. But last game of the season, Ifield beat Finden and they

32:14 jumped to the top. They've got the one automatic promotion spot and now Stenning face Preston

32:21 Nomad second from Division 3 East in a playoff this Saturday. So who goes up to Division 2?

32:28 I think it's a bit harsh for teams to go down from Division 2.

32:30 Moving on to Steve Bones' score prediction corner. We'll start with the big game in Sussex this week.

32:37 Crawley Town v Newport County. Mark, you've spoken a bit about the game, but how do you see it going?

32:44 It will be a cracking game. I think there will be goals and I'm going to go for a 3-2 win for

32:48 Crawley. Another thriller. Frankie, do you agree? Well, not only did I get the fact that Newcastle

32:54 weren't going to win last weekend wrong, I also said their midfield was brilliant and all three

32:58 of their midfielders were atrocious. They were terrible. Including Tadale, who I really bigged

33:04 up. He was awful. So this could not get any worse right now. I've hit rock bottom. So I'm going to

33:09 go for 4-2 Crawley because why not? I'll continue with that. The way Crawley are playing, very open.

33:20 So I'll go a 3-1 to Crawley. As mentioned, we're all positively giddy about the prospect of England

33:29 playing a Euro qualifier and a completely pointless, I mean really exciting friendly

33:33 against Scotland. England travel to Poland to play Ukraine on Thursday, I want to say.

33:39 Mark, how do you see that one going? Don't care. England to win 2-0.

33:45 Well, we say that it's not particularly entertaining, but Darren, could we see

33:48 any potential Brighton representation in that game against Ukraine?

33:51 Well, yeah. I'm going to be a bit more optimistic about it. I think it'd be a great chance for Lewis

33:56 Dunk to get some game time. Really well deserved. He got called up towards the end of last season

34:01 and had to pull out of the squad because of an injury. So it could be his first appearance in

34:06 an England shirt for the first time in five years. He's only got one cap. And I think England are

34:10 going to win 1-0. Lewis Dunk, header from a corner. Well, Frankie, we can only dream of that, can't we?

34:15 Yeah, it'd be great to see Lewis Dunk in England's shirt again after, what was it,

34:21 maybe five years since he was last called up and thoroughly deserved. If he doesn't,

34:25 I don't think he'll start against Ukraine, but I certainly think he might be in for a starting

34:28 place in the Scotland game. So that'd be great to see. Also, Levi Colwell as well. I know

34:32 he's no longer a Brighton player, but I can imagine he might start against Ukraine. And

34:37 you know, an exciting young prospect that deserves to be playing for England and could be the future

34:42 of England's defence. It'd be nice to see him play with John Stones at some point. I think that'd be

34:46 a - not John Stones, he's injured, apologies - but in the future, to see him play alongside John

34:50 Stones. So that's the only real positive I can find from these two games, which I imagine

34:56 England will win quite comfortably. I imagine I could see a 3-0 win against Ukraine. And then

35:01 I'd say a 3-1 against Scotland as well. So those are the only positives I can find.

35:07 Mark, the remote league, I know it's obviously Scotland against England and all that comes with

35:13 it, but a friend is a friendly, isn't it? It's a bit nuts.

35:17 Yeah, yeah, I agree with Frank. I was going to say 3-1 as well, England, and it just,

35:22 yeah, I'll be re-watching the goals from Crawley versus Charlton in the NFL trophy that night.

35:30 And finally, Deren, it's Billy Gilmore, Scotland, isn't it, against England? How do you see that?

35:36 Yeah, 3-1 Scotland, Billy Gilmore hat-trick, I think.

35:39 And Lewis Dunwoody.

35:40 Yeah, Lewis Dunwoody, the Constellation. No, I think England will win that one as well,

35:49 but probably be a little bit tighter. I'll go for a 2-1 to England for that one.

35:55 Just, sorry, just to save this before we end in misery, we should also make a special mention

36:00 for Pascal Groves as well, because he's been called up to the German squad for the first time

36:04 ever at 32. They played Japan and France in these two games. Obviously, Japan is a friend. I think

36:09 both are actually friendlies, but that gives them a real opportunity to win a cap and thoroughly,

36:13 thoroughly deserve. He's been, you know, Brighton's unsung hero for a number of years now,

36:17 and he's one of their best players. So, you know, well done to him.

36:20 Yeah, absolutely.

36:22 It's a friendly message.

36:23 Yeah, I've looked at that German squad for the last two years and they've been struggling,

36:27 and you think, how can you not even, maybe not the team, but how can you not even get in that

36:31 squad? It's, yeah, thoroughly deserved.

36:34 Absolutely.

36:34 I suddenly love international friendlies.

36:37 You've built it.

36:38 Big deal.

36:41 Thank you very much for your time, Xaver Chaps. It's been brilliant. You can catch up with all

36:45 the latest sports news covering everything we've talked about today at sassexworld.co.uk/sport.

36:49 Thank you very much for listening and we'll see you all next week.

Sussex Sport Weekly - episode 32 - Evan Almighty and the Pizza Trophy

Category

Transcript

Recommended