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Previous encounters (Cardiff )
CARDIFF - Away, Falmer Years: Prem 18/19, season8 . . C'ship 11/12-12/13 14/15-16/17, seasons 1-2 4-6 . . '21 EFL Cup. no league meetings in seasons from 2019 onwards. Prem previous encounters home & away: P2 W0 D0 L2 - see Clubs in Archive. Albion PL/EFL record @ City: W = 2 D = 2 L = 2 manager: Erol Bulut (2023) City Stad - 33.2k . nickname: Bluebirds . shirt: blue. Prem/EFL record from 11/12: 6 1 C, 20 P, 11 8 12 / 2 C, 18 P, 5 8 18 21 12 C @ 4/5/24 . C21: Prem rel '14 '19 . C'ship: promo '13, '18. City v Albion (A) from 17/18: - 2-1, - < - . . W = 0 D = 0 L = 1 . F1 A2 scorers: Dunk . (Moder Zeqiri - EFL Cup). memorable match: Season8 (A) - controversy in Wales and a reality check re-crossing the border. note: for home Falmer Years results and reports scroll further below. Seasons 12 (6th) (A) onwards - not Premier League Season11 (A) Tue 24/8/21 EFL Cup R2 - w 0-2 ~ Moder, Zeqiri. Albion were drawn away versus familiar Welsh opponents from the not too distant past (see season8 below) in this midweek knockout. Graham Potter was anticipated to field a second string line-up, or at least bolster Seagulls match-day squad with fringe players and U23 starlets. Meanwhile our hosts had made an unbeaten start in the Championship and successfully got past League Two opposition at home in the first round. It was not an easy tie on paper and going to Leckworth wasn't exactly too many Brighton fans idea of a big night out and walking home afterwards. *** match report: The team Potter put out did the club proud and sailed into the next round with a two goal victory against fair Championship opponents. Moder opened scoring for visitors after being sent thru by Mwepu (10min). Hosts carried a live threat but Steele (capt tonight) and his youthful defence were equal to their assaults on goal. Following the break Zeqiri doubled our lead, finishing good work by Richards & Caicedo (55min). Locals came at us again during the last half hour but once more Seagulls young guns stood firm, holding on to a clean sheet as well. Potter and U23 coaches Crofts & Dicker were very impressed and sung BHA youngsters praises, as did travelling Brighton fans, sounding like a Welsh choir in the valleys. All in all a great night's work and plenty to show by way of improvement in the development of recent PL2 players & also younger U18 personnel. Perhaps this was the thing that registered most. Our Lancing training ground was producing results in more ways than one. Stats: ht 0-1, goals 9,55, poss 46%-54%, on target 4-4, off target 10-4, corners 7-2, fouls 11-7, yellows 3-0, subs 3-3, shape 352-4231. Team: 23 Steele, 6 Karbownik, 12 Mwepu (58 Ferguson 81), 28 Roberts, 53 Tsoungi, 42 Leonard (59 Moran 68), 17 Alzate, 25 Caicedo, 15 Moder, 30 Richards (57 Offiah 68), 19 Zeqiri . Bench: 31 Walton ((gk), 38 McGill (gk), 54 Furlong. Squad: first eleven rested . Injured: 2 Lamptey, 18 Welbeck, 33 Burn, 34 Veltman. Weather: mild & dry . Gate: 6013, away 446 . Mom: Moder. * * * * * Seasons 9-11 (3rd-5th) (A) - not Premier League. Season8 2nd Premier League (A) Sat 10/11/18 - L 2-1 ~ Dunk Due to pay tv scheduling this game got the lunch-time slot in distant Wales. Albion were now into the second quarter and so far there was enough evidence to forecast targets for end of 2018 and beyond. On balance the final 40pt mark accepted for PL survival was certainly attainable based on results to date. That meant hitting a basic 20pt tally around Xmas & New Year to mark the halfway stage. Away form needed to provide better returns and was one area of concern from which to gather enough points ongoing. On paper beforehand there was a live chance for Albion to up the ante, score goals and prove themselves competitve today. *** match report: In truth, Seagulls blew it! They lost a match against relegation candidates after leading early but failed to make most of that advantage. Dunk headed home a March f-k to get visitors off to a great start (6min). But hosts equalised via a deflection and were now back in the game (28min). Within minutes BHA were reduced to 10 men when Stephens received a staight red for a studs up challenge (34min). Hughton immediately withdrew linkman March and inserted Bissouma to bolster m-f (39). After the hour mark Andone also got on - in lieu of Murray (63). But Albion were on the back foot and as the clock ticked went deeper & deeper in defence. At the death travellers couldn't hold out and during a pinball routine conceded a second killer goal (90). Hughton said, 'there were two big decisions. I've certainly seen worse with studs showing. What I find harder to understand is a linesman getting it wrong. He (Cardiff forward) is in an ofside position. That's the frustration and anger.' Brighton fans watching from the away stand or on tv could see the team put in a heroic shift for a possible point. But the fact remains we got beat again and as a team are not good enough on the road to avoid defeat week after week. Stats; shape 442-451, h-t 1-1, goals 28,90-6, poss 61%-39%, on target 6-3, off target 9-2, blocks 5-2, o/s 0-0, crosses 22-5, corners 4-1, tackles 13-14, fouls 7-21, yellows 2-1, reds 0-1, subs 3-2 . Gate 29,402, away 2448 . Weather - autumnal. 1 Ryan, 22 Montoya, 4 Duffy, 5 Dunk, 3 Bong, 11 Knockaert, 6 Stephens R34, 7 Kayal, 19 Izquierdo, 20 March (8 Bissouma 39 Y95), 17 Murray (10 Andone 63) . Bench; 23 Steele, 2 Bruno, 30 Bernardo, 14 Balogun, 42 Gyokeres. Prem P12 . W3 D1 L1 . F8 A6 . W1 D1 L5 . F5 A12 . Pt14 Po12 = 1.16pt/gm. Wins = 33%, Loss = 50% Quatr: Pl . W D L . . F A GD . . . Pt Po pt/gm . . W% L% Total; 38 . 10 4 24 . 34 69 -35 . 34 18 = 0.89 . 26.3 63.1 - N Warnock 3qtrs; 29 . 07 4 18 . 25 57 -32 . 25 18 = 0.86 . 24.1 62 Hfwy; 19 . 04 3 12 . 18 38 -20 . 15 17 = 0.78 . 21.0 63.1 Start; 10 . 01 2 07 . 09 23 -14 . 05 17 = 0.50 . 10.0 70.0 - N Warnock. EFL Cup; 2nd rnd south - Norwich 1-3 (H) FA Cup; 3rd rnd - Gillingham 1-0 (A) NW record; to Aug 18 - P87 W44 D19 L24 Wins = 50.5% Aug; survival is long odds against and a combative Championship background is their best bet. October; fighting hard not to be left in the drop zone. Out of EFL Cup. New Year; not in d-z although too close for comfort. Got it all to do. Out of FA Cup to L1 outfit. March; trying hard to stay on shirt-tails of clubs who will survive this term. Season7 (A) - not Premier League. CARDIFF HOME; Prem. Seasn . W D L . . F A GD . . Pt Po pt/gm %Pt . . W% L% 19/20 onwards - not Premier League. 18/19 - 6 2 11 . 21 38 -17 . 20 18 = 1.05 58.8 . 31.5 57.8 - Neil Warnock. 14/15 - 17/18 not Premier League, see scroll below seasons 4-6. 13/14 - 5 5 09 . 20 35 -15 . 20 20 = 1.05 66.7 . 26.3 47.3 - Malky Mackay & Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. 11/12 - 12/13 not Premier League, see scroll below seasons 1-2. CARDIFF PREVIOUS PREM; Prem points: - - 30 - - - - 34 - < - recent managers; Sabri Lamouchi (2023), Mark Hudson (22-23), Steve Morison (21-22), Mick McCarthy (2021), Neil Harris (19-21), Neil Warnock (16-19), Malky Mackay (11-14), Ole Solskjaer (2014), Russell Slade (14-16), Paul Trollope (2016). Seasn . W D L . . F A GD . . . Pt Po pt/gm . . W% L% 19/20 onwards - not Premier League. 18/19 - 10 4 24 . 34 69 -35 . 34 18 = 0.89 . 26.3 63.1 - N Warnock A heroic attempt to stay up but stats, lady luck & fickle finger of fate all took a turn to again make the job almost impossible. 14/15 - 17/18 not Premier League, see below seasons 4-6. 13/14 - 07 9 22 . 32 74 -42 . 30 20 = 0.78 . 18.4 57.8 - Malky Mackay & Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The promoted Championship manager was in trouble both on & off the pitch and replaced from January in the difficult bid to survive. 11/12 - 12/13 not Premier League, see below seasons 1-2. Knockouts from11/12; FA Cup - 3rd rnd, 3rd, 5th, 4th, 3rd, 3rd, 4th, 3rd, 4th, 3rd, 4th, 3rd, 3rd EFL Cup - final, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 2nd, 1st, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 1st, 2nd, 1st. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Cardiff away, Falmer years: 2011 to 2017 - Championship. C'ship 11/12-12/13 14/15-16/17 . Seasons 1-2, 4-6. City v Albion (A) from 11/12 @ C: 1-3, 0-2, -, 0-0, 4-1, 0-0 . . W = 2 D = 2 L = 1 For Home Falmer Years results and reports scroll further below. memorable match: Season1 (A) - victory in Wales at start of these Falmer Years. Season6 Championship (A) 3/12/16 - 0-0. Once again Albion were going well in the division and at this stage occupied second place. Compared to last season, we'd lost once on travels, to leaders Newcastle and were keen not to repeat that blip of failure here like during the previous visit (see season5 below). On paper Seagulls were superior to City but the Welsh club was lately in a potential relegation battle and not likely to roll over easily. Chris Hughton knew his best starting eleven and fielded a regular team backed by a strong bench. This had proved resilient to date with figs of W4 D3 L1 F8 A5 on the long road to Wales. * match report: The match finished the way it had started, goalless. Albion did have the ball in the net, late in the second half when exerting pressure but Ref blew for a foul against locals. Taking numerical positives, Seagulls were now registering 12 clean sheets in 19 fixtures and still had conceded merely 11 goals - fewest in this division to date. However it was the first time since September they had failed to score - now a tally of 4. With 20 mins to go, Hughton replaced Skalak with Knockaert and from that moment Albion asserted in attack. Bluebirds were guilty of missing all their chances but held firm at the back throughout. In stoppage time Bong got sent off for a second bookable offence. Baldock also came off for Pocognoli to slot in at left back. Hughton said, 'it was up to us to create opportunities but we didn't really do that. We were the better team but you also have to give them credit.' The single point kept BHA secure in second place, with other results fortunately going our way. Hughton then said, 'the team that stays closest to Newcastle will be the team that goes up.' Brighton fans could agree but as we approached the halfway stage, it was evident more goals were needed away from the Amex during 2017. And perhaps if Tony Bloom was prepared to inject additional funds during January, another quality striker might be obtained to do the business. Stats; poss 33%-67%, on target 2-4, off target 6-4, blocks 2-4, corners 1-6, o/s 1-1, fouls 15-20, yellows 3-3, red 0-1, subs 2-2 . att 16,168. Stockdale, Bruno, Duffy, Dunk, Bong, Skalak (Knockaert), Sidwell, Stephens, Murphy, Baldock (Pocognoli), Murray. Champ's P19 . W11 D6 L2 . F28 A11 . Pt39 Po2 . W = 57.8% L = 10.5% Season5 (A) 20/2/16 - L 4-1 - Stephens. Regular travelling fans were getting used to fixture changes as demanded by tv schedules but a 12:30 k-o in Wales was enough to test even the most devoted arrivals from Sussex and beyond. But Seagulls were worth following this term, having at least maintained parity with any number of Championship clubs on the long roads thru England. Until mid Jan, Seagulls were undefeated as visitors, although beaten in both Cup comps with away ties. Hull had squeezed past Seagulls second eleven in FAC3 after New Year and latterly BHA revisited the KC in midweek via A1M and came back with a point - from the first of three away fixtures in eight days. Now the second of these was way down the M4 and valid passports were required at the Severn Bridge. On the day there were 14k in the City Stadium. * match report: Goals went in at 16, 19, 30, 55 & 66 mins - to record the biggest BHA aggregate to date for this reversal in Wales. Seagulls were easily & quickly caught, then opened up hook, line & sinker - just like gutting fish. Being three down at the break made Hughton react to the previous shape, which failed to prevent opposition marauding through m-f screening. For the second period Hemed joined Zamora until he was replaced later by Baldock. Stephens got one back soon after h-t but Ref pointed to the spot 10 mins later and killed the game. So Hughton said, 'we conceded three poor goals in that crucial period and that is nothing to do with form, formations or tactics. It is about defending well and we did not. It was a good opportunity for us and we did not take it.' Brighton fans who made the trip returned home disappointed and could hardly believe the same rearguard could leak four soft goals, a few days after keeping the table toppers at bay up north. Stats; poss 45%-55%, on target 6-2, off target 6-6, fouls 5-12, corners 3-6. Stockdale, Bruno, Goldson, Dunk, Calderon (Rosenior), Knockaert, Stephens, Sidwell (Hemed), Crofts, Zamora (Baldock), Skalak. Champ's P32 . W15 D12 L5 . F41 A34 . Pt57 Po4 . W = 46.8% L = 15.6% Season4 (A) 10/2/15 - 0-0. Both clubs fortunes had taken a turn for worse this season. City were in mid table and rebuilding after failure at elite level but Albion latterly were in a much worse state. Relegation fears had reared once more, following a couple of negative results under new manager Chris Hughton. He'd lifted Seagulls during January victories after Sami Hyypia resigned - but the team was still merely perched above the bottom three. A couple of signings in the transfer window had not been enough numbers for some fans, who argued this group was not a patch on previous squads. Then again, away form was ok, with single fig goal difference... and our one defeat of 3-0 was to league leaders. Somehow Hughton needed to find a winning formula from fine margins to keep the club at Championship level. * match report: The match finished as it started - goalless, in what may be described as a bore draw by two outfits unable to convert chances. Striker Best & defender Dunk probably had best opportunities to net but equally failed. Best was on full debut and looked rusty after recently being brought back from the level2 wilderness by Hughton. Other new signing Kayal played as well as others, showing class and confidence. With Seagulls huffing & puffing, Hughton put O'Grady on around the hour mark to hold the ball up for runners and ten minutes later put LuaLua into the fray for impact. But nothing seemed to alter fundamental problems with creating & taking gilt edged gifts. Stephens was given a few minutes at the death following his long-term injury and did ok. Stockdale kept a clean sheet but didn't really have too many worrying moments. Hughton said, 'it was a hard earned and hard fought draw. I felt we could have capitalised on possession, particulary when we broke from midfield. We deserved nothing less than a draw.' Stockwell, Calderon, Greer, Dunk, Bennett, Kayal (LuaLua), Ince, Bruno, Teixeira (Stephens), Forster-Caskey, Best (O'Grady). Champ's P30 . W6 D12 L12 . F32 A39 . Pt30 Po21 . W = 20% L = 40% Season3 (A) - not C'ship. Season2 (A) 19/2/13 - W 0-2 ~ Orlandi, Ulloa. Back in that recent Withdean era, Albion played City at lower league and both clubs had come a long way since then. The trick was to build on relative successes during those noughties and establish with firm foundations at higher grade. Ambitions from days of yore were to regain past glories and it was the Welsh who now appeared closer to reaching their aim. Each club moved across town to new stadiums and attracted additional support from respective catchment areas. Finances also became available to increase quality in squads on either side of the national border. It was Albion's turn to revisit City, who under new ownership, played in red colours as runaway leaders of the Championship table. BHA blue & white army breezed into the City Stad on a cold Tuesday night in February, looking to enjoy another ride on the Gus-Bus to play-off land. Albion were right in the mix for chasing sixth slot and didn't want to become adrift of p-o places at this stage of our campaign. * match report: Cardiff had been on a nine match unbeaten run but Brighton spoiled further record-breaking celebrations by inflicting only a second home defeat on table toppers. Home support was given new red scarves to wear and wave by megabucks Malaysian billionaire but Seagulls turned 'em into chokers. B'ton intended to stay in the game until the interval and lady luck intervened on our behalf on occasions. Then just before the break, against run of play, visitors went one ahead. David provided the assist via useful wing play and cross for Orlandi to net at the near post (43min). Throughout the second period City attempted to equalise but found Kuszczak in inspired form when they broke thru a resilient rearguard. His double save in a matter of scrambled seconds denied a leveller and was worthy of mention in despatches. Albion held out and Gus sent on Dicker and Calderon in the last quarter of this unlikely upset to bolster defence. Although not a recognised counter attacking side, Seagulls flew up-field when opportunity arose to relieve pressure behind. At the death Ulloa notched his first league goal when fickle finger of fate sealed a great win for BHA via a deflection (90+min). The Welsh were already gutted - just like St George slaying the dragon. Kuszczak, Bruno, El-Abd, Upson, Bridge, Buckley (Forster-Caskey), David, Bridcutt, Hammond (Calderon), Orlandi (Dicker), Ulloa. Champ's P32 . W12 D13 L7 . F45 A34 . Pt49 Po7 . W = 37.5% L = 21.8% Season1 (A) 17/8/11 - W 1-3 ~ Barnes 2, Hoskins. August and new Championship season, so where do we go for the very first evening away fixture - yeah, Wales. You couldn't make it up, or perhaps ya can - see Cardiff in the Withdean Era. Those 600 B'ton fans who did make it past M4 Gateway services, got to see where Taffys play in their new stad. But at least we had a nice one as well at Falmer to call home now. Albion couldn't hold on to level two status when at Withdean in the noughties but City did via Ninian Park. They flirted with reaching the Prem thru play-offs, while Brighton rampaged atop tier three in exciting fashion last term. Gus Poyet, a young, passionate but knowledgeable manager, steered this club toward better times ahead. Backed by Tony Bloom, all he had to do was establish in the Champ's to regain big club respect. He'd invested money and wanted to see if it was well spent. On the night, 23k turned up to see what would be. *** match report: Albion got a right result and completed a winning trio of opening league fixtures. Poyet's men were under pressure to hold out for nil-nil at halftime, although it was far from one way traffic. In frantic ebb and flow before the break, Ankergren saved smartly, then Barnes put visitors ahead with a drive following a home mistake (39min). In the second period CM-S hit a post and later bit the dust for Ref to point to the spot. Barnes got his second with the routine pen take (63m). Gus introduced Navarro and later Hoskins, reverting from 41212 to 433. Hoskins thumped a third on his debut after assist from CM-S (87m). There was still time for City to bag one from a pen and spoil a clean sheet but BHA were useful all over the pitch and deserved a second consecutive away win. Perhaps green and black stripes were our lucky colours on the road. Ankergren, Calderon, Greer, Dunk, Painter, Sparrow (Navarro), Bridcutt, Dicker, Vincelot (Hoskins), Barnes, Mackail-Smith. Champ's P3 . W3 D0 L0 . F6 A2 . Pt9 Po2 . W = 100% L = 0% * * * * * Withdean Era: 12 seasons from 1999 to 2011 - Season2 00/01 - League Two, League Trophy (H) . Season3 01/2 - League One . Seasons 6 04/5, 7 05/6 - Championship. Season9 14/8/07 EFL Cup R1. Withdean era: Bluebirds V Albion 1-1, 1-1, 2-0, 1-1 . . . W = 0 D = 3 L = 1 1-0 aet EFL Cup. memorable match: Season2 (A) - early season in the new century and perhaps beginning of better times. Noughties last there - Season9 14/8/07 (A) - EFL Cup R1. An early term k-o against higher grade opposition at that time. 22/11/05 (A) C'ship. Our last fixture from 4 at old Ninian Park, during a decade when both clubs rose from lower league level. see: Season2 for clubs/stadiums background.
Cardiff - Home, Falmer Years: Prem 18/19, season8 . . C'ship 11/12-12/13 14/15-16/17, seasons 1-2 4-6. Albion record @ Amex: W = 1 D = 4 L = 1 Albion v City (H) from 17/18: - 0-2 - < -, - . . W = 0 D = 0 L = 1 . F0 A2 scorers: none. memorable match: Season8 (H) - a wake up call and more when Welsh came marauding into Sussex hillsides. note: for away Falmer Years results and reports scroll further up. Seasons 9 (3rd) (H) onwards - not Premier League. Season8, 2nd Premier League (H) Tue 16/4/19 - L 0-2 This fixture was rescheduled from its original Saturday mid March date due to Albion alternatively playing an FA Cup q-f tie away at Millwall on that weekend. That meant by the time we finally came to play the catch-up contest things really were now shaping up thru the run-in. And the latest situation was Albion had just fallen to 17th, while Bluebirds continued 18th in the last drop slot. Two clubs had already been relegated, so the final d-z spot would go to either Cardiff, Brighton, or maybe Southampton. It had been a negative couple of days for Brighton fans following a 0-5 thrashing at the Amex by Bournemouth on the Saturday prior to this evening clash. Feelings had run very high at the community stadium when BHA suffered their worst defeat since the place opened in 2011. There were even calls for Chris Hughton to go, among the post-match booing and subsequent angry social media posts. But if ever there was a time for fans to get get behind the team it was now for this inevitable six pointer. *** match report: Albion lost a third consecutive fixture at the Amex and overall the fifth game in a row. They had not scored a single goal in any of these matches to boot. As soon as falling behind the game was up and we looked exposed once again at counter attacks (22min) and set pieces (50min). Ryan had now let in 12 goals during our goalless run but nobody had exactly been covered in anything but shite since fortuitously making the FA Cup semi-final a full month ago. Hughton put on Andone & Izquierdo but nothing changed afterwards, only the shape to 442. He said, 'it's a big blow in a bad week. I do believe we will stay up because I have to. It's in our own hands. It's not a nice feeling at the moment but we have to use that in any way we can to get the points we need.' Brighton fans booed at the final whistle... those that remained at least, rather than bolting for bus queues or car parks. Papers were full of it next day (it was the only midweek PL game) and put the boot into Seagulls display and hopes for survival. Funny enough, they did have a valid point. Albion couldn't buy a goal at present, let alone one to win a match. The goal difference had shot up to -21 and clean sheets were rare as washing drying outside under a Seagulls nest. The awful truth dawned, where was the next goal coming from? Stats; ht 0-1, goals 22,50, shape 433-4231, poss 64%-36%, on target 2-3, off target 8-3, corners 5-4, o/s 2-0, fouls 11-13, yellows 0-1, subs 2-3 . Gate 30,226, away 1773 . Weather - drizzle . MoM - March 1 Ryan, 2 Bruno, 4 Duffy, 5 Dunk, 30 Bernardo, 13 Gross (10 Andone 54), 6 Stephens, 24 Propper, 16 Jahanbakhsh (19 Izquierdo 69), 17 Murray, 20 March . Subs - 27 Button, 3 Bong, 33 Burn, 7 Kayal, 9 Locadia. Prem P33 . W6 D4 L7 F17 A23 . W3 D2 L11 F15 A30 . Pt33 Po17 = 1.00pt/gm. Wins = 27.2%, Loss = 54.5% Season7 (H) - not Premier League. CARDIFF AWAY; Prem. Seasn . W D L . . F A GD . . Pt Po pt/gm %Pt . . W% L% 19/20 onwards - not Premier League. 18/19 - 4 2 13 . 13 31 -18 . 14 18 = 0.73 41.1 . 21.0 68.4 - Neil Warnock. 14/15 - 17/18 not Premier League, see scroll below seasons 4-6). 13/14 - 2 4 13 . 12 39 -27 . 10 20 = 0.52 33.3 . 10.5 68.4 - Malky Mackay & Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. 11/12 - 12/13 not Premier League, see scroll below seasons 1-2. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Cardiff home, Falmer years: 2011 to 2017 - Championship. C'ship 11/12-12/13 14/15-16/17 . Seasons 1-2, 4-6. Albion v City (H) from 11/12 @ C: 2-2, 0-0, -, 1-1, 1-1, 1-0 . . W = 1 D = 4 L = 0 For Away Falmer Years results and reports scroll further up. memorable match: Season6 (H) - fog at Falmer? What happened next? Season6 Championship (H) 24/1/17 - w 1-0 ~ Hemed. This fixture was the one that EFL put in their lists after Xmas for a quick return at that time of year - the halfway stage. But the match was postponed on 30th Dec due to fog at the Amex. In fact Albion had played City in their Welsh place at beginning of a very busy last month. Now Xmas had come & gone and also the traditional New Year game, followed in the same week by FA Cup r3 against MK Dons at the Amex. Historically in the Championship, City were a side we drew with (see below) but there was every reason to anticipate victory today. Chris Hughton had worked wonders again this campaign so far, keeping a regular eleven motivated to compete with Newcastle for the title. Of the team fielded in this fixture here last term, only Greer & Zamora were not BHA players now. The squad was better than last season and possessed excellent team spirit among those starting games and also all their reserves, whether on the bench or not. * match report: Despite Albion's dominance in possession and chances, it seemed the match was going to end nil-nil for most of the play. Opportunities for Seagulls to put the game out of reach for defensive minded visitors regularly came and went in both halves. Hughton eventually subbed Kayal for Norwood with twenty minutes of the ninety left. And it was the subs thru ball that set up the winner. Hemed received, turned and lashed a drive through the keeper from inside the area (73min). Sidwell later replaced March to ensure all points remained in the bag. Brighton appeared quite narrow at times and not able to get in behind two banks of four. From set pieces Seagulls also wasted opportunities to put the contest beyond doubt from much earlier. Hughton said, 'it was going to be that one bit of brilliance or really good play that was going to break the deadlock. It was going to be us rather than them.' On a cold night it warmed Brighton fans to know BHA went top and had a substantial lead over the team in third to boot. Stats; h-t 0-0, goals 73, poss 65%-35%, on target 5-4, off target 13-5, corners 8-5, o/s 3-3, fouls 12-9, yellows 1-1, subs 3-3 . att 26,688. Stockdale, Goldson, Duffy, Dunk, Pocognoli, Knockaert (Skalak), Stephens, Kayal (Norwood), Murphy, March (Sidwell), Hemed. Champ's P27 . W18 D6 L3 . F43 A18 . Pt60 Po1 . W = 66.6% L = 11.1% Season5 (H) 3/10/15 - 1-1 ~ Stephens. We went back to the Amex after last being there during mid September. Then had followed two away fixtures and next up was another international break. So excitement had been building a while to see if Albion could remain unbeaten ongoing into middle of October. The team had broken records for an undefeated start to any season to date and led the division to boot. Chris Hughton had brought best out of players still on the books from last term and with additional signings had moulded a side capable of winning games home or away. Most of the squad was match fit, although Hughton knew his best eleven already. The bench was strong and just as committed - there were also no players on loan to merely make numbers up. * match report: Brighton fans were shocked when City opened the scoring as early as the sixth minute - Seagulls defence appearing a yard off the pace to a basic long ball & centre (5min). But visitors were mainly on the defensive as blue & white shirts flooded forward using the preferred 442 formation. Approaching the break, Kayal helped on a square ball and Stephens volleyed home (38min). In the second period is was again mostly one way traffic but Albion did everything but score a winner. Hughton brought Zamora on for the final twenty minutes or so and later Manu but strikers were goalless today. Chances came and went at both ends, as Dunk cleared off the line, which made for great entertainment... but scores stayed level throughout. Hughton said, 'the only negative is that when you get into those kind of areas as regularly as we did then you have to be finishing - and you have to be winning games.' Brighton fans weren't too disappointed because the club actually extended our lead to two points at top of the table. Stats; poss 63-37, on target 8-3, off target 8-1, blocks 4-2, corners 11-2, fouls 6-12, o/s 4-2, yellows 0-4. Stockdale, Bruno, Greer, Dunk, Bong, Rosenior, Stephens, Kayal, March, Baldock (Manu), Hemed (Zamora). Champ's P10 . W6 D4 L0 . F14 A8 . Pt22 Po1 . W = 60% L = 0% Season4 (H) 30/9/14 - 1-1 ~ Bruno. City had been promoted to the Prem but came down again quickly - so a lot had changed for both clubs since two years ago (see below). Of the starting 11 in season2, merely Bruno, Greer, Crofts and Mackail-Smith remained, plus LuaLua - sub that night. Sami Hyypia was manager in his first job as head honcho, assisted by Nathan Jones. BHA sported huge ambitions to reach the Premiership, like Cardiff had when getting their new stadium and players funded by a big money owner. However, it was taking time for the new Seagulls squad to perform the way Hyypia wanted and even longer to achieve a consistent winning formula. Modus operandi was similar to other Championship campaigns in that Albion played out from the back but wingbacks gave width, while the attacking shape was narrower than previously with 433. * match report: Bruno scored a wonder goal midway thru the first period when he lobbed in Dunk's long-range cross-field pass (20min). But within a minute or so City levelled when Stockdale came for a punt up field and didn't make contact, although the tall striker did (21min). After that it was fast & furious, especially from BHA and the only reason this third Amex fixture again became shared for points was due to City's keeper playing a blinder. He stopped, parried, blocked, saved, caught, clawed & palmed just about everything thrown in there, including probable own goals. There was no way thru and went against stats where Albion were far superior in possession & on/off targets. CMS went off injured after an hour and McCourt came on very late to work some magic as Brighton battered visitors in those final moments. It was exciting for fans, maybe not so much for Hyypia as the winless run continued to now number six league matches. Stockdale, Bruno, Greer, Dunk, Bennett, Gardner, Holla, Forster-Caskey, Teixeira (McCourt), Mackail-Smith (O'Grady), LuaLua. Champ's P10 . W2 D4 L4 . F9 A11 . Pt10 Po18 . W = 20% L = 40% Season3 (H) - not C'ship. Season2 (H) 21/8/12 - 0-0. The Amex had been tarted up for the new season - if you'll excuse the prose. There was now a second tier added in the east stand and SE & SW corners also got fitted with seats. Extra facilities were included to take capacity up to 30k, although the north side would be completed later on in the season. You could expect to get a suntan on east elevations in August and September but tonights opening home fixture was scheduled for 7.45pm, so you mighta seen it set instead. Gus was busy in the summer anyway and added keeper Kuszczak, backs Bridge (on loan) and Bruno, as well as Crofts returned from Norwich. There was cover for all positions, on a one for one basis or tactically, depending on shape. We appeared a tad light up front but Gus was still looking to get a target man in. On the night over 25k turned up, which was a ground record - for the moment! * match report: It ended up nil-nil but was far from being a tedious affair. Both sides tried to play football, with equal amounts of cut and thrust. Goalmouth incidents occurred on occasion, although most of the fancy stuff was done during build-up or attacking on flanks. Albion forced a series of corners, however couldn't convert one and some shooting was wide of the mark too. Each goalkeeper performed well and prevented their team going behind. Kuszczak made an outstanding double block in the second half to deny visitors a breakthrough. Bridge got man of the match for sound defensive duties, allied to advancing with pace, skill and flair. On/off targets began to rack up and at the death each outfit had chances to pinch three points. After an hour Poyet introduced LuaLua for Barnes, so went wing-walking in search of assisting a winner. He latterly brought on Vicente and Harley, pushing the Spaniard into central striker for fifteen minutes. Defences held out against all threats and helped share the points. Home advantage meant Albion shaded it on stats but hadn't scored in three matches, which included opening day away defeat and League Cup loss in something of an embarrassment. Gus wasn't too put out and continued to seek a new striker - or at least a bloke capable of scoring. Kuszczak, Bruno, Greer, El-Abd, Bridge, Crofts, Bridcutt, Dicker (Harley), Barnes (LuaLua), Mackail-Smith, Noone (Vicente). Champ's P2 . W0 D1 L1 . F0 A1 . Pt1 Po21 . W = 0% L = 50% Season1 (H) 7/3/12 - 2-2 ~ Barnes, Vokes. Rain lashed Sussex during daylight but disappeared before dusk, to leave Falmer with a nice downland sunset. Good weather, good gates and good fortune had extended Albion's unbeaten run in 2012 and the Amex was lit up in a green and pleasant landscape. Concourse conversation concerned; digital switchovers, BBC's BHA coverage, Champions League, unlikely comebacks, playoff position probability, missionary position irregularly and Gully's Girls generally. Gus Poyet chose to give Gai Assulin a first start, easing Buckley to the bench. GP had plenty of players for selection and put Sparrow, Harley and Vincelot thru reserves contest earlier. There was loads of competition for places now and it was up to individuals to claim the shirt. *** match report: Gus couldn't have been happy at half-time when the so-called passing game was positively geriatric in build-up. Brighton went a goal behind on 57 min and Poyet stuck in three subs simultaneously with half an hour left. CMS, Razak and Assulin were withdrawn, so Barnes shifted behind Vokes as true wingers worked both flanks. Our original lop-sided 433 was previously varied when Assulin swapped sides but ultimately to no avail. Poyet's changes gave better balance and width to an otherwise pedestrian midfield. B'ton equalised (72min) when Barnes smashed home Noone's cross. But straight away City led again (74m) when Bezovans punch came back from a fizzer to the top corner. Albion upped it, went for broke and Vokes grabbed the equaliser with time fast running out (89m). Sponsors recognised El-Abd, who was playing well enough to keep Dunk on enforced holiday. Greer was full of ocke-aye the something but actions speak louder than words. Poyet talked about possession and control but creating chances and scoring goals win matches and Brighton missed a trick from kickoff. There was no pressure on Cardiff from word go and they hardly had tired legs at the death - following recent televised exertions. Albion could do better and needed to if hazy playoff dreams could become high definition images. Brezovan, Reyes, Greer, El-Abd, Mattock, Razak (Buckley), Bridcutt, Navarro, Barnes, Mackail-Smith (Vokes), Assulin (Noone). Champ's P35 . W15 D10 L10 . F42 A36 . Pt55 Po7 . W = 42.8% L = 28.5% * * * * * Withdean era: season2 00/1 L2, EFL Trophy . Season3 01/2 L1 . Seasons 6-7 04/5-05/6 C'ship. Withdean era: Albion V Bluebirds 1-0, 1-0, 1-1, 1-2 . . . W = 2 D = 1 L = 1 2-0 EFL Trophy. memorable match: Season3 (H) - formative years for Bobby Z and yet another trademark single goal victory. see : Season2 for Micky Adams & Alan Cork . Season6 for Mark McGhee, Dick Knight & Martin Perry.
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Previous encounters (Cardiff )
CARDIFF - Away, Falmer Years: Prem 18/19, season8 . . C'ship 11/12-12/13 14/15-16/17, seasons 1-2 4-6 . . '21 EFL Cup. no league meetings in seasons from 2019 onwards. Prem previous encounters home & away: P2 W0 D0 L2 - see Clubs in Archive. Albion PL/EFL record @ City: W = 2 D = 2 L = 2 manager: Erol Bulut (2023) City Stad - 33.2k . nickname: Bluebirds . shirt: blue. Prem/EFL record from 11/12: 6 1 C, 20 P, 11 8 12 / 2 C, 18 P, 5 8 18 21 12 C @ 4/5/24 . C21: Prem rel '14 '19 . C'ship: promo '13, '18. City v Albion (A) from 17/18: - 2-1, - < - . . W = 0 D = 0 L = 1 . F1 A2 scorers: Dunk . (Moder Zeqiri - EFL Cup). memorable match: Season8 (A) - controversy in Wales and a reality check re-crossing the border. note: for home Falmer Years results and reports scroll further below. Seasons 12 (6th) (A) onwards - not Premier League Season11 (A) Tue 24/8/21 EFL Cup R2 - w 0-2 ~ Moder, Zeqiri. Albion were drawn away versus familiar Welsh opponents from the not too distant past (see season8 below) in this midweek knockout. Graham Potter was anticipated to field a second string line-up, or at least bolster Seagulls match-day squad with fringe players and U23 starlets. Meanwhile our hosts had made an unbeaten start in the Championship and successfully got past League Two opposition at home in the first round. It was not an easy tie on paper and going to Leckworth wasn't exactly too many Brighton fans idea of a big night out and walking home afterwards. *** match report: The team Potter put out did the club proud and sailed into the next round with a two goal victory against fair Championship opponents. Moder opened scoring for visitors after being sent thru by Mwepu (10min). Hosts carried a live threat but Steele (capt tonight) and his youthful defence were equal to their assaults on goal. Following the break Zeqiri doubled our lead, finishing good work by Richards & Caicedo (55min). Locals came at us again during the last half hour but once more Seagulls young guns stood firm, holding on to a clean sheet as well. Potter and U23 coaches Crofts & Dicker were very impressed and sung BHA youngsters praises, as did travelling Brighton fans, sounding like a Welsh choir in the valleys. All in all a great night's work and plenty to show by way of improvement in the development of recent PL2 players & also younger U18 personnel. Perhaps this was the thing that registered most. Our Lancing training ground was producing results in more ways than one. Stats: ht 0-1, goals 9,55, poss 46%-54%, on target 4-4, off target 10-4, corners 7-2, fouls 11-7, yellows 3-0, subs 3-3, shape 352-4231. Team: 23 Steele, 6 Karbownik, 12 Mwepu (58 Ferguson 81), 28 Roberts, 53 Tsoungi, 42 Leonard (59 Moran 68), 17 Alzate, 25 Caicedo, 15 Moder, 30 Richards (57 Offiah 68), 19 Zeqiri . Bench: 31 Walton ((gk), 38 McGill (gk), 54 Furlong. Squad: first eleven rested . Injured: 2 Lamptey, 18 Welbeck, 33 Burn, 34 Veltman. Weather: mild & dry . Gate: 6013, away 446 . Mom: Moder. * * * * * Seasons 9-11 (3rd-5th) (A) - not Premier League. Season8 2nd Premier League (A) Sat 10/11/18 - L 2-1 ~ Dunk Due to pay tv scheduling this game got the lunch-time slot in distant Wales. Albion were now into the second quarter and so far there was enough evidence to forecast targets for end of 2018 and beyond. On balance the final 40pt mark accepted for PL survival was certainly attainable based on results to date. That meant hitting a basic 20pt tally around Xmas & New Year to mark the halfway stage. Away form needed to provide better returns and was one area of concern from which to gather enough points ongoing. On paper beforehand there was a live chance for Albion to up the ante, score goals and prove themselves competitve today. *** match report: In truth, Seagulls blew it! They lost a match against relegation candidates after leading early but failed to make most of that advantage. Dunk headed home a March f-k to get visitors off to a great start (6min). But hosts equalised via a deflection and were now back in the game (28min). Within minutes BHA were reduced to 10 men when Stephens received a staight red for a studs up challenge (34min). Hughton immediately withdrew linkman March and inserted Bissouma to bolster m-f (39). After the hour mark Andone also got on - in lieu of Murray (63). But Albion were on the back foot and as the clock ticked went deeper & deeper in defence. At the death travellers couldn't hold out and during a pinball routine conceded a second killer goal (90). Hughton said, 'there were two big decisions. I've certainly seen worse with studs showing. What I find harder to understand is a linesman getting it wrong. He (Cardiff forward) is in an ofside position. That's the frustration and anger.' Brighton fans watching from the away stand or on tv could see the team put in a heroic shift for a possible point. But the fact remains we got beat again and as a team are not good enough on the road to avoid defeat week after week. Stats; shape 442-451, h-t 1-1, goals 28,90-6, poss 61%-39%, on target 6-3, off target 9-2, blocks 5-2, o/s 0-0, crosses 22-5, corners 4-1, tackles 13-14, fouls 7-21, yellows 2-1, reds 0-1, subs 3-2 . Gate 29,402, away 2448 . Weather - autumnal. 1 Ryan, 22 Montoya, 4 Duffy, 5 Dunk, 3 Bong, 11 Knockaert, 6 Stephens R34, 7 Kayal, 19 Izquierdo, 20 March (8 Bissouma 39 Y95), 17 Murray (10 Andone 63) . Bench; 23 Steele, 2 Bruno, 30 Bernardo, 14 Balogun, 42 Gyokeres. Prem P12 . W3 D1 L1 . F8 A6 . W1 D1 L5 . F5 A12 . Pt14 Po12 = 1.16pt/gm. Wins = 33%, Loss = 50% Quatr: Pl . W D L . . F A GD . . . Pt Po pt/gm . . W% L% Total; 38 . 10 4 24 . 34 69 -35 . 34 18 = 0.89 . 26.3 63.1 - N Warnock 3qtrs; 29 . 07 4 18 . 25 57 -32 . 25 18 = 0.86 . 24.1 62 Hfwy; 19 . 04 3 12 . 18 38 -20 . 15 17 = 0.78 . 21.0 63.1 Start; 10 . 01 2 07 . 09 23 -14 . 05 17 = 0.50 . 10.0 70.0 - N Warnock. EFL Cup; 2nd rnd south - Norwich 1-3 (H) FA Cup; 3rd rnd - Gillingham 1-0 (A) NW record; to Aug 18 - P87 W44 D19 L24 Wins = 50.5% Aug; survival is long odds against and a combative Championship background is their best bet. October; fighting hard not to be left in the drop zone. Out of EFL Cup. New Year; not in d-z although too close for comfort. Got it all to do. Out of FA Cup to L1 outfit. March; trying hard to stay on shirt-tails of clubs who will survive this term. Season7 (A) - not Premier League. CARDIFF HOME; Prem. Seasn . W D L . . F A GD . . Pt Po pt/gm %Pt . . W% L% 19/20 onwards - not Premier League. 18/19 - 6 2 11 . 21 38 -17 . 20 18 = 1.05 58.8 . 31.5 57.8 - Neil Warnock. 14/15 - 17/18 not Premier League, see scroll below seasons 4-6. 13/14 - 5 5 09 . 20 35 -15 . 20 20 = 1.05 66.7 . 26.3 47.3 - Malky Mackay & Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. 11/12 - 12/13 not Premier League, see scroll below seasons 1-2. CARDIFF PREVIOUS PREM; Prem points: - - 30 - - - - 34 - < - recent managers; Sabri Lamouchi (2023), Mark Hudson (22-23), Steve Morison (21-22), Mick McCarthy (2021), Neil Harris (19-21), Neil Warnock (16-19), Malky Mackay (11-14), Ole Solskjaer (2014), Russell Slade (14-16), Paul Trollope (2016). Seasn . W D L . . F A GD . . . Pt Po pt/gm . . W% L% 19/20 onwards - not Premier League. 18/19 - 10 4 24 . 34 69 -35 . 34 18 = 0.89 . 26.3 63.1 - N Warnock A heroic attempt to stay up but stats, lady luck & fickle finger of fate all took a turn to again make the job almost impossible. 14/15 - 17/18 not Premier League, see below seasons 4-6. 13/14 - 07 9 22 . 32 74 -42 . 30 20 = 0.78 . 18.4 57.8 - Malky Mackay & Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The promoted Championship manager was in trouble both on & off the pitch and replaced from January in the difficult bid to survive. 11/12 - 12/13 not Premier League, see below seasons 1-2. Knockouts from11/12; FA Cup - 3rd rnd, 3rd, 5th, 4th, 3rd, 3rd, 4th, 3rd, 4th, 3rd, 4th, 3rd, 3rd EFL Cup - final, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 2nd, 1st, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 1st, 2nd, 1st. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Cardiff away, Falmer years: 2011 to 2017 - Championship. C'ship 11/12-12/13 14/15-16/17 . Seasons 1-2, 4-6. City v Albion (A) from 11/12 @ C: 1-3, 0-2, -, 0-0, 4-1, 0-0 . . W = 2 D = 2 L = 1 For Home Falmer Years results and reports scroll further below. memorable match: Season1 (A) - victory in Wales at start of these Falmer Years. Season6 Championship (A) 3/12/16 - 0-0. Once again Albion were going well in the division and at this stage occupied second place. Compared to last season, we'd lost once on travels, to leaders Newcastle and were keen not to repeat that blip of failure here like during the previous visit (see season5 below). On paper Seagulls were superior to City but the Welsh club was lately in a potential relegation battle and not likely to roll over easily. Chris Hughton knew his best starting eleven and fielded a regular team backed by a strong bench. This had proved resilient to date with figs of W4 D3 L1 F8 A5 on the long road to Wales. * match report: The match finished the way it had started, goalless. Albion did have the ball in the net, late in the second half when exerting pressure but Ref blew for a foul against locals. Taking numerical positives, Seagulls were now registering 12 clean sheets in 19 fixtures and still had conceded merely 11 goals - fewest in this division to date. However it was the first time since September they had failed to score - now a tally of 4. With 20 mins to go, Hughton replaced Skalak with Knockaert and from that moment Albion asserted in attack. Bluebirds were guilty of missing all their chances but held firm at the back throughout. In stoppage time Bong got sent off for a second bookable offence. Baldock also came off for Pocognoli to slot in at left back. Hughton said, 'it was up to us to create opportunities but we didn't really do that. We were the better team but you also have to give them credit.' The single point kept BHA secure in second place, with other results fortunately going our way. Hughton then said, 'the team that stays closest to Newcastle will be the team that goes up.' Brighton fans could agree but as we approached the halfway stage, it was evident more goals were needed away from the Amex during 2017. And perhaps if Tony Bloom was prepared to inject additional funds during January, another quality striker might be obtained to do the business. Stats; poss 33%-67%, on target 2-4, off target 6-4, blocks 2-4, corners 1-6, o/s 1-1, fouls 15-20, yellows 3-3, red 0-1, subs 2-2 . att 16,168. Stockdale, Bruno, Duffy, Dunk, Bong, Skalak (Knockaert), Sidwell, Stephens, Murphy, Baldock (Pocognoli), Murray. Champ's P19 . W11 D6 L2 . F28 A11 . Pt39 Po2 . W = 57.8% L = 10.5% Season5 (A) 20/2/16 - L 4-1 - Stephens. Regular travelling fans were getting used to fixture changes as demanded by tv schedules but a 12:30 k-o in Wales was enough to test even the most devoted arrivals from Sussex and beyond. But Seagulls were worth following this term, having at least maintained parity with any number of Championship clubs on the long roads thru England. Until mid Jan, Seagulls were undefeated as visitors, although beaten in both Cup comps with away ties. Hull had squeezed past Seagulls second eleven in FAC3 after New Year and latterly BHA revisited the KC in midweek via A1M and came back with a point - from the first of three away fixtures in eight days. Now the second of these was way down the M4 and valid passports were required at the Severn Bridge. On the day there were 14k in the City Stadium. * match report: Goals went in at 16, 19, 30, 55 & 66 mins - to record the biggest BHA aggregate to date for this reversal in Wales. Seagulls were easily & quickly caught, then opened up hook, line & sinker - just like gutting fish. Being three down at the break made Hughton react to the previous shape, which failed to prevent opposition marauding through m-f screening. For the second period Hemed joined Zamora until he was replaced later by Baldock. Stephens got one back soon after h-t but Ref pointed to the spot 10 mins later and killed the game. So Hughton said, 'we conceded three poor goals in that crucial period and that is nothing to do with form, formations or tactics. It is about defending well and we did not. It was a good opportunity for us and we did not take it.' Brighton fans who made the trip returned home disappointed and could hardly believe the same rearguard could leak four soft goals, a few days after keeping the table toppers at bay up north. Stats; poss 45%-55%, on target 6-2, off target 6-6, fouls 5-12, corners 3-6. Stockdale, Bruno, Goldson, Dunk, Calderon (Rosenior), Knockaert, Stephens, Sidwell (Hemed), Crofts, Zamora (Baldock), Skalak. Champ's P32 . W15 D12 L5 . F41 A34 . Pt57 Po4 . W = 46.8% L = 15.6% Season4 (A) 10/2/15 - 0-0. Both clubs fortunes had taken a turn for worse this season. City were in mid table and rebuilding after failure at elite level but Albion latterly were in a much worse state. Relegation fears had reared once more, following a couple of negative results under new manager Chris Hughton. He'd lifted Seagulls during January victories after Sami Hyypia resigned - but the team was still merely perched above the bottom three. A couple of signings in the transfer window had not been enough numbers for some fans, who argued this group was not a patch on previous squads. Then again, away form was ok, with single fig goal difference... and our one defeat of 3-0 was to league leaders. Somehow Hughton needed to find a winning formula from fine margins to keep the club at Championship level. * match report: The match finished as it started - goalless, in what may be described as a bore draw by two outfits unable to convert chances. Striker Best & defender Dunk probably had best opportunities to net but equally failed. Best was on full debut and looked rusty after recently being brought back from the level2 wilderness by Hughton. Other new signing Kayal played as well as others, showing class and confidence. With Seagulls huffing & puffing, Hughton put O'Grady on around the hour mark to hold the ball up for runners and ten minutes later put LuaLua into the fray for impact. But nothing seemed to alter fundamental problems with creating & taking gilt edged gifts. Stephens was given a few minutes at the death following his long-term injury and did ok. Stockdale kept a clean sheet but didn't really have too many worrying moments. Hughton said, 'it was a hard earned and hard fought draw. I felt we could have capitalised on possession, particulary when we broke from midfield. We deserved nothing less than a draw.' Stockwell, Calderon, Greer, Dunk, Bennett, Kayal (LuaLua), Ince, Bruno, Teixeira (Stephens), Forster-Caskey, Best (O'Grady). Champ's P30 . W6 D12 L12 . F32 A39 . Pt30 Po21 . W = 20% L = 40% Season3 (A) - not C'ship. Season2 (A) 19/2/13 - W 0-2 ~ Orlandi, Ulloa. Back in that recent Withdean era, Albion played City at lower league and both clubs had come a long way since then. The trick was to build on relative successes during those noughties and establish with firm foundations at higher grade. Ambitions from days of yore were to regain past glories and it was the Welsh who now appeared closer to reaching their aim. Each club moved across town to new stadiums and attracted additional support from respective catchment areas. Finances also became available to increase quality in squads on either side of the national border. It was Albion's turn to revisit City, who under new ownership, played in red colours as runaway leaders of the Championship table. BHA blue & white army breezed into the City Stad on a cold Tuesday night in February, looking to enjoy another ride on the Gus-Bus to play-off land. Albion were right in the mix for chasing sixth slot and didn't want to become adrift of p-o places at this stage of our campaign. * match report: Cardiff had been on a nine match unbeaten run but Brighton spoiled further record-breaking celebrations by inflicting only a second home defeat on table toppers. Home support was given new red scarves to wear and wave by megabucks Malaysian billionaire but Seagulls turned 'em into chokers. B'ton intended to stay in the game until the interval and lady luck intervened on our behalf on occasions. Then just before the break, against run of play, visitors went one ahead. David provided the assist via useful wing play and cross for Orlandi to net at the near post (43min). Throughout the second period City attempted to equalise but found Kuszczak in inspired form when they broke thru a resilient rearguard. His double save in a matter of scrambled seconds denied a leveller and was worthy of mention in despatches. Albion held out and Gus sent on Dicker and Calderon in the last quarter of this unlikely upset to bolster defence. Although not a recognised counter attacking side, Seagulls flew up-field when opportunity arose to relieve pressure behind. At the death Ulloa notched his first league goal when fickle finger of fate sealed a great win for BHA via a deflection (90+min). The Welsh were already gutted - just like St George slaying the dragon. Kuszczak, Bruno, El-Abd, Upson, Bridge, Buckley (Forster-Caskey), David, Bridcutt, Hammond (Calderon), Orlandi (Dicker), Ulloa. Champ's P32 . W12 D13 L7 . F45 A34 . Pt49 Po7 . W = 37.5% L = 21.8% Season1 (A) 17/8/11 - W 1-3 ~ Barnes 2, Hoskins. August and new Championship season, so where do we go for the very first evening away fixture - yeah, Wales. You couldn't make it up, or perhaps ya can - see Cardiff in the Withdean Era. Those 600 B'ton fans who did make it past M4 Gateway services, got to see where Taffys play in their new stad. But at least we had a nice one as well at Falmer to call home now. Albion couldn't hold on to level two status when at Withdean in the noughties but City did via Ninian Park. They flirted with reaching the Prem thru play-offs, while Brighton rampaged atop tier three in exciting fashion last term. Gus Poyet, a young, passionate but knowledgeable manager, steered this club toward better times ahead. Backed by Tony Bloom, all he had to do was establish in the Champ's to regain big club respect. He'd invested money and wanted to see if it was well spent. On the night, 23k turned up to see what would be. *** match report: Albion got a right result and completed a winning trio of opening league fixtures. Poyet's men were under pressure to hold out for nil-nil at halftime, although it was far from one way traffic. In frantic ebb and flow before the break, Ankergren saved smartly, then Barnes put visitors ahead with a drive following a home mistake (39min). In the second period CM-S hit a post and later bit the dust for Ref to point to the spot. Barnes got his second with the routine pen take (63m). Gus introduced Navarro and later Hoskins, reverting from 41212 to 433. Hoskins thumped a third on his debut after assist from CM-S (87m). There was still time for City to bag one from a pen and spoil a clean sheet but BHA were useful all over the pitch and deserved a second consecutive away win. Perhaps green and black stripes were our lucky colours on the road. Ankergren, Calderon, Greer, Dunk, Painter, Sparrow (Navarro), Bridcutt, Dicker, Vincelot (Hoskins), Barnes, Mackail-Smith. Champ's P3 . W3 D0 L0 . F6 A2 . Pt9 Po2 . W = 100% L = 0% * * * * * Withdean Era: 12 seasons from 1999 to 2011 - Season2 00/01 - League Two, League Trophy (H) . Season3 01/2 - League One . Seasons 6 04/5, 7 05/6 - Championship. Season9 14/8/07 EFL Cup R1. Withdean era: Bluebirds V Albion 1-1, 1-1, 2-0, 1-1 . . . W = 0 D = 3 L = 1 1-0 aet EFL Cup. memorable match: Season2 (A) - early season in the new century and perhaps beginning of better times. Noughties last there - Season9 14/8/07 (A) - EFL Cup R1. An early term k-o against higher grade opposition at that time. 22/11/05 (A) C'ship. Our last fixture from 4 at old Ninian Park, during a decade when both clubs rose from lower league level. see: Season2 for clubs/stadiums background.
Cardiff - Home, Falmer Years: Prem 18/19, season8 . . C'ship 11/12-12/13 14/15-16/17, seasons 1-2 4-6. Albion record @ Amex: W = 1 D = 4 L = 1 Albion v City (H) from 17/18: - 0-2 - < -, - . . W = 0 D = 0 L = 1 . F0 A2 scorers: none. memorable match: Season8 (H) - a wake up call and more when Welsh came marauding into Sussex hillsides. note: for away Falmer Years results and reports scroll further up. Seasons 9 (3rd) (H) onwards - not Premier League. Season8, 2nd Premier League (H) Tue 16/4/19 - L 0-2 This fixture was rescheduled from its original Saturday mid March date due to Albion alternatively playing an FA Cup q-f tie away at Millwall on that weekend. That meant by the time we finally came to play the catch-up contest things really were now shaping up thru the run-in. And the latest situation was Albion had just fallen to 17th, while Bluebirds continued 18th in the last drop slot. Two clubs had already been relegated, so the final d-z spot would go to either Cardiff, Brighton, or maybe Southampton. It had been a negative couple of days for Brighton fans following a 0-5 thrashing at the Amex by Bournemouth on the Saturday prior to this evening clash. Feelings had run very high at the community stadium when BHA suffered their worst defeat since the place opened in 2011. There were even calls for Chris Hughton to go, among the post-match booing and subsequent angry social media posts. But if ever there was a time for fans to get get behind the team it was now for this inevitable six pointer. *** match report: Albion lost a third consecutive fixture at the Amex and overall the fifth game in a row. They had not scored a single goal in any of these matches to boot. As soon as falling behind the game was up and we looked exposed once again at counter attacks (22min) and set pieces (50min). Ryan had now let in 12 goals during our goalless run but nobody had exactly been covered in anything but shite since fortuitously making the FA Cup semi-final a full month ago. Hughton put on Andone & Izquierdo but nothing changed afterwards, only the shape to 442. He said, 'it's a big blow in a bad week. I do believe we will stay up because I have to. It's in our own hands. It's not a nice feeling at the moment but we have to use that in any way we can to get the points we need.' Brighton fans booed at the final whistle... those that remained at least, rather than bolting for bus queues or car parks. Papers were full of it next day (it was the only midweek PL game) and put the boot into Seagulls display and hopes for survival. Funny enough, they did have a valid point. Albion couldn't buy a goal at present, let alone one to win a match. The goal difference had shot up to -21 and clean sheets were rare as washing drying outside under a Seagulls nest. The awful truth dawned, where was the next goal coming from? Stats; ht 0-1, goals 22,50, shape 433-4231, poss 64%-36%, on target 2-3, off target 8-3, corners 5-4, o/s 2-0, fouls 11-13, yellows 0-1, subs 2-3 . Gate 30,226, away 1773 . Weather - drizzle . MoM - March 1 Ryan, 2 Bruno, 4 Duffy, 5 Dunk, 30 Bernardo, 13 Gross (10 Andone 54), 6 Stephens, 24 Propper, 16 Jahanbakhsh (19 Izquierdo 69), 17 Murray, 20 March . Subs - 27 Button, 3 Bong, 33 Burn, 7 Kayal, 9 Locadia. Prem P33 . W6 D4 L7 F17 A23 . W3 D2 L11 F15 A30 . Pt33 Po17 = 1.00pt/gm. Wins = 27.2%, Loss = 54.5% Season7 (H) - not Premier League. CARDIFF AWAY; Prem. Seasn . W D L . . F A GD . . Pt Po pt/gm %Pt . . W% L% 19/20 onwards - not Premier League. 18/19 - 4 2 13 . 13 31 -18 . 14 18 = 0.73 41.1 . 21.0 68.4 - Neil Warnock. 14/15 - 17/18 not Premier League, see scroll below seasons 4-6). 13/14 - 2 4 13 . 12 39 -27 . 10 20 = 0.52 33.3 . 10.5 68.4 - Malky Mackay & Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. 11/12 - 12/13 not Premier League, see scroll below seasons 1-2. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Cardiff home, Falmer years: 2011 to 2017 - Championship. C'ship 11/12-12/13 14/15-16/17 . Seasons 1-2, 4-6. Albion v City (H) from 11/12 @ C: 2-2, 0-0, -, 1-1, 1-1, 1-0 . . W = 1 D = 4 L = 0 For Away Falmer Years results and reports scroll further up. memorable match: Season6 (H) - fog at Falmer? What happened next? Season6 Championship (H) 24/1/17 - w 1-0 ~ Hemed. This fixture was the one that EFL put in their lists after Xmas for a quick return at that time of year - the halfway stage. But the match was postponed on 30th Dec due to fog at the Amex. In fact Albion had played City in their Welsh place at beginning of a very busy last month. Now Xmas had come & gone and also the traditional New Year game, followed in the same week by FA Cup r3 against MK Dons at the Amex. Historically in the Championship, City were a side we drew with (see below) but there was every reason to anticipate victory today. Chris Hughton had worked wonders again this campaign so far, keeping a regular eleven motivated to compete with Newcastle for the title. Of the team fielded in this fixture here last term, only Greer & Zamora were not BHA players now. The squad was better than last season and possessed excellent team spirit among those starting games and also all their reserves, whether on the bench or not. * match report: Despite Albion's dominance in possession and chances, it seemed the match was going to end nil-nil for most of the play. Opportunities for Seagulls to put the game out of reach for defensive minded visitors regularly came and went in both halves. Hughton eventually subbed Kayal for Norwood with twenty minutes of the ninety left. And it was the subs thru ball that set up the winner. Hemed received, turned and lashed a drive through the keeper from inside the area (73min). Sidwell later replaced March to ensure all points remained in the bag. Brighton appeared quite narrow at times and not able to get in behind two banks of four. From set pieces Seagulls also wasted opportunities to put the contest beyond doubt from much earlier. Hughton said, 'it was going to be that one bit of brilliance or really good play that was going to break the deadlock. It was going to be us rather than them.' On a cold night it warmed Brighton fans to know BHA went top and had a substantial lead over the team in third to boot. Stats; h-t 0-0, goals 73, poss 65%-35%, on target 5-4, off target 13-5, corners 8-5, o/s 3-3, fouls 12-9, yellows 1-1, subs 3-3 . att 26,688. Stockdale, Goldson, Duffy, Dunk, Pocognoli, Knockaert (Skalak), Stephens, Kayal (Norwood), Murphy, March (Sidwell), Hemed. Champ's P27 . W18 D6 L3 . F43 A18 . Pt60 Po1 . W = 66.6% L = 11.1% Season5 (H) 3/10/15 - 1-1 ~ Stephens. We went back to the Amex after last being there during mid September. Then had followed two away fixtures and next up was another international break. So excitement had been building a while to see if Albion could remain unbeaten ongoing into middle of October. The team had broken records for an undefeated start to any season to date and led the division to boot. Chris Hughton had brought best out of players still on the books from last term and with additional signings had moulded a side capable of winning games home or away. Most of the squad was match fit, although Hughton knew his best eleven already. The bench was strong and just as committed - there were also no players on loan to merely make numbers up. * match report: Brighton fans were shocked when City opened the scoring as early as the sixth minute - Seagulls defence appearing a yard off the pace to a basic long ball & centre (5min). But visitors were mainly on the defensive as blue & white shirts flooded forward using the preferred 442 formation. Approaching the break, Kayal helped on a square ball and Stephens volleyed home (38min). In the second period is was again mostly one way traffic but Albion did everything but score a winner. Hughton brought Zamora on for the final twenty minutes or so and later Manu but strikers were goalless today. Chances came and went at both ends, as Dunk cleared off the line, which made for great entertainment... but scores stayed level throughout. Hughton said, 'the only negative is that when you get into those kind of areas as regularly as we did then you have to be finishing - and you have to be winning games.' Brighton fans weren't too disappointed because the club actually extended our lead to two points at top of the table. Stats; poss 63-37, on target 8-3, off target 8-1, blocks 4-2, corners 11-2, fouls 6-12, o/s 4-2, yellows 0-4. Stockdale, Bruno, Greer, Dunk, Bong, Rosenior, Stephens, Kayal, March, Baldock (Manu), Hemed (Zamora). Champ's P10 . W6 D4 L0 . F14 A8 . Pt22 Po1 . W = 60% L = 0% Season4 (H) 30/9/14 - 1-1 ~ Bruno. City had been promoted to the Prem but came down again quickly - so a lot had changed for both clubs since two years ago (see below). Of the starting 11 in season2, merely Bruno, Greer, Crofts and Mackail-Smith remained, plus LuaLua - sub that night. Sami Hyypia was manager in his first job as head honcho, assisted by Nathan Jones. BHA sported huge ambitions to reach the Premiership, like Cardiff had when getting their new stadium and players funded by a big money owner. However, it was taking time for the new Seagulls squad to perform the way Hyypia wanted and even longer to achieve a consistent winning formula. Modus operandi was similar to other Championship campaigns in that Albion played out from the back but wingbacks gave width, while the attacking shape was narrower than previously with 433. * match report: Bruno scored a wonder goal midway thru the first period when he lobbed in Dunk's long-range cross-field pass (20min). But within a minute or so City levelled when Stockdale came for a punt up field and didn't make contact, although the tall striker did (21min). After that it was fast & furious, especially from BHA and the only reason this third Amex fixture again became shared for points was due to City's keeper playing a blinder. He stopped, parried, blocked, saved, caught, clawed & palmed just about everything thrown in there, including probable own goals. There was no way thru and went against stats where Albion were far superior in possession & on/off targets. CMS went off injured after an hour and McCourt came on very late to work some magic as Brighton battered visitors in those final moments. It was exciting for fans, maybe not so much for Hyypia as the winless run continued to now number six league matches. Stockdale, Bruno, Greer, Dunk, Bennett, Gardner, Holla, Forster-Caskey, Teixeira (McCourt), Mackail-Smith (O'Grady), LuaLua. Champ's P10 . W2 D4 L4 . F9 A11 . Pt10 Po18 . W = 20% L = 40% Season3 (H) - not C'ship. Season2 (H) 21/8/12 - 0-0. The Amex had been tarted up for the new season - if you'll excuse the prose. There was now a second tier added in the east stand and SE & SW corners also got fitted with seats. Extra facilities were included to take capacity up to 30k, although the north side would be completed later on in the season. You could expect to get a suntan on east elevations in August and September but tonights opening home fixture was scheduled for 7.45pm, so you mighta seen it set instead. Gus was busy in the summer anyway and added keeper Kuszczak, backs Bridge (on loan) and Bruno, as well as Crofts returned from Norwich. There was cover for all positions, on a one for one basis or tactically, depending on shape. We appeared a tad light up front but Gus was still looking to get a target man in. On the night over 25k turned up, which was a ground record - for the moment! * match report: It ended up nil-nil but was far from being a tedious affair. Both sides tried to play football, with equal amounts of cut and thrust. Goalmouth incidents occurred on occasion, although most of the fancy stuff was done during build-up or attacking on flanks. Albion forced a series of corners, however couldn't convert one and some shooting was wide of the mark too. Each goalkeeper performed well and prevented their team going behind. Kuszczak made an outstanding double block in the second half to deny visitors a breakthrough. Bridge got man of the match for sound defensive duties, allied to advancing with pace, skill and flair. On/off targets began to rack up and at the death each outfit had chances to pinch three points. After an hour Poyet introduced LuaLua for Barnes, so went wing-walking in search of assisting a winner. He latterly brought on Vicente and Harley, pushing the Spaniard into central striker for fifteen minutes. Defences held out against all threats and helped share the points. Home advantage meant Albion shaded it on stats but hadn't scored in three matches, which included opening day away defeat and League Cup loss in something of an embarrassment. Gus wasn't too put out and continued to seek a new striker - or at least a bloke capable of scoring. Kuszczak, Bruno, Greer, El-Abd, Bridge, Crofts, Bridcutt, Dicker (Harley), Barnes (LuaLua), Mackail-Smith, Noone (Vicente). Champ's P2 . W0 D1 L1 . F0 A1 . Pt1 Po21 . W = 0% L = 50% Season1 (H) 7/3/12 - 2-2 ~ Barnes, Vokes. Rain lashed Sussex during daylight but disappeared before dusk, to leave Falmer with a nice downland sunset. Good weather, good gates and good fortune had extended Albion's unbeaten run in 2012 and the Amex was lit up in a green and pleasant landscape. Concourse conversation concerned; digital switchovers, BBC's BHA coverage, Champions League, unlikely comebacks, playoff position probability, missionary position irregularly and Gully's Girls generally. Gus Poyet chose to give Gai Assulin a first start, easing Buckley to the bench. GP had plenty of players for selection and put Sparrow, Harley and Vincelot thru reserves contest earlier. There was loads of competition for places now and it was up to individuals to claim the shirt. *** match report: Gus couldn't have been happy at half-time when the so-called passing game was positively geriatric in build-up. Brighton went a goal behind on 57 min and Poyet stuck in three subs simultaneously with half an hour left. CMS, Razak and Assulin were withdrawn, so Barnes shifted behind Vokes as true wingers worked both flanks. Our original lop-sided 433 was previously varied when Assulin swapped sides but ultimately to no avail. Poyet's changes gave better balance and width to an otherwise pedestrian midfield. B'ton equalised (72min) when Barnes smashed home Noone's cross. But straight away City led again (74m) when Bezovans punch came back from a fizzer to the top corner. Albion upped it, went for broke and Vokes grabbed the equaliser with time fast running out (89m). Sponsors recognised El-Abd, who was playing well enough to keep Dunk on enforced holiday. Greer was full of ocke-aye the something but actions speak louder than words. Poyet talked about possession and control but creating chances and scoring goals win matches and Brighton missed a trick from kickoff. There was no pressure on Cardiff from word go and they hardly had tired legs at the death - following recent televised exertions. Albion could do better and needed to if hazy playoff dreams could become high definition images. Brezovan, Reyes, Greer, El-Abd, Mattock, Razak (Buckley), Bridcutt, Navarro, Barnes, Mackail-Smith (Vokes), Assulin (Noone). Champ's P35 . W15 D10 L10 . F42 A36 . Pt55 Po7 . W = 42.8% L = 28.5% * * * * * Withdean era: season2 00/1 L2, EFL Trophy . Season3 01/2 L1 . Seasons 6-7 04/5-05/6 C'ship. Withdean era: Albion V Bluebirds 1-0, 1-0, 1-1, 1-2 . . . W = 2 D = 1 L = 1 2-0 EFL Trophy. memorable match: Season3 (H) - formative years for Bobby Z and yet another trademark single goal victory. see : Season2 for Micky Adams & Alan Cork . Season6 for Mark McGhee, Dick Knight & Martin Perry.
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