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Previous encounters (Birmingham )
Birmingham - Away, Falmer years: 11/12 - 16/17 C'ship, Seasons 1-6 . 17/18 - 22/23 Prem, no meetings. Ground: St Andrews 29.4k . Nickname: Blues . Shirt: dark blue. Championship record from 11/12 to 22/23; 4, 12, 21, 10, 10, 19 / 19, 17, 20, 18, 20, 17 @ 31/3/23. C'ship * * * * Stayed up - '14, '17, '18, '20, '22. Season7 onwards - not Premier League. Blues v Albion from 11/12 @ C: 0-0, 2-2, 0-1, 1-0, 1-2, 1-2 . . W = 3 D = 2 L = 1 For Home Falmer Years results and reports scroll further below. memorable match: Season6 (A) - a pre-Xmas trip to St Andrews in our final C'ship season. Season6 (A) Championship 17/12/16 - w 1-2 ~ Knockaert, Murray. Once again Albion were selected for tv coverage, hence this Saturday tea-time kickoff. Chris Hughton was doing a great job once more, following that very near miss with auto promo last term (see below). Of the side visiting then, Goldson had been injured in pre-season and got replaced by Duffy, while Kayal & Rosenior were both recovering from long term injuries. LuaLua was out of the match-day squad and Wilson went on loan again - but not with BHA. If there was a problem with this group, it maybe is lack of goals scored on travels - something deemed necessary to get those points required to go up automatically. Seagulls were pretty tight at the back, although you couldn't keep a clean sheet every week, just by law of averages. In build up Blues changed their manager four days before the match. * match report: Blues fans saw their side take the lead but it was 1200 travelling support that finished the evening ecstatic. Albion were unbeaten in 15 but after a poor first half display looked in danger of losing until late in the contest. City opened the scoring with a header as BHA toiled in all departments (52min). Hughton responded with a double change just past the hour mark to try and get Seagulls flying. Norwood & March then began to have a positive impact as they set visitors in attacking mode. Hemed joined the fray shortly afterwards. March ran at defenders and duly provided the assist for Knockaert to level it with a superb low strike (82min). Travellers carried a big threat now with March as the game changer. The home team came under more pressure as Albion pushed forward searching for the winner. Seagulls pegged opponents back as the clock ran down. Deep into stoppage time Murray glanced in a header from Knockaert's corner and the game was won (90+5). He ran the length of the pitch to celebrate in front of jubilant BHA supporters. Hughton said, 'we weren't at our best but showed great spirit. Sometimes you have to leave it late. All credit to my players for maintaining momentum to try and win the game.' Brighton fans could hardly believe our luck but were more than happy to take three points and keep status quo with the top six who all won too. Stats; h-t 0-0, goals 52- 82, 90, poss 43%-57%, on target 4-4, off target 3-5, blocks 5-4, crosses 11-31, corners 1-4, o/s 1-2, fouls 9-11, yellows 1-0, subs 3-3, att 17,287 Stockdale, Bruno, Duffy, Dunk, Bong, Knockaert, Stephens, Sidwell (Norwood), Skalak (March), Baldock (Hemed), Murray Champ's P22 . W14 D6 L2 . F35 A14 . Pt48 Po2 . W = 63.6% L = 9.0% Season5 (A) 5/4/16 - w 1-2 - Goldson, Dunk. Easter had come and gone during the international break thru late March. But regular April fixtures were sure gonna test fitness levels - for players and fans alike, as the run-in reached a dramatic climax. The scene was set for another fruitful campaign finishing with Albion in the top six. And with the top four teams battling for two auto-promo spots, Seagulls were trying to better their best placing since joining the Championship. A lot had happened since BHA visited St Andrews back in opening weeks of '14/15 - see below. That term went from bad to worse until Chis Hughton came in at New Year 2015 and turned a relegation threatened outfit into elite league candidates. Throughout '15/16 Albion's enhanced match-day squad kept up a level of consistency that ensured they were competitive home & away. Now if ever an unbeaten run was required, it was until first week of May. * match report: Blues took the lead to shock visiting fans but there were plenty of chances available for the away side. Seagulls fell behind to a poached attempt as the ball crossed the area (16min). But after that were mainly in command and equalized when Goldson nodded in a Skalak f-k (29 min). Shortly into the second period Dunk added a second, from a Skalak corner (48min). With 20 mins left Murphy took over on the left wing and later Wilson became the sole striker in a 4411 set up. Albion were good value for victory and extended an unbeaten run to 8 matches. Assistant manager Colin Calderwood said, 'it's constant work from the boys on set plays that has taken time to reap rewards. We are getting them now and you can see the importance of corners - for & against.' So Albion held on to third spot and were set to chase a target of about 80 points. Calderwood said, 'we go into the last six matches having had a good run. If we keep doing that we won't be too far away.' Stats; poss 46%-54%, on target 2-3, off target 7-10, corners 1-6, fouls 12-9, o/s 4-1, yellows 2-0 Stockdale, Bruno, Goldson, Dunk, Rosenior, Skalak, Stephens, Kayal, LuaLua (Murphy), Sidwell, Hemed (Wilson) Champ's P40 . W20 D15 L5 . F57 A39 . Pt75 Po3 . W = 50% L = 12.5% Season4 (A) 16/8/14 - L 1-0. This was first away game of the season which began with defeat at the Amex a week before. Big news during run up to opening day was transfer of Ulloa to Leicester for 8million. However Bloom, Barber & Burke pocketed monies to date - well, they did have a brand new training complex at Lancing to pay bills on. The Academy also gained category one status - hence U21 & 18 were playing in the PremLg div2. New manager Sami Hyypia had just seen his revamped eleven win versus L2 opposition at the Amex in League Cup r1 so wanted to build on progress. However there were doubts about quality of replacements. On the day over 1k travelling support made up a crowd of merely 15k. * match report: Albion were done by a sucker punch immediately after Ref waved away a pen shout when CMS went down during intense pressure. But Blues rushed up the other end and caught Albion cold with a free cross and header (49min). The match probably deserved to be a bore draw, although Seagulls shaded stats for possession, corners and on/off targets. The goal meant BHA piled on second half attacks in mounting desperation to equalise. Hyypia threw on debutant Teixeira (64min) to try and show a touch of class and the kid done good. Albion's narrow shape with two up and wingbacks overlappping got them to edge of the area then ground to a halt. It was same old from previous seasons, with lack of penetration a factor in defeat. Sami knew the problems and said, 'we cannot take a lot of positives out of the game.' Stockdale, Calderon, Greer, Hughes, Chicksen, Bruno, Ince, Forster-Caskey, Mackail-Smith (Fenelon), O'Grady, LuaLua (Teixeira). Champ's P2 . W0 D0 L2 . F0 A2 . Pt0 Po22 . W = 0% L = 100% Season3 (A) 17/8/13 - W 0-1 ~ Crofts. Albion had a new Head Coach in Oscar Garcia but had not begun this season well. We had zero points from one home and one away to date. Plus BHA got dumped out of the Carling Cup by L2 Newport at the Amex already. Garcia also had Orlandi, Bruno, Bridcutt and new boy Adam Chicksen injured and was fielding rookies from the dev squad to bolster numbers. Compared to last season here, Bridge, Hammond, Dicker and Vicente were history and CMS long-term injured. Kemy Agustien and Keith Andrews had signed to play in m-f, while Rohan Ince, Solly March and Vitalijs Maksimenko were promoted from the dev squad. Then Stephen Ward joined the day before this away fixture, on-loan from Wolves. Mode of play was quicker than previously under BHA icon Gus Poyet but somehow the learning curve was steeper. * match report: Albion played with fluid 433 (m-f diamond) where Andrews screened the back four and David linked m-f to strikers. Hey, it seemed to work ok as Albion turned in a much better performance than previously. Apparently time spent uninterrupted on the training ground gave impetus to Seagulls display, giving Oscar Garcia his first win in the unforgiving Championship. Following a goalless first half, Birmingham twice hit the bar but then visitors upped the ante to give as good as we got. B'ton finished with 12 on/off targets compared to 10 from the defeated home outfit. Crofts got on the end of an Agustien thru ball after useful build-up, to crash home the winner (73min). Garcia had withdrawn David for JFC around the hour mark and 10mins later put on Barnes to support Ulloa up front. You can only beat what is in front of you, although BHA rearguard appeared tight enough to keep an initial clean sheet. Garcia said, 'we can improve more if we train more. It takes time butslowly we will get what we want.' Kuszczak, Calderon, Greer, Upson, Ward, Crofts, Andrews, Agustein (Ince), David (Forster-Caskey), Ulloa, Buckley (Barnes) Champ's P3 . W1 D0 L2 . F3 A4. Pt3 Po16 . W = 33.3% L = 66.6% Season2 (A) 19/1/13 - 2-2 ~ Barnes, David. It was mid January and the whole country was snowbound in deep midwinter from north to south. In the midlands metropolis, City had under-soil heating at St Andrews that had been turned on for some days beforehand during this latest cold snap. Health & safety passed surrounding areas fit for purpose after morning inspections, so travelling fans hit the motorways and endured freezing conditions on route. On the day about 1200 got there, swelling a crowd of 15k. Albion were in good form coming off the back of three straight wins in 2013, including defeat of Newcastle in FAC3 a few days into New Year. Gus Poyet had nearly a full squad available for selection, plus Vicente returned from long term injury. * match report: It was another of those games for BHA that ended with the wrong result, even though Seagulls did enough throughout to take all three points. At half-time things were tipped Albion's way and Gus had plans to keep pressure on Blues by introducing Vicente late on. City opened the scoring with a free header from a corner (18min) but B'ton hit back quickly (24m) when Barnes drove home Orlandi's centre. Then David smashed Bridge's cross on the volley very hard into the net just before the interval (43m). Gus subbed David with twenty minutes left and soon afterwards his Spanish compadre Orlandi. Another Iberian icon got on for ten minutes in lieu of CMS who'd worked well up front. It was great to see a plan come together and Brighton fans were in good voice. Right at the death, Kuszczak let a routine header thru his fingers and Birmingham equalised against odds (90+2). Gus said, 'sad is the word. Make one mistake and it's terrible. I'm going to learn now from his reaction.' B'ton fans were gutted to say the least. Kuszczak, Calderon, Greer, El-Abd, Bridge, Hammond, Bridcutt, Orlandi (Dicker), Barnes, Mackail-Smith (Vicente), David (Buckley) Champ's P27 . W10 D11 L6 . F39 A29 . Pt41 Po8 . W = 37% L = 22.2% Season1 (A) 29/10/11 - 0-0. In our first season at Falmer, BHA had met regular Championship fare and found it hard to get results against them. We'd beaten a few sides in lower half of the table but found it tougher to overturn those currently placed higher than us. A number of clubs also had Prem experience, where-as coming up from League1 didn't exactly prepare for life at level two. Gus Poyet kept faith with third tier champions but at this stage of the game, things were evolving for consolidation in the div. The squad wasn't big and injury issues (El-Abd, Dicker, Elphick surgery), full match fitness (Taricco, Vicente, Buckley, Hoskins niggles) and loss of form (Ankergren, Calderon, Dunk, Barnes, LuaLua dropped) provided Gus with plenty of food for thought to go with his lunchtime tapas after training. Then Chilean defender Gonzalo Jara Reyes and keeper Steve Harley came in on loan to help bolster a light match-day sixteen. Not long before the trip to St Andrews, Billy Paynter arrived via Leeds to add to his CV as a goalscorer. * match report: Brighton were grateful to get to halftime without conceding, although it was far from one-way traffic and Albion's changed line-up coped well. Calderon played in cent-def, while Vincelot added to a competitive midfield. During the second period Seagulls upped the ante and created opportunities to score. Harper and his back line were holding firm and bolstered by Taricco as sub for injured Jara Reyes. Gus introduced Paynter with plenty of time to go and finished with three strikers trying to bag a winner. And chances came and went too but unfortunately didn't hit the back of Blues net. Albion hadn't scored in three fixtures now but momentum was building for a goal blitz soon, once new faces had clicked. Gus wasn't unhappy and he was the man who carried the proverbial can at Falmer. Harper, Jara (Taricco), Calderon, Greer, Painter, Vincelot, Sparrow (Paynter), Bridcutt, Noone, Barnes, Mackail-Smith. Champ's P14 . W5 D5 L4 . F17 A16 . Pt20 Po10 . W = 35.7% L = 28.5% * * * * * Withdean Era - from 1999 to 2011. no visits to St Andrews in 12 seasons.
Birmingham - Home, Falmer Years: 11/12 - 16/17 C'ship, Seasons 1-6 . 17/18 - 22/23 Prem, no meetings. Season7 onwards - not Premier League. Albion v Blues (H) from 11/12 @ C: 1-1, 0-1, 1-0, 4-3, 2-1, 3-1 . . W = 4 D = 1 L = 1 For Away Falmer Years results and reports scroll further up. memorable match: Season4 (H) - the score alone tells all you want to know... or does it? Season6 (H) Championship 4/4/17 - 3-1 ~ Murray, Hemed, Huenemeier. This was the second (on a Tuesday evening) of those four remaining home matches this month. BHA also had three away games, prior to the final day at Villa in early May. Compared to our state of play in this corresponding fixture of the last campaign (see below) Albion were once more attempting to repeat success and secure an auto-promo slot. Where as BHA had led the division approaching the halfway stage in 2015, now we were a close second. But crucially Seagulls were 9 points clear of the 3rd team, who had a game in hand. That gap appeared big enough because our goal difference was almost worth a point to boot. So a target of 90 points meant just 10 to get from a possible 21, or 1.42pt/gm, which was well below the current 2.05pt/gm average to date. And two points per game over a season should get you promotion automatically. * match report: Albion netted three good goals and it was just as well because City were tougher opposition than expected. Murray opened the scoring after just a minute's play when turning in Bruno's centre (2min). But Dunk had to be replaced by Tomori by half an hour due to feeling unwell. Following the interval Albion showed a bit more purpose and quickly scored twice. Murray jumped high from a Bruno cross to give Hemed a chance to chest trhe ball home (48min). Next, from a set piece the ball came back out to Huenemeier and he lashed it in (54 min). Hughton withdrew booked Knockaert & Stephens with like for like as Seagulls tried to keep it clean. But City kept playing and grabbed a late consolation to spoil & soil Stockdale's evening (85min). Brighton fans were happy to see yet another home win, which was the 16th and most domestic victories of all league clubs to date. Promotion was a step nearer and overall Seagulls support had never been so good. Stats; h-t 1-0, goals 2,48,54-85, poss 42%-58%, on target 3-3, off target 3-4, corners 3-8, o/s 0-1, fouls 15-8, yellows 2-1, subs 3-2, att 28,654 Stockdale, Bruno, Huenemeier, Dunk (Tomori), Bong, Knockaert (Murphy), Stephens (Norwood), Kayal, March, Murray, Hemed. Champ's P40 . W25 D8 L7 . F67 A34 . Pt83 Po2 . W = 62.5% L = 17.5% Season5 (H) 28/11/15 - 2-1 ~ March, Zamora. Record breaking Albion were going great guns this term. Their super undefeted start had turned into the best run since even oldest fans could remember and was still ongoing. Seagulls previously had gained 35pts after 17 fixtures during seasons '01/2, '02/3 & '10/11 - all promotion campaigns to boot! Chris Hughton had worked wonders and his '15/16 team was now hard to beat - home & away. He was fielding a settled side which hadn't suffered too many injuries to key personnel. As a safeguard, two players had just arrived on loan to boost the squad, which was otherwise all contracted. On the day the weather was cold, wet & windy but 27k attended, making it the biggest crowd this term to date. * match report: March was voted man of the match with a great attacking display. He opened the scoring when driving in a rebound from his original shot (17min). But B'ton had a habit of conceding soon afterwards and hey-ho Blues equalised following defensive errors (21min). Then play was quickly halted when Rosenior got injured. Calderon replaced as the left back was carried off before the half hour. After the break Albion soon scored to silence useful away support. Zamora took acolades when slotting home a loose ball from March's drive at goal (47min). But once again visitors posed a threat on the break and the last twenty minutes were often a tad anxious for home fans. New boy James Wilson came on in lieu of Zamora around the hour mark... and he hit a post when put thru by Kayal. Hemed was later withdrawn and Ince inserted to protect the back four. Seagulls saw it out but not before Stockdale produced a fine save to deny travellers a share of points by end of stoppage. BHA returned to top of the table but in truth this was due to keeping the incredible unbeaten run alive against all the odds since the Championship began in summer. Stats; poss 62%-38%, on target 9-5, off target 8-8, blocks 4-2, corners 9-6, fouls 9-10, o/s 2-1, yellows 4-4. Stockdale, Bruno, Greer, Dunk, Rosenior (Calderon), March, Stephens, Kayal, Murphy, Hemed (Ince), Zamora (Wilson). Champ's P18 . W10 D8 L0 . F24 A14 . Pt38 Po1 . W = 55.5% L = 0% Season4 (H) 21/2/15 - 4-3 ~ Teixeira 2, Calderon 2. Ok, here's how it was... to date Albion were shocking at home this term, with; W3 D6 L6 F17 A20. Prior to k-o Seagulls were a point above the drop zone and only a run of victories could lift the side to go better a glut of clubs with more points in midtable. Sami Hyypia was a fading memory as BHA's 4th Amex manager coz Chris Hughton had replaced him since New Year. The honeymoon was well & truly over and following a couple of ground out nil-nil's away from home, the team had to now do it domestically and keep clean sheets at very least! The current squad was radically different to previous seasons and in truth not as good. But Hughton was short of mega bucks to go get players, what with FFP rules and all of that business. Anyhow he had brought in a couple of signings who had to get up to speed quick - Best, Kayal and this week Ledesma. * match report: Stockdale made a superb penalty save just before the break that may have ensured this entertaining victory. Teixeira opened the scoring with a shot that wriggled under the keeper (8min). But Blues quickly hit back with a diverted effort from a long punt (13min). During the second period Calderon notched with an opportunist stab in the six yard box (50min). Then Teixeira bagged a brace after Baldock's effort was parried (58min). CMS soon came on to lead the line as Hughton made tactical changes, introducing Stephens later. Visitors got another as they pushed up into Seagulls area (76min) - to at least keep the away crowd interested. LuaLua turned up for impact and Calderon next got his own double when crashing home a Dunk flick on (85min). There was still time for travellers to net a third goal and as usual at the Amex, you couldn't make it up in stoppage. 25thou Brighton fans went home happy - having seen more goals today than for many a year and wondered if this now really was the start of a home run. Stockdale, Bruno, Greer, Dunk, Bennett, Kayal (Stephens), Teixeira (LuaLua), Ince, Calderon, Best (Mackail-Smith), Baldock. Champ's P32 . W7 D13 L12 . F42 A36 . Pt34 Po20 . W = 21.8% L = 37.5% Season3 (H) 11/1/14 - W 1-0 ~ David. It had been a very wet period in Sussex and a helluva lot of rivers throughout the county were on flood alert. But on this day it was dry and sunny, so official attendance got posted just short of 27k. A lot of the same faces were filling places in the starting eleven compared to other seasons at the amex, however Oscar Garcia was putting his stamp on proceedings and things were about to change. Bridcutt was unsettled and speculation was rife as to his move to join Gus Poyet at Sunderland. Over the next week Barnes & El-Abd would leave the club, although Obika had just joined and further signings were anticipated. Long-term injured CMS and Hoskins were returning to training, while Orlandi, Buckley, Calderon and Dunk waited in wings. Those promoted from the dev squad like Ince and March would also be given a chance to show what they had. * match report: Prior to an hour gone, Brighton scored the only goal of the game to take all three points and leap into a play-off slot. Crofts and Ulloa attacked the ball in oppositions area but David smacked it home (58min). OG tinkered with subs thereafter, replacing Ulloa with the new boy a few minutes later. Then he was forced to field Orlandi following Crofts removal through injury - what turned out to be cruciate damage, thus ending his campaign. LuaLua won man of the match due to his attacking flair at pace, although it played havoc with his hamstrings subsequently. El-Abd came on at the death for his swansong. The match was never a classic and visitors didn't put up too much of a bid for victory against the odds. Stats revealed Seagulls well ahead in everything but offsides. Once again Albion squeezed past an average side and our lack of turning possession and forward moves into goals was becoming habitual - to say the least. Kuszczak, Bruno, Greer, Upson, Ward, Crofts (Orlandi), Andrews, Ince, David (El-Abd), Ulloa (Obika), LuaLua. Champ's P35 . W10 D9 L6 . F30 A22 . Pt39 Po6 . W = 28.5% L = 17.1% Season2 (H) 29/9/12 - 0-1. Second time around in the Championship and things were a tad different already. For a kick-off the Amex now had a 28k capacity and gates of 24k, 25k and 26k were recorded in the first three home fixtures. Brighton were in top spot having won five on the trot and were also finding the net regularly. Meanwhile Birmingham managed barely more than a point per game on average in nineteenth place and got hammered at theirs a week beforehand in front of merely 13k. The contrast between the two clubs was apparent when considering we had twice as many attending, plus double Blues total amount of points to date. But Gus Poyet knew you couldn't take such stuff for granted and realised we hadn't played too many top-ten big clubs to date. It was a late k-o in front of 26k who already knew other results, so could see what was actually needed. * match report: Brighton crashed to defeat and failed to find the net although enjoying majority of possession and stats. On top of which, floodlight failure at halftime delayed the second period and interrupted momentum. Albion went behind when a misdirected clearance fell conveniently for a Blue in space and he lashed it in from distance (27min). Poyet shook up his 433 by subbing El-Abd for David for tactical reasons and letting Hammond drop deep (61m). Later on LuaLua replaced livewire Buckley (72m). There was loads of huff and puff but no more goals. Seagulls were grounded with first defeat at the Amex and were stuffed in their nest to boot. We couldn't break down a resilient defence, nor scrape an equaliser, although we had 10 offsides given against and the usual declined pen appeal. Gus wasn't happy but he had to find a way of beating such opposition in future. Kuszczak, Calderon, Greer, El-Abd (David), Bridge, Hammond, Bridcutt, Dicker, Buckley (LuaLua), Barnes, Dobbie. Champ's P8 . W5 D1 L2 . F14 A5 . Pt16 Po1 . W = 62.5% L = 25% Season1 (H) 21/4/12 - 1-1 ~ Barnes. This fixture was the very last home game at the Amex in our first season there. And what a season it had been, compared to Albion's earlier three years of struggle in the Championship, during that infamous Withdean era of the noughties. Brighton fans had certainly got their monies worth at the community stadium and even the in-house catering firm won an award for displaying quality produce. BHA missed out on play-offs, where other top-eight clubs all had experience of the Prem in recent years. However, Gus Poyet got somewhere he wanted to be and realised Seagulls probably over-achieved on elevating from third-tier standard. Poyet did use on-loan players to bolster the squad but gave a good crack of the whip to previous lower-league types. * match report: Yet again Brighton had to come from behind to salvage something from a late season slump. It was nil-nil at halftime, although visitors hadn't been particularly dangerous. Then City went ahead after repelling constant Albion attacks well into the second period. The home defence didn't deal with a routine foray up-field and paid the price for a low shot inside the post from distance (69min). Poyet responded with a characteristic positive double swop, introducing more attacking options (72min). Vicente had been running the show going forward from midfield and was well backed by Player of the Year Bridcutt and Navarro, in 433 shape. But it all broke down in the final third as usual, where possession counted much less than on/off targets. On balance of stats a draw was likely, although Seagulls left it a tad late to equalise. Calderon ran unimpeded into the area and cut back a ball for Barnes to slot home (84min). So Barnes finished top scorer in the no.9 shirt, eclipsing expensive signing Mackail-Smith who suffered goal drought this term. It had been an interesting initial campaign at the Amex, often exciting and there were good atmospheres from regular 20k crowds. Away support played their part and it was a million miles away from Withdean in almost every sense. Brezovan, Calderon, Dunk, El-Abd, Mattock (Noone), Bridcutt, Navarro (Dicker), Vicente, Buckley, Mackail-Smith, Barnes. Champ's P45 . W17 D14 L14 . F52 A52 . Pt65 Po9 . W = 37.7% L = 31.1% * * * * * Withdean era: from 1999 - 2011. no meetings in 12 seasons.
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Previous encounters (Birmingham )
Birmingham - Away, Falmer years: 11/12 - 16/17 C'ship, Seasons 1-6 . 17/18 - 22/23 Prem, no meetings. Ground: St Andrews 29.4k . Nickname: Blues . Shirt: dark blue. Championship record from 11/12 to 22/23; 4, 12, 21, 10, 10, 19 / 19, 17, 20, 18, 20, 17 @ 31/3/23. C'ship * * * * Stayed up - '14, '17, '18, '20, '22. Season7 onwards - not Premier League. Blues v Albion from 11/12 @ C: 0-0, 2-2, 0-1, 1-0, 1-2, 1-2 . . W = 3 D = 2 L = 1 For Home Falmer Years results and reports scroll further below. memorable match: Season6 (A) - a pre-Xmas trip to St Andrews in our final C'ship season. Season6 (A) Championship 17/12/16 - w 1-2 ~ Knockaert, Murray. Once again Albion were selected for tv coverage, hence this Saturday tea-time kickoff. Chris Hughton was doing a great job once more, following that very near miss with auto promo last term (see below). Of the side visiting then, Goldson had been injured in pre-season and got replaced by Duffy, while Kayal & Rosenior were both recovering from long term injuries. LuaLua was out of the match-day squad and Wilson went on loan again - but not with BHA. If there was a problem with this group, it maybe is lack of goals scored on travels - something deemed necessary to get those points required to go up automatically. Seagulls were pretty tight at the back, although you couldn't keep a clean sheet every week, just by law of averages. In build up Blues changed their manager four days before the match. * match report: Blues fans saw their side take the lead but it was 1200 travelling support that finished the evening ecstatic. Albion were unbeaten in 15 but after a poor first half display looked in danger of losing until late in the contest. City opened the scoring with a header as BHA toiled in all departments (52min). Hughton responded with a double change just past the hour mark to try and get Seagulls flying. Norwood & March then began to have a positive impact as they set visitors in attacking mode. Hemed joined the fray shortly afterwards. March ran at defenders and duly provided the assist for Knockaert to level it with a superb low strike (82min). Travellers carried a big threat now with March as the game changer. The home team came under more pressure as Albion pushed forward searching for the winner. Seagulls pegged opponents back as the clock ran down. Deep into stoppage time Murray glanced in a header from Knockaert's corner and the game was won (90+5). He ran the length of the pitch to celebrate in front of jubilant BHA supporters. Hughton said, 'we weren't at our best but showed great spirit. Sometimes you have to leave it late. All credit to my players for maintaining momentum to try and win the game.' Brighton fans could hardly believe our luck but were more than happy to take three points and keep status quo with the top six who all won too. Stats; h-t 0-0, goals 52- 82, 90, poss 43%-57%, on target 4-4, off target 3-5, blocks 5-4, crosses 11-31, corners 1-4, o/s 1-2, fouls 9-11, yellows 1-0, subs 3-3, att 17,287 Stockdale, Bruno, Duffy, Dunk, Bong, Knockaert, Stephens, Sidwell (Norwood), Skalak (March), Baldock (Hemed), Murray Champ's P22 . W14 D6 L2 . F35 A14 . Pt48 Po2 . W = 63.6% L = 9.0% Season5 (A) 5/4/16 - w 1-2 - Goldson, Dunk. Easter had come and gone during the international break thru late March. But regular April fixtures were sure gonna test fitness levels - for players and fans alike, as the run-in reached a dramatic climax. The scene was set for another fruitful campaign finishing with Albion in the top six. And with the top four teams battling for two auto-promo spots, Seagulls were trying to better their best placing since joining the Championship. A lot had happened since BHA visited St Andrews back in opening weeks of '14/15 - see below. That term went from bad to worse until Chis Hughton came in at New Year 2015 and turned a relegation threatened outfit into elite league candidates. Throughout '15/16 Albion's enhanced match-day squad kept up a level of consistency that ensured they were competitive home & away. Now if ever an unbeaten run was required, it was until first week of May. * match report: Blues took the lead to shock visiting fans but there were plenty of chances available for the away side. Seagulls fell behind to a poached attempt as the ball crossed the area (16min). But after that were mainly in command and equalized when Goldson nodded in a Skalak f-k (29 min). Shortly into the second period Dunk added a second, from a Skalak corner (48min). With 20 mins left Murphy took over on the left wing and later Wilson became the sole striker in a 4411 set up. Albion were good value for victory and extended an unbeaten run to 8 matches. Assistant manager Colin Calderwood said, 'it's constant work from the boys on set plays that has taken time to reap rewards. We are getting them now and you can see the importance of corners - for & against.' So Albion held on to third spot and were set to chase a target of about 80 points. Calderwood said, 'we go into the last six matches having had a good run. If we keep doing that we won't be too far away.' Stats; poss 46%-54%, on target 2-3, off target 7-10, corners 1-6, fouls 12-9, o/s 4-1, yellows 2-0 Stockdale, Bruno, Goldson, Dunk, Rosenior, Skalak, Stephens, Kayal, LuaLua (Murphy), Sidwell, Hemed (Wilson) Champ's P40 . W20 D15 L5 . F57 A39 . Pt75 Po3 . W = 50% L = 12.5% Season4 (A) 16/8/14 - L 1-0. This was first away game of the season which began with defeat at the Amex a week before. Big news during run up to opening day was transfer of Ulloa to Leicester for 8million. However Bloom, Barber & Burke pocketed monies to date - well, they did have a brand new training complex at Lancing to pay bills on. The Academy also gained category one status - hence U21 & 18 were playing in the PremLg div2. New manager Sami Hyypia had just seen his revamped eleven win versus L2 opposition at the Amex in League Cup r1 so wanted to build on progress. However there were doubts about quality of replacements. On the day over 1k travelling support made up a crowd of merely 15k. * match report: Albion were done by a sucker punch immediately after Ref waved away a pen shout when CMS went down during intense pressure. But Blues rushed up the other end and caught Albion cold with a free cross and header (49min). The match probably deserved to be a bore draw, although Seagulls shaded stats for possession, corners and on/off targets. The goal meant BHA piled on second half attacks in mounting desperation to equalise. Hyypia threw on debutant Teixeira (64min) to try and show a touch of class and the kid done good. Albion's narrow shape with two up and wingbacks overlappping got them to edge of the area then ground to a halt. It was same old from previous seasons, with lack of penetration a factor in defeat. Sami knew the problems and said, 'we cannot take a lot of positives out of the game.' Stockdale, Calderon, Greer, Hughes, Chicksen, Bruno, Ince, Forster-Caskey, Mackail-Smith (Fenelon), O'Grady, LuaLua (Teixeira). Champ's P2 . W0 D0 L2 . F0 A2 . Pt0 Po22 . W = 0% L = 100% Season3 (A) 17/8/13 - W 0-1 ~ Crofts. Albion had a new Head Coach in Oscar Garcia but had not begun this season well. We had zero points from one home and one away to date. Plus BHA got dumped out of the Carling Cup by L2 Newport at the Amex already. Garcia also had Orlandi, Bruno, Bridcutt and new boy Adam Chicksen injured and was fielding rookies from the dev squad to bolster numbers. Compared to last season here, Bridge, Hammond, Dicker and Vicente were history and CMS long-term injured. Kemy Agustien and Keith Andrews had signed to play in m-f, while Rohan Ince, Solly March and Vitalijs Maksimenko were promoted from the dev squad. Then Stephen Ward joined the day before this away fixture, on-loan from Wolves. Mode of play was quicker than previously under BHA icon Gus Poyet but somehow the learning curve was steeper. * match report: Albion played with fluid 433 (m-f diamond) where Andrews screened the back four and David linked m-f to strikers. Hey, it seemed to work ok as Albion turned in a much better performance than previously. Apparently time spent uninterrupted on the training ground gave impetus to Seagulls display, giving Oscar Garcia his first win in the unforgiving Championship. Following a goalless first half, Birmingham twice hit the bar but then visitors upped the ante to give as good as we got. B'ton finished with 12 on/off targets compared to 10 from the defeated home outfit. Crofts got on the end of an Agustien thru ball after useful build-up, to crash home the winner (73min). Garcia had withdrawn David for JFC around the hour mark and 10mins later put on Barnes to support Ulloa up front. You can only beat what is in front of you, although BHA rearguard appeared tight enough to keep an initial clean sheet. Garcia said, 'we can improve more if we train more. It takes time butslowly we will get what we want.' Kuszczak, Calderon, Greer, Upson, Ward, Crofts, Andrews, Agustein (Ince), David (Forster-Caskey), Ulloa, Buckley (Barnes) Champ's P3 . W1 D0 L2 . F3 A4. Pt3 Po16 . W = 33.3% L = 66.6% Season2 (A) 19/1/13 - 2-2 ~ Barnes, David. It was mid January and the whole country was snowbound in deep midwinter from north to south. In the midlands metropolis, City had under-soil heating at St Andrews that had been turned on for some days beforehand during this latest cold snap. Health & safety passed surrounding areas fit for purpose after morning inspections, so travelling fans hit the motorways and endured freezing conditions on route. On the day about 1200 got there, swelling a crowd of 15k. Albion were in good form coming off the back of three straight wins in 2013, including defeat of Newcastle in FAC3 a few days into New Year. Gus Poyet had nearly a full squad available for selection, plus Vicente returned from long term injury. * match report: It was another of those games for BHA that ended with the wrong result, even though Seagulls did enough throughout to take all three points. At half-time things were tipped Albion's way and Gus had plans to keep pressure on Blues by introducing Vicente late on. City opened the scoring with a free header from a corner (18min) but B'ton hit back quickly (24m) when Barnes drove home Orlandi's centre. Then David smashed Bridge's cross on the volley very hard into the net just before the interval (43m). Gus subbed David with twenty minutes left and soon afterwards his Spanish compadre Orlandi. Another Iberian icon got on for ten minutes in lieu of CMS who'd worked well up front. It was great to see a plan come together and Brighton fans were in good voice. Right at the death, Kuszczak let a routine header thru his fingers and Birmingham equalised against odds (90+2). Gus said, 'sad is the word. Make one mistake and it's terrible. I'm going to learn now from his reaction.' B'ton fans were gutted to say the least. Kuszczak, Calderon, Greer, El-Abd, Bridge, Hammond, Bridcutt, Orlandi (Dicker), Barnes, Mackail-Smith (Vicente), David (Buckley) Champ's P27 . W10 D11 L6 . F39 A29 . Pt41 Po8 . W = 37% L = 22.2% Season1 (A) 29/10/11 - 0-0. In our first season at Falmer, BHA had met regular Championship fare and found it hard to get results against them. We'd beaten a few sides in lower half of the table but found it tougher to overturn those currently placed higher than us. A number of clubs also had Prem experience, where-as coming up from League1 didn't exactly prepare for life at level two. Gus Poyet kept faith with third tier champions but at this stage of the game, things were evolving for consolidation in the div. The squad wasn't big and injury issues (El-Abd, Dicker, Elphick surgery), full match fitness (Taricco, Vicente, Buckley, Hoskins niggles) and loss of form (Ankergren, Calderon, Dunk, Barnes, LuaLua dropped) provided Gus with plenty of food for thought to go with his lunchtime tapas after training. Then Chilean defender Gonzalo Jara Reyes and keeper Steve Harley came in on loan to help bolster a light match-day sixteen. Not long before the trip to St Andrews, Billy Paynter arrived via Leeds to add to his CV as a goalscorer. * match report: Brighton were grateful to get to halftime without conceding, although it was far from one-way traffic and Albion's changed line-up coped well. Calderon played in cent-def, while Vincelot added to a competitive midfield. During the second period Seagulls upped the ante and created opportunities to score. Harper and his back line were holding firm and bolstered by Taricco as sub for injured Jara Reyes. Gus introduced Paynter with plenty of time to go and finished with three strikers trying to bag a winner. And chances came and went too but unfortunately didn't hit the back of Blues net. Albion hadn't scored in three fixtures now but momentum was building for a goal blitz soon, once new faces had clicked. Gus wasn't unhappy and he was the man who carried the proverbial can at Falmer. Harper, Jara (Taricco), Calderon, Greer, Painter, Vincelot, Sparrow (Paynter), Bridcutt, Noone, Barnes, Mackail-Smith. Champ's P14 . W5 D5 L4 . F17 A16 . Pt20 Po10 . W = 35.7% L = 28.5% * * * * * Withdean Era - from 1999 to 2011. no visits to St Andrews in 12 seasons.
Birmingham - Home, Falmer Years: 11/12 - 16/17 C'ship, Seasons 1-6 . 17/18 - 22/23 Prem, no meetings. Season7 onwards - not Premier League. Albion v Blues (H) from 11/12 @ C: 1-1, 0-1, 1-0, 4-3, 2-1, 3-1 . . W = 4 D = 1 L = 1 For Away Falmer Years results and reports scroll further up. memorable match: Season4 (H) - the score alone tells all you want to know... or does it? Season6 (H) Championship 4/4/17 - 3-1 ~ Murray, Hemed, Huenemeier. This was the second (on a Tuesday evening) of those four remaining home matches this month. BHA also had three away games, prior to the final day at Villa in early May. Compared to our state of play in this corresponding fixture of the last campaign (see below) Albion were once more attempting to repeat success and secure an auto-promo slot. Where as BHA had led the division approaching the halfway stage in 2015, now we were a close second. But crucially Seagulls were 9 points clear of the 3rd team, who had a game in hand. That gap appeared big enough because our goal difference was almost worth a point to boot. So a target of 90 points meant just 10 to get from a possible 21, or 1.42pt/gm, which was well below the current 2.05pt/gm average to date. And two points per game over a season should get you promotion automatically. * match report: Albion netted three good goals and it was just as well because City were tougher opposition than expected. Murray opened the scoring after just a minute's play when turning in Bruno's centre (2min). But Dunk had to be replaced by Tomori by half an hour due to feeling unwell. Following the interval Albion showed a bit more purpose and quickly scored twice. Murray jumped high from a Bruno cross to give Hemed a chance to chest trhe ball home (48min). Next, from a set piece the ball came back out to Huenemeier and he lashed it in (54 min). Hughton withdrew booked Knockaert & Stephens with like for like as Seagulls tried to keep it clean. But City kept playing and grabbed a late consolation to spoil & soil Stockdale's evening (85min). Brighton fans were happy to see yet another home win, which was the 16th and most domestic victories of all league clubs to date. Promotion was a step nearer and overall Seagulls support had never been so good. Stats; h-t 1-0, goals 2,48,54-85, poss 42%-58%, on target 3-3, off target 3-4, corners 3-8, o/s 0-1, fouls 15-8, yellows 2-1, subs 3-2, att 28,654 Stockdale, Bruno, Huenemeier, Dunk (Tomori), Bong, Knockaert (Murphy), Stephens (Norwood), Kayal, March, Murray, Hemed. Champ's P40 . W25 D8 L7 . F67 A34 . Pt83 Po2 . W = 62.5% L = 17.5% Season5 (H) 28/11/15 - 2-1 ~ March, Zamora. Record breaking Albion were going great guns this term. Their super undefeted start had turned into the best run since even oldest fans could remember and was still ongoing. Seagulls previously had gained 35pts after 17 fixtures during seasons '01/2, '02/3 & '10/11 - all promotion campaigns to boot! Chris Hughton had worked wonders and his '15/16 team was now hard to beat - home & away. He was fielding a settled side which hadn't suffered too many injuries to key personnel. As a safeguard, two players had just arrived on loan to boost the squad, which was otherwise all contracted. On the day the weather was cold, wet & windy but 27k attended, making it the biggest crowd this term to date. * match report: March was voted man of the match with a great attacking display. He opened the scoring when driving in a rebound from his original shot (17min). But B'ton had a habit of conceding soon afterwards and hey-ho Blues equalised following defensive errors (21min). Then play was quickly halted when Rosenior got injured. Calderon replaced as the left back was carried off before the half hour. After the break Albion soon scored to silence useful away support. Zamora took acolades when slotting home a loose ball from March's drive at goal (47min). But once again visitors posed a threat on the break and the last twenty minutes were often a tad anxious for home fans. New boy James Wilson came on in lieu of Zamora around the hour mark... and he hit a post when put thru by Kayal. Hemed was later withdrawn and Ince inserted to protect the back four. Seagulls saw it out but not before Stockdale produced a fine save to deny travellers a share of points by end of stoppage. BHA returned to top of the table but in truth this was due to keeping the incredible unbeaten run alive against all the odds since the Championship began in summer. Stats; poss 62%-38%, on target 9-5, off target 8-8, blocks 4-2, corners 9-6, fouls 9-10, o/s 2-1, yellows 4-4. Stockdale, Bruno, Greer, Dunk, Rosenior (Calderon), March, Stephens, Kayal, Murphy, Hemed (Ince), Zamora (Wilson). Champ's P18 . W10 D8 L0 . F24 A14 . Pt38 Po1 . W = 55.5% L = 0% Season4 (H) 21/2/15 - 4-3 ~ Teixeira 2, Calderon 2. Ok, here's how it was... to date Albion were shocking at home this term, with; W3 D6 L6 F17 A20. Prior to k-o Seagulls were a point above the drop zone and only a run of victories could lift the side to go better a glut of clubs with more points in midtable. Sami Hyypia was a fading memory as BHA's 4th Amex manager coz Chris Hughton had replaced him since New Year. The honeymoon was well & truly over and following a couple of ground out nil-nil's away from home, the team had to now do it domestically and keep clean sheets at very least! The current squad was radically different to previous seasons and in truth not as good. But Hughton was short of mega bucks to go get players, what with FFP rules and all of that business. Anyhow he had brought in a couple of signings who had to get up to speed quick - Best, Kayal and this week Ledesma. * match report: Stockdale made a superb penalty save just before the break that may have ensured this entertaining victory. Teixeira opened the scoring with a shot that wriggled under the keeper (8min). But Blues quickly hit back with a diverted effort from a long punt (13min). During the second period Calderon notched with an opportunist stab in the six yard box (50min). Then Teixeira bagged a brace after Baldock's effort was parried (58min). CMS soon came on to lead the line as Hughton made tactical changes, introducing Stephens later. Visitors got another as they pushed up into Seagulls area (76min) - to at least keep the away crowd interested. LuaLua turned up for impact and Calderon next got his own double when crashing home a Dunk flick on (85min). There was still time for travellers to net a third goal and as usual at the Amex, you couldn't make it up in stoppage. 25thou Brighton fans went home happy - having seen more goals today than for many a year and wondered if this now really was the start of a home run. Stockdale, Bruno, Greer, Dunk, Bennett, Kayal (Stephens), Teixeira (LuaLua), Ince, Calderon, Best (Mackail-Smith), Baldock. Champ's P32 . W7 D13 L12 . F42 A36 . Pt34 Po20 . W = 21.8% L = 37.5% Season3 (H) 11/1/14 - W 1-0 ~ David. It had been a very wet period in Sussex and a helluva lot of rivers throughout the county were on flood alert. But on this day it was dry and sunny, so official attendance got posted just short of 27k. A lot of the same faces were filling places in the starting eleven compared to other seasons at the amex, however Oscar Garcia was putting his stamp on proceedings and things were about to change. Bridcutt was unsettled and speculation was rife as to his move to join Gus Poyet at Sunderland. Over the next week Barnes & El-Abd would leave the club, although Obika had just joined and further signings were anticipated. Long-term injured CMS and Hoskins were returning to training, while Orlandi, Buckley, Calderon and Dunk waited in wings. Those promoted from the dev squad like Ince and March would also be given a chance to show what they had. * match report: Prior to an hour gone, Brighton scored the only goal of the game to take all three points and leap into a play-off slot. Crofts and Ulloa attacked the ball in oppositions area but David smacked it home (58min). OG tinkered with subs thereafter, replacing Ulloa with the new boy a few minutes later. Then he was forced to field Orlandi following Crofts removal through injury - what turned out to be cruciate damage, thus ending his campaign. LuaLua won man of the match due to his attacking flair at pace, although it played havoc with his hamstrings subsequently. El-Abd came on at the death for his swansong. The match was never a classic and visitors didn't put up too much of a bid for victory against the odds. Stats revealed Seagulls well ahead in everything but offsides. Once again Albion squeezed past an average side and our lack of turning possession and forward moves into goals was becoming habitual - to say the least. Kuszczak, Bruno, Greer, Upson, Ward, Crofts (Orlandi), Andrews, Ince, David (El-Abd), Ulloa (Obika), LuaLua. Champ's P35 . W10 D9 L6 . F30 A22 . Pt39 Po6 . W = 28.5% L = 17.1% Season2 (H) 29/9/12 - 0-1. Second time around in the Championship and things were a tad different already. For a kick-off the Amex now had a 28k capacity and gates of 24k, 25k and 26k were recorded in the first three home fixtures. Brighton were in top spot having won five on the trot and were also finding the net regularly. Meanwhile Birmingham managed barely more than a point per game on average in nineteenth place and got hammered at theirs a week beforehand in front of merely 13k. The contrast between the two clubs was apparent when considering we had twice as many attending, plus double Blues total amount of points to date. But Gus Poyet knew you couldn't take such stuff for granted and realised we hadn't played too many top-ten big clubs to date. It was a late k-o in front of 26k who already knew other results, so could see what was actually needed. * match report: Brighton crashed to defeat and failed to find the net although enjoying majority of possession and stats. On top of which, floodlight failure at halftime delayed the second period and interrupted momentum. Albion went behind when a misdirected clearance fell conveniently for a Blue in space and he lashed it in from distance (27min). Poyet shook up his 433 by subbing El-Abd for David for tactical reasons and letting Hammond drop deep (61m). Later on LuaLua replaced livewire Buckley (72m). There was loads of huff and puff but no more goals. Seagulls were grounded with first defeat at the Amex and were stuffed in their nest to boot. We couldn't break down a resilient defence, nor scrape an equaliser, although we had 10 offsides given against and the usual declined pen appeal. Gus wasn't happy but he had to find a way of beating such opposition in future. Kuszczak, Calderon, Greer, El-Abd (David), Bridge, Hammond, Bridcutt, Dicker, Buckley (LuaLua), Barnes, Dobbie. Champ's P8 . W5 D1 L2 . F14 A5 . Pt16 Po1 . W = 62.5% L = 25% Season1 (H) 21/4/12 - 1-1 ~ Barnes. This fixture was the very last home game at the Amex in our first season there. And what a season it had been, compared to Albion's earlier three years of struggle in the Championship, during that infamous Withdean era of the noughties. Brighton fans had certainly got their monies worth at the community stadium and even the in-house catering firm won an award for displaying quality produce. BHA missed out on play-offs, where other top-eight clubs all had experience of the Prem in recent years. However, Gus Poyet got somewhere he wanted to be and realised Seagulls probably over-achieved on elevating from third-tier standard. Poyet did use on-loan players to bolster the squad but gave a good crack of the whip to previous lower-league types. * match report: Yet again Brighton had to come from behind to salvage something from a late season slump. It was nil-nil at halftime, although visitors hadn't been particularly dangerous. Then City went ahead after repelling constant Albion attacks well into the second period. The home defence didn't deal with a routine foray up-field and paid the price for a low shot inside the post from distance (69min). Poyet responded with a characteristic positive double swop, introducing more attacking options (72min). Vicente had been running the show going forward from midfield and was well backed by Player of the Year Bridcutt and Navarro, in 433 shape. But it all broke down in the final third as usual, where possession counted much less than on/off targets. On balance of stats a draw was likely, although Seagulls left it a tad late to equalise. Calderon ran unimpeded into the area and cut back a ball for Barnes to slot home (84min). So Barnes finished top scorer in the no.9 shirt, eclipsing expensive signing Mackail-Smith who suffered goal drought this term. It had been an interesting initial campaign at the Amex, often exciting and there were good atmospheres from regular 20k crowds. Away support played their part and it was a million miles away from Withdean in almost every sense. Brezovan, Calderon, Dunk, El-Abd, Mattock (Noone), Bridcutt, Navarro (Dicker), Vicente, Buckley, Mackail-Smith, Barnes. Champ's P45 . W17 D14 L14 . F52 A52 . Pt65 Po9 . W = 37.7% L = 31.1% * * * * * Withdean era: from 1999 - 2011. no meetings in 12 seasons.
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