Gull-Mouth Action podcast | Episode 5 - Seagulls off to Ajax

Name: Gull-Mouth Action podcast | Episode 5 - Seagulls off to Ajax
Uploaded: 2023-11-08T17:20:05+00:00
Duration: 23 min 55 s
Channel: SussexWorld

00:00 Welcome to this week's Goalmouth Action podcast, where we take a look at all the latest goings

00:17 on at Brighton, Hove Albion, Crawley Town and Sporting Sussex. I'm Matt Powell and I'm

00:21 joined by Brighton, Hove Albion writer Deryn Howard and Crawley Town expert Mark Dunford.

00:25 The Seagulls were held to a 1-0 draw at Sean Dyches Everton on Saturday. The Toffees took

00:29 the lead through Vitaly Mikulenko before Ashley Young's own goal helped the Seagulls claim

00:33 a point. We'll pick over the bones of a second consecutive score draw for Albion, reflect

00:39 on a mixed week for Crawley Town in the Cups and bring you news of how two of our non-league

00:42 sides fared in the first round of the FA Cup. You can read all the stories we are talking

00:47 about with videos and pictures online at sussexworld.co.uk/sport and you can check out other great videos on

00:52 ShotsTV.com and Freeview Channel 276. Ashley Young's own goal six minutes from time saw

00:59 the Seagulls take a share of the Spurs at Goodison on Saturday. Summed that result up

01:03 for us Deryn?

01:04 Yes, Everton had been on a decent run of form but Brighton played really well. They dominated

01:15 the possession. I think at one stage it was 80% possession to Brighton throughout the

01:20 match. It was one of those where they just had to keep on going and keep on going and

01:26 in the end it was a deflected effort from Carol Matoma which gained them a point. They

01:33 probably deserved more. Louis Dunk had a goal ruled out which is pretty harsh from VAR as

01:39 well. But overall I think a good point. Expectations are quite high at Brighton at the moment.

01:46 Some fans are even critical of how they are going at the minute. But I think when you

01:51 look at it overall they are seventh in the league. They have had injuries, they have

01:56 had to bed in new players, they have lost two of their best players, they are going

01:59 into the Europa League. So I think seventh place overall. Back-to-back draws against

02:05 Fulham and Everton are slightly disappointing. But overall pretty solid from Brighton really.

02:11 Can I just point out, if you go back to Steve Bowne's prediction corner last week, I predicted

02:19 exactly what happened. Everton score early, Brighton will tie and tie and they will get

02:24 a goal right at the end to get an equaliser. Go back and see it people.

02:27 Did you also predict the VAR Mark?

02:30 No. You can never predict VAR Matt, you are a fool if you try.

02:36 VAR is an absolute lottery.

02:39 Wow, that's an absolutely brilliant segue there. VAR again, as you mentioned Darren,

02:43 was the main focus of conversation. As you said, Louis Dunk, who had made it 1-1 in the

02:47 first half with a stunning volley from Kasko Klos's free kick. You say that they feel rightly

02:53 agreed with that decision Darren?

02:54 Yes, it was a great volley wasn't it? It was so harsh to rule it out as well. It was such

03:01 a good goal and it would probably have been one of the best goals of Louis Dunk's career.

03:06 To rule it out on just a fraction of a millimetre, depending on which way you look at the line

03:14 or which way the camera angle was. They are saying that they have only got certain camera

03:17 angles at Goodison Park. It was a real harsh one I think. Brighton have had their issues

03:25 with VAR in the past. I remember reporting on going to Tottenham last season and they

03:32 had about three or four big calls that went against them. At the time, it was sort of

03:40 a race for a top four spot. They were well in the Champions League race. You could say

03:45 that they have had a few harsh decisions from VAR and it has really cost them over the last

03:51 few months. They have received apologies for that. Another one that went against them.

03:57 I think looking at Arsenal, looking at Tottenham, Brighton are certainly not the only ones.

04:02 I saw that Arsenal backed him up didn't they?

04:16 Utterly ridiculous but there you go.

04:22 Is VAR damaging the game? Is there any benefit to it at the moment apart from making referees

04:31 targets it seems?

04:34 I quite enjoy it. I know that's bad and a lot of fans will probably agree. Watching

04:39 Tottenham Chelsea the other night is one of the best experiences I have ever had of watching

04:43 a football match. I absolutely loved it but I can see why it is frustrating. It needs

04:49 to be sorted out. Something needs to be done to make it work better for teams. You mentioned

04:55 the Stones volley. Eric Dier got ruled out possibly could have been one of the goals

04:59 of the season. I don't know what can be done because they are trying to make it work. There

05:09 needs to be better communication throughout the game. The fact that you have Gary Neville

05:13 when he is commentating, he knows what is happening before anyone else. I think it was

05:21 the Tottenham Liverpool game. He was calling it a goal. He said it was going to be a goal.

05:25 Oh no, it was going to be disallowed. Before anyone else even knew. It is a bit of a spoiler

05:30 from Gary Neville. It is ridiculous that they are getting it before anyone else. I don't

05:36 know what you think Darren.

05:38 I think you are right. It is the people who paid the good money to be in the stadium at

05:42 the time. They are clueless. They have no idea what is going on. You just left. Do you

05:49 celebrate, do you not celebrate the goal? I think for the fan experience in the stadium

05:53 that really needs to improve. I quite like personally in the Women's World Cup when they

05:58 were going over to the monitor and the referee would explain their decision. The crowd were

06:03 all involved and they could see what was going on. I don't know whether they could look at

06:08 that. I saw a quote from Brendan Rodgers saying that it has made football become more like

06:14 a computer game. Which I can see is point. Lots to improve and lots to chew over.

06:22 The last thing on VAR, you mentioned there another con. Goodison Park didn't have the

06:27 lines for that angle of VAR. Can you explain that a little bit Darren first?

06:34 They only have certain camera angles at Goodison Park. At various stadiums they will have one

06:39 camera angle at one stadium. If the camera is not set up in the correct place, where

06:44 they draw the lines may not be in line with where the incident has occurred. The people

06:51 in VAR are looking at it from a weird angle.

06:55 That is classical.

06:57 Does that not mean that if teams play in certain stadiums they have certain angles that are

07:03 more of an advantage if you look at it that way?

07:07 It is crazy. I love it. I absolutely love it.

07:13 Killing the game, Mark, is what it is.

07:17 I am going to move on.

07:20 Post-match, Roberto Deserbi said Brighton were not in a brilliant moment or playing

07:24 like a month or two months ago. Do you agree with that Darren? If so, why are they not

07:30 brilliant or playing like they were a few months ago?

07:35 It is tricky. I saw an interview with Lewis Duncan. He was saying that Deserbi describes

07:40 the team as feeling a bit sick at the moment. They cannot quite find the right cure to fix

07:45 it. For me, it is all down to the central midfield areas. They have lost two of their

07:51 two best players. Earlier in the season they were playing against teams that were not quite

07:56 up to speed. Now the Premier League is really getting intense and you get down to the nitty-gritty

08:01 of it. They lost their two best players last season. In that role where Caicedo and McAllister

08:09 played, the players that Brighton have got at the moment are not as good. There is no

08:17 shame in that because Caicedo is a unique player. £100 million plus. Chelsea and Liverpool

08:23 were prepared to pay more than £100 million for him. He is a great player. Brighton are

08:29 still trying to work out their best midfield combination. Carlos Boliva is very young.

08:36 He looks a talent. He can be brilliant and then he will make mistakes and he is not quite

08:42 so sharp. For me, that is the crux of it.

08:51 Brighton are three points better off than they were last season. Does that mean they

09:02 are an enigma at the moment?

09:05 Yes. You are not quite sure what to expect. You knew last season they were going to be

09:11 consistent and they went on a good run where they were dominating games and churning out

09:18 the results. You just don't get that feeling about the team at the moment. I also think

09:24 that they are doing very well. It is easy to say that they haven't run so much. They

09:30 are still in a strong position in the Europa League. I think they are going to be battling

09:33 for the top six come the end of the season. You have to say that is still an impressive

09:41 position for Brighton to be in. It is a case at the moment that expectations are very high

09:48 amongst fans. If you fall a little bit short, it is easy to forget how far they came so

09:55 quickly. You get used to the good things in life so easily. I think the fans just need

10:02 to be a little bit more realistic and think that sixth or seventh place is pretty good.

10:06 They don't know how good they got it in comparison to when they nearly went out of the football

10:11 league altogether, do they?

10:12 That is right.

10:13 They have won their last two Eurodivisie games under caretaker manager Johan van Schipp,

10:23 scoring six and conceding just once. On the basis of that, do you think Ajax are a different

10:28 side to the one Brighton played last month? I thought Ajax were pretty terrible when they

10:33 beat Jamex.

10:34 Yes. They looked to shadow the great Ajax teams in the past. You would have to think

10:41 that they have had a couple of good results, as you say. On their own patch, I think they

10:46 will be a different prospect for Brighton. They have got some good players within their

10:52 team and some players that can create problems for Brighton. They are going to have to be

10:58 wary of that. I think Ajax will be significantly better than the team you saw at the Amex Stadium

11:06 just two weeks ago. I think Brighton are going to have to be at their best to get a result.

11:11 For me, Brighton have the players to score goals and create chances. It is just about

11:18 that defence and keeping a clean sheet. They have only kept one clean sheet so far this

11:22 season which came against Ajax in the first leg. If they get the defensive stuff right,

11:28 I think they have got the players that can hurt them.

11:30 How do you see the Wellingham stab going and what would constitute a good result for Albien?

11:36 It is all very much up for grabs in their group, isn't it?

11:38 It is. It is really tight. I think a win would be a great result. We are just hearing from

11:45 the press conference. They have got the press conference ongoing at the moment at the Johan

11:49 Kruijf Arena. Tarek Lamptey is out injured as well. That left-back spot is a real problem

11:56 for Brighton because Tholle-Marx is still injured, Tarek Lamptey is injured and Pervis

12:01 Estupinion has been out since Aston Villa. We are hearing he may be able to take some

12:06 part in the match. That is good news but I don't think he is going to be fit enough to

12:14 start. You are going to be looking at Milner or Pascal Gross in a makeshift left-back role.

12:22 We shall see. Excellent. You can keep up with all the latest on sussexworld.co.uk/sport.

12:25 We are going to take a quick break and when we return we will be talking about Crawley

12:29 Town and how our non-league clubs got on in the FA Cup first round.

12:33 Saturday saw Crawley Town exit the FA Cup after a 3-2 loss at Ligue 2 Rivals Notts County.

12:39 But there was cause for optimism despite the result, wasn't there Mark?

12:44 Yes, there was. It was one of those results where I was watching it and I was like, it

12:49 looks like a pretty good performance. They could have nearly got a draw. They got it

12:53 back to 2-2 through Danilo Orsi, his two goals. But when they went down I thought, oh right,

12:59 they have thrown it away a little bit. But when I looked at all the reaction and Scott

13:05 Lindsay's post-match and the fan reaction, they played really well. They only just lost

13:11 to probably one of the best two teams, them and Mansfield, in Ligue 2. It gives them really

13:18 good optimism because they have obviously played Notts County away on a Tuesday night

13:21 at the end of November. So really promising for them.

13:29 They are back scoring again. They had a pretty lean October, as we all know, with results

13:34 and scoring goals. But score two goals and speaking to Scott Lindsay last night after

13:40 the Aston Villa game, which we will come to in a minute, he was saying they played really

13:44 well at Notts County and he was really pleased. It's just a similar thing with the Aston Villa

13:50 game, just soft goals and it's just frustrated him a little bit. That's what I think he's

13:55 going to be working towards this weekend when they face Atherton at home.

13:59 Before we move on, congratulations and commiserations are in order in equal measure for Sussex non-league

14:05 clubs Horsham and Worthing after this weekend's FA Cup first round ties. The heroic Hornets

14:10 held Ligue 1 outfit Barnsley to a thrilling 3-1 draw at Oakwell on Friday night, equalising

14:14 with nine minutes to go to force a replay at the Campingwell Community Stadium next

14:18 week, which will be broadcast live on ITV4 and ITVX. Should Horsham pull off the mother

14:23 of all upsets and beat Barnsley, they will visit Ligue 2 Sutton United in the second

14:26 round in December. The Macromen, meanwhile, couldn't mark their first appearance in the

14:30 first round since 1999 with a win as they went down 2-0 at National League Northside

14:35 Alfredton. As I said, very best of luck to Horsham. I hope they'll be there on Tuesday

14:39 next week. Yes, all the best.

14:41 Move back to Crawley. The Reds then followed up the defeat at Notts County with a superb

14:47 3-2 home win over Aston Villa under-21s on Tuesday evening, which saw them advance to

14:51 the knockout stages of the EFL Trophy. You've kind of touched on it there a little bit,

14:55 Mark. Crawley manager Scott Lindsay wasn't fully happy with their performance, was he?

14:58 No, he wasn't. He said he was pleased with a lot of it, but it was the defending and

15:02 the two goals. The word he used, I mean, you can go back and watch his post-match, I think

15:08 he said the word 'soft' about 20 times. He said they were just too soft in defence. By

15:14 the second goal, the ball came into the box and everybody just watched it, the ball just

15:19 sailed into the box kind of thing. Then the Aston Villa striker gone and fired home kind

15:24 of thing. He said he just wanted someone to run out and just attack the ball. So, it was

15:29 just soft goals and defending. As I referred to in the Notts County game as well, it was

15:34 a game where they shouldn't have conceded three goals. He said last night, they're having

15:38 to score three goals to win a game at the moment. They shouldn't have to do that. So,

15:43 I think over the next few days, what he said, he was spending all day today watching Accrington

15:48 and Stanley. You can't help but say Accrington and Stanley and then in the back of your head

15:53 is 'who are they?' I haven't got it to say out loud, but I have now. I think his main

16:02 focus tomorrow and Friday at training will be defending and how they stop those soft

16:09 goals, as he said. But it's great to see them go through to the next round. It's the first

16:14 time in seven years that they've made it to the knockout stages. I was chatting to John

16:19 Barnett last night, who was doing the iFollow commentary, and he is a massive statistician.

16:23 He's great. If you ever want to know who Crawley played on Boxing Day in 1985, he'll tell you

16:27 and he'll tell you the same right now. But he was saying that it was frustrating that

16:32 time round seven years ago because they were leading the group. They won the first two

16:36 games and they played a really weak side to face Southampton. I think it was under 21s

16:39 in the last game. They got hammered and finished second. And then they had an away draw at

16:44 Coventry, which they were never going to win, no matter what team they put out. But this

16:50 time they're going to finish top of the group, so they will have a home draw in the next

16:53 round.

16:54 Even Jack Rowles last night in his post-match, he scored two goals. He was great last night,

16:59 Jack Rowles. He mentioned the word Wembley. He said it is a real carrot. Crawley have

17:04 never been there and only enough Ackermans and Stanley have never been there who are

17:08 playing Saturday. I can't remember who the other team in the Football League, there's

17:13 one other team in the Football League who have never played at Wembley. But it would

17:16 be great if Crawley could get anywhere near there. They've got the talent to do it and

17:21 they play really good football. If they come up against the under 21 side, they'll certainly

17:25 match them for skill and technique. It's just a case of stopping those soft goals and not

17:32 having to score three goals every game to win a game.

17:34 I must admit, I don't really follow the EFL trophy, Mark, but do we have any indication

17:39 as to who Crawley could play in the next round yet?

17:41 It's still regionalised. It's really annoying because Scott Lindsay referred to this last

17:48 night as we asked him about it, how frustrating it is. The last group game in Crawley's group,

17:53 Crawley have played all their games, Charlton vs Steyn, is not until November 21st. All

17:57 the groups aren't resolved until two weeks' time. The draw won't be until then. We had

18:04 a quick look through the groups last night and there were the likes of Tottenham under

18:07 21s, Fulham under 21s, Oxford United, NK Dons. Lots of really good teams they could face

18:16 but they'll be at home, which is the main thing for them.

18:20 I think it's a really important competition for Crawley this year because they've got

18:23 a relatively small squad but they're not using all of them in the league. He's got his first

18:28 team but this is the real opportunity for them to use all the players, give them minutes

18:33 and give them first team experience. When they do have injuries, like Deon Conroy is

18:38 going to be out for a while, Jay Williams was out on Saturday, the players like Jack

18:42 Rowles, it's a chance for them to show what they're worth. Scott Lindsay said about Jack

18:46 Rowles, he's given me a tough choice now for Saturday, which is really good to see.

18:50 How do you see this one going?

19:05 They got relegated from League One last year so they're a team that's looking to bounce

19:10 straight back up to League One. It will be tough. It's very similar to Crewe, who were

19:16 scoring more goals but they're playing them when they were in a similar position. It's

19:22 going to be down to stopping those soft goals, as Scott says. They will score goals, Crawley,

19:27 but it's just stopping those goals. If Crawley are on their day, I still believe they can

19:33 beat anyone in League Two. If they can replicate a little bit of what they did on Tuesday night,

19:38 I know it wasn't the same team, there will be a lot more first teamers back, maybe Jack

19:42 Rowles comes in. What's interesting is the goalkeeper situation because Corey O'Day had

19:48 been playing every league game. Luca Ashby-Hammond has played in all the cup games but I'd assumed

19:56 that Corey would be the first choice for the FA Cup game on Saturday but it wasn't, it

19:59 was Luca. And then Corey was the goalkeeper last night at Aston Villa. So I think we're

20:06 seeing a little bit of a sea change in who the first choice goalkeeper is, although Scott

20:10 Lindsay afterwards just said, "We've got no number one, they're both my number ones and

20:15 either of them can play" kind of thing. But I think the fact that Corey played last night,

20:19 we might see Luca Ashby-Hammond playing on Saturday. So that could be a big difference

20:23 because Corey's had his criticisms this year. But I think they can do well but they're still

20:31 going to have, like I said, Deon Conroy is going to be out, he's got quite a long-term

20:34 injury I think. Jay Williams, it'll be interesting to see if he comes back. But Travis Johnson

20:38 has done really well stepping into that defensive midfield role, Aaron Henry has. So they've

20:42 got choices. But it'll be a good game but I can see Crawley edging it. After getting

20:48 that morale-boosting win last night, I can see them edging it.

20:51 Well, coming on to that in a minute, we're going to have a stroll down the Steve Bowne

20:54 score prediction corner. And as you've started, Mark, Crawley, Town, Atkinson, Stanley, how

20:58 do you see that ongoing?

20:59 I'm going to go 2-1 Crawley. It will be a soft goal that they let in but I think they'll

21:05 have enough in attack. Danilo Orsi is on hot form, Clydie Lollos looks good. So I think

21:11 a goal each from Orsi and Lollos I think on Saturday.

21:14 Deren, do you agree with that?

21:17 Yeah, I think Crawley, like Mark said, they've got some good attacking play at the moment.

21:25 So yeah, I'm going to go 3-1.

21:26 Come on you Reds.

21:27 And looking at the here and now, Ajax, Brighton, Deren, how do you see that ongoing?

21:28 I'm going to go for a 2-2 in Ajax. Yeah, I think Ajax are going to be much better and

21:41 Brighton's defence has been a bit shaky of late. So yeah, I think it's going to be good.

21:45 Mark, how do you see that ongoing in Amsterdam?

21:49 With Ajax coming back, we're not into form, but yeah, with their recent results, I think

21:53 it will be a draw like Deren, but I'm going to go 1-1.

21:56 Very quickly, Deren, is a draw a good result for Brighton?

21:59 Yeah, I think it wouldn't be a disaster. I think the win would really put them in a fantastic

22:04 position to qualify. So that's obviously what they're going there for. And they're more

22:09 than capable of getting the win. But yeah, I just think in those defensive areas, I think

22:14 they're a little bit off at the moment. But a draw would be a decent result and keep them

22:20 in with a shout. It's a very close group.

22:24 Looking ahead to Sunday, Brighton are at home to Sheffield United. A win is a must. Deren,

22:28 surely?

22:29 I think it is. Yeah, they want to sort of push on and keep as high up in the table as

22:34 possible and keep challenging for that top six. And if anything, just to keep the fans

22:39 a bit, you know, they're getting a little bit restless with these games that they think

22:44 they should win against these lower teams. So I'm going to go for another draw, though.

22:50 I'm going to go for a 1-1.

22:53 Controversial.

22:54 Blimey. Mark, are you showing Deren pessimism?

22:57 Yeah, absolutely. No, I can see why Deren said that. I think Brighton will edge this.

23:02 It won't be easy. I think it's going to be 2-1. Obviously, Sheffield United had morale

23:06 boosting first win last week. So if it was away, I predict either a draw or a loss for

23:11 Brighton this week. But because it's at home, I think they might just edge it 2-1.

23:15 Brilliant. Well, thank you very much for your time, chaps. And obviously, best of luck to

23:19 Brighton over the weekend on a Thursday. You can catch up with all the latest sports news

23:23 covering everything we've talked about today at sazatswore.co.uk/sport. And you can watch

23:27 more excellent videos on shotsTV.com and Freeview channel 276. Thank you very much for listening

23:32 and we will see you all next week.

23:35 Come on, you Reds.

23:36 Oh, we've gone dark.

23:44 [Splash]

23:46 [Splash]

23:48 [Splash]

23:50 [BLANK_AUDIO]

Gull-Mouth Action podcast | Episode 5 - Seagulls off to Ajax

Category

Transcript

Recommended