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Previous encounters (Blackpool )
Blackpool - Home, Falmer Years: C'ship 11/12-14/15, seasons 1-4 . FA Cup '21 . 17/18 onwards - Prem, no meetings. ground: Bloomfield Road 17k . nickname: Seasiders . shirt: tangerine. EFL record from 11/12: 5 15 20 24 C, 22 L1, 7 L2 / 12 10 13 3 L1, 16 23 C, 8 L1 @ 4/5/24. C'ship: p-os - '12, rel - '15 '23 . L1: p-os - '21, rel - '16 . L2: promo - '17. Seasons 11 onwards (5th) (H) - not Premier League Season10 (H) FA Cup R4 Sat 23/1/21 - W 2-1 ~ Bissouma, Alzate. Winter '21 ongoing covid pandemic lockdown 3 resrictions - tier 5, no fans attending. Match played behind closed doors. After squeezing past Newport County on penalties away in Wales for R3, Albion then paired with old foes & fellow Seasiders at the Amex. At same time of that televised R4 draw, next R5 ties were also decided and BHA/Blackpool got selected away to Brentford/Leicester. Seagulls were coming into this round of the popular cup competition having opened a gap above the bottom three in the PL and therefore finding happier frame of mind. Meanwhile Blackpool had beat BHA's fellow Prem outfit West Brom in FAC3 at home on penalties and were currently mid div in League One. Graham Potter was anticipated to field a strong side because rewards for progressing remained attractive and if we threw this tie down the drain Brighton fans at least would want to know why. The club was in process of rebuilding based on their youth policy and although a slow project, it was effectively a results based business in all competitions. Youth would get a chance to step up but only at the right moment according to BHA pathway development programs. Seagulls fans accepted this but were aware Albion's academy output had to cut the mustard when our hour of need arrived. Potter actually put out almost a full strength side with Prem squad players on the bench to boot. Walton got a first go between the posts as Ryan had just gone on loan to Arsenal. Even though there were five players out injured, this match-day group appeared to be basis of the future Prem set up. *** match report: Albion got it done but in far from impressive manner overall. Bissouma scored a goal of the round candidate with a bullet strike from range to the top corner (27min). But on the stroke of halftime visitors equalised from a rare incursion (45+1min). After turnaround Mac Allister struck a shot that clipped off Alzate and deflected into the net (58min). After that Potter made a triple substitution and BHA kept trying to score once more from chances occurring. Alas we couldn't hit a proverbial barn door. Potter took the positives, having seen us go through with an element or two of good fortune. Brighton fans recognised blue & white could play many series of cup rounds and never witness two such very different goals together ever again as scored today. Stats: ht 1-1, goals 27,58-45+, poss 64.9%-35.1%, on target 4-2, off target 12-0, blocks 5-3, o/s 5-1, crosses 21-6, corners 6-1, tackles 12-10, fouls 11-4, yellows 0-0, subs 4-4, shape 433-352. Team: 31 Walton, 34 Veltman, 4 Webster, 5 Dunk, 33 Burn, 24 Propper, 8 Bissouma, 17 Alzate (20 March 61), 22 Tau (9 Maupay 61), 10 Mac Allister (11 Trossard 61), 29 Zeqiri (13 Gross 76) . Bench: 26 Sanchez, 3 White, 15 Moder, 41 Sanders, 67 Khadra. Squad: 19 Izquierdo, 23 Steele . Injured: 2 Lamptey, 7 Connolly, 14 Lallana, 16 Jahanbakhsh, 18 Welbeck . MoM: Bissouma. Seasons 7-10 (1st-4th) (H) onwards - not Premier League. * * * * * Albion v Seasiders (H) from 11/12 @ C: 2-2 6-1 1-1 0-0 - - . . W = 1 D = 3 L = 0 For Away Falmer Years results and reports scroll further below. memorable match: Season2 (H) - plenty of names got on the score-sheet. Seasons 5-6 (H) - not C'ship. Season4 (H) Championship 20/9/14 - 0-0. Going into this game, Albion were 18th after seven fixtures and badly required to record a win after taking only one point from the last three matches. Sami Hyypia had assmbled a squad without spending huge amounts of money but some good players had left. Compared to last April against Seasiders; Kuszczak, Upson, Ward, Andrews, Buckley, Lingard, David and Ulloa were all elsewhere - the latter sold to Leicester for 8million and add ons. Fans realised our new manager and player pool needed time to progress but unfortunately it was being done when three points were at stake. * match report: The match ended goalless and considering stats, Brighton fans wondered why Seagulls could not turn possession & chances into goals. In the very first minute there was a 1-on-1that went begging and it seemed to set a trend. A 24k crowd got behind the lads but by halftime it was getting a little quiet and many preferred pie & pint on concourse to rushing back for more second period stalemate. Hyypia put on LuaLua after the hour and this injected some urgency but by time CMS got on it was same old, same old again. Seasiders defended everything and held out against odds stacked against them, even when losing a man to injury with ten minutes left, after last subs were exchanged. McCourt got a few moments to shine but Albion did not make the necessary breakthrough. Sami said, 'we were more organised in the second half and more lively in defence but didn't create enough chances to score.' But in truth BHA had 2/3 possession, 25 on/offs/blocks & 15 corners - surely enough to net once? Stockwell, Bruno, Greer, Dunk, Bennett, Crofts, Holla, Forster-Caskey, Colunga (Mackail-Smith), Baldock (McCourt), Teixeira (LuaLua). Champ's P8 . W2 D2 L4. F8 A10 . Pt8 Po18 . W = 25% L = 50% Season3 (H) 21/4/14 - 1-1 ~ Stephens. It was Easter Monday, gonna go to the wire and both teams were involved at different ends of the division. So points would be doubly valuable at this stage of the campaign. Other results had previously gone our way but Lady Luck could not be relied upon to secure a play-off spot with merely a couple of games left. Albion were unbeaten in five and maintaining a promo push belatedly. Seasiders came south for action but it wasn't a holiday. Brighton fans again turned up in numbers on a decent spring afternoon and the average gate this term was over 27k. * match report: It was nil-nil at halftime and although Albion tried, a goal would not arrive to cheer home support into a festive party atmosphere. Oscar Garcia subbed for Buckley immediately following the break and was it inspired? Ulloa set up Stephens who drove a shot in (46min). But Seasiders hit back quickly and equalised on the counter via a one-two (50min). OG put on CMS with twenty minutes left and he received much applause, having returned from serious injury from a year ago. Brighton continued to huff & puff, sweat & blow and many other things and all but no more goals. It was not the best match you would ever see and something a disappointment. The difference in the side was merely apparent from league position and when it came to the crunch, BHA lacked clinical striking or a magic moment. At least there were chocolate eggs to eat by way of consolation. Kuszczak, Bruno, Greer, Upson, Ward, Stephens, Andrews, March (Buckley), Lingard (David), Ulloa, LuaLua (Mackail-Smith). Champ's P44 . W17 D15 L12 . F51 A39 . Pt66 Po7 . W = 38.6% L = 27.2% Season2 (H) 20/4/13 - 6-1 ~ Buckley, Upson, Orlandi, David, Barnes 2. It had been a long hard cold winter and springtime hadn't exactly warmed up much weather-wise either. Brighton fans wondered if these conditions had affected the Spanish contingent as Seagulls struggled from October until March to break into play-off places. Admittedly we were never lower than tenth and generally chasing the top six for required points. Bruno had 28 apps to date but had just returned from injury, while Calderon got 17apps as his replacement. Orlandi also had 28 apps and was sometimes sub but Vicente couldn't get a game for toffee and what a waste of huge talent. David done good on 24 apps and newish striker Ulloa reached 14 apps already. On this day the sun came out in constant blue skies and over 28k got along to watch Albion go for broke. Gus Poyet changed his line-up in a sort of squad rotation, having both wingers LuaLua and Buckley available again and Barnes back from a seven game ban. The defence remained pretty constant and reliable, so Gus altered midfield although kept to 433 shape where players were expected to defend when necessary. *** match report: Albion went ahead inside 10 minutes and it just got better and better. Buckley opened the scoring when cutting square of the area and unleashing a hot shot to the far corner (9min). Halfway through the first period Upson bundled the ball into roof of the net following play after a set piece (23min). Immediately before the break David played Orlandi in to net a third from a perfect 1-2, Barca style (45min). The second half was only seconds old when David notched following Buckley teeing him up around the D (64min). A little later Hammond headed past Kuszczak in bizarre fashion when unchallenged (53min). About an hour in Kuszczak got decked during an aerial challenge and he was eventually replaced by Ankergren (64min). Straight away Bruno came on and Calderon went to lb. Shortly afterwards LuaLua took to the field and made a similar attacking impact as the Spaniard. Barnes grabbed a late brace; first form LuaLua's centre (76min) then from David's cross at the death (90min). Gus said, 'it's not done yet and we need to keep going. But we are looking good. We have momentum at the right time of the season.' Yes, Brighton fans were very pleased the sun came out at last. Kuszczak (Ankergren), Calderon, Greer, Upson, Bridge (Bruno), David, Bridcutt, Hammond, Buckley (LuaLua), Barnes, Orlandi. Champ's P44 . W17 D18 L9 . F65 A42 . Pt69 Po4 . W = 38.6% L = 20.4% Season1 (H) 20/8/11 - 2-2 ~ Mackail-Smith, Barnes. Before k-o for this second Championship home fixture at the Amex, the sun came out on a warm summer afternoon and there was clear blue sky above our wonderful new community stadium. Over 19k attended and useful looking numbers of Orange shirts were in the south stand too. Blackpool had been in the Prem last term, so knew the score when it came to playing a half decent level of soccer. Gus Poyet had boosted his best League1 eleven with some expensive signings in pre-season, although we hadn't the biggest squad for being super strong in tier two. However, Albion had started with three wins and knocked the ball about to boot in fine style. For the first half and part of the second period, Albion bossed proceedings and took a two goal lead from attractive and accurate football. Noone was doing the biz on left flank and set up CM-S to head the opener (29min). Shortly after the break Barnes converted the little wingers low centre close home and all was well in our b&w world (50m). Then Holloway put on three subs together and the match altered slightly. Visitors grabbed a goal on the hour mark, so Gus took off Noone in a reciprocal tactical move. But it backfired and B'ton mainly backpedalled from then on. Navarro got on late in the day when we were only counter attacking with the away side threatening to equalise. They poured over crosses and nicked a point right at the death from an ex-Prem striker. We'd gone deep once too often and it was done and dusted now. Officials were oblivious to shouts for spot kicks and as Blackpool did what they had to do by fair means or foul, we appeared a little naive and all. We had to wake up and smell the coffee and forget the fairy story of being at the Amex. This was the beginning of reality, nor the end of tough campaiging either. Ankergren, Calderon, Greer, Dunk, Painter, Vincelot, Bridcutt, Dicker (Navarro), Noone (LuaLua), Barnes, Mackail-Smith. Champ's P4 . W3 D1 L0 . F8 A4 . Pt10 Po3 . W = 75% L = 0% * * * * * Withdean Era: 12 seasons from 1999 to 2011. Season2 - 00/1 League Two . Seasons 3 5 8 - 01/2 03/4 06/7 League One. Withdean era: Albion V B'pool 1-0, 4-0, 3-0, 0-3 . . . W = 3 D = 0 L = 1 memorable match: Season3 (H) - an early season goal fest in what was a very good year. see: Season2 for Bobby Zamora . Season3 for Norman Cook . Season5 for Steve Coppell. Season8 for Lews District Council and Falmer ruling.
Blackpool - Away, Falmer Years: C'ship 11/12-14/15, seasons 1-4 . 17/18 onwards - Prem, no meetings. Season7 (A) onwards - not Premier League. Seasiders v Albion (A) from 11/12 @ C: 3-1 1-1 0-1 1-0 - - . . W = 1 D = 1 L = 2 For Home Falmer Years results and reports scroll further up. memorable match: Season3 (A) - a rare victory up on the northwest coast. Seasons 5-6 (A) - not C'ship. Season4 (A) Championship 31/1/15 - L 1-0. There had been a lot of changes thru those four years since moving to Falmer and this term was no exception. Albion were on their fourth manager in as many seasons - Chris Hughton having replaced Sami Hyypia at New Year. Until then the club was struggling in the drop zone with bottom side Blackpool, who were still favourites for relegation. Hughton had stopped the rot but many more points were yet required to hit that target of 50 for safety in this tough division. He had just signed midfielder Beram Kayal from Celtic and also striker Leon Best on loan from Blackburn. But much speculation about Chris O'Grady had stopped and he led the line today. On a freezing cold afternoon, a little over 500 devoted travelling fans assembled in the bitter wind at Bloomfield Road. * match report: Albion dropped back perilously close to the bottom three following a single goal defeat. This was scored from a f-k that found the top corner when fooling Stockdale in the wind (75min). Conditions were poor and the pitch a mess but it was the same for both sides and Seagulls should have done much better at the seaside. The same old problems that held the squad down under Hyypia resurfaced - few chances were created and they merely produced another fail to score stat. Midfield were outnumbered but could not penetrate on a very poor surface. There was something lacking and away fans wondered if it was necessary bottle. Baldock got a thigh strain and Best appeared, which pepped things up for the last third in the final third (55min). With fifteen minutes left after locals scored, March took over from Calderon to chase the game for an equaliser. Ref was a bit of a homer but all in all it was a poor performance. CMS arrived with five minutes left but never got going - like the rest of the team. Hughton said, 'to win it we've got to have more opportunities and show more in the final third.' What he meant was that he didn't think Albion did enough to go and get the points in a very scrappy match. So as a result, visiting fans went home cold and also very disappointed. Stockdale, Bruno, Greer, Dunk, Bennett, Ince, Forster-Caskey, Holla, Calderon (March), O'Grady (Mackail-Smith), Baldock (Best) Champ's P28 . W6 D11 L11 . F30 A36 . Pt29 Po21 . W = 21.4% L = 39.2% Season3 (A) 29/12/13 - W 0-1 ~ Calderon. Xmas had gone and New Year was just around the corner. Meanwhile Albion had gone right up north to fit in a strange fixture that fell between two festive holiday times. Our record at Bloomfield Road was not too good and a glitch at Charlton on Boxing Day put a blot on an otherwise useful away record this term. Oscar Garcia and his squad was work in progress, following a reasonable run of form without first choice players who'd been injured. Now there was more competition for places and the bench was strong. Seagulls were on very edge of play-off places having climbed from mid-table mediocrity in first half of the current campaign. An extra effort before all those return matches started in 2014 could pay dividend with points in the bank. * match report: Reserve fullback Calderon netted the only goal of the game as Albion turned in a gritty if not exactly polished performance. The long-serving Spaniard ran thru solo and popped it inside the near post (38min). Brighton were good value for the win and it was a victory deserving a bigger scoreline but for intervention of woodwork. Debutant Chicksen replaced injured Ward at end of the first half and did ok, like fellow youngster Ince who started in the midfield holding role and done good too. Buckley ran amok before pulling up with hamstring trouble late in the day. Ulloa was also just back from injury but lasted past the hour mark, adding his bit to a comprehensive display of attacking football. Oscar Garcia said, 'There are a lot of good teams in this league. I always want us to be better. The players know to be focused on the next game and nothing else.' Kuszczak, Calderon, El-Abd, Upson, Ward (Chicksen), Crofts, Bridcutt, Ince, Buckley (David), Ulloa (LuaLua), Barnes. Champ's P23 . W9 D8 L6 . F28 A21 . Pt35 Po8 . W = 39.1% L = 26.0% Season 2 (A) 27/10/12 - 1-1 ~ Barnes. Albion's second Championship campaign-start was beginning to come apart at the seams. Seagulls hadn't won in five consecutive fixtures beforehand and only scored once. Gus Poyet said, 'if we cannot even score from a penalty how are we going to score a goal? I'm getting really bored of managing a team like this one.' There had even been a spat in public between Kuszczak and Barnes when Seagulls lost one-nil at Leicester that week and Brighton fans were also frustrated - with merely two points from those 5 matches when we weren't playing too badly in build-up. On the positive side Will Buckley said, 'we need to change something fast. The gaffer sorted us out and I think we needed it, me included. We needed a kick up the you know what.' After the first quarter of the season BHA were in the mix for chasing a p-o spot but had to improve in order to progress above the standard of a year ago. Talk about wanting planB. * match report: There is no way to say this other than to state Albion were battered. But the good news was we actually got a point. In fact, after a first-half largely on the back foot, B'ton even took an unlikely lead. There was a cock-up in Seasiders defence and Barnes turned up to somehow claim the opener (56min). Tangerines redoubled efforts and eventually peppered our area with around 20 on/offs and gained 13 corners overall. They duly equalised during this pressure period from a diving header as Seagulls flapped again (72m). Poyet then sent on Orlandi in a trademark attacking substitution, although it came to nought. Dobbie replaced injured CMS at the death. Gus said, 'we didn't perform and we should be delighted with a point.' El-Abd said, 'we didn't do very well in any aspect really. We could easily go and win five in a row in the next five games.' Yeah, right. Kuszczak, Bruno, Greer, El-Abd, Bridge, Hammond, Bridcutt (Orlandi), Crofts, Buckley, Mackail-Smith (Dobbie), Barnes. Champ's P13 . W5 D4 L4 . F15 A8 . Pt19 Po10 . W = 38.4% L = 30.7% Season1 (A) 17/3/12 - L 3-1 ~ Mattock. Prior to this fixture, BHA announced that CEO Martin Perry was stepping down to concentrate on finishing two current projects; for both expansion of the Amex and then building of the new Academy complex at Lancing. The club had come a million miles from homecoming days since turn of the millennium and workloads for management at Falmer, had gone right off the scale in our modern 21st century environment. As a pukka business, Albion was growing faster than most in Sussex and now needed full-time executives. MD Ken Brown also moved on to other pastures, although not necessarily greener than those on the Downs. Director Derek Chapman was to stand in as CEO until the Board approved a future candidate. Apparently it was all part of the bigger picture for a club that could now be regarded as regaining previously lost big-boys status. * match report: Albion's unbeaten run throughout 2012 to date, came to an abrupt end as tired travellers surrendered tamely to rampant seasiders. Unexpectedly BHA took an early lead when Mattock shouldered in Vicente's corner (7 min). But on a dodgy pitch, Albion's passing game fell apart and Blackpool scored twice just before the break (37 & 40 min). Not long into the second period, Reyes got a straight red for a dangerous tackle (57m) and the game was well and truly up. Gus put Calderon on (60m) and later replaced two attackers for the last fifteen minutes, with an eye on the next midweek match. Ten minutes from time Tangerines made it a sour experience when netting on the break (80m). Brezovan, Bridcutt, Mattock, Greer and Reyes had off days and our defence suffered as a result. Gus was disappointed in the overall performance and could see that Seagulls were woefully short of flying into a play-off berth. All a bit of an anti-climax up there again and a long haul home to replay those bad bits. Brezovan, Reyes, Greer, El-Abd, Mattock, Bridcutt, Navarro, Vicente (Buckley), Noone (Calderon), Barnes, Mackail-Smith (Vokes). Champ's P37 . W16 D10 L11 . F45 A39 . Pt58 Po8 . W = 43.2% L = 29.7% * * * * * Withdean Era: 12 seasons from 1999 to 2011. Season2 - 00/1 League Two . Seasons 3 5 8 - 01/2 03/4 06/7 League One. Withdean era: B'pool V Albion 0-2, 2-2, 3-1, 0-0 . . . W = 1 D = 2 L = 1 memorable match: Season2 (A) - a great result early in a super season. Noughties last there - 10/3/07 (A) League One. Our four visits to Broomfield Road were spaced out across the decade playing in 2 divs. see: Season3 & 8 for stadiums background.
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Previous encounters (Blackpool )
Blackpool - Home, Falmer Years: C'ship 11/12-14/15, seasons 1-4 . FA Cup '21 . 17/18 onwards - Prem, no meetings. ground: Bloomfield Road 17k . nickname: Seasiders . shirt: tangerine. EFL record from 11/12: 5 15 20 24 C, 22 L1, 7 L2 / 12 10 13 3 L1, 16 23 C, 8 L1 @ 4/5/24. C'ship: p-os - '12, rel - '15 '23 . L1: p-os - '21, rel - '16 . L2: promo - '17. Seasons 11 onwards (5th) (H) - not Premier League Season10 (H) FA Cup R4 Sat 23/1/21 - W 2-1 ~ Bissouma, Alzate. Winter '21 ongoing covid pandemic lockdown 3 resrictions - tier 5, no fans attending. Match played behind closed doors. After squeezing past Newport County on penalties away in Wales for R3, Albion then paired with old foes & fellow Seasiders at the Amex. At same time of that televised R4 draw, next R5 ties were also decided and BHA/Blackpool got selected away to Brentford/Leicester. Seagulls were coming into this round of the popular cup competition having opened a gap above the bottom three in the PL and therefore finding happier frame of mind. Meanwhile Blackpool had beat BHA's fellow Prem outfit West Brom in FAC3 at home on penalties and were currently mid div in League One. Graham Potter was anticipated to field a strong side because rewards for progressing remained attractive and if we threw this tie down the drain Brighton fans at least would want to know why. The club was in process of rebuilding based on their youth policy and although a slow project, it was effectively a results based business in all competitions. Youth would get a chance to step up but only at the right moment according to BHA pathway development programs. Seagulls fans accepted this but were aware Albion's academy output had to cut the mustard when our hour of need arrived. Potter actually put out almost a full strength side with Prem squad players on the bench to boot. Walton got a first go between the posts as Ryan had just gone on loan to Arsenal. Even though there were five players out injured, this match-day group appeared to be basis of the future Prem set up. *** match report: Albion got it done but in far from impressive manner overall. Bissouma scored a goal of the round candidate with a bullet strike from range to the top corner (27min). But on the stroke of halftime visitors equalised from a rare incursion (45+1min). After turnaround Mac Allister struck a shot that clipped off Alzate and deflected into the net (58min). After that Potter made a triple substitution and BHA kept trying to score once more from chances occurring. Alas we couldn't hit a proverbial barn door. Potter took the positives, having seen us go through with an element or two of good fortune. Brighton fans recognised blue & white could play many series of cup rounds and never witness two such very different goals together ever again as scored today. Stats: ht 1-1, goals 27,58-45+, poss 64.9%-35.1%, on target 4-2, off target 12-0, blocks 5-3, o/s 5-1, crosses 21-6, corners 6-1, tackles 12-10, fouls 11-4, yellows 0-0, subs 4-4, shape 433-352. Team: 31 Walton, 34 Veltman, 4 Webster, 5 Dunk, 33 Burn, 24 Propper, 8 Bissouma, 17 Alzate (20 March 61), 22 Tau (9 Maupay 61), 10 Mac Allister (11 Trossard 61), 29 Zeqiri (13 Gross 76) . Bench: 26 Sanchez, 3 White, 15 Moder, 41 Sanders, 67 Khadra. Squad: 19 Izquierdo, 23 Steele . Injured: 2 Lamptey, 7 Connolly, 14 Lallana, 16 Jahanbakhsh, 18 Welbeck . MoM: Bissouma. Seasons 7-10 (1st-4th) (H) onwards - not Premier League. * * * * * Albion v Seasiders (H) from 11/12 @ C: 2-2 6-1 1-1 0-0 - - . . W = 1 D = 3 L = 0 For Away Falmer Years results and reports scroll further below. memorable match: Season2 (H) - plenty of names got on the score-sheet. Seasons 5-6 (H) - not C'ship. Season4 (H) Championship 20/9/14 - 0-0. Going into this game, Albion were 18th after seven fixtures and badly required to record a win after taking only one point from the last three matches. Sami Hyypia had assmbled a squad without spending huge amounts of money but some good players had left. Compared to last April against Seasiders; Kuszczak, Upson, Ward, Andrews, Buckley, Lingard, David and Ulloa were all elsewhere - the latter sold to Leicester for 8million and add ons. Fans realised our new manager and player pool needed time to progress but unfortunately it was being done when three points were at stake. * match report: The match ended goalless and considering stats, Brighton fans wondered why Seagulls could not turn possession & chances into goals. In the very first minute there was a 1-on-1that went begging and it seemed to set a trend. A 24k crowd got behind the lads but by halftime it was getting a little quiet and many preferred pie & pint on concourse to rushing back for more second period stalemate. Hyypia put on LuaLua after the hour and this injected some urgency but by time CMS got on it was same old, same old again. Seasiders defended everything and held out against odds stacked against them, even when losing a man to injury with ten minutes left, after last subs were exchanged. McCourt got a few moments to shine but Albion did not make the necessary breakthrough. Sami said, 'we were more organised in the second half and more lively in defence but didn't create enough chances to score.' But in truth BHA had 2/3 possession, 25 on/offs/blocks & 15 corners - surely enough to net once? Stockwell, Bruno, Greer, Dunk, Bennett, Crofts, Holla, Forster-Caskey, Colunga (Mackail-Smith), Baldock (McCourt), Teixeira (LuaLua). Champ's P8 . W2 D2 L4. F8 A10 . Pt8 Po18 . W = 25% L = 50% Season3 (H) 21/4/14 - 1-1 ~ Stephens. It was Easter Monday, gonna go to the wire and both teams were involved at different ends of the division. So points would be doubly valuable at this stage of the campaign. Other results had previously gone our way but Lady Luck could not be relied upon to secure a play-off spot with merely a couple of games left. Albion were unbeaten in five and maintaining a promo push belatedly. Seasiders came south for action but it wasn't a holiday. Brighton fans again turned up in numbers on a decent spring afternoon and the average gate this term was over 27k. * match report: It was nil-nil at halftime and although Albion tried, a goal would not arrive to cheer home support into a festive party atmosphere. Oscar Garcia subbed for Buckley immediately following the break and was it inspired? Ulloa set up Stephens who drove a shot in (46min). But Seasiders hit back quickly and equalised on the counter via a one-two (50min). OG put on CMS with twenty minutes left and he received much applause, having returned from serious injury from a year ago. Brighton continued to huff & puff, sweat & blow and many other things and all but no more goals. It was not the best match you would ever see and something a disappointment. The difference in the side was merely apparent from league position and when it came to the crunch, BHA lacked clinical striking or a magic moment. At least there were chocolate eggs to eat by way of consolation. Kuszczak, Bruno, Greer, Upson, Ward, Stephens, Andrews, March (Buckley), Lingard (David), Ulloa, LuaLua (Mackail-Smith). Champ's P44 . W17 D15 L12 . F51 A39 . Pt66 Po7 . W = 38.6% L = 27.2% Season2 (H) 20/4/13 - 6-1 ~ Buckley, Upson, Orlandi, David, Barnes 2. It had been a long hard cold winter and springtime hadn't exactly warmed up much weather-wise either. Brighton fans wondered if these conditions had affected the Spanish contingent as Seagulls struggled from October until March to break into play-off places. Admittedly we were never lower than tenth and generally chasing the top six for required points. Bruno had 28 apps to date but had just returned from injury, while Calderon got 17apps as his replacement. Orlandi also had 28 apps and was sometimes sub but Vicente couldn't get a game for toffee and what a waste of huge talent. David done good on 24 apps and newish striker Ulloa reached 14 apps already. On this day the sun came out in constant blue skies and over 28k got along to watch Albion go for broke. Gus Poyet changed his line-up in a sort of squad rotation, having both wingers LuaLua and Buckley available again and Barnes back from a seven game ban. The defence remained pretty constant and reliable, so Gus altered midfield although kept to 433 shape where players were expected to defend when necessary. *** match report: Albion went ahead inside 10 minutes and it just got better and better. Buckley opened the scoring when cutting square of the area and unleashing a hot shot to the far corner (9min). Halfway through the first period Upson bundled the ball into roof of the net following play after a set piece (23min). Immediately before the break David played Orlandi in to net a third from a perfect 1-2, Barca style (45min). The second half was only seconds old when David notched following Buckley teeing him up around the D (64min). A little later Hammond headed past Kuszczak in bizarre fashion when unchallenged (53min). About an hour in Kuszczak got decked during an aerial challenge and he was eventually replaced by Ankergren (64min). Straight away Bruno came on and Calderon went to lb. Shortly afterwards LuaLua took to the field and made a similar attacking impact as the Spaniard. Barnes grabbed a late brace; first form LuaLua's centre (76min) then from David's cross at the death (90min). Gus said, 'it's not done yet and we need to keep going. But we are looking good. We have momentum at the right time of the season.' Yes, Brighton fans were very pleased the sun came out at last. Kuszczak (Ankergren), Calderon, Greer, Upson, Bridge (Bruno), David, Bridcutt, Hammond, Buckley (LuaLua), Barnes, Orlandi. Champ's P44 . W17 D18 L9 . F65 A42 . Pt69 Po4 . W = 38.6% L = 20.4% Season1 (H) 20/8/11 - 2-2 ~ Mackail-Smith, Barnes. Before k-o for this second Championship home fixture at the Amex, the sun came out on a warm summer afternoon and there was clear blue sky above our wonderful new community stadium. Over 19k attended and useful looking numbers of Orange shirts were in the south stand too. Blackpool had been in the Prem last term, so knew the score when it came to playing a half decent level of soccer. Gus Poyet had boosted his best League1 eleven with some expensive signings in pre-season, although we hadn't the biggest squad for being super strong in tier two. However, Albion had started with three wins and knocked the ball about to boot in fine style. For the first half and part of the second period, Albion bossed proceedings and took a two goal lead from attractive and accurate football. Noone was doing the biz on left flank and set up CM-S to head the opener (29min). Shortly after the break Barnes converted the little wingers low centre close home and all was well in our b&w world (50m). Then Holloway put on three subs together and the match altered slightly. Visitors grabbed a goal on the hour mark, so Gus took off Noone in a reciprocal tactical move. But it backfired and B'ton mainly backpedalled from then on. Navarro got on late in the day when we were only counter attacking with the away side threatening to equalise. They poured over crosses and nicked a point right at the death from an ex-Prem striker. We'd gone deep once too often and it was done and dusted now. Officials were oblivious to shouts for spot kicks and as Blackpool did what they had to do by fair means or foul, we appeared a little naive and all. We had to wake up and smell the coffee and forget the fairy story of being at the Amex. This was the beginning of reality, nor the end of tough campaiging either. Ankergren, Calderon, Greer, Dunk, Painter, Vincelot, Bridcutt, Dicker (Navarro), Noone (LuaLua), Barnes, Mackail-Smith. Champ's P4 . W3 D1 L0 . F8 A4 . Pt10 Po3 . W = 75% L = 0% * * * * * Withdean Era: 12 seasons from 1999 to 2011. Season2 - 00/1 League Two . Seasons 3 5 8 - 01/2 03/4 06/7 League One. Withdean era: Albion V B'pool 1-0, 4-0, 3-0, 0-3 . . . W = 3 D = 0 L = 1 memorable match: Season3 (H) - an early season goal fest in what was a very good year. see: Season2 for Bobby Zamora . Season3 for Norman Cook . Season5 for Steve Coppell. Season8 for Lews District Council and Falmer ruling.
Blackpool - Away, Falmer Years: C'ship 11/12-14/15, seasons 1-4 . 17/18 onwards - Prem, no meetings. Season7 (A) onwards - not Premier League. Seasiders v Albion (A) from 11/12 @ C: 3-1 1-1 0-1 1-0 - - . . W = 1 D = 1 L = 2 For Home Falmer Years results and reports scroll further up. memorable match: Season3 (A) - a rare victory up on the northwest coast. Seasons 5-6 (A) - not C'ship. Season4 (A) Championship 31/1/15 - L 1-0. There had been a lot of changes thru those four years since moving to Falmer and this term was no exception. Albion were on their fourth manager in as many seasons - Chris Hughton having replaced Sami Hyypia at New Year. Until then the club was struggling in the drop zone with bottom side Blackpool, who were still favourites for relegation. Hughton had stopped the rot but many more points were yet required to hit that target of 50 for safety in this tough division. He had just signed midfielder Beram Kayal from Celtic and also striker Leon Best on loan from Blackburn. But much speculation about Chris O'Grady had stopped and he led the line today. On a freezing cold afternoon, a little over 500 devoted travelling fans assembled in the bitter wind at Bloomfield Road. * match report: Albion dropped back perilously close to the bottom three following a single goal defeat. This was scored from a f-k that found the top corner when fooling Stockdale in the wind (75min). Conditions were poor and the pitch a mess but it was the same for both sides and Seagulls should have done much better at the seaside. The same old problems that held the squad down under Hyypia resurfaced - few chances were created and they merely produced another fail to score stat. Midfield were outnumbered but could not penetrate on a very poor surface. There was something lacking and away fans wondered if it was necessary bottle. Baldock got a thigh strain and Best appeared, which pepped things up for the last third in the final third (55min). With fifteen minutes left after locals scored, March took over from Calderon to chase the game for an equaliser. Ref was a bit of a homer but all in all it was a poor performance. CMS arrived with five minutes left but never got going - like the rest of the team. Hughton said, 'to win it we've got to have more opportunities and show more in the final third.' What he meant was that he didn't think Albion did enough to go and get the points in a very scrappy match. So as a result, visiting fans went home cold and also very disappointed. Stockdale, Bruno, Greer, Dunk, Bennett, Ince, Forster-Caskey, Holla, Calderon (March), O'Grady (Mackail-Smith), Baldock (Best) Champ's P28 . W6 D11 L11 . F30 A36 . Pt29 Po21 . W = 21.4% L = 39.2% Season3 (A) 29/12/13 - W 0-1 ~ Calderon. Xmas had gone and New Year was just around the corner. Meanwhile Albion had gone right up north to fit in a strange fixture that fell between two festive holiday times. Our record at Bloomfield Road was not too good and a glitch at Charlton on Boxing Day put a blot on an otherwise useful away record this term. Oscar Garcia and his squad was work in progress, following a reasonable run of form without first choice players who'd been injured. Now there was more competition for places and the bench was strong. Seagulls were on very edge of play-off places having climbed from mid-table mediocrity in first half of the current campaign. An extra effort before all those return matches started in 2014 could pay dividend with points in the bank. * match report: Reserve fullback Calderon netted the only goal of the game as Albion turned in a gritty if not exactly polished performance. The long-serving Spaniard ran thru solo and popped it inside the near post (38min). Brighton were good value for the win and it was a victory deserving a bigger scoreline but for intervention of woodwork. Debutant Chicksen replaced injured Ward at end of the first half and did ok, like fellow youngster Ince who started in the midfield holding role and done good too. Buckley ran amok before pulling up with hamstring trouble late in the day. Ulloa was also just back from injury but lasted past the hour mark, adding his bit to a comprehensive display of attacking football. Oscar Garcia said, 'There are a lot of good teams in this league. I always want us to be better. The players know to be focused on the next game and nothing else.' Kuszczak, Calderon, El-Abd, Upson, Ward (Chicksen), Crofts, Bridcutt, Ince, Buckley (David), Ulloa (LuaLua), Barnes. Champ's P23 . W9 D8 L6 . F28 A21 . Pt35 Po8 . W = 39.1% L = 26.0% Season 2 (A) 27/10/12 - 1-1 ~ Barnes. Albion's second Championship campaign-start was beginning to come apart at the seams. Seagulls hadn't won in five consecutive fixtures beforehand and only scored once. Gus Poyet said, 'if we cannot even score from a penalty how are we going to score a goal? I'm getting really bored of managing a team like this one.' There had even been a spat in public between Kuszczak and Barnes when Seagulls lost one-nil at Leicester that week and Brighton fans were also frustrated - with merely two points from those 5 matches when we weren't playing too badly in build-up. On the positive side Will Buckley said, 'we need to change something fast. The gaffer sorted us out and I think we needed it, me included. We needed a kick up the you know what.' After the first quarter of the season BHA were in the mix for chasing a p-o spot but had to improve in order to progress above the standard of a year ago. Talk about wanting planB. * match report: There is no way to say this other than to state Albion were battered. But the good news was we actually got a point. In fact, after a first-half largely on the back foot, B'ton even took an unlikely lead. There was a cock-up in Seasiders defence and Barnes turned up to somehow claim the opener (56min). Tangerines redoubled efforts and eventually peppered our area with around 20 on/offs and gained 13 corners overall. They duly equalised during this pressure period from a diving header as Seagulls flapped again (72m). Poyet then sent on Orlandi in a trademark attacking substitution, although it came to nought. Dobbie replaced injured CMS at the death. Gus said, 'we didn't perform and we should be delighted with a point.' El-Abd said, 'we didn't do very well in any aspect really. We could easily go and win five in a row in the next five games.' Yeah, right. Kuszczak, Bruno, Greer, El-Abd, Bridge, Hammond, Bridcutt (Orlandi), Crofts, Buckley, Mackail-Smith (Dobbie), Barnes. Champ's P13 . W5 D4 L4 . F15 A8 . Pt19 Po10 . W = 38.4% L = 30.7% Season1 (A) 17/3/12 - L 3-1 ~ Mattock. Prior to this fixture, BHA announced that CEO Martin Perry was stepping down to concentrate on finishing two current projects; for both expansion of the Amex and then building of the new Academy complex at Lancing. The club had come a million miles from homecoming days since turn of the millennium and workloads for management at Falmer, had gone right off the scale in our modern 21st century environment. As a pukka business, Albion was growing faster than most in Sussex and now needed full-time executives. MD Ken Brown also moved on to other pastures, although not necessarily greener than those on the Downs. Director Derek Chapman was to stand in as CEO until the Board approved a future candidate. Apparently it was all part of the bigger picture for a club that could now be regarded as regaining previously lost big-boys status. * match report: Albion's unbeaten run throughout 2012 to date, came to an abrupt end as tired travellers surrendered tamely to rampant seasiders. Unexpectedly BHA took an early lead when Mattock shouldered in Vicente's corner (7 min). But on a dodgy pitch, Albion's passing game fell apart and Blackpool scored twice just before the break (37 & 40 min). Not long into the second period, Reyes got a straight red for a dangerous tackle (57m) and the game was well and truly up. Gus put Calderon on (60m) and later replaced two attackers for the last fifteen minutes, with an eye on the next midweek match. Ten minutes from time Tangerines made it a sour experience when netting on the break (80m). Brezovan, Bridcutt, Mattock, Greer and Reyes had off days and our defence suffered as a result. Gus was disappointed in the overall performance and could see that Seagulls were woefully short of flying into a play-off berth. All a bit of an anti-climax up there again and a long haul home to replay those bad bits. Brezovan, Reyes, Greer, El-Abd, Mattock, Bridcutt, Navarro, Vicente (Buckley), Noone (Calderon), Barnes, Mackail-Smith (Vokes). Champ's P37 . W16 D10 L11 . F45 A39 . Pt58 Po8 . W = 43.2% L = 29.7% * * * * * Withdean Era: 12 seasons from 1999 to 2011. Season2 - 00/1 League Two . Seasons 3 5 8 - 01/2 03/4 06/7 League One. Withdean era: B'pool V Albion 0-2, 2-2, 3-1, 0-0 . . . W = 1 D = 2 L = 1 memorable match: Season2 (A) - a great result early in a super season. Noughties last there - 10/3/07 (A) League One. Our four visits to Broomfield Road were spaced out across the decade playing in 2 divs. see: Season3 & 8 for stadiums background.
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