|
LEICESTER - Away, Falmer Years:
Prem 17/18-22/23 24/25, seasons 7-12 14 . . C'ship 11/12-13/14, seasons 1-3 . . '20 FA Cup . '21 EFL Cup.
no league meetings in seasons between 2014 to 2016.
Prem previous encounters home & away: P12 W2 D4 L6 - see Clubs in Archive.
Albion PL/EFL record @ Foxes: W = 1 D = 3 L = 5
manager: Steve Cooper (2024) P0 W = 0% @ July '24 . experience: coached in the Prem with Forest.
King Power - ave gate 31.8K, cap 32.2K . nickname: Foxes . shirt: dark blue.
Prem/EFL record from 11/12: 9 6 1 C, 14 1 12 / 9 9 5 5 8 18 P, 1 C, 15 @ 13/9/24.
Prem recent best finish = 1st, worst finish = 18th.
C21; title - '16, top six - '20 '21, top ten - 3 times . relegated - '02 '04 '23 .
podium; 15/16 - Leicester Arsenal Spurs.
24/25 odds at start: rel 4-9, stay up 7-4 . sack SC 10/1 . expected to finish:
run in: Man City (A), N'castle (H), Brighton (A), Liv'pool (H), Wolves (A),
So'ton (H), Forest (A), Ipswich (H), B'mouth (A)
run in forecast*: ?pt > ?pt* . max was ? . actual = ? . Po was ? . actual Po = ?
Leicester v Albion (A) from 17/18: 2-0 2-1 0-0 3-0 1-1 2-2 - . . W = 0 D = 3 L = 3 . F4 A10
scorers: Propper Welbeck Mitoma Ferguson . (Webster Mwepu - FAC).
memorable match: Season9 (A) - the fixture played in June and a reset following that tough campaign prior halted for covid.
note: for home Falmer Years results and reports scroll further below.
Season14, 8th Premier League (A) Sat 7/12/24 - tba
Leicester were immediately promoted from their brief Championship stay last term. Foxes pre-season friendlies; Villarreal 1-2 (A), Shrewsbury 2-1 (A), Palermo 0-1 (H), Augsburg 1-0 (A), Lens 3-0 (A). This Prem fixture was the 8th of 19 away, coming in a very busy December towards the halfway stage (Q2). The reverse game was 12 Apr '25 in the run-in period (Q4) - see home scroll further below. Now we had xpts and they had xpts in the period up to halfway thru. Two years ago we'd met here during Jan '23 when grabbing a late equaliser. Our Prem record at the King Power versus Foxes was; lld ldd - in the first six seasons of seven to date. Lack of a single victory stands out. They were hoping to return as Prem regulars. Current away form was; W D L F A tba. Hosts home form was: W D L F A tba. At the moment Brighton were xth, while Leicester were xth from 14 games played. In the last three campaigns we'd been 9, 6 & 8 at the halfway stage (Q2). Albion were looking for winning points in Leicestershire. LC had 4 players on duty at Euro 24 finals in Germany during June. Their boss Steve Cooper had spent around 79m on 6 new talents prior to the big kickoff and before the August window shut, a reasonable outlay. And Buonanotte was on loan there as well. In the EFL Cup . Headline news this week was ... tba
*** match report: tba day after result
stats: ht , goals , poss %-%, on target , off target , corners , fouls , yellows , subs , shape
weather: . gate: . MoM:
team: 1 Verbruggen 2 Lamptey 29 van Hecke 5 Dunk 30 Estupinan 24 Adingra 20 Baleba 10 Enciso 15 Moder 18 Welbeck
subs:
bench: 23 Steele 3 Julio 34 Veltman 4 Webster 6 Milner 7 March 22 Mitoma 28 Ferguson 41 Hinshelwood
squad: . injured:
Prem P15 . W D L . F A . W D L . F A . Pt Po = 1.xxpt/gm . W = % L = %
Foxes:
Quatr: Pl . W D L . . . F A GD . . Pt Po pt/gm . W% L%
start: 03 . 00 01 02 . 03 05 -02 . 01 16 = 0.33 . 00.0 66.6 -
EFL Cup: Walsall (A) R3, Tranmere 4-0 (H) R2
FA Cup: R3
Nov: xth in table, xpts off xth at Q1
Season13, (7th PL) (A) - not Premier League
Season12, 6th Premier League (A) Sat 21/1/23 - D 2-2 ~ Mitoma, Ferguson
We were not yet into second half of the season following pause at New Year for FA Cup R3 ties but next weekend was reserved for R4 knockouts again. Seagulls had finished merely 1pt behind Foxes last term, which bench-marked our recent improvement to try and establish in the top ten like they'd regularly achieved. The next step was to record a win on host's turf and so stake further claims to match their Prem progress. We initially visited and lost in Aug '17 (see away scroll below). We'd also got beat in Feb '19 but gained a first point there in Jun '20. Next BHA were well beaten in Dec '20 but bagged another draw in Jan '22 (seasons 7-11). One thing was evident; we'd come a long way and learnt a whole lotta positive stuff over those previous few years despite suffering several reversals. Albion head coach now was Roberto de Zerbi and away form since Sept had been ok under his guidance. Brighton went to Dubai and Leicester to Abu Dhabi for their warm-weather camps during the '22 World Cup finals in December. In the January window Facundo Buonanotte joined Seagulls squad at Lancing from Argentina. Meanwhile want-away bad boy Trossard went to Arsenal for 21m. BHA next turned down a chunky bid for Caicedo from Chelsea. Van Hecke's Prem starting debut on the day was due to injury to Colwill.
*** match report: getting a win at the King Power stadium still proved elusive after Albion finally forced a draw in closing moments. And it all started so well when Mitoma unleashed a worldy into the top corner for the opener (27min). Shortly afterwards Lallana came off injured. But Foxes bit back before halftime and levelled from 3 stabs at goal that went to VAR for a closer look (38min). Then hosts took the lead just over the hour mark at a corner routine (63min). Seagulls were chasing the game now so De Zerbi made late changes. It was super-sub Ferguson who headed the equalizer to gain a point and save face for our team in a slightly disappointing display. Perhaps we'd come to expect wins away from home and getting up & over a high bar every time on the road wasn't gonna be realistic. Not everything is controllable, especially what randomly results from decisions by Ref & VAR. Brighton fans thought we were denied a clear & obvious penalty and De Zerbi was booked for protesting. He said, 'the ref had a bad day. We played better than Leicester.' On motd that evening even Gary Lineker thought he had a point - literally. Even with technology to help, human error is likely to pervade proceedings. That's football as we know it for better or worse from days of yore.
stats: ht 1-1, goals 38,63-27,88, poss 36%-64%, on 2-4, off 7-9, corners 5-6, fouls 9-9, yellows 0-1, subs 3-3, shape 442-4231
weather: cold & sunny . gate: 32,056, away 3275 . MoM: Mitoma - big talent.
team: 1 Sanchez 13 Gross 29 van Hecke
5 Dunk 30 Estupinan 7 March 25 Caicedo 10 Mac Allister Y 22 Mitoma 14 Lallana 18 Welbeck.
subs: 34 Veltman 29 14, 28 Ferguson 66 18, 2 Lamptey 78 29
bench: 23 Steele (gk) 4 Webster 19 Sarmiento 20 Enciso 21 Undav 27 Gilmour
injured: 6 Colwill . rehab: 15 Moder . squad: 49 Moran . left: 11 Trossard
Prem: P19 . W4 D2 L3 . F16 A10 . W5 D2 L3 . F21 A17 . Pt31 Po6 = 1.63pt/gm . W = 47.3% L = 31.5%
Quatr: Pl . W D L . . . F A GD . . Pt Po pt/gm . W% L%
total: 38 . 09 07 22 . 51 68 -17 . 34 18 = 0.89 . 23.6 57.8 - Dean Smith
3qtrs: 29 . 07 04 18 . 40 51 -11 . 25 19 = 0.86 . 24.1 62.0 - B Rodgers
hfwy: 19 . 05 02 12 . 26 33 -07 . 17 15 = 0.89. 26.3 63.1
start: 10 . 01 02 07 . 15 24 -09 . 05 19 = 0.50 . 10.0 70.0 - B Rodgers
EFL Cup: Newcastle 2-0 (A) q-f . MK Dons 0-3 (A) R4 . Newport 3-0 (H) R3 . Stockport 1pen3 0-0 (A) R2.
FA Cup: Blackburn 1-2 (H) R5 . Walsall 0-1 (A) R4 . Gill'ham 0-1 (A) R3.
Oct: 19th in table, 4pts off 17th at Q1.
Jan: 15th, 3pts off 13th at halfway stage Q2.
Apr: 19th, 2pts behind 17th at three quarters stage Q3. Manager sacked.
May: 18th, 2pts behind 17th at Q4. Relegated.
22/23 odds at start: top four 16/1, top six 9-2, top half 4-6 . sack BR 8/1 . expected to finish: in top ten.
run in from 8/4/23: Bournemouth 0-1 (H), Man City 3-1 (A), Wolves 2-1 (H), Leeds 1-1 (A),
Everton 2-2 (H), Fulham 5-3 (A), Liverpool 0-3 (H), Newcastle 0-0 (A), West Ham 2-1 (H)
run in *forecast @ 7/4/23: 25pt > *33pts . max was 52 . Actual = 34 . Po was 19th . Actual po = 18th
Season11, 5th Premier League (A) Sun 23/1/22 - D 1-1 ~ Welbeck.
Deep into this our fifth Prem campaign on the bounce BHA looked at how far Foxes had come since we met in the Championship early last decade. So the scenario now was to try much harder and emulate in even a mediocre way their dramatic path toward success. It would start with avoiding a fourth defeat there for a kickoff. Albion's away form thus far had been better than during previous campaigns, so there was every reason to believe we should aim for gaining three points - rather than accepting going home with the one we had when starting the match. Meanwhile Leicester were now in Europa Conference ties and under some extra pressure to restore previous high levels of Prem form too. Prior to kickoff Graham Potter & assistant Billy Reid both tested positive for Covid. Bjorn Hamberg got to step up in the technical area, supported by Bruno & Andrew Crofts. Potter at home had a comms link to the dugout.
*** match report: Albion, for the eighth time in nine score draws, equalised to bag another hard earned point. Foxes led immediately after the interval, following a goalless first half (46min). Hosts had best of those opening forty-five minutes, so it was disapppointing to concede straight away on turnaround and chase the game once more. Seagulls upped the ante and a double attacking change after the hour mark, with reshape to 343, started a strong fightback. Welbeck netted a header at the far stick, from a deep Maupay cross, to restore parity as the clock ticked down (82min). Visitors then pressed for a winner but the home unit hung on for an honourable draw. On balance it was a fair result and secured our unbeaten run to six fixtures. Brighton fans had plenty to be pleased about going into the Prem winter break, while players could relax a little prior to prep for that FA Cup R4 tie away at Spurs in two weeks time.
Stats: ht 0-0, goals 46-82, poss 43%-57%, on target 5-5, off target 10-9, corners 4-5, o/s 3-3, fouls 6-8, yellows 0-1, subs 3-3, shape 4231-433
weather: cold & dry . gate: 31,231 (away 2173) . MoM: Lamptey - impact sub.
team: 1 Sanchez, 34 Veltman (20 March 78), 4 Webster, 33 Burn Y, 3 Cucurella, 13 Gross (2 Lamptey 62), 17 Alzate (18 Welbeck 62),
10 Mac Allister, 11 Trossard, 15 Moder, 9 Maupay . bench: 16 Scherpen, 5 Dunk, 14 Lallana, 25 Caicedo, 28 Roberts, 42 Leonard.
squad: 55 Turns, 58 Ferguson . injured: 12 Mwepu, 24 Duffy.
Prem: P22 . W3 D5 L3 . F10 A11 . W3 D7 L1 . F13 A12 . Pt30 Po9 = 1.36pt/gm . W = 27.2% L = 18.1%
Quatr: Pl . W D L . . . F A GD . . . Pt Po pt/gm . W% L%
Total: 38 . 14 10 14 . 62 59 03 .. 52 08 = 1.36 . 36.8 36.8
3qtrs: 29 . 11 07 11 . 45 48 -03 . 40 09 = 1.37 . 37.9 37.9
Hfwy: 19 . 07 04 08 . 33 36 -03 . 25 10 = 1.31 . 36.8 42.1
Start: 10 . 04 02 04 . 15 17 -02 . 14 11 = 1.40 . 40.0 40.0 - Brendan Rodgers
Eu Lg: Conf - Roma 1-1 (H) 1-0 (A) s-f . PSV 0-0 (H) 1-2 (A) q-f . Rennes 2-0 (H) 2-1 (A) last 16 .
Randers 4-1 (H) 1-3 (A) 32.
Napoli 2-2 (H) 3-2 (A), L Warsaw 1-0 (A) 3-1 (H), S Moscow 3-4 (A) 1-1 (H) gp.
EFL Cup: Liverpool 5pen4 3-3 (A) q-f, Brighton 4pen2 2-2 (H) R4, Millwall 0-2 (A) R3.
FA Cup: Forest 4-1 (A) R4 . Watford 4-1 (H) R3.
Oct: 11th in table and 3pts off fifth spot at Q1.
Jan: 10th, 4pts behind 9th at halfway Q2. Out of FA Cup away to C'ship side.
Mar: 9th, 9pts off 8th at threequarters Q3. Eu conf q-f.
May: finished 8th on 52pts, 4pts off 7th. Eu conf s-f. Missed qualifying for Europe.
Season11, EFL Cup R4 (A) Wed 27/10/21 - L 4pen2, 2-2 ~ Webster, Mwepu.
Albion had comfortably gotten past Cardiff for R2 in Wales, followed by defeating their fellow countrymen Swansea at the Amex for R3. Now much of this early-season midweek evening competition was reduced to Prem v Prem ties and here we were visiting the King Power in a Cup knockout once more. Graham Potter gave debuts to several fringe players and U23s previously in R2&3 but was anticipated to name more like a full Prem starting line up on this occasion. BHA had never gone beyond round four as a Prem club, or for that matter either as a Championship outfit based at Falmer. So perhaps now was the appropriate time to up the ante. In the event Potter put out a second string, boosted by a strong bench as 5 subs could be used now.
*** match report: Albion were knocked out on penalties after twice restoring parity during ninety minutes. Hosts took an early lead when visitors bungled playing out from the back (6min). We were back in it in first half stoppage when Webster tapped in at a corner routine (45+3). But immediately dropped off a second time to gift Foxes the lead with a duff backpass by Sarmiento (45+5min). Burn was injured so Mwepu appeared after turnaround. He nodded the equaliser following a high centre by fellow sub Cucurella (71min). Potter used all 5 subs in a tactical bid to snatch victory, going from343 to 433 but to no avail. Chances came and went... and came and went. In the pen shootout Gross & Mac Allister converted ok but Mauapy hit the bar and Mwepu's pop was saved. Seagulls didn't deserve to lose but lacked quality up the sharp end. Not getting that striker in summer sales was coming back to haunt. What we had up front wasn't finding the net and didn't tonight either. Failure to reach the q-f showed our squad to be lightweight, which was a shame two months away from the next transfer window.
stats: ht 2-1, goals 6,45-45,71, poss 43%-57%, on target 5-5, off target 5-11, corners 3-8, o/s 3-0,
fouls 6-5, yellows 2-0, subs 5-5, shape 3421-343.
team: 23 Steele, 24 Duffy, 4 Webster (5 Dunk 63), 28 Roberts (3 Cucurella 69), 34 Veltman (8 Bissouma), 10 Mac Allister, 13 Gross (capt),
33 Burn (12 Mwepu 45), 27 Locadia, 60 Sarmiento (9 Maupay 69), 7 Connolly. bench: 16 Scherpen (gk), 42 Leonard, 53 Tsoungi, 57 Offiah.
weather: mild & breezy . gate: 21,163, away 1007.
Season10, FA Cup R5 (A) Wed 10/2/21 - L 1-0.
Covid restrictions: no supporters @ Lockdown 3.
Albion had been at home against Blackpool in R4, with next ties already drawn to visit either Brentford or Leicester for R5. In the event it was another trip to the King Power - on a cold February evening at an empty stadium once more. In the Prem here during December southern softies had folded like a house of cards to expose Seagulls ongoing weaknesses from start of this term - see PL report below. Since then things had gone a tad better from point of view of results & scores both H & A. Now was an opportunity for our team to put up a better show for good old Sussex by the sea support watching this knockout contest at home again under lockdown conditions & restrictions. Graham Potter was mindful of that hectic Prem schedule, ongoing injury list etc but also potential rewards for reaching FAC q-f places. He was anticipated to field a strong side; a mix of experienced players and others also fit but with limited apps to date, plus squad support from the bench.
*** match report: Albion were knocked out but not until the 94th minute. It was goalless into stoppage time then Foxes snuck up while Seagulls dithered and bagged victory. Potter had put out a side that included both recent Polish imports on debut and two strikers with merely a handful of apps between them. The starting eleven did ok without seriously being in overall control or racking up too many chances to lead. Toward the final quarter of an undistinguished display Potter introduced midfield subs to try and up the ante going forwards. Nothing much altered and extra time appeared likely before that dramatic climax. Speculation was we might have gone to pens following nil-nil aet. But this hypothesis fell apart at the death. Potter was choked, the team gutted and Brighton fans left with a feeling of so near but oh so far for yet another year. Potter learned about his B team, which was useful with respect to rebuilding of the squad at this juncture. Everything seemed like slow, slow, slower and slow because BHA wasn't making much progress in terms of results. However there was a pool of young talent from which to raise a better PL side in seasons to come. That is if we survived in the division by May.
Stats: ht 0-0, goal 94, poss 54%-46%, on target 3-1, off target 7-6, corners 7-3, fouls 8-7, yellows 2-1, subs 4-3, shape 343-532 . Weather: v cold.
Team: 31 Walton, 6 Karbownik, 3 White (34 Veltman 71), 5 Dunk, 33 Burn, 17 Alzate (10 Mac Allister 80), 13 Gross,
14 Lallana (8 Bissouma Y 79), 15 Moder, 22 Tau, 29 Zeqiri . Bench: 23 Steele, 54 Weir, 25 Caicedo, 18 Welbeck, 7 Connolly, 9 Maupay.
Squad: 11 Trossard, 24 Propper . Injured: 2 Lamptey, 4 Webster, 20 March . MoM: Dunk.
Season10, 4th Premier League (A) Sun 13/12/20 - L 3-0.
Covid restrictions: no supporters @ Tier 3.
From beginning of December the government introduced a regional tier system to replace nationwide lockdown during November. This match at T3 was therefore scheduled to be played behind closed doors, like before when completing our previous campaign - see season9. Albion had then hit the ground running following suspension and restart of the initial pandemic-affected Prem campaign from March until June last term - see below. Graham Potter had reverted to Chris Hughton's defensive mantra at that critical juncture in order to secure vital points in a desperate bid to stay up and compete once more, for a desired fourth time in the elite. As with Hughton, his ploy was ultimately successful, although perhaps merely temporary tactics for that particular occasion and not a strategy he'd want to pursue going forward from beginning of this term. And here we go again, covid restrictions still affecting footy from the top down, thru U23s, U18s and also WSL to boot. Empty stadiums were routinely the nationwide new norm but presently the PL table didn't exactly echo the old order of pre-covid uniformity. And a gulf was already established between those who won regularly and others, who lost just too often. Albion were now falling behind mid-table clubs (where Tony Bloom wanted us to be) and stuck in the bottom six... as usual and true to type.
*** match report: Albion folded prior to the interval and the game was up before turnaround. City scored on 27, 41 & 44 mins to put sorry Seagulls in their place, or rather keep them there, glued to 16th. Potter tried to be clever with a fluid 442 operating down the centre but hosts exploited space on flanks. At end of the day there were too many below par performances in visitors ranks for this level of competition. Potter lobbed in all three subs at second half interval but locals were home & hosed long before these token changes. It was men versus boys and yellow shirts appeared anything but a stand out team on the night for all the wrong reasons. Potter was philosophical as per personality, although Brighton fans wanted to know what he is going to do about it immediately. It all seemed BHA were trying to play midfield Potter ball week after week but failing in both boxes, where it really counts. The points per game index was now well below 1pt/gm, so had to be improved soon to hit a 38pt basic target by May. Nothing else mattered now but could blue & white support expect Potter to alter his ways? That is the multi-million pound question also in Tony Bloom's thoughts and on owners lips approaching the festive season.
Stats: ht 3-0, goals 27,41,44, poss 54%-46%, on target 6-4, off target 9-8, o/s 4-1, corners 9-5, fouls 9-11, yellows 2-1, subs 3-3 . Weather: wet
Team: 1 Ryan, 34 Veltman, 3 White, 5 Dunk, 33 Burn Y, 16 Jahanbakhsh (17 Alzate 55), 8 Bissouma (10 Mac Allister 72), 13 Gross, 20 March,
18 Welbeck (7 Connolly 62), 9 Maupay . Bench: 23 Steele, 4 Webster, 11 Trossard, 24 Propper.
Squad: 2 Lamptey, 19 Izquierdo, 29 Zeqiri . Injured: 14 Lallana . MoM: March.
Prem: P12 . W0 D3 L3 . F6 A10 . W2 D1 L3 . F9 A11. Pt10 Po16 = 0.83pt/gm . Wins = 16.6%, Loss = 50.0%
Quatr: Pl . W D L . . . F A GD . . Pt Po pt/gm . W% L%
Total: 38 . 20 06 12 . 68 50 18 . 66 5 = 1.73 . 52.6 31.5
3qtrs: 29 . 17 05 07 . 53 32 21 . 56 3 = 1.93 . 58.6 24.1
Hfwy: 19 . 12 02 05 . 35 21 14 . 38 3 = 2.00 . 63.1 26.3
Start: 10 . 06 00 04 . 19 14 05 . 18 4 = 1.80 . 60.0 40.0 - Brendan Rodgers.
Europa League: 32 - S Prague 0-0 (A) 0-2 (H) . group - Braga 4-0 (H) 3-3 (A), AEK 1-2 (A) 2-0 (H), Z Luhansk 3-0 (H) 1-0 (A).
EFL Cup: Arsenal 0-2 (H) R3.
FA Cup: Chelsea w 0-1 final . Southampton 1-0 s-f, Man Utd 3-1 (H) q-f, Brighton 1-0 (H) R5, Brentford 1-3 (A) R4, Stoke 0-4 (A) R3.
Nov: after finish of the first quarter, City were 4th in the Prem table, 3pts behind top two.
Jan: at the halfway stage Foxes were 3rd, only 2pts behind top pos.
Mar: threequarters completed, 3rd in top four shakeout for podium place.
May: Prem 5th in three way fight. FA Cup winners. Europa Lg place.
Season9, 3rd Premier League (A) Tuesday 23/6/20 - 0-0.
PL suspended until restart from 17/6/20 after Sunday 22/3/20 postponed. Revised fixture played behind closed doors without fans attending.
This match was further shifted from an original mid March date when the PL had suspended fixtures until beyond the traditional mid May finish due to the expanding Covid-19 pandemic. Brighton fans were previously well used to visiting the King Power stad, especially since regaining Championship status, when beginning new life based at Falmer. We'd also travelled there during the Withdean era for 2 of our 3 years at level2 thru the noughties. And also on that other occasion when struggling down in League One. Now it was the big time but still all to play for. City had progressed to become top four challengers, while Albion were merely too close to drop zone fodder for our own good. Brighton fans of Goldstone vintage and also through that Withdean decade had rescued the club from oblivion and then substantially helped go get us up to Falmer. Now we wanted the present side to put in extra effort to show many previous sacrifices were not forgotten, nor lost in mists of time but fully appreciated by the club. Should it go tits up this term, chances for consolidation in the elite would have been squandered and ongoing decisions made by BHA board members, technical director's dept and coaching staff were then left open to criticism by disappointed supporters.
* * * match report: The match finished goalless after being played in searing summer temperatures from 6pm. Albion did the classic job of keeping a very clean sheet and stopping City's trademark late rally from snatching all the points. Visitors bossed the first half but couldn't break deadlock. Webster went off injured, while debutant Lamptey played on with stitches in his lip. Connolly got brought down in the box but Maupay's spot kick was saved, so things remained at nil-nil. Around the hour mark Potter made a triple change to freshen the side and hold back a tide of threats & forays into our area. Seagulls continued to hold out and went five at the back late in the day after Murray got on to bolster tactics. A useful defensive display got us a point and Potter was pleased to boot. Stay at home fans were happy too as BHA had taken a precious 4pts from two fixtures in four days. At this stage Albion were six points above the drop zone and had a superior goal difference to all those clubs below in the bottom six.
stats: shape 442-433, goals nil, poss 67%-33%, on target 2-1, off target 9-8, corners 5-7, o/s 0-0, fouls 10-13, yellows 2-2, subs 3-5 (5/9).
MoM - Lamptey . Gate - 0 . Weather - very warm.
1 Ryan, 2 Lamptey, 15 Webster (4 Duffy 24 Y), 5 Dunk, 33 Burn, 18 Mooy Y, 8 Bissouma (24 Propper 58), 6 Stephens, 7 Maupay (20 March 58), 44 Connolly (17 Murray 82), 10 Mac Allister (11 Trossard 57) . Subs (5/9) - 27 Button, 22 Montoya, 23 Schelotto, 13 Gross.
Squad - 16 Jahanbakhsh, 25 Kayal, 30 Bernardo, 46 Alzate . Injured - 19 Izquierdo.
Prem P31 . W5 D6 L4 . F19 A6 . W2 D6 L8 . F15 A25 . Pt33 Po15 = 1.06pt/gm. Wins = 22.5%, Loss = 38.7%
Quatr: Pl . W D L . . F A GD . . Pt Po pt/gm . W% L%
Total: 38 . 18 8 12 . 67 41 26 . 62 05 = 1.63 . 47.3 31.5 - Brendan Rodgers, finish 27/7/20.
3qtrs: 29 . 16 5 08 . 58 28 30 . 53 03 = 1.82 . 55.1 27.5 PREM SUSPENDED
Hfwy: 19 . 12 3 04 . 41 18 23 . 39 02 = 2.05 . 63.1 21.0
Start: 10 . 06 2 02 . 25 08 17 . 20 03 = 2.00 . 60.0 20.0 - B Rodgers.
EFL Cup: s-f - Villa 2-1 (A) 1-1 (H), q-f - Everton 2pen4 2-2 (A), 4th rnd - Burton 1-3 (A), 3rd rnd - Luton 0-4 (A), 2nd rnd - Newcastle 2pen4 1-1 (A)
FA Cup: Chelsea 0-1 (H) q-f, Birmingham 1-0 (H) R5, Brentford 0-1 (A) R4, Wigan 2-0 (H) R3
Aug: broke into top three and as yet unbeaten in all comps to boot.
Oct: occupy third spot on merit and challenging big six places at the Q1 stage.
New Year: chasing Liverpool but well adrift in 2nd. Into FAC4 draw & EFL s-f.
March: 3rd place when Prem suspended. Into FAC last eight.
July: hanging on to top four but fell to 5th at the death. Europa League place.
Season8 2nd Premier League (A) Tuesday 26/2/19 - L 2-1 ~ Propper.
Albion had been hopeless on the road this season, suffering usual defeats at top-six outfits as anticipated but also bad losses at Prem strugglers Cardiff 2-1, Burnley 1-0 and Fulham 4-2. It was just not good enough to ensure survival once again, which therefore very much put onus back onto achieving winning home form in lieu. Original optimism from late summer & early autumn travels quickly evaporated in bleak mid-winter as reverses racked up a string of zero points from visits going north or west. Chris Hughton was phlegmatic as ever but seething inside, knowing another beating was not stopping the rot that took hold and set in from last November. At least the squad knew what they had to do here, having been given a nice few days trip to much warmer climes for some r&r, lick wounds and get a tan. And it had also been a blank Saturday beforehand, due to scheduled Chelsea contesting the EFL Cup final on Sunday instead. In fact other PL weekend results now put us in 16th place, 3pts above the cut-off line, albeit with that aforementioned top-six game in hand.
* * * match report: Guess what? Yeah, you couldn't make it up. City signed a new manager on the night and they got the win to boot. Albion were caught napping from the word go and conceded quickly (10min). From then on they were chasing the game and playing catch up. Early in the second half Murray missed a sitter and Gross went off injured. Hosts scored again around the hour mark and it was all over bar the shouting (63min). Propper notched his first goal for BHA but it was merely a consolation on another road trip for nowt (66min). At the death Duffy went up front with Murray & sub Locadia, while Izquierdo got a few minutes too after coming back from long injury. Seagulls wore green on this sick evening out and Brighton fans felt a bit off colour too following yet another huge let down away from home. Hughton said, 'we had similar amounts of possession and shots, which is good for a team away from home but in the moments that mattered, they put two away and we only one.' As the old saying goes, you're only as good as your last result - and this one cemented Albion in a dog fight to not be dragged tamely into the drop zone.
Stats; ht 1-0, goals 10,63-66, shape 433-451, poss 49%-51%, on target 3-3, off target 16-12, corners 4-8, fouls 6-4, yellows 1-1, subs 3-3.
Gate 30,558, away 1238 . Weather - mild & dy . MoM - Knockaert.
1 Ryan, 22 Montoya Y23, 4 Duffy, 5 Dunk, 3 Bong, 11 Knockaert, 6 Stephens (19 Izquierdo 81), 13 Gross (8 Bissouma 51), 24 Propper,
20 March (9 Locadia 67), 17 Murray . Subs - 27 Button, 30 Bernardo, 33 Burn, 16 Jahanbakhsh.
Prem P27 . W5 D4 L4 F16 A15 . W2 D2 L10 F13 A26 . Pt27 Po16 = 1.00pt/gm. Wins = 25.9%, Loss = 51.8%
Quatr: Pl . W D L . . . F A GD . . . Pt Po pt/gm . W% L%
Total; 38 . 15 07 16 . 51 48 03 .. 52 09 = 1.36 . 39.4 42.1 - Brendan Rodgers
3qtrs; 29 . 10 05 14 . 35 41 -06 . 35 11 = 1.20 . 34.4 48.2
Hfwy; 19 . 08 04 07 . 24 22 02 .. 28 07 = 1.47 . 42.1 36.8
Start; 10 . 04 01 05 . 16 16 00 .. 13 12 = 1.30 . 40.0 50.0 - Claude Puel.
EFL Cup; q-f - Man City 1-3 pens 1-1 (H), 4th rnd - So'ton 6-5 pens 0-0 (H), 3rd rnd - Wolves 1-3 pens 0-0 (A), 2nd rnd north - Fleetwood 4-0 (H).
FA Cup; 3rd rnd - Newport 2-1 (A).
CP record; to Aug 18 - P35 W13 D10 L12 Wins = 37.1%
Aug; further progress isn't a given based on last term's league & cups results. Is this team actually better?
October; in middle order with polarised results. Still in EL Cup on pens.
New Year; chasing top six, albeit more than a little off the pace set. Out of FA Cup to L2 outfit.
March; new manager and within reach of attaining 7th by May.
Season7 1st Premier League (A) 19/8/17 - L 2-0.
On a summer Saturday, Albion went to the King Power stadium for this very first away match played in the new Premier League campaign. Brighton fans had been there often enough through the Falmer years (see seasons 1-3 below) and also on occasions during that long & infamous Withdean era. Chris Hughton had bolstered last term's Championship runners-up squad with several foreign signings over pre-season and fielded a few from the get go. Pascal Gross & Markus Suttner arrived from Germany, Davy Propper came in from Holland, while Maty Ryan got the keeper's gloves via Spain. All were experienced in European domestic leagues & competitions, although everyone realised this was virgin territory for any BHA team of proven level2 ability at best.
* * * match report: Seagulls suffered defeat and were chasing the game from the first moment. A fast counter attack resulted in Ryan spilling the shot and City put home the rebound (1min). Albion held hosts to the single score until h-t but conceded once more soon after. At a set piece City out-jumped the defence & keeper to net another soft goal (54min). Albion appeared on paper to have put in a shift but in truth it was merely a time & motion study illusion. BHA were way off the pace and lacked cohesion as force to go forward. It was a harsh introduction to playing away and a measure of just how difficult it would be to gain points in future contests. Hughton sent on Knockaert & Hemed around the hour mark but it made little difference overall. He said, 'we certainly weren't at our level on the ball. It's a different game altogether when you concede the second from a set play. It's about staying in there - and learning fast.' Brighton fans could also see writing on the wall already and wondered if the 'enhanced' squad was really capable of getting up to speed pdq.
Stats; shape 4411-4411, h-t 1-0, goals 1,54, poss 45%-55%, on target 4-2, off target 4-0, blocked 6-3, crosses 19-17, corners 6-2, o/s 1-2,
fouls 8-10, tackles 10-9, yellows 1-0, subs 2-2 . Att 31,902 (away 3298).
1 Ryan, 2 Bruno, 22 Duffy, 5 Dunk, 29 Suttner, 20 March, 6 Stephens, 24 Propper, 15 Murphy, 13 Gross (11 Knockaert), 17 Murray (10 Hemed).
Prem P2 . W0 D0 L2 . F0 A4 . Pt0 Po18 = 0.00pt/gm . Wins = 0%, Loss = 100%
Quatr: Pl . W D L . . . F A GD . . . Pt Po pt/gm . W% L%
Total; 38 . 12 11 15 . 56 60 -04 . 47 09 = 1.23 . 31.5 39.4 - Claude Puel.
3qtrs; 29 . 09 10 10 . 41 42 -01 . 37 08 = 1.27 . 31.0 34.4 - Claude Puel.
Hfwy; 19 . 07 06 06 . 29 28 01 .. 27 08 = 1.42 . 36.8 31.5 - Shakespeare & Puel.
Start; 10 . 03 03 04 . 14 14 00 .. 12 11 = 1.20 . 30.0 40.0 - Craig Shakespeare.
Aug - yoyo history suggested a bottom half place initially with a manager kinda learning the ultimate job in situ.
New Year - change of manager has produced much better results.
March - competing to be just behind top six. EFL Cup Q-F. FA Cup Q-F.
LEICESTER @ home; King Power Stad.
Seasn . W D L . F A GD . . Pt Po pt/gm %Pt . . W% L%
24/25 - 0 1 1 . 2 3 -1 . 1 15 = 0.50 100.0 . 00.0 50.0 - Steve Cooper @ 13/9/24
23/24 - not Premier League
22/23 - 5 4 10 . 23 27 -04 . 19 18 = 1.00 55.8 . 26.3 52.6 - Dean Smith & Brendan Rodgers
21/22 - 10 4 5 . 34 23 11 . 34 08 = 1.78 65.3 . 52.6 26.3 - Brendan Rodgers
20/21 - 09 1 9 . 34 29 05 . 28 05 = 1.47 42.4 . 47.3 47.3 - Brendan Rodgers.
19/20 - 11 4 4 . 35 17 18 . 37 05 = 1.94 59.6 . 57.8 21.0 - Brendan Rodgers, finish 27/7/20.
18/19 - 08 3 8 . 24 20 04 . 27 09 = 1.42 51.9 . 42.1 42.1 - Brendan Rodgers & Claude Puel.
17/18 - 07 6 6 . 25 22 03 . 27 09 = 1.42 57.4 . 36.8 31.5 - Craig Shakespeare & C Puel.
16/17 - 10 4 5 . 31 25 06 . 34 12 = 1.78 77.2 . 52.6 26.3 - C Ranieri & C Shakespeare.
15/16 - 12 6 1 . 35 18 17 . 42 01 = 2.21 51.8 . 63.1 05.2 - Claudio Ranieri.
14/15 - 07 5 7 . 28 22 06 . 26 14 = 1.36 63.4 . 36.8 36.8 - Nigel Pearson.
11/12 - 13/14 not Premier League - see scroll below, in Seasons 1-3.
LEICESTER PREVIOUS PREM;
Prem points: - - - 41, 81, 44, 47, 52, 62 / 66, 52, 34 -
recent managers; Enzo Maresca (23-24) . Experience: assistant to Guardiola at City but otherwise a new head coach.
Dean Smith (interim) . Experience: former Norwich, Villa & Brentford boss.
Brendan Rodgers (19-23) - P169 W = 47.9% @ Jul '22 . Experience: a top coach with attacking style.
Claude Puel (17-19), Craig Shakespeare (2017), Claudio Ranieri (15-17), Nigel Pearson (11-15).
Seasn . W D L . . . F A GD . . Pt Po pt/gm . W% L%
23/24 - not Premier League
22/23 - 09 07 22 . 51 68 -17 . 34 18 = 0.89 . 23.6 75.8 - Dean Smith @ 28/5/23
Riches to rags story of former title winners reduced to bottom six strugglers in a turgid campaign. A club in turmoil.
21/22 - 14 10 14 . 62 59 03 .. 52 8 = 1.36 . 36.8 36.8 - Brendan Rodgers @ 22/5/22
Not as good as last 2 terms but get a break from punishing Europa League schedule on Thursday nights.
20/21 - 20 06 12 . 68 50 18 .. 66 5 = 1.73 . 52.6 31.5 - Brendan Rodgers @ 24/5/21
Fell short of top four again at the death but regained Europa Lg place and won FA Cup to boot.
19/20 - 18 08 12 . 67 41 26 .. 62 5 = 1.63 . 47.3 31.5 - Brendan Rodgers. PL SUSPENDED, complete @ 27/7/20
Tailed off in some respects after Prem restart. Held on to get a Europa League spot.
18/19 - 15 07 16 . 51 48 03 .. 52 9 = 1.36 . 39.4 42.1 - Brendan Rodgers
A late change of manager to seek future success. But continuing middle order is implicit in dna at present.
17/18 - 12 11 15 . 56 60 -4 .. 47 9 = 1.23 . 31.5 39.4 - Claude Puel & Craig Shakespeare.
As English as they literarily come, CS replaced title-winning Italian Claudio Ranieri late in the following testing campaign. City picked up for different tinkering but time shortly saw it develop into an everyday domestic story of sacking.
16/17 - 12 08 18 . 48 63 -15 . 44 12 = 1.15 . 31.5 47.3 - Claudio Ranieri & Craig Shakespeare.
The up & down nature of City's C21 football life kinda flattened out toward the end of a seriously unsettling title defence.
15/16 - 23 12 03 . 68 36 32 .. 81 1 = 2.13 . 60.5 07.8 - Claudio Ranieri.
Sensational is one word to describe this campaign. Long odd against would be another phrase, as Foxes started at 5k to 1 for winning the title. The stats aren't that impressive but the kudos certainly caught neutrals imagination.
14/15 - 11 08 19 . 46 55 -9 . 41 14 = 1.07 . 28.9 50.0 - Nigel Pearson.
Foxes got out of a deepening hole, or rather beat the drop, with a very late surge to get clear of the danger zone. Nigel Pearson appeared to put his foot in mouth on several occasions and consequently reached the end of his tenure.
11/12 - 13/14 not Premier League - see below, Seasons 1-3.
FA CUP from 11/12; q-f, 4th rnd, 3rd, 5th, 3rd, 5th, q-f, 3rd, q-f, winners, 4th, 5th
LEAGUE CUP; 3rd rnd, 2nd, q-f, 2nd, 4th, 3rd, q-f, q-f, s-f, 3rd, q-f, q-f.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE; x, x, x, x, x, q-f, nq, nq, nq, nq, nq.
EUROPA LEAGUE: x, x, x, x, x, nq, nq, nq, nq, last 32, conf s-f.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Leicester away, Falmer years - C'ship 11/12-13/14 . Seasons 1-3.
City v Albion (A) from 11/12: 1-0, 1-0, 1-4, -, -, - . W = 1 D = 0 L = 2
memorable match: Season3 (A) - reaching for p-os during the run-in.
Seasons 4-6 - not C'ship.
Season3 Championship (A) 8/4/14 - W 1-4 ~ Ward, Lingard, Ulloa 2.
Going into this fixture, Albion were previously attempting to break into play-off positions but it was home rather than away formthat prevented filling a top-six berth. We had not won in five matches over all. Seven victories on the road kept Seagulls flying high and now they faced already promoted Foxes who had been defeated only once at King Power. City had last lost a contest when visiting the Amex many weeks ago. Oscar Garcia was a coach who liked to use a squad principle and do certain changes in his line-up to suit each game tactically. Here he started impact player LuaLua and went with pace up front from the outset.
*** match report: Albion were four up with ten minutes left and by then many in the 30k gate began to head for early exits. The display throughout was superb and once ahead, visitors never looked back. Ward headed an opener (17min) then Lingard nodded a second (24min). In the second period Ulloa bagged a brace and might have had three (64, 80 min). But the sorry home unit wrecked a clean sheet very late this evening (89min). OG had luxury of putting subs on quite late too because BHA were getting it done in fine style already. CMS got a few moments back from long-term injury as Oscar withdrew his quick men, who had instigated this historic win. Brighton were impressive in triumph and if only we could see three or four netted every week!
Kuszczak, Calderon, Greer, Upson, Ward, March (Forster-Caskey), Andrews, Stephens, Lingard (Mackail-Smith), Ulloa, LuaLua (David).
Champ's P41 . W16 D13 L12 . F46 A37 . Pt61 Po7 . W = 39.0% L = 29.2%
Season2 (A) 23/10/12 - L 1-0.
Brighton went to table toppers in midweek following a poor run of results and worryingly, distinct lack of scoring goals. It was maybe also a marker for rest of this season, by thus completing the first quarter of fixtures. Albion were on heels of play-off places but needed to find some winning form pdq to help maintain an above average points per game index. Currently this was 1.63 (before k-o) and required tweaking to around 1.7 in order to guarantee knockout qualification next May. A dramatic win here would indicate the gig was a goer, setting us up for sold-out repeat performances until summer time. Well, that's what we and 600 travelling fans hoped for in a crowd of 25k on a misty autumn nite.
*** match report: Oh dear, the dream all fell apart before Albion were out of their blocks and conceded an early soft goal after 10min. BHA got battered in the first half but hung in there and gradually reduced potent threats on the away goal. Gus had words at half time and the team came out a second time looking for a quick equaliser. Ref gave us a pen when Buckley got floored but unfortunately Barnes spot kick was saved. He then dobbed the rebound over the bar (54m). Gus withdrew Dicker for Dobbie on the hour and wanted more support for CMS up front. Later with about ten minutes left Hammond arrived in lieu of Crofts. Albion gave good account of themselves but failed to make a breakthrough. We were still second best at ninety minutes on goals scored and other stats and all. There were a few chances to net but probably not enough to make only one really count. Gus said he was bored and we wondered what context he wanted to put that statement in. Something needed to be done - but what?
Kuszczak, Bruno, Greer, El-Abd, Bridge, Crofts (Hammond), Bridcutt, Dicker (Dobbie), Buckley, Mackail-Smith, Barnes.
Champ's P12 . W5 D3 L4 . F15 A8 . Pt18 Po9 . W = 41.6% L = 33.3%
Season1 (A) 17/9/11 - L 1-0.
Going into this fixture, Brighton fans of older generations were very hard put to find a similar past season when the Albion had gone unbeaten in opening weeks. What a start to the current campaign, with five wins and a draw to date and also Seagulls leading the Championship table by a point. Even Gus Poyet was surprised, although he musta been pleased with the way things were working out so far. Those remaining at our club who had been part of the League1 title-winning squad, were now doing the do at level two, aided and abetted by new signings like Craig Mackail-Smith. Young Lewis Dunk was proving to be a class act at the back and helped our defence keep three clean sheets out of six matches. BHA were also into LCr3 against Liverpool at the Amex and went to the renamed King Power stadium on a real high.
*** match report: Oh dear, the bubble burst and BHA didn't exactly cover themselves in glory against a Leicester side just getting into gear in this division. We were lucky to go in at half time goal-less and opposition were proving a tough nut to crack at the back. More or less straight from turn-around, City swarmed forward and snatched a lead. Talk about the psychological moment, Sven Goran Eriksson had used the same tactic a week before. Albion huffed and puffed, had limited chances and what we did get were wasted. CM-S dobbed over from a yard out and it sort of summed up our afternoon. Gus swapped all subs in last half hour but it came to nowt for altering balance of play. Only perhaps in changing shape to orthodox 442. Painter got a second bookable and so was sent off ten mins from time. Dunk, Dicker and LuaLua also collected cards. A bad day at the office but we all get 'em sometime. How would Seagulls rise to the next occasion?
Ankergren, Calderon, Greer, Dunk, Painter, Harley (LuaLua), Bridcutt, Dicker (Navarro), Noone (LuaLua), Barnes, Mackail-Smith.
Champ's P7 . W5 D1 L1 . F11 A5 . Pt16 Po2 . W = 71.4% L = 14.2%
* * * * *
Withdean Era: 12 seasons from 1999 to 2011.
Seasons 4 02/3, 6 04/5, 7 05/6 - Championship . Season10 08/9 - League One.
Withdean era: Les'ter v Albion 2-0, 0-1, 0-0, 0-0 . . . W 1 = D = 2 L = 1
memorable match: Season6 - late August and time for optimism back in the C'ship.
Noughties last there - 27/1/09 (A) League One.
A half decent record verses Foxes at their new Walkers stad, from four meetings in two divs during that decade.
No prior visits to old Filbert Street ground.
see: Seasons 4, 6, 7, 10 for club & stadium info. Also Micky Adams, Steve Coppell & Mark McGhee.
|
|
Leicester - Home, Falmer Years:
Prem 17/18-22/23 24/25, seasons 7-12 14 . . C'ship 11/12-13/14, seasons 1-3.
Albion record @ Amex: W = 4 D = 2 L = 3
Albion v Leicester (H) from 17/18: 0-2 1-1 0-2 1-2 2-1 5-2 - . . W = 2 D = 1 L = 3 . F9 A10
scorers: Murray Lallana Maupay Welbeck Caicedo Trossard Mac Allister 2.
memorable match: Season11 (H) - an early home game and improvement on previously.
note: for away Falmer Years results & reports scroll further up.
Season14, 8th Premier League (H) Sat 12/4/25 - tba
This reciprocal Apr '25 fixture was the 16th of 19 at home, coming during the run-in period (Q4). The reverse game was 7 Dec '24 in that month's busy schedule of the second quarter (Q2) - see away scroll further above. Two and a half years ago we'd met here during early Sept '22 when scoring a comrehensive victory. At the halfway stage (Q2) we had xpts and they had xpts. Then at the three-quarters stage (Q3) we had xpts and they had xpts. Now we had xpts and they had xpts. Our Prem record at the Amex versus Foxes was; ldl lww - in the first six seasons of seven to date. Victories came the last twice. Current home form was; W D L F A tba. Visitors away form was: W D L F A tba. At the moment Brighton were xth, while Leicester were xth from x games played. At the halfway stage we were xth and they were xth. At the three-quarters stage we were xth and they were xth. In the last three campaigns we'd been 9, 6 & 8 at the halfway stage and finished 9, 6 & 11. Albion were looking for more points versus this midlands outfit. Their boss had so far ... in the January window. In the FA Cup . Headline news this week was ...
*** match report: tba day after result
stats: ht , goals , poss %-%, on target , off target , corners , fouls , yellows , subs , shape
weather: . gate: . MoM:
team: 1 Verbruggen 2 Lamptey 29 van Hecke 5 Dunk 30 Estupinan 24 Adingra 20 Baleba 10 Enciso 15 Moder 18 Welbeck
subs:
bench: 23 Steele 3 Julio 34 Veltman 4 Webster 6 Milner 7 March 22 Mitoma 28 Ferguson 41 Hinshelwood
squad: . injured:
Prem P32 . W D L . F A . W D L . F A . Pt Po = 1.xxpt/gm . W = % L = %
Season13, (7th PL) (H) - not Premier League
Season12, 6th Premier League (H) Sun 4/9/22 - W 5-2 ~ og, Caicedo, Trossard, Mac Allister 2.
We again hosted midlands rivals early in the campaign. This time it was a Sunday 2pm ko with pay tv broadcasting worldwide. Getting a first win in Sept '21 last term at the Amex had helped Seagulls fly almost as high as Foxes come final league position by late May '22 finish. Previously results had gone against us when that gap in skill-sets was a tad wider. BHA only got an initial point in Nov '18 but also suffered three losses; in Mar '18, Nov '19 and Mar '21 (seasons 7-11). Aims were now to maintain a winning trend and build upon positve early results from improved home form. By closing of the August transfer window Albion had sold Yves Bissouma (Spurs 25m) and Marc Cucurella (Chelsea 60m). We'd signed Julio Enciso (10m) from S America and got Levi Colwill in from Blues on loan. Deniz Undav, Kaoru Mitoma & Kacper Kozlowski also rejoined the squad from RUSG, all being previously on loan there last term. Kozlowski next was added to a long list who went away on loan, including Duffy & Connolly. Then Pervis Estupinan (Villarreal 15m) penned a transfer-window deal for 4yrs. But our Aug transfered-out deals were; Clarke (Middlesbro 3m) and Maupay (Everton 15m). At the eleventh hour Billy Gilmour (Chelsea 8m) joined us for rest of this campaign. City meanwhile spent 0m by start of the season. Yes, zero, zip, zilch from May to July. But by August transfer deadline day they did sign a defender for a small part (15m) of the 70m sale of Foxes best player. So by any standards one-time title-winners were right up against it this time around.
*** match report: hosts scored 5 goals, after being behind from the first minute, to set a new BHA Prem record. From City's opening attack they quickly went one up (1min). Seagulls hit back by netting two within fifteen minutes to lead - an og (10min) & a Caicedo drive (15min). But Foxes were still on the run after half an hour and dramatically equalised from route one counter tactics (33min). On turnaround Mac Allister drove in a shot from way out but VAR scrubbed it off. Not long beyond the hour mark Trossard bagged his first home goal, assisted by Gross with a thru ball (64min). Next Mac Allister smashed in a penalty when Trossard got chopped (71min). To finish off a great afternoon's work Mac A notched a brace from a super-duper Beckham style f-k in stoppage (97min). On a sunny day Brighton fans were radiant but Foxes fans wanted blood coz they looked like being holed up in the bottom six for the duration. It was a pyrrhic victory but blue & white bulged the old onion bag more than a few times and that was different anyhow. Potter thought being a coach a piece of pi$$ on such occasions coz he had a settled side now and they were doing the biz without too much tweaking from the technical area. As the late & great Greavsy said; it's a funny old game.
stats: ht 2-2, goals 10,15,64,71,97-1,33, poss 54%-46%, on 11-4, off 12-2, corners 10-1, fouls 6-8, yellows 1-1, subs 4-4, shape 352-442
weather: sunny & warm . gate: 31,185, 2808 away . MoM: Mac Allister - a hat-trick by rights.
team: 1 Sanchez, 23 Veltman, 5 Dunk, 4 Webster, 7 March, 10 Mac Allister, 25 Caicedo, 11 Trossard, 13 Gross, 18 Welbeck, 8 Mwepu..
subs: 21 Undav (8) 84, 30 Estupinan (11) 89, 2 Lamptey (7) 93, 27 Gilmour (25) 93
bench: 23 Steele, 6 Colwill, 29 van Hecke, 17 Alzate, 22 Mitoma.
injured: 15 Moder, 14 Lallana, 19 Sarmiento . squad: 20 Enciso.
Prem: P6 . W2 D1 L0 . F6 A2 . W2 D0 L1 . F5 A3 . Pt13 Po4 = 2.16pt/gm . W = 66.6% L = 16.6%
Season11, 5th Premier League (H) Sun 19/9/21 - W 2-1 ~ Maupay, Welbeck.
Albion hadn't got very much of a solid home record over four previous seasons against City - no wins. So perhaps now was the occasion to halt that negative trend and take something positive from entertaining successful Prem opponents. Therefore if wanting to step up beyond regular bottom six fodder, Albion needed to reverse losing here and get that initial victory. Brighton fans were now back at the Amex in big numbers post lockdown and looking to see live visual improvement from Graham Potter's current match-day choices and available selections. However several previous first teamers and also others surplus to requirements had departed since last season. Our overall squad had been trimmed during the August window with many fringe players going out on loan. New signings were relatively few and an additional pukka striker not found to bolster what standard remained. Meanwhile Brendan Rodgers had added quality to his Community Shield winning squad, although spending 55m on only three players. In comparison Albion laid out about 40m after receiving 50m for Ben White. This small intake included wingback Cucurella, midfielder Mwepu and back-up keeper Scherpen.
*** match report: Albion got the win but had to hang on for the last half hour to avoid dropping points. Maupay opened scoring from the spot following handball in the area at a corner (35min). This incident was one of three that outraged Foxes and saw officials involved at length. After the interval Welbeck headed home from a Trossard f-k out wide (50min). Visitors hit back by poaching a consolation as Seagulls were too slow in the tackle (61min). VAR disallowed two efforts that City put in the net and at end of the day the breaks went for hosts but not for the away outfit. Potter had to put on defensive subs to shore up our cushion and at times blue & white was under real pressure. Afterwards he made the right statements about fine margins etc, praised Brighton fans, said Albion played well and smiled a bit as well. Brighton fans went home happy and all in all it was a great start to this campaign. We were under no illusions about the Prem but would take where we were for now and enjoy the positive feeling. When Albion got it right the football was pretty good and after 18 months without live attendance, this winning experience seemed like living the dream.
Stats: ht 1-0, goals 35,50-61, poss 37%-63%, on target 5-3, off target 7-11, corners 4-9, o/s 3-2, fouls 8-10, yellows 2-1, subs 3-3, shape 4312-433
weather: cloudy with rain. gate: 31,078, away 3111 . MoM: Trossard.
team: 1 Sanchez, 34 Veltman, 24 Duffy, 5 Dunk, 3 Cucurella, 20 March (12 Mwepu 62), 8 Bissouma (15 Moder 80), 14 Lallana,
9 Maupay, 11 Trossard, 18 Welbeck (33 Burn 69) . bench: 23 Steele, 2 Lamptey, 7 Connolly, 10 Mac Allister, 17 Alzate, 30 Richards.
squad: 27 Locadia, 28 Roberts . injured: 4 Webster, 13 Gross.
Prem: P5 . W2 D0 L1 . F4 A3 . W2 D0 L0 . F3 A1 . Pt12 Po4 = 2.40pt/gm . W = 80% L = 20%
Season10, 4th Premier League (H) Sat 6/3/21 - L 1-2 ~ Lallana.
Covid attendance restrictions: Match played behind closed doors.
(lockdown 3, Tier 3/4/5 = 0 fans, T2 = 2000, T1 = 4000).
Six prior Championship seasons here of regular 3pm Saturday kickoffs were definitely a thing of the past. Current spread of tv based Prem coverage meant that more often than not it was anything but held at that traditional time. In this case it was yet another evening ko - 8pm. The Amex had very much earlier lost fortress status during those tough first three consecutive campaigns in the elite. However, each forthcoming fixture was a challenge to add to any pre-covid home advantage by scoring at least once and keeping a clean sheet, no matter what class of visiting opposition. Domestic form against Foxes was not exactly worthy of writing home about beforehand but perhaps now was the time to change disheartening 'dear John' footy communications into something a tad more upbeat. If not, by constantly flirting with prospects of falling into the d-z Albion could be in real trouble prior to the run in. Home form was: lld ddl dld dwd l. Now for certain the occasion required a second positive domestic result, rather than just more mediocrity accepting parity.
*** match report: It all ended in tears when Albion crashed to defeat by conceding a late goal. Lallana opened scoring with his first goal for the club with a deft strike after put thru by Maupay (10min). The first half display was good and a platform to build upon during the second period. Now comes the rub. Visitors dictated possession and play in that latter forty-five minutes and scored twice (62 & 87 min). And Sanchez made a blunder at the death to gift City the winner. It was the proverbial game of two halves which BHA lost overall. Hosts were too passive when push came to shove, could not deal with the away side's stronger offensive tactics and paid a huge price in conceding defeat. Potter seemed at a loss to correct imbalance of power after turnaround and his subs appeared too late, were merely reactionary and short of the mark as the game slipped out of reach. Too many very average performances, against a side with a will to win, showed Albion's true colours when faced with a forceful & skillful outfit. Hosts game management was poor, peppered with numerous bad decisions, misplaced passes (just 75% success) and powder-puff attacking threat. Brighton fans witnessed low-lights on motd and had to swallow a third reversal in a row. We could moan all week about bad luck, VAR, fine margins, shape, squad strength, strategy or anything else ad infinitum but BHA's record speaks for itself and viewed in the cold light of day is just not good enough to ensure survival.
Stats: ht 1-0, goals 10-62,87, poss 37%-63%, on target 2-4, off target 3-4, blocks 2-0, o/s 4-1, crosses 16-13, corners 6-6,
tackles 30-22, fouls 14-8, yellows 0-1, subs 3-2, shape 433-3142 . Weather: cold & dry.
Team: 26 Sanchez, 34 Veltman, 3 White, 5 Dunk, 33 Burn, 13 Gross, 8 Bissouma (16 Jahanbakhsh 91), 10 Mac Allister (17 Alzate 68),
14 Lallana, 9 Maupay (18 Welbeck 79), 11 Trossard . Subs: 23 Steele, 15 Moder, 19 Izquierdo, 24 Propper, 22 Tau, 29 Zeqiri.
Squad: 6 Karbownik, 25 Caicedo . Injured: 2 Lamptey, 4 Webster, 7 Connolly, 20 March . MoM: Lallana.
Prem: P27 . W1 D7 L6 . F13 A19 . W4 D4 L5 . F14 A16 . Pt26 Po16 = 0.96pt/gm. Wins = 18.5%, Loss = 40.7%
Season9, 3rd Premier League (H) Sat 23/11/19 - L 0-2.
The third international break had just occurred and yet again Albion could find time to take stock. These frequent autumn pauses in the PL schedule were kinda double-edged, either a blessing or curse, depending on your state of play at the time. BHA seemed in seasonal transition anyhow, from that surviving pro group previously under Chris Hughton, into this revamped 25 man squad led by Graham Potter. The Prem fixture list threw up a series of ok home matches from the August get go but alternately some very tough games to face on the road until New Year. Whether current personnel were sufficient in depth across the campaign was still to be determined. Of the old guard left on books: Murray now appeared benched, Jahanbakhsh occasionally made the match day eighteen, Izquierdo continued on a very long injury rehab, Schelotto was newly just out of the wilderness, Balogun hadn't been sighted all that much, Steele merely did over-age apps in U23s, while Bernardo also seemed adrift with extended injury. Potter's main Saturday eleven were ok at home with rub of the green but subject to conceding versus most sides capable of putting the ball in our net. Today BHA had to be right at the races to get anything against a recently upbeat outfit of proven attacking quality.
* * * match report: Albion came up short once more and failed to register a shot on target. City were the best outfit we'd seen here this term so far and knew every which way to keep a clean sheet and score goals to boot. Seagulls couldn't blame the incessant rain nor puddles on the pitch but only themselves for a sub standard display. Potter fielded 541 with ex-lev2 def Webster (just passed fit) in centre of the back three but experienced RoI international Duffy at wide right. Defensively it kinda read ok on the sheet but in reality the whole side looked more than a second slower off the blocks against a rapid outfit on the counter. Visitors took the lead with a very fast break when all hosts pushed right up at our corner... oops (64min). Then Webster later had hands all over a fresh sub attacker and conceded a pen. VAR got involved and the kick was taken twice for encroachment (82min). Potter put on subs but it had already gone tits up anyway. He was truthful in saying Foxes were better than us but masked the fact that we were utterly hopeless as an elite strike force. Brighton fans went home wet and frustrated and also hoping Tony Bloom would write his Xmas player list early. BHA needed pukka Prem quality and not a bunch of ex-level2 and/or 'easy' continental app bods not really up to this grade.
Stats; shape 343-4231, h-t 0-0, goals 64,82, poss 53%-47%, on target 0-9, off target 4-8, blocks 3-2, crosses 25-21, corners 6-7, o/s 2-1,
tackles 11-15, fouls 9-1, yellows 2-0, subs 3-3 . Gate 30,640, away 3106 . MoM - Ryan . Weather - rain.
1 Ryan, 22 Montoya (21 Schelotto 78), 4 Duffy, 15 Webster Y, 33 Burn, 20 March (17 Murray 83), 11 Trossard, 6 Stephens Y (8 Bissouma 78),
24 Propper, 18 Mooy, 7 Maupay . Subs - 27 Button, 13 Gross, 14 Balogun, 16 Jahanbakhsh.
Ban - 5 Dunk . Injured - 19 Izquierdo, 30 Bernardo, 44 Connolly . Squad - 3 Bong, 28 Baluta, 46 Alzate.
Prem P13 . W3 D2 L2 . F10 A8 . W1 D1 L4 . F5 A11 . Pt15 Po12 = 1.15pt/gm. Wins = 30.7%, Loss = 46.1%
Season8 2nd Premier League (H) Sat 24/11/18 - 1-1 Murray.
This fixture came after yet another international break in first half of the PL season, for the 3rd month running. Albion's home form going into this contest was; Man Utd 3-2, Fulham 2-2, Spurs 1-2, West Ham 1-0 & Wolves 1-0 = 10/15pt or 2.00pt/gm. The Amex needed to be a fortress again this term in front of sold-out crowds, with Brighton fans knowing every goal scored and block made for a clean sheet would make a difference to survival hopes come next May. Chris Hughton more or less had a complete squad available for selection, bar Stephens banned and Jahanbakhsh injured. Murray made his 100th PL appearance. On the day it rained for whole of the contest.
* * * match report: The match began well with an early goal to hosts. Murray notched his 7th of the season to date when heading home a Knockaert corner (15min). But Seagulls failed to add another score and it was a tad frustrating for Brighton fans. City were reduced to ten men around the half hour mark for a second bookable offence - actually simulation in the area! In the second period visitors piled on the pressure, made astute substitutions and were all over Albion like a rash. As time ticked, Ref pointed to the spot when Kayal decked his man - City levelled (79min). Hughton put on March, Andone & Locadia but nothing changed the result. Hughton said, 'you've got to be able to kill the game off and we weren't able to do that. It can go one of two ways. You either have not to concede or take advantage of the situation. It feels like two points lost.' Brighton fans were less than vocal, while Leicester support really got behind their outfit for the hour of a man short - and they made a positive difference. The Amex rocks when things go well but today they didn't, on & off the pitch.
Stats; shape 4411-4231, h-t 1-0, goals 15-79, poss 54%-46%, on target 3-3, off target 8-3, crosses 25-12, corners 6-1, o/s 5-1, tackles 20-17,
fouls 10-7, yellows 3-1, reds 0-1 (28), subs 3-3 . Gate 30,553, away 3008 . MoM Bernardo . Weather - cold & rain.
1 Ryan, 2 Bruno Y66, 4 Duffy Y60, 5 Dunk, 30 Bernardo, 11 Knockaert (20 March 72), 24 Propper, 7 Kayal, 19 Izquierdo Y72,
13 Gross (10 Andone 82), 17 Murray (9 Locadia 89) . Subs - 23 Steele, 3 Bong, 14 Balogun, 8 Bissouma.
Prem P13 . W3 D2 L1 . F9 A7 . W1 D1 L5 . F5 A12 . Pt15 Po12 = 1.15pt/gm. Wins = 30.7%, Loss = 46.1%
Season7 1st Premier League (H) 31/3/18 - L 0-2.
Another month ended and merely six weeks to go until end of the season. Including today the run in had seven games left to play - 4 home & 3 away. So how were Albion placed? Perhaps their status was put into true perspective when considering results already against established top half sides here: Man City 0-2, Everton 1-1, Liverpool 1-5, Burnley 0-0, Watford 1-0, Bournemouth 2-2, Chelsea 0-4 & Arsenal 2-1. The trend being toward a 37.5% pts return at the Amex against such opposition. However Seagulls had indeed gained majority of their overall points tally at the community stadium and needed several more to maintain chance of PL participation next season.
* * * match report: Albion lost the game in final moments of madness. It all seemed this scrappy contest might finish nil-nil, following neither side looking that likely to score. Hosts had good chances to take a lead in the first half but spurned them. And Seagulls misses came home to roost when Murray's penalty kick was saved with 20 minutes to go of the ninety. After the hour mark Kayal got booked and then March replaced Locadia. He set up Izquierdo but the winger was chopped down in the box. Bong was next into the book just prior to Foxes opening scoring. BHA were on the back foot when a deep cross fell to an unmarked attacker (83min). Shortly afterwards visitors had a man sent off for a 2nd yellow. Albion piled forward but couldn't beat the keeper who had a good one on the day. At the death a stretched home team fell to a second sucker punch to complete the mugging (96m). Chris Hughton said, 'it's frustrating and hard to take. They got a lift in the last period after the penalty miss and it got them the goal. We were the better side.' Brighton fans went home in reflective mood, knowing once again we'd missed a decent chance for valuable points at the Amex.
Stats; shape 4141-4411, ht 0-0, goals 83,90+6, poss 47%-53%, on target 3-4, off target 7-2, blocks 5-0, crosses 24-14, corners 6-1, o/s 6-1, tackles 11-14, fouls 11-13, yellows 2-5, red 0-1, subs 2-3 . Gate 30,629.
1 Ryan, 21 Schelotto, 22 Duffy, 5 Dunk, 3 Bong, 25 Locadia (20 March 75), 7 Kayal (9 Baldock 84),
13 Gross, 24 Propper, 19 Izquierdo, 17 Murray.
Prem P 31 . W 8 D 10 L 13 . F 28 A 42 . Pt 34 Po 13 = 1.09pt/gm . Wins = 25.8%, Loss = 41.9%
LEICESTER away; Prem.
Seasn . W D L . . F A GD . . . Pt Po pt/gm %Pt . W% L%
24/25 - 0 0 1 . 1 2 -1 . 0 15 = 0.00 00.0 . 00.0 100.0 - Steve Cooper @ 13/9/24
23/24 - not Premier League
22/23 - 04 3 12 . 28 40 -12 .. 15 18 = 0.78 44.1 . 21.0 63.1 - Dean Smith & Brendan Rodgers
21/22 - 04 6 09 . 28 36 -08 . 18 08 = 0.94 34.6 . 21.0 47.3 - Brendan Rodgers.
20/21 - 11 5 03 . 34 20 14 .. 38 05 = 2.00 57.5 . 57.8 15.7 - Brendan Rodgers.
19/20 - 07 4 08 . 32 24 08 .. 25 05 = 1.31 40.3 . 36.8 42.1 - Brendan Rodgers, finish 27/7/20.
18/19 - 07 4 08 . 27 28 -01 . 25 09 = 1.31 48.0 . 36.8 42.1 - Claude Puel & Brendan Rodgers.
17/18 - 05 5 09 . 31 38 -07 . 20 09 = 1.05 42.5 . 26.3 47.3 - Craig Shakespeare & C Puel.
16/17 - 02 4 13 . 17 38 -21 . 10 12 = 0.52 22.7 . 10.5 68.4 - C Ranieri & C Shakespeare.
15/16 - 11 6 02 . 33 18 15 .. 39 01 = 2.05 48.1 . 57.9 10.5 - Claudio Ranieri.
14/15 - 04 3 12 . 18 32 -14 . 15 14 = 0.78 36.5 . 21.0 63.1 - Nigel Pearson.
11/12 - 13/14 not Premier League - see scroll below, in Seasons 1-3
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Leicester home, Falmer years - C'ship 11/12-13/14 . Seasons 1-3.
Albion v City (H) from 11/12: 1-0, 1-1, 3-1, -, -, - . W = 2 D = 1 L =0
memorable match: Season3 - hosting a club heading for the Prem who we'd follow in time.
Seasons 4-6 - not C'ship.
Season3 Championship (H) 7/12/13 - W 3-1 ~ Barnes 2, Conway.
Albion's Amex record prior to this clash with current league leaders was; W3 D3 L3. It certainly wasn't anything to write home about in a campaign where expectation was to gain a play-off place again. The latest reversal was in midweek beforehand against the bottom club and amounted to Seagulls being booed off at h-t and clocking a very poor display over all. Oscar Garcia exercised restraint with his selections on this following Saturday, making merely one change - Ince came in to midfield once more, after growing in stature previously as Bridcutt's stand-in. Usual keeper Kuszczak pulled up short in the warm-up and so out of favour Brez got the gloves by default. On a chilly but still afternoon, another 27k turnout gave one minute's applause in memory of Nelson Mandella.
Goals make games and the first one was gonna be crucial. Albion opened the scoring when David provided a perfect low ball to the far post where Barnes duly notched (9 min). El-Abd replaced Greer on 15min due to our captain sustaining a calf injury. This exciting fixture then lived up to billing because subsequent football was open, had tempo and very welcome entertainment value at Championship level. Inside half an hour, David got his second assist as he threaded a pass to Conway who moved centrally from left flank to slot home in fine style (28 min). During the second period, Ref turned down a pen shout in visitors area and they were soon counter attacking and won a f-k in our final third. A free header from the set-piece beat Brez just inside his far post (64 min). Home support began to encourage a grandstand finish, especially when LuaLua got a run out in a late tactical move from BHA dugout. Ref made no mistake with another spot-kick decision, following Barnes getting floored before his jump for a cross. He got up and smashed the ball into opposition's net to seal this clash in favour of locals (77 min). Fans and staff went home happy because the same team beaten earlier in the week had played so well against superior (on paper) rivals. That is football for yer and you can't ever make it up.
Brezovan, Bruno, Greer (El-Abd), Upson, Ward, Crofts, Bridcutt, Ince, David (LuaLua), Barnes, Conway.
Champ's P19 . W7 D7 L5 . F24 A19 . Pt28 Po10 . W = 36.8% L = 26.3%
Season2 (H) 6/4/13 - 1-1 ~ LuaLua.
Compared to a year ago (see below) Albion were well and truly still on the up when now in top six. This gate was anticipated to be in excess of 28k and fair enough because prior to k-o, Foxes were currently one place and two points behind us in seventh position. There would be a continuing battle thru the run-in ahead, where several contenders had not given up hope of making p-o phases. Prior to 3pm the top half clubs were: Cardiff 78pt, Hull 71pt, Watford 70pt, Palace 65pt, Forest 62pt, Albion 61pt, Leicester 59pt, Bolton 57pt, Middlesbrough 55pt, Derby 54pt, Birmingham 52pt, Leeds 52pt. On paper our squad was stronger than last season and were capable of going the distance. Up front was short in numbers coz CMS got crocked and Barnes was suspended big time. If proper springtime ever arrived after this continuing cold winter, then Vicente was expected to be equally hot at long last.
Well we suppose a draw was inevitable, following Albion's unbeaten home run in 2013. Ten mins in, Buckley was replaced by LuaLua due to hamstring probs. But the thing is, City looked to be heading for victory after taking the lead late on in this p-o clash. Brighton should have gone ahead during the first half but failed to convert chances. There was usual ebb and flow throughout and looking at stats, visitors had us licked for on/off targets. Vicente got on before the hour in an attempt to penetrate Foxes defence. They soaked us up and netted after we failed to clear a long throw into the area (73min). With time running out, LuaLua picked up a loose ball and smashed it home low inside a post (88min). Gus said, 'we had to take a risk and as it turned out I was happy to have Vicente on the bench. We thought it was better to have him fresh at the end.' Concerning play-offs he said, 'I think it will go to the last game.'
Kuszczak, Calderon, Greer, Upson, Bridge, David (Vicente), Bridcutt, Hammond, Buckley (LuaLua), Ulloa, Orlandi (Barker).
Champ's P41 . W15 D17 L9 . F57 A41 . Pt62 Po6 . W = 36.5% L = 21.9%
Season1 (H) 4/2/12 - W 1-0 ~ Buckley.
One big advantage in having a pukka new stadium, apart from that lovely curvy roof, was benefit of under soil heating. Most other Championship matches got to be played at end of a very cold week, while lower league fixtures were decimated by Feb's frozen conditions. Yes we'd come a long way from Withdean in terms of gaining big club status at Falmer. With Gus Poyet's name regularly in newspapers, fantastic cup runs and greater coverage of English tier two, BHA was earning respect again nationwide. Poyet added to the squad before that transfer deadline and also had alternative players available for selection following an injury crisis. On the day it was freezing in the Amex but 20k attended, warmed by faith keeping feelings of being well and truly on the footy map.
It was like a chess match during first half back and forth. First Albion advanced, then City moved forward. Defences ensured neither back line was breached and there was a certain fascination for purist footy types. Early in the second period, Foxes shot themselves in the foot when a bloke got dismissed for retaliation (53min). Gus subbed two on the hour, introducing new boys Mattock and Vokes. A little later Vicente came on to try and help break deadlock. The match appeared to be heading for nil-nil but Sparrow saw red for a late tackle (85m). Play was more open now with space available. Brighton took the lead from a sensational piece of footy involving Vicente who crossed and Buckley who volleyed low and hard past their keeper (90m). As you can imagine, the place erupted and shivering was replaced by cheering. Another Leicester man took the walk of shame when bringing down Vicente in stoppage as he went thru on goal. Gus was pleased but realised quality over quantity counted at the death, where Buckley had gotten us a right result once more. On present form, Albion's future in this league seemed very promising.
Brezovan, Calderon, Greer, Dunk, El-Abd (Mattock), Navarro (Vokes), Bridcutt, Sparrow, Buckley, Mackail-Smith (Vicente), Barnes.
Champ's P29 . W13 D6 L10 . F32 A30 . Pt45 Po10 . W = 44.8% L = 34.4%
* * * * *
Withdean era: from 1999 to 2011 -
Seasons 4 02/3, 6-7 04/5-05/6 C'ship . Season10 08/9 League One.
Withdean era: Albion v Les'ter 0-1, 1-1, 1-2, 3-2 . . . W = 1 D = 1 L = 2
memorable match: Season10 (H) - a night to remember, especially if seated in the open-air.
see: Seasons 4, 6, 7, 10 for club & stadium info. Also Micky Adams, Mark McGhee & Dean Wilkins.
|
