Matt Pole is joined by Brighton writer Derren Howard, Crawley Town expert Mark Dunford and Sam Morton, who covers both Albion and the Reds.
A second-half goal from Joao Pedro saw Brighton come from behind to draw 1-1 at Arsenal after the hosts had Declan Rice sent off in an entertaining game in north London on Saturday.
We pick over the bones of Albion’s draw at the Gunners, plus we’ll reflect on a bad day at the office for Crawley Town in League One.
A second-half goal from Joao Pedro saw Brighton come from behind to draw 1-1 at Arsenal after the hosts had Declan Rice sent off in an entertaining game in north London on Saturday.
We pick over the bones of Albion’s draw at the Gunners, plus we’ll reflect on a bad day at the office for Crawley Town in League One.
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SportsTranscript
00:00Welcome to another episode of the Goldmouth Action Podcast where we take a look at all the latest goings on at Brighton, Hove, Albion and Crawley Town.
00:06I'm Matt Powell and I'm joined by Brighton writer Darren Howard, Crawley Town expert Mark Dunford and Sam Morton who covers both Albion and the Reds.
00:13A second half goal from Gilles Pedro saw Brighton come from behind to draw 1-1 at Arsenal after the hosts had Declan Rice sent off in an entertaining game in North London on Saturday.
00:22We'll pick over the bones of Albion's draw at the Gunners plus we'll reflect on a bad day at the office of Crawley in League 1.
00:28You can read all the stories we are talking about with videos and pictures online at sussexworld.co.uk forward slash sport
00:33and you can check out other great videos at shotstv.com and freeview channel 262.
00:38You may also be watching latest TV so thank you very much for tuning in and this week we will start at the Emirates where Albion held 10-man Arsenal in another game filled with controversy.
00:48Kai Havertz lobbed Bart Verbruggen for the Gunners 38th minute opener but the game completely changed after Rice was dismissed for a second yellow card in the 49th minute for delaying a free kick being taken by Joel Veltman.
00:59Brighton polled on the pressure after that point and drew level in the 58th minute when Yancuba Minter's shot was parried into the path of Pedro by David Rea and the Brazilian striker slotted the ball under the keeper.
01:10From that alone Darren I think we can ascertain it was a breathless game. Try and sum that one up for us.
01:16Yeah it was a great game to watch. A good one for the neutral.
01:22A pretty good performance from Brighton. At the beginning it looked as though Arsenal were going to run all over them really. They looked really dangerous going forward.
01:33Jack Hinchinwood was playing at left back and he was having a tough time up against Saka but I was impressed how Hinchinwood stuck to his task really against Saka.
01:44I think he can do any full back in the world, Saka. He's so dangerous and I thought Hinchinwood actually played him quite well.
01:54Throughout the game I thought he grew into it and looked pretty good so credit to Hinchinwood for that one.
02:01But yeah, Brighton stuck at it. I think under previous managers, under Di Zerbi, they might have wilted under the pressure a bit but they looked a bit more solid against Arsenal.
02:12Like you say, they went down 1-0 to a good goal from Havertz and then the sending off changed it which caused a lot of controversy.
02:23There was a lot of opinions on it either way. Both the pundits, I think it was Keown and Peter Crouch that were there for TNT Sports.
02:31They were saying that Veltman did a little bit of a job on Declan Rice and made more of it than he could have.
02:40He wasn't really intended to take the free kick but he pretended that he was and Declan Rice kicked it away.
02:45Obviously, Declan Rice was in the wrong but it was one of those where I think both players know what they were doing.
02:54And this time it went Veltman's way. He knew that he was already on a booking and yeah, Declan Rice took the bait really.
03:03He's an experienced player. He probably should have known better but it all happened quite quickly.
03:08He probably didn't expect a second yellow for it. But yeah, and then it turned.
03:13Brighton then went on the offensive. They had more of the ball going forward and got a deserved equaliser really.
03:20And yeah, then it could have gone either way. Arsenal were very good on the counter-attack but Brighton probably didn't create as many chances as they wanted to.
03:29And at the end of the day, 1-1, a fair result. And yeah, now it's an international break and then Ipswich Town after the international break.
03:39Mighty Ipswich Town. But yes, going back to the Rice red card, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta criticised the lack of consistency in the decision
03:48and said Veltman should have also seen red in the same incident. What did you make of this incident, Sam?
03:53Was Veltman lucky not to see red or was it wily play from the Dutchman?
03:58Yes, it was a bizarre moment really because I was there watching the game actually in the stadium and as it happened,
04:04it looked like Joel Veltman was about to be sent off when you kind of saw the incident unfold and kind of all the Arsenal players
04:09surrounded him for what looked like a kick out of Declan Rice.
04:13But obviously, when you saw the replay, you actually saw what happened and what was obviously going on in the referee's mind.
04:21And obviously, he's obviously pulled Declan Rice up for obviously delaying play, wasting time.
04:27But I think it's a bit of both really. Veltman obviously knew what he was doing, as has been said, and he was definitely clever in that moment.
04:35I wouldn't necessarily say he did kick out of Rice because I think he had his eyes on the ball.
04:39It seemed like he was going for the ball to take the free kick and obviously Rice stepped in front of him to try and knock the ball out of play.
04:45So, yeah, I don't think Veltman deserved the red, but it's certainly harsh on both sides.
04:50But by the letter of the law, as Mikel Arteta actually admitted, you can see why Rice was sent off.
04:55But his biggest problem was the lack of consistency, as you just mentioned, that in the first half,
05:00João Pedro booted the ball after it had already gone out of play towards the Arsenal goal and he wasn't penalised for it.
05:08So you can kind of understand the anger and frustration as a result of that lack of consistency from the referee, really.
05:14You can let one player get away with it, but not the other. So, yeah, I think there's definitely two sides to that.
05:20But I think, yeah, I think you can see why Rice was sent off.
05:23And it was a huge, huge moment in the game, obviously, as it proved to change the game completely.
05:29So Sir Veltman kicked a player after the ball was just touched away from him before he did it.
05:37Isn't that what Brighton fans were claiming all about Jay Williams the other day?
05:41I know it's slightly different. Jay Williams was a much heavier challenge, different circumstances.
05:46But it was just a heavy challenge, mistimed badly by Jay Williams because a player touched the ball away before he got there.
05:53So all you Brighton fans, I welcome your comments. But yeah, I think there's not too much difference.
06:00But Declan Rice should have been sent off. Veltman should have been sent off. And that's my argument.
06:05Yeah, well, that's an interesting one, isn't it? Because, yeah, you're right.
06:09Williams was hammered for the tackle that he put in.
06:12And I think a lot of it is because of what actually happened to O'Reilly as well.
06:16If O'Reilly had knocked his mate back up, he would have been OK.
06:20But because he's got to have ankle surgery, I think that caused a lot of the anger.
06:24But yeah, you're right. It's, you know, Veltman could have potentially injured Declan Rice by doing that.
06:31I think Veltman knew what he was doing. Oh, absolutely. He was very clever.
06:35He wasn't trying to take a quick free kick at all. He was trying to, you know, sort of get one over on Declan Rice.
06:42So. So, yeah, it's a good debate. And yes, I'm sure there'll be some Brighton fans commenting.
06:50Healthy debate, hopefully not abuse. We don't want any of that.
06:53Oh, if you're getting abused, don't worry about that.
06:55My point of view is that you can go and kick him around as many Arsenal players as you want.
06:59I actively encourage it. Brilliant. Anyway, going back to the game itself,
07:05João Pedro's equaliser at the Emirates was his second goal in three Premier League games this season.
07:09How impressed have you been with his early season form, Deren?
07:12Do you think he can break last season's tally of 20 in all competitions on current form?
07:17Yeah, I think he can. He's looked really, really sharp and he was called up into the Brazil squad today as well.
07:26Richly, richly deserved. Hurlitzer mentioned it after the Arsenal game.
07:31He was disappointed that Pedro hadn't been called up.
07:35And then the other Pedro who plays for Brazil from Flamengo, he picked up an injury whilst training.
07:41And yeah, so the Brighton Pedro has now been called up and will travel to face him.
07:47Of course, it's a bit of a problem because now Pedro will be playing, I think it's on Wednesday night,
07:52they play Paraguay at about one in the morning UK time.
07:56And then they play Ipswich on the Saturday.
07:59So I saw a couple of tweets trying to look at the flight times and connecting to see whether he can be back
08:05in time to play against Ipswich, which could be a bit of a stretch.
08:09So, yeah, I think everyone at Brighton will be pleased with him.
08:13He's started the season so well and looks a real threat.
08:18He plays in this number 10 role. Danny Welbeck is further forward.
08:22Pedro plays in behind Danny Welbeck.
08:24And then obviously you've got Mitoma on one side, Minta on the next.
08:28So it's quite a potent attack that Brighton have got there.
08:31And particularly against Manchester United, I thought Pedro was brilliant.
08:36In the second half, he just sort of thought, well, this is I'm going to do this on my own.
08:41And he took the game by the scruff of the neck, as they say.
08:44And he really started running at the defence and playing in his passes.
08:48And he's also a goal threat as well.
08:50I think he's absolutely the full package.
08:53They bought him for 30 million last season from Watford.
08:56And I think he did very well last year, like you say, 20 goals in all competitions.
09:01And I think he's going to go on another step this year.
09:05And he could potentially be one of the players that Brighton may struggle to keep hold of next summer.
09:12So I think he's going to be – hopefully he stays fit.
09:16And I think he's going to have a great season.
09:19I think I'd have to agree with you there, Derek.
09:21But one Albion player who won't be appearing for his country is Lewis Dunk.
09:24The seagull skipper has been left out of interim England manager Lee Carsley's squad
09:27for the Nations League doubleheader against Evan Ferguson's Ireland and Finland.
09:31What do you make of that decision, Sam?
09:33And is that curtains for Dunk's England career, do you think?
09:37I would say so, yeah.
09:38I'm not overly surprised that he's not in the squad.
09:40I mean, he didn't make a single appearance for England, obviously, in the Euros.
09:44So you can kind of understand this decision, really.
09:47He's getting to the point of his career when he's obviously not going to be a first-choice defender for England.
09:52I think as obviously they look for a new permanent manager, and obviously Carsley there at the moment,
09:57I think they're going to try and bed in some younger defenders, I think,
10:00to try and mould into the England set-up and to see them progress through their national career, really.
10:06Because I think it doesn't serve many purposes to have someone there in Dunk
10:11who's not really going to play in these big games.
10:13He didn't have a single minute in the Euros.
10:15So I think there's probably not a lot of point in being there, really.
10:17And you can focus on Brighton and, obviously, he gets to the latter part of his career
10:22and really kind of make the most of what he's got left, really.
10:25Because obviously, as we see, he's still got brilliant talent, really,
10:29and can make a real difference, as we saw with that key pass to Minter in the Arsenal game.
10:34That obviously led to the goal, and it was a bit of redemption for him,
10:37as obviously he didn't make a big error for that opening goal from Havertz,
10:41whereas it was just a long ball forward, really, that he just failed to deal with.
10:45And it was almost like he was out-muscled by Saka, who's almost half of his size.
10:49So it was definitely a bad moment for Dunk, and he's had a few dodgy defensive moments,
10:53but they are rare, and he usually is so composed.
10:56And it was a shame he didn't get any minutes for England at the Euros.
11:00But I think now it's really time for England to move on and get some young players in
11:04and completely understand the decision not to include him this time around.
11:07Absolutely. And I think as Deron has exited stage left, we're going to take a quick break.
11:11And when we come back, we're going to talk all things Crawley Town.
11:14Welcome back to part two. And as we mentioned at the top of the podcast,
11:18Crawley Town had a bit of a nightmare on Saturday at home to Barnsley.
11:21Adam Phillips scored twice after an opener from Donovan Pines
11:25as the Tikes produced a dominant display to coast to a 3-0 victory at the Reds in League One.
11:29Let's sum that up for us, Mark. I saw you wrote a piece about the positives from that game.
11:34Were there many to be found?
11:36No, there wasn't. It was certainly the first 45 minutes was arguably some of the worst football
11:45I've seen under Scott Lindsay at Crawley Town. They just didn't look at it at all.
11:49And we're going to come on to what Lindsay's assessment was afterwards.
11:53But, yeah, I think Barnsley did smell blood that they thought, hang on,
11:56these guys aren't on it at all. And just, yeah, Barnsley took them apart.
12:00The warning signs were there in like the first minute when Max Watters went through.
12:04He just outpowered, outran, outpaced Joy McKenna.
12:09And he just hit the outside of the post when one-on-one with Wolcott.
12:12So if that had gone in, it could have been even worse.
12:15But, yeah, Barnsley looked like a good side, though.
12:18They were the best side we've seen Crawley come up against.
12:21And there was a question at the end of the press conference.
12:24Is this the first time you thought, God, we're in League One kind of thing?
12:28And that was my impression that it was like proper big Northern side.
12:36They weren't just big and strong. They were skilful and they had a plan
12:41and they were organised. And it was, yeah, interesting.
12:44Second half was a bit better, but Barnsley sat back.
12:46They played two up front in the second half, which you rarely see with a Lindsay side.
12:50And it didn't kind of work. It just didn't. There wasn't any chances.
12:53But the positives were we saw 45 minutes of Will Swan in the second half,
12:58new striker from Mansfield. He looked good, hard worker, good touch.
13:02But he'd never really had a sniff at goal.
13:04So we haven't had a chance to see what his finishing's like.
13:07But we understand it's very good. Scott Lindsay's very excited about him.
13:11And also seeing Harry Forster come on, he came on the second half.
13:15We haven't seen him since the playoffs last year, the second leg of the semifinal
13:19against MK Dons. I think it was a thigh injury.
13:22So he got 45 minutes. He lacked a bit of match sharpness,
13:25but he didn't look more out of touch than anyone else in that game.
13:29So it was, yeah, it was a very, very disappointing performance,
13:33certainly that first 45 minutes.
13:35But, yeah, I think the break came at a good time because they had had Saturday,
13:39Tuesday since the beginning of the season. So good little rest for them now.
13:43What was Scott Lindsay's view of things after the Barnsley game?
13:46And Sam, shall we come in a bit too pleased?
13:49He certainly wasn't. No, he was not too happy with the performance at all.
13:52He basically said his players can never switch off, which they were guilty of doing.
13:57And they played out of control football, which resulted in a lack of chances for Crawley.
14:03He said that some players were still in bed, which obviously doesn't play well at all
14:08if you're going to try and win a game in League One.
14:11But yeah, he said there's a saying in football where you can win a game inside 20 minutes,
14:14but flip the side and you can also lose one.
14:17And he felt that that's what happened, really. They lost the game really quickly
14:20and within 20 minutes and left themselves with too much to do to turn it around.
14:24And he felt that Barnsley came to the Broadfield Stadium full of respect
14:28and realised that Crawley were a good team and they had to play really well to win.
14:32And that's exactly what happened. And they smelt blood and stepped forward
14:36and beat us up is the exact words that Lindsay used.
14:39So, yeah, he didn't hold back on his team at all, really, for how they performed.
14:43He made changes at half time and tried to play a bit of a different system.
14:47But it didn't quite work in the end, really.
14:50And he did point out, though, that he wants to recognise that this is a very new group of players
14:55and they're very inexperienced and very young.
14:58And obviously, it's a new team that he's trying to build and these results are going to happen.
15:02It's still very early on in the season.
15:04And we've seen some great signs already, obviously, with those wins early on
15:07and the good performance against Brighton as well.
15:10So, yeah, I don't think there's any reason to panic and hopefully they can bounce back quickly
15:13from what was a really poor performance.
15:15The first poor performance of the season.
15:18I think it's worth pointing out as well.
15:20So, yeah, as I say, hopefully they can bounce back.
15:22It's worth remembering that it was a round this time.
15:26They lost 6-0 to Swindon last year.
15:28Yeah, and that didn't matter in the end at all, did it?
15:30No, absolutely. They're at West Midtown now.
15:33So, yeah, hopefully it was just a minor blip.
15:36Absolutely. Fingers crossed.
15:38Well, meanwhile, off pitch, the summer transfer window may have closed on Friday,
15:42but the Reds have still been very busy in the market.
15:44Crawley Town announced two signings this week, the first being Bradley Ibrahim on Saturday.
15:49The midfielder has joined the Reds on a season-long line from German club Hertha Berlin.
15:53And on paper, Mark, this seems like a bit of a coup for the Reds.
15:56Tell us a little bit more about Bradley Ibrahim.
15:58It does, yeah. I mean, I must admit, when I first saw it, when I saw Arsenal Academy,
16:02the first words that sprung into my head was Kevin Betsy.
16:05But I think that sends a shiver down everybody's spine at Crawley Town.
16:10But, yeah, no, I mean, on paper, he looks like a really good signing.
16:14He started at the QPR Youth Academy before moving to Arsenal,
16:18and he was there for seven years, and he capped in the Arsenal's under-18s side
16:21to the FA Cup Youth Final in 2022-23 season.
16:28So, he's had a couple of England Youth International caps under-18s as well.
16:31And he then got a move to Hertha Berlin in the Bundesliga.
16:36I think the Bundesliga 2 side. He hasn't actually made an appearance for them yet,
16:40but he has been playing for their under-23 side.
16:43So, who knows? It could be a Jadon Sancho, Jude Bellingham, going over to Germany,
16:49making his name. But I think he just needs, obviously, experience.
16:53He's untested at this level. He's untested at men's professional football level.
17:00So, who knows how he'll come up? But he's obviously got really good pedigree.
17:04And I think Lindsey's quite excited about him.
17:07So, someone Lindsey can coach and make into a man and play men's football at a good level.
17:13So, hopefully, it's a really good experiment for both player and the club.
17:19But he's here for the full season. So, hopefully, we'll get to see a lot of him.
17:22Absolutely. Fingers crossed.
17:24The Reds then announced the signing of Nigerian international defender Benjamin Tanimu on Monday.
17:29And this signing wasn't short of intrigue, was it, Mark?
17:31Tell us a little bit about the Ian's announcement of this transfer because it seemed quite bizarre in a way.
17:36It was, yes. So, on Friday, obviously, was deadline day.
17:41And we were getting rumours that Crawley was signing this player, that player,
17:44Will Swan was announced, etc. And then there was a lot of talk about him getting a defender.
17:49And on Friday night, footballlive.ng, a Nigerian football website,
17:55reported that Crawley had signed Tanimu from the Tanzanian Premier League side Singida Blackstars.
18:03Nobody had heard of this player, even though he'd made three international caps at this point.
18:10I think he's 22. But nothing was announced from Crawley Town.
18:15And all the fans were on going, what's going on? And there was silence from the club.
18:19And I asked them questions when I went to the game on Saturday.
18:23And they said, oh, there should be an announcement tomorrow. But it was, in fact, Monday before it was announced.
18:29But I think I get the impression signing a Nigerian player from a Tanzanian side,
18:35the paperwork and the international clearance you need for that is quite complicated.
18:40So that's they obviously got the deal done on the Friday.
18:44But just getting all that stuff done, paperwork, clearance, etc., took a couple of days.
18:50The other thing about it was the fee, because footballlive.ng reported that it was $850,000.
19:00Now, I think everybody assumed it was US dollars. It wasn't. It was Tanzanian dollars.
19:04And that equates to about three or four thousand English pounds sterling.
19:08So I think Crawley fans were thinking, blimey, we've got some player here if we're spending this much on him.
19:13And yeah, so again, he's got international caps for Nigeria.
19:18Nigeria, a good side, good international side.
19:21So hopefully they've got another young, good young player that was going to fit in because they needed a little bit of,
19:28I think Scotland's used the word thickening of their defence because they've got Mckayner, Malarkey and Flint who are playing at the moment.
19:35Obviously, Dion Conroy's out injured still. Charlie Barker can play there, but still a bit inexperienced at this level.
19:42So hopefully he'll come in and be a really good addition to that defence.
19:47Very exciting sign, I think, if it all pans out. Although the Reds have welcomed two new faces,
19:52they've also said goodbye to one of their summer recruits.
19:55Who's departed the Ballfield Stadium, Sam, and why? Disappointing to see him leave so soon, obviously.
20:01Yes, it's Michael da Costa Gonzalez that has unfortunately returned to his parent club, Bournemouth, in the Premier League.
20:08And it comes because of an injury, unfortunately. It's one that he sustained in pre-season.
20:12After a series of medical tests, it was decided that the best course of action would be for him to return back to Bournemouth,
20:17which is a real shame, really, because he's a player that I think a lot of fans are looking forward to watching.
20:22Obviously, a Premier League club's player, really.
20:25And that just kind of indicates that he's probably got a lot of talent and he can really make a good impact in League One.
20:31But unfortunately, we never got to see what he could do in a Cordy shirt.
20:36Because, yeah, as I say, he's got a bucket load of talent and it would have been a really good opportunity for him to develop his own game and to help Crawley.
20:45So it's one of those that's just bad for all parties, really.
20:48Bournemouth had to have a player come back injured that's not had any kind of minutes that he probably would have wanted, the club would have wanted him to get.
20:55Crawley haven't got anything from the loan spell and the player himself has been impacted as well.
21:00So, yeah, a real shame for everyone involved, really.
21:03And you never know if he can recover from injury and Bournemouth could always send him back to Crawley, you never know.
21:08But yeah, for the time being, we won't see him in a Cordy shirt, which is a shame.
21:12Yeah, it's such a shame.
21:14And finally, as Mark, I think, mentioned, the Reds are without a game this weekend due to the international break.
21:19Crawley were due to visit Burton in League One this Saturday, but with three members of the Burton squad being selected for international duty, the game was called off.
21:26However, the Reds have had two members of their squad called up for international duty this week.
21:30Which two Crawley stars have been picked for their countries, Mark, and when do they play, more importantly?
21:35Well, actually, it's now three because of Benjamin Tanemu signing.
21:38Yes.
21:39Yeah.
21:40So, yeah, Jojo Walakot, he's been picked for the Ghana side.
21:44They play Angola today at 5pm.
21:47That's Thursday, if you're watching this at any point.
21:50And then they play Nigeria away on Monday.
21:53And Eddie Beach, the other goalkeeper, he's Wales under-21 international and they play Iceland away on Tuesday night.
22:00So, both the goalkeepers, we've got, yeah, good pedigree in the goalkeeping place at Crawley.
22:06So, and then, yeah, Tanemu, as we've mentioned, obviously, he hasn't played for Crawley yet.
22:10But he's, on Saturday, he's playing for Nigeria at home against Benin.
22:14And then they travel to Rwanda on Tuesday.
22:17So, busy old time, a lot of travelling for those players over the next few days.
22:22So, and they'll be back when they play Stockport on Saturday, September the 14th.
22:27So, hopefully a good well-rested for the rest of the squad there.
22:30And a chance for players who have been injured like Houlihan and Conroy to come back as well.
22:34Absolutely.
22:35And the best of luck to those three players who are on international duty for Crawley
22:38and all the international players who have been selected for their countries at Brighton.
22:41I've written down score predictions this week.
22:43Is the Nations League?
22:44Are we fussed?
22:46Yeah, let's make it.
22:48I'm actually a little bit intrigued because of the Carsley element and how he's actually going to play.
22:51Yes.
22:52So, there is a little bit more interest than the usual international with England.
22:57Go on then, Mark.
22:58As you are so giddy, what is your score predictions for Ireland-England then?
23:02I'm going to go 2-1 against Ireland, 2-0 against Finland.
23:07Sam, how do you see that?
23:08Surely, six points is a must for England.
23:11Any less than that is a huge disappointment.
23:13I think so.
23:14I think 3-1 against Ireland.
23:16And I'm going to agree, 2-0 against Finland.
23:19And finally, Darren.
23:20How do you see that one going?
23:22I'd say 2-2 in Ireland.
23:24Evan Ferguson double for Ireland, I think, because he's going back.
23:28And then, yeah, they'll beat Finland, I should think.
23:31But no, I agree with Mark.
23:32I think it will be interesting to see how Lee Carsley sets them all up.
23:34They've got some nice young players that they've brought in as well.
23:38So, it will be good.
23:39And just a quick mention as well, the young Brighton goalkeeper, James Beadle,
23:42he was called up to train with the first team this week.
23:49He's been in England International for all the age groups, hasn't he?
23:52He has, yeah.
23:54He's gone up through the youth ranks on loan at Sheffield Wednesday.
23:57Had a really good season at Sheffield Wednesday.
23:59He's back there on loan.
24:01But, yeah, just shows the goalkeeping talent that Brighton have at the moment.
24:05Absolutely. Excellent.
24:06Well, thank you very much this week, chaps.
24:08Brilliant, as always.
24:09You can catch up with all the latest sports news,
24:11covering everything we have talked about today.
24:12Sussexworld.co.uk forward slash sport.
24:15And you can watch more excellent videos on shotstv.com and Freeview channel 262.
24:19Thank you very much for listening and or watching,
24:21and we will see you all next week.