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Previous encounters (Middlesbrough )
Middlesbrough - Away, Falmer Years: 11/12 - 15/16 C'ship, Seasons 1-5 . '18, '23 FAC, seasons 7, 12 . 17/18 - 22/23 Prem, no meetings. Ground: Riverside 34.7k . Nickname: Boro . Shirt: red. Championship record from 11/12 to 23/24; 7, 16, 12, 4, 2, (19 Prem) / 5, 7, 17, 10, 7, 4 @ 8/5/23. C'ship: promo - '16, p-os - '15, '18, '23 . Prem: relegated - '17. Season13 (7th) (A) tba Season12 (A) 7/1/23 FA Cup 3rd rnd - W 1-5 ~ Gross, Lallana, Mac Allister 2, Undav. Albion were drawn as fourth ball out of the pot to visit Boro again in the Cup. This time for the third round at beginning of January when the Prem & C'ship sides join victorious lower league outfits from R2 ties held back in November. So in our sixth PL campaign we once more arrived at Riverside, having initially been there for a FAC4 tie during our first season at elite level. Since those heady days of reaching for the stars Albion had not only stayed up but thrived, while Boro continued to struggle to reach p-os at level two following their quick return when Seagulls went higher. But this tie was a potentional banana skin for Seagulls who'd been knocked out of the EFL Cup at L1 outfit Charlton just before Xmas, when failing to score over 90 minutes. That disappointment had largely been taken on the chin and tolerated by Brighton fans as suffering a sucker punch. However another below par collective performance, especially up the sharp end (where it counts in a knockout), would attract many more negative comments than was usual for sweet FA. To help avoid a second Cup calamity Roberto de Zerbi was anticipated to field a full strength side, with rest of the squad on the bench. * match report: goals went in at 8, 13, 29, 58, 80 & 88 minutes. Gross began the spree when knocking home a rebound from March. Then Seagulls soon conceded to a simple header. After that leveller visitors got another from Lallana who finished Mitoma's strike. Mac Allister came on for the second half and bagged two more on his return from Argentina to boot. First flicking in Estupinan's effort and ten minutes later prodding home a Gross centre. Undav completed scoring with a low drive late in the afternoon. De Zerbi was gracious to opponents but knew Albion had done their job against C'ship p-o chasers. Brighton fans who got there during yet more rail disruption went home happy. And media outlets were across the display coz netting five was essentially newsworthy. Travellers had a great week on the road (scoring nine) to keep up momentum away from the Amex. RdZ talked a lot of sense (in good English too) and certainly knew direction of travel. There was a lot of work to do at Lancing on both ends of the pitch but he seemed the guy to get best out of what talent we had in the wider squad going forward. It was a pukka process to develop young guns, especially to elite level. Maybe a Cup run would help reveal who might make the grade in this calender year ahead and following seasons. stats: h-t 1-2, goals 13-8,29,57,80,88, poss 32%-68%, on target 5-10, off target 0-9, corners 4-3, fouls 7-7, yellows 1-1, subs 5-5, shape 442-4231 weather: cold . gate: 21,982, away 650 . MoM: Mac Allister - World Cup star. team: 23 Steele 2 Lamptey 29 van Hecke 5 Colwill 30 Estupinan 25 Caicedo 13 Gross 7 March 14 Lallana 22 Mitoma 28 Ferguson subs: 10 Mac Allister 45 14, 18 Welbeck 64 28, 20 Enciso 64 22, 4 Webster 81 6, 21 Undav 81 13 bench: 38 McGill (gk) 19 Sarmiento 27 Gilmour 34 Veltman injured: 0 . squad: 1 Sanchez 5 Dunk 11 Trossard . rehab: 15 Moder Seasons 7-12, (1st-6th) (A) - not Premier League Season7 (A) 27/1/18 FA Cup 4th rnd - W 0-1 ~ Murray. Albion had got past local opposition in PL rivals Palace at the Amex for the 3rd rnd tie and now undertook the long journey to reacquaint with distant but familiar Championship rivals from seasons 1 thru 5 (see below) during early Falmer years. Boro had lasted one term (season6) in the Premier League and were currently chasing a p-o spot this campaign to try and get back out of level2. Meanwhile BHA were toughing it out with other mediocre sides for survival in the PL during winter & spring 2018. Chris Hughton had turned to squad rotated sides in the EFL Cup and also versus Palace for FAC3, so this time it was no surprise to see another different line up. * match report: In a dour tie the only thing that looked likely to happen was for it remaining goalless to the end and thus dreadful thoughts of a replay nobody wanted. But Albion got lucky just prior to stoppage time to go thru to the 5th round. Ineffective Boro had many chances to score but blew them all. Seagulls kept plugging away and introduction of all 3 subs made the difference at the death. Propper played the second half in lieu of Stephens but was booked for his efforts. Izquierdo arrived around the hour mark after injury to Skalak to be carded as well, while Baldock got a yellow at the same time. Murray came on for Hemed with twenty minutes to go and BHA finished the stronger of two scrappy sides. In the last minute of normal time Suttner crossed and MURRAY saw a defender's clearance rebound off his knee and into the net (90min). Kayal got a yellow to boot as Albion saw it out thru injury time. Hughton said, 'we looked more likely to score in the second half. An away goal and to stay in the competition was needed... and we got a bit of luck.' Brighton fans who made the trip went home happy for the first time in a long time. But would it prove a flash in the pan, or another victory in an extended Cup run? Stats; shape 4231- 442, ht 0-0, goal 90, poss 47%-53%, on target 3-4, off target 9-4, blocked 4-3, crosses 16-12, corners 6-5, o/s 2-1, tackles 17-16, fouls 5-16, yellows 1-4, subs 3-3. Gate 20,475 (away 887) 26 Krul, 23 Rosenior (Capt), 18 Goldson, 4 Huenemeier, 29 Suttner, 11 Knockaert, 6 Stephens (24 Propper), 7 Kayal, 8 Skalak (19 Izquierdo), 9 Baldock, 10 Hemed (17 Murray) Season7 (A) onwards - not Premier League. * * * * * * * * * * Middlesbrough away Falmer years - C'ship. Boro v Albion (A) from 11/12 @ C: 1-0, 0-2, 0-1, 0-0, 1-1, - . . W = 2 D = 2 L = 1 For Home Falmer Years results and reports scroll further below. memorable match: Season5 (A) - promo or not? It went to the wire. Season6 - not C'ship. Season5 (A) 7/5/16 Championship - 1-1 - Stephens. This was once again the last game of the season, with a lunchtime kick off to boot - probably the longest journey from Sussex but ok for Scottish Seagulls to enjoy after nine months travelling up & down the country. And what a match to finish a truly magnificent campaign that took BHA so close to the Prem. Albion had recovered from a mid-season blip to good form and challenged for an auto-promo spot throughout the run-in. Now things had come to a head... Boro had been the first club to beat BHA after a record breaking undefeated run from day one. Now the tables needed to be turned for Seagulls to reach the elite automatically. Away form was excellent and defeats quite rare but if ever another win was required, it surely was now. Chris Hughton said, 'they will start favourites but these don't always win the game.' He was picking from a regular, proven, quality squad but this week had lost Dunk to suspension. A clean sheet was essential and maybe hope to nick it with tactical use of subs in last quarter of the contest - as things reached fever pitch. And the game was broadcast on tv for an extra edge to proceedings at the Riverside. * match report: Albion went a goal behind in the first half but gave good account to finish the match on parity. Boro scored after a f-k deep into the box but were never truly dominating visitors (19min). Wilson replaced Baldock for the second half and soon after Seagulls equalized. Stephens headed home from a Knockaert f-k (55min) but moments later was sent of for a rash tackle. Hughton put Sidwell into the fray after the hour mark and later went for broke with LuaLua in lieu of Greer. But it was always gonna be difficult with eleven, let alone ten men. Hughton said, 'we are incredibly proud of these lads, they have been terrific all season and it was always going to be a difficult game today.' Brighton fans felt disappointed but know that football can be very hard at the best of times. Stats; poss 39%-61%, on target 4-1, off target 9-6, corners 4-4, o/s 1-0, fouls 13-16, yellows 0-3, red 0-1. Stockdale, Bruno, Greer (LuaLua), Goldson, Rosenior, Knockaert, Stephens, Kayal, Murphy (Sidwell), Baldock (Wilson), Hemed. Champ's P46 . W24 D17 L5. F72 A32 . Pt89 Po3 . W = 52.1% L = 10.8% Season4 (A) 2/5/15 - 0-0. How many future decisions depended on this result? Well for a kick-off, Albion had struggled all season not to get caught up in a relegation dog fight and Chris Hughton had at least kept his ailing outfit in the division since arriving at New Year. He had now released Mackail-Smith, Hughes, Agustein, McCourt and Maksimenko but kept Player of the Year Calderon and third choice keeper Ankergren. Some fans thought more pruning was needed but at this stage loan signings might be returning full time for the next campaign. It all depended on finances of course but Brighton fans would not be happy to see repetition of summer 2014, when good players were let go and lesser ones hired. On the Amex shop door was the motto, 'one club, one ambition.' Now was time to put up or shut up. * match report: Taking positives at this result at least saw Albion gain a point from a club considered good enough to have won the league this term. But both sides failed to score in what was quite a drab affair. On stats alone, Seagulls did ok - with at least half the possession against the strongest home team in the division. Visitors also shaded on/off targets, although most attempts were wide of the mark. Kid keeper Walton did well between the posts and more than once prevented Boro opening the scoring. A huge crowd of 33k musta gone home disappointed but travelling fans would have seen a vetsige of hope for the future by retaining a clean sheet. Chris Hughton probably fielded his most competent eleven, although in truth the whole squad was merely mediocre when compared to teams who scored more goals than opposition. And that was how Albion had made play-offs in the past. So until this particular issue was addressed in the summer, expectation would remain low for the next campaign. Walton, Halford, Greer, Dunk, Bennett, Kayal, Ince (Calderon), Stephens, Forster-Caskey (Tilley), O'Grady (Mackail-Smith), LuaLua. Champ's P46 . W10 D17 L19 . F44 A54 . Pt47 Po20 . W = 21.7% L = 41.3% Season3 (A) 14/12/13 - W 0-1 ~ Upson. This was Albion's third term in the Championship and the most obvious difference was that we now had Oscar Garcia as Head Coach, while ex-boss Gus Poyet was also in the north-east at Sunderland. With the halfway mark fast approaching, a direct comparison could be made with season1 stats and eventually those shown below for season2. BHA's aim was once again to make play-offs but momentum had earlier stalled during an injury crisis thru autumn. Certain regulars were on the way back and the bench appeared strong too. Some League One team members of the Withdean era had stepped up ok to lev2 quality, like Brezovan, Bridcutt, El-Abd, Greer, Calderon, LuaLua, Barnes and Crofts. There was a useful standard in the squad over all, given Kuszczak, Bruno, Ulloa, David, Upson, Ward, Buckley, Orlandi and young prospects Ince & Forster-Caskey, were also on board. Still to make a return to full training were CMS and Hoskins. On-loan Conway was about to go back to Cardiff. * match report: This fixture appeared to be drifting toward goalless stalemate before Upson, wearing a head bandage, nodded a corner into roof of the net (85min). Boro were useful at home and another victory on those long roads north added to a points tally that needed to be around 38pts come New Year. Brighton went for it from word go, although failed to penetrate oppositions goalmouth. Inside ten mins, Barnes headed a corner onto a post with Seagulls flying at that stage. David also later took a dig that the home keeper collected. After turn around, Garcia wasn't slow to encourage visitors forward and not defend deep. About the hour mark LuaLua got on for David. Calderon later replaced Ward who was in the wars as a frantic finish began. Ulloa joined the fray prior to the winning goal against run of play when Boro threatened. Nathan Jones said, 'we tried to win it and made positive subs. Ironic we won with a set piece - not the way we planned it.' Brighton fans didn't really care - it was three more points gained. Brezovan, Bruno, El-Abd, Upson, Ward (Calderon), Crofts, Bridcutt, Ince, David (LuaLua), Barnes (Ulloa), Conway. Champ's P20 . W8 D7 L5 . F25 A18 . Pt31 Po8 . W = 40% L = 25% Season2 (A) 13/4/13 - W 0-2 ~ Orlandi, David. With time running out this season, Albion took the long road north to Teesside. Boro had once led the division back before Xmas but were on a poor run of form since New Year. Meanwhile Albion gained ground and were just inside play-off places thanks mainly to results elsewhere going our way. In fact Seagulls away sequence in 2013 was merely; wdd lwd lld. So it appeared we had to up the ante during the run-in in order to cut the mustard in a hot series of victories. Our squad was a lot stronger this term and considered capable of holding their own at a critical stage, unlike the previous year when falling short of a consistent p-o challenge. Spanish maestro Andrea Orlandi said, 'we follow the footsteps of Barcelona and want to play football from the back. Sometimes we can't and have a striker who can help us with that style. But when the ball is down we have the players to play around teams.' * match report: Of the match itself Orlandi said, 'at halftime and nil-nil we hadn't had a lot of chances. We knew we had to change something and be more direct and aggressive. It gave us a motivation to push and we got a great result. The fullbacks were more aggressive and I think Wayne Bridge was unbelievable.' On the hour mark Orlandi scored when receiving a square ball from Hammond (60min). Boro tried to respond, although the game became more open with ebb and flow. Then Bridcutt's long ball forward found David exploiting space and he ran on the counter and chipped the keeper (76min). Gus Poyet said, 'it is a massive and much needed win after too many draws. We are in a strong position with four games to go now and our challengers have to play each other.' Regarding stats, you could see that there was little in the way of on/off targets and set pieces. For Albion to actually net twice therefore made all the difference to ongoing belief and rising confidence. Gus said, 'lets get two more wins as soon as possible and see where that takes us.' Ankergren, Calderon, Greer, Upson, Bridge, Hammond, Bridcutt, Crofts, David (Dicker), Ulloa, Orlandi (Forster-Caskey). Champ's P42 . W16 D17 L9 . F59 A41 . Pt65 Po5 . W = 38% L = 21.4% Season1 (A) 10/12/11 - L 1-0. Brighton & Hove City Council was run by the Green Party and Brighton Pavillion ward had the only Green MP, Dr Caroline Lucas. BHA wanted to increase capacity for season2 at the Amex and applied for car-parking on land at the old Falmer High School, within Unitary limits at North Moulsecoombe. A bit of bovver kicked off but some accord eventually prevailed and Dr Lucas said, 'I fully support stadium expansion.' Meanwhile regarding BHA phased ambitions, Gus Poyet said, 'if you give me all the money in the world, I like it.' Albion had tripled crowds in the Championship from regular sell-outs and their commercial programme also took off like a rocket. So Blue, green, or whatever hue reflected, there were no combined forecasts to ever be in the red again. Seagulls flew up to Middlesboro and at present were flying high in this div just around p-o places. If BHCC supported our club, Tony Bloom produced extra funds and Gus established as a top manager, then we'd truly keep going from gutter to the stars. Boro were ex-Prem and a big club - get the colourful picture? *** match report: We got beat one-nil on our first league app at the Riverside since Goldstone days of yore. A draw was probably the fairest result and certainly not beyond this BHA squad. Our trademark passing game gave us plenty of possession in 451 shape but did not create enough chances to win. Albion took the game to Boro and were considered unlucky to concede. Ankergren fumbled a bouncing ball, beat out a shot but a red-shirt tapped in the rebound (21min). As usual Poyet was positive with midfield getting Sparrow and Vincelot forward to aid CM-S. Perhaps both wingers didn't give enough supply, so Gus introduced Buckley after an hour. Later on he double subbed and went 442 with Paynter and Barnes up front(74m). Brighton continued to battle, although we picked up plenty of yellow cards to further add to a disciplinary problem. Nearly 700 B'ton fans attended, including northern exiles who were more than disappointed by the result. Gus said, 'it was that kind of game. We had to take risks. It was crazy.' He would therefore check a transfer budget on return to Falmer, with more than an idea of spending soon. Ankergren, Reyes, Greer, Dunk, Taricco, Noone (Barnes), Bridcutt, Sparrow (Buckley), Vincelot, Mackail-Smith (Paynter), LuaLua. Champ's P21 . W9 D5 L7 . F23 A22 . Pt32 Po7 . W = 42.8% L = 33.3% * * * * * Withdean Era: 12 seasons from 1999 to 2011 - no league vists. Noughties last there - 24/9/03 (A) EFL Cup R2 L 1-0 aet. Falmer was merely a dream but B'fans visiting the Riverside could see what the proposed community stadium might kinda be like in future.
Middlesbrough - Home, Falmer Years: 11/12 - 15/16 C'ship, Seasons 1-5 . 17/18 - 22/23 Prem, no meetings. Season7 (H) onwards - not Premier League. Albion v Boro (H) from 11/12 @ C: 1-1, 0-1, 0-2, 1-2, 0-3, - . . W = 0 D = 1 L = 4 For Away Falmer Years results & reports scroll further up. memorable match: Season5 (H) - a reversal to shock Brighton fans back into reality. Season6 (H) - not C'ship. Season5 (H) Championship 19/12/15 - L 0-3. For a kick off, this fixture started at lunchtime - due to tv coverage featuring a clash of the top two. And compared to last year, this campaign was way ahead of that previous disappointment - see below. With Chris Hughton in charge now, Albion were going places - hopefully upwards! He had retained solid Championship players and gotten in others who'd turned the squad into one able to compete in the top positions. His match day eighteen was pretty settled and only several ongoing injuries meant he'd gone into the loan market. Keeper was Stockdale with Maenpaa in reserve. Defenders were; Bruno, Greer, Dunk or Huenemeir and Calderon for injured pair Rosenior & Bong, with Chicksen & Goldson on the bench. Central midfield was Stephens & Kayal, with Crofts, plus subs Ince, JFC & Holla. Wingers were; Murphy, La Parra (on loan), Manu and injured LuaLua & March. Strikers were; Hemed, Zamora, Wilson (on loan) and injured Baldock. On the day 26k attended including large numbers from Teesside. * match report: Albion lost their record breaking unbeaten record and were made to look very average by the best team in the division by miles. Even Jose Mourinho turned up to witness a stunning victory and although jobless, he still knew a good team from one just pretending to be so. Boro scored with their first big attack inside five minutes as Seagulls floundered (4min). From then on it was up hill for locals as they huffed & puffed to little avail. Just prior to the break BHA went two in arrears with a header from a set piece (41min). Around the hour mark Huenemeier got injured and Goldson made his debut. Within moments Boro put the match to bed by netting a third headed goal, again from a corner (61min). Stockdale kept the score down but in truth we were well beat coz as a strike force our unit was poor. Hughton made a double change with 15 mins to go but he could have replaced all 11 for same result. CH said, 'on hard facts they were better than us. I hope the team will see it as a reality check... we need to put it in perspective. As a whole the season has been very positive.' Stats; poss 62%-38%, on target 2-6, off target 6-3, blocks 6-1, corners 3-4, fouls 6-7, o/s 0-3, yellow 0-1. Stockdale, Bruno, Greer, Huenemeier (Goldson), La Parra, Stephens, Kayal, Murphy (Crofts), Hemed (Zamora), Wilson. Champ's P22 . W11 D10 L1 . F31 A23 . Pt43 Po3 . W = 50% L = 4.5% Season4 (H) 18/10/14 - L 1-2 ~ Greer. This fixture followed the second international break and also completed the first quarter of this fourth campaign at Falmer. Sami Hyypia badly need a victory to put his mantra back on track - Albion had not won a league match in two months. Compared to the report for season3 below, Seagulls had a new manager and revamped squad but still couldn't score goals - unless it was by defenders! In fact Dunk was leading scorer at this stage!! Hyypia like Garcia, was also a student of rotation, although many Brighton fans would disagree, even at this juncture. There was a school of thought that Bloom & Burke (chairman/head of ops) had made a hash of signings, albeit constrained financially by fair play rules and bills coming in for the new training complex at Lancing. On the day 26k attended, partly because weather was warm and home games had been rarer than FA Cup 6th round apps recently - think about it! * match report: Boro did a job on Seagulls from the second minute when Teixeira got crunched and was replaced by McCourt on the half hour. But by then Albion were already a goal behind and chasing the game. There seemed to be too many unmarked black-shirts as they passed around our defence including stranded Stockdale and slotted home (8min). All the steady approach play in the world would not break dirty northern teessiders down and at the break fans wondered about lack of plan B. After the break O'Grady was on for Holla in order to pep up attack. But not long into the second period Boro broke fast from nicking the ball as Albion pressed, countered at speed down a flank and as Stockdale pushed his semi block straight into path of an onrushing striker - oh dear... (53min). From then on heads dropped and Colunga joined the fray with fifteen minutes left. One thing struck season-ticketed masses, Seagulls were physically inferior to some of these giant teams in the division - and it made a big difference when crosses came over. Having said that, chances were created but big, average or small it seemed beyond BHA players to notch. Then at the death Greer nodded in a Bennett corner to give disappointed faithful something to cheer at last (88min). However, all was not well that ended well. Stockdale, Calderon, Greer, Dunk, Bennett, Gardner, Holla (O'Grady), Forster-Caskey (Colunga), Teixeira (McCourt), Baldock, LuaLua. Champ's P12 . W2 D5 L5 . F11 A14 . Pt11 Po20 . W = 16.6% L = 41.6% Season3 (H) 29/3/14 - 0-2. It was a glorious afternoon at Falmer and fans from the north were in good spirits as well as locals. We were involved in the run-in and trusting to pick up valuable points following two defeats in this last week H&A. Oscar Garcia was insisting that his squad rotated when necessary and did have options on the bench. However there was still a shortage of recognised strikers because CMS & Hoskins were slowly returning from long-term injury. Nobody further back seemed capable of scoring since Crofty was also sidelined when busting his knee. If only we could turn possession into goals there would be no further worries for fans. * match report: Boro broke twice after soaking us up and scored on each occasion to get all three points. Brighton were booed off at half time and full time and thousands made a very early exit for public transport when their second went in (65 & 86min). Ulloa missed a penalty to level scores at a crucial time (78min). Buckley limped off on the half hour and JFC turned up to run midfield. LuaLua got on around the hour mark but Garcia's plan back-fired and he had to withdraw Ince for March and go 424 for the last fifteen minutes. And so Albion crashed to a third consecutive defeat on the bounce. Play-off dreams hung by a thread now. Kuszcazak, Bruno, Greer, Upson, Ward, Andrews, Ince (March), David (LuaLua), Buckley (Forster-Caskey), Ulloa, Lingard. Champ's P38 . W15 D11 L12 . F39 A33 . Pt56 Po9 . W = 39.4% L = 31.5% Season2 (H) 20/10/12 - 0-1. Brighton fans went to the Amex during mild autumn weather in happy mood. After a week of rain, Falmer remained temporarily dry for this occasion and by and large, over the past year, it had hardly been wet here. Perhaps it was also a tad ironical, considering around four-thousand hardcore sat in open air on Withdean's south bank for over a decade. Albion had evolved since those days and following a promising mid-table finish in our inaugural season at the Amex, was now ensconced in a play-off spot. The gate of 26k was usual for the community stadium since summer increase in capacity and BHA were now figuring high in the elite attendance league. Gus had previously injured squad members returning to fitness while the international break had taken precedence over Prem & Championship fixtures. Top scorer CMS returned to the line-up, along with Crofts but there was a noticeable absence of wingers at kick-off. * match report: Seagulls took off at once and zoomed toward goal like namesake birds diving for fast food on the prom. However Boro opened the scoring when we lost possession and they swooped via a deflection (21 min). Albion tried to hit back but the rest of the first half was best forgotten. No doubt Gus had soothing words of comfort at the interval, although he knew turning it around wouldn't be a quick fix. On the hour GP elected to replace El-Abd and Crofts for attackers in hope of getting an equalising goal sooner rather than later. Home support woke up as b&w stripes battered the red rearguard in attempting to breakthrough. Chances came thick and fast but the ball forever stayed outside of posts. On/off targets were well into double figures but we couldn't hit that proverbial barn door. Gus sent on LuaLua late, pushing five men forward with Boro hanging on like grim death. There were set-pieces, pen shouts, mad scrambles, Ref baiting and last gasp tackles but no more score. We'd lost and fortunate visitors nicked all points. Gus said, 'we only have ourselves to blame.' Kuszczak, Bruno, Greer, El-Abd (Buckley), Bridge, Hammond, Bridcutt, Crofts (Dobbie), David (LuaLua), Mackail-Smith, Barnes. Champ's P11 . W5 D3 L3 . F15 A7 . Pt18 Po8 . W = 45.4% L = 27.2% Season1 (H) 31/3/12 - 1-1 ~ Calderon. Summer had come early to Sussex with plenty of sun and warmth in the week leading up to this clash of play-off candidates. Any number of recognised big clubs also began staking claims for involvement in knockout stages a month hence and Albion was well and truly left in the mix. A winning sequence from mid-table could secure a coveted spot by completion of the run-in, where everybody was looking over their shoulders for possible dangers. Ten points tally from those already occupying p-o spots would usually be sufficient but chasers remained close enough with twenty-one pts still on offer. It was sure to go to the wire and teams that could score goals and preserve blank sheets would pull through at end of it all. Gus Poyet had plenty of options available on his selection list, although Seagulls struggled with fielding teams for delivering optimum performance week by week. There were some useful individuals at level-two but getting them to regularly hit high team standards was yet another headache for Gus and his coaches. On the day over 20k at the Amex got along to witness an intriguing contest. *** match report: Although the first half stayed goalless, there were fair amounts of football and goalmouth incidents at both ends. Visitors from away in the northeast proved worthy opponents and their side contained quality. Poyet put out a version of 433 with Navarro holding but Vicente kicking on down the middle at every opportunity. BHA was a tad lop-sided, so wingbacks got encouraged to patrol flanks in support. Around the hour mark the match hung in balance before Boro snatched the lead from a corner (61min). Poyet responded almost immediately by swopping two front runners. Before too long Albion equalised from a corner by LuaLua, when Calderon dived to head home near the far upright (73m). Each side played out this fascinating footy chess, where Ref flashed a few cards but most tackles were within legal limits. Gus said, 'there were nerves all over the place but we can't complain. It shows we can compete and how far we've come.' Brighton fans went home checking other results and so far so good. It continued very tight around p-o places and perhaps goal difference would take effect at the death. Brezovan, Calderon, Greer, El-Abd, Mattock, Bridcutt, Navarro, Vicente, Buckley (LuaLua), Vokes, Barnes (Mackail-Smith). Champ's P40 . W17 D12 L11 . F49 A41 . Pt63 Po6 . W = 42.5% L = 27.5% * * * * * Withdean era: no meetings 1999 to 2011 - 12 seasons.
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Previous encounters (Middlesbrough )
Middlesbrough - Away, Falmer Years: 11/12 - 15/16 C'ship, Seasons 1-5 . '18, '23 FAC, seasons 7, 12 . 17/18 - 22/23 Prem, no meetings. Ground: Riverside 34.7k . Nickname: Boro . Shirt: red. Championship record from 11/12 to 23/24; 7, 16, 12, 4, 2, (19 Prem) / 5, 7, 17, 10, 7, 4 @ 8/5/23. C'ship: promo - '16, p-os - '15, '18, '23 . Prem: relegated - '17. Season13 (7th) (A) tba Season12 (A) 7/1/23 FA Cup 3rd rnd - W 1-5 ~ Gross, Lallana, Mac Allister 2, Undav. Albion were drawn as fourth ball out of the pot to visit Boro again in the Cup. This time for the third round at beginning of January when the Prem & C'ship sides join victorious lower league outfits from R2 ties held back in November. So in our sixth PL campaign we once more arrived at Riverside, having initially been there for a FAC4 tie during our first season at elite level. Since those heady days of reaching for the stars Albion had not only stayed up but thrived, while Boro continued to struggle to reach p-os at level two following their quick return when Seagulls went higher. But this tie was a potentional banana skin for Seagulls who'd been knocked out of the EFL Cup at L1 outfit Charlton just before Xmas, when failing to score over 90 minutes. That disappointment had largely been taken on the chin and tolerated by Brighton fans as suffering a sucker punch. However another below par collective performance, especially up the sharp end (where it counts in a knockout), would attract many more negative comments than was usual for sweet FA. To help avoid a second Cup calamity Roberto de Zerbi was anticipated to field a full strength side, with rest of the squad on the bench. * match report: goals went in at 8, 13, 29, 58, 80 & 88 minutes. Gross began the spree when knocking home a rebound from March. Then Seagulls soon conceded to a simple header. After that leveller visitors got another from Lallana who finished Mitoma's strike. Mac Allister came on for the second half and bagged two more on his return from Argentina to boot. First flicking in Estupinan's effort and ten minutes later prodding home a Gross centre. Undav completed scoring with a low drive late in the afternoon. De Zerbi was gracious to opponents but knew Albion had done their job against C'ship p-o chasers. Brighton fans who got there during yet more rail disruption went home happy. And media outlets were across the display coz netting five was essentially newsworthy. Travellers had a great week on the road (scoring nine) to keep up momentum away from the Amex. RdZ talked a lot of sense (in good English too) and certainly knew direction of travel. There was a lot of work to do at Lancing on both ends of the pitch but he seemed the guy to get best out of what talent we had in the wider squad going forward. It was a pukka process to develop young guns, especially to elite level. Maybe a Cup run would help reveal who might make the grade in this calender year ahead and following seasons. stats: h-t 1-2, goals 13-8,29,57,80,88, poss 32%-68%, on target 5-10, off target 0-9, corners 4-3, fouls 7-7, yellows 1-1, subs 5-5, shape 442-4231 weather: cold . gate: 21,982, away 650 . MoM: Mac Allister - World Cup star. team: 23 Steele 2 Lamptey 29 van Hecke 5 Colwill 30 Estupinan 25 Caicedo 13 Gross 7 March 14 Lallana 22 Mitoma 28 Ferguson subs: 10 Mac Allister 45 14, 18 Welbeck 64 28, 20 Enciso 64 22, 4 Webster 81 6, 21 Undav 81 13 bench: 38 McGill (gk) 19 Sarmiento 27 Gilmour 34 Veltman injured: 0 . squad: 1 Sanchez 5 Dunk 11 Trossard . rehab: 15 Moder Seasons 7-12, (1st-6th) (A) - not Premier League Season7 (A) 27/1/18 FA Cup 4th rnd - W 0-1 ~ Murray. Albion had got past local opposition in PL rivals Palace at the Amex for the 3rd rnd tie and now undertook the long journey to reacquaint with distant but familiar Championship rivals from seasons 1 thru 5 (see below) during early Falmer years. Boro had lasted one term (season6) in the Premier League and were currently chasing a p-o spot this campaign to try and get back out of level2. Meanwhile BHA were toughing it out with other mediocre sides for survival in the PL during winter & spring 2018. Chris Hughton had turned to squad rotated sides in the EFL Cup and also versus Palace for FAC3, so this time it was no surprise to see another different line up. * match report: In a dour tie the only thing that looked likely to happen was for it remaining goalless to the end and thus dreadful thoughts of a replay nobody wanted. But Albion got lucky just prior to stoppage time to go thru to the 5th round. Ineffective Boro had many chances to score but blew them all. Seagulls kept plugging away and introduction of all 3 subs made the difference at the death. Propper played the second half in lieu of Stephens but was booked for his efforts. Izquierdo arrived around the hour mark after injury to Skalak to be carded as well, while Baldock got a yellow at the same time. Murray came on for Hemed with twenty minutes to go and BHA finished the stronger of two scrappy sides. In the last minute of normal time Suttner crossed and MURRAY saw a defender's clearance rebound off his knee and into the net (90min). Kayal got a yellow to boot as Albion saw it out thru injury time. Hughton said, 'we looked more likely to score in the second half. An away goal and to stay in the competition was needed... and we got a bit of luck.' Brighton fans who made the trip went home happy for the first time in a long time. But would it prove a flash in the pan, or another victory in an extended Cup run? Stats; shape 4231- 442, ht 0-0, goal 90, poss 47%-53%, on target 3-4, off target 9-4, blocked 4-3, crosses 16-12, corners 6-5, o/s 2-1, tackles 17-16, fouls 5-16, yellows 1-4, subs 3-3. Gate 20,475 (away 887) 26 Krul, 23 Rosenior (Capt), 18 Goldson, 4 Huenemeier, 29 Suttner, 11 Knockaert, 6 Stephens (24 Propper), 7 Kayal, 8 Skalak (19 Izquierdo), 9 Baldock, 10 Hemed (17 Murray) Season7 (A) onwards - not Premier League. * * * * * * * * * * Middlesbrough away Falmer years - C'ship. Boro v Albion (A) from 11/12 @ C: 1-0, 0-2, 0-1, 0-0, 1-1, - . . W = 2 D = 2 L = 1 For Home Falmer Years results and reports scroll further below. memorable match: Season5 (A) - promo or not? It went to the wire. Season6 - not C'ship. Season5 (A) 7/5/16 Championship - 1-1 - Stephens. This was once again the last game of the season, with a lunchtime kick off to boot - probably the longest journey from Sussex but ok for Scottish Seagulls to enjoy after nine months travelling up & down the country. And what a match to finish a truly magnificent campaign that took BHA so close to the Prem. Albion had recovered from a mid-season blip to good form and challenged for an auto-promo spot throughout the run-in. Now things had come to a head... Boro had been the first club to beat BHA after a record breaking undefeated run from day one. Now the tables needed to be turned for Seagulls to reach the elite automatically. Away form was excellent and defeats quite rare but if ever another win was required, it surely was now. Chris Hughton said, 'they will start favourites but these don't always win the game.' He was picking from a regular, proven, quality squad but this week had lost Dunk to suspension. A clean sheet was essential and maybe hope to nick it with tactical use of subs in last quarter of the contest - as things reached fever pitch. And the game was broadcast on tv for an extra edge to proceedings at the Riverside. * match report: Albion went a goal behind in the first half but gave good account to finish the match on parity. Boro scored after a f-k deep into the box but were never truly dominating visitors (19min). Wilson replaced Baldock for the second half and soon after Seagulls equalized. Stephens headed home from a Knockaert f-k (55min) but moments later was sent of for a rash tackle. Hughton put Sidwell into the fray after the hour mark and later went for broke with LuaLua in lieu of Greer. But it was always gonna be difficult with eleven, let alone ten men. Hughton said, 'we are incredibly proud of these lads, they have been terrific all season and it was always going to be a difficult game today.' Brighton fans felt disappointed but know that football can be very hard at the best of times. Stats; poss 39%-61%, on target 4-1, off target 9-6, corners 4-4, o/s 1-0, fouls 13-16, yellows 0-3, red 0-1. Stockdale, Bruno, Greer (LuaLua), Goldson, Rosenior, Knockaert, Stephens, Kayal, Murphy (Sidwell), Baldock (Wilson), Hemed. Champ's P46 . W24 D17 L5. F72 A32 . Pt89 Po3 . W = 52.1% L = 10.8% Season4 (A) 2/5/15 - 0-0. How many future decisions depended on this result? Well for a kick-off, Albion had struggled all season not to get caught up in a relegation dog fight and Chris Hughton had at least kept his ailing outfit in the division since arriving at New Year. He had now released Mackail-Smith, Hughes, Agustein, McCourt and Maksimenko but kept Player of the Year Calderon and third choice keeper Ankergren. Some fans thought more pruning was needed but at this stage loan signings might be returning full time for the next campaign. It all depended on finances of course but Brighton fans would not be happy to see repetition of summer 2014, when good players were let go and lesser ones hired. On the Amex shop door was the motto, 'one club, one ambition.' Now was time to put up or shut up. * match report: Taking positives at this result at least saw Albion gain a point from a club considered good enough to have won the league this term. But both sides failed to score in what was quite a drab affair. On stats alone, Seagulls did ok - with at least half the possession against the strongest home team in the division. Visitors also shaded on/off targets, although most attempts were wide of the mark. Kid keeper Walton did well between the posts and more than once prevented Boro opening the scoring. A huge crowd of 33k musta gone home disappointed but travelling fans would have seen a vetsige of hope for the future by retaining a clean sheet. Chris Hughton probably fielded his most competent eleven, although in truth the whole squad was merely mediocre when compared to teams who scored more goals than opposition. And that was how Albion had made play-offs in the past. So until this particular issue was addressed in the summer, expectation would remain low for the next campaign. Walton, Halford, Greer, Dunk, Bennett, Kayal, Ince (Calderon), Stephens, Forster-Caskey (Tilley), O'Grady (Mackail-Smith), LuaLua. Champ's P46 . W10 D17 L19 . F44 A54 . Pt47 Po20 . W = 21.7% L = 41.3% Season3 (A) 14/12/13 - W 0-1 ~ Upson. This was Albion's third term in the Championship and the most obvious difference was that we now had Oscar Garcia as Head Coach, while ex-boss Gus Poyet was also in the north-east at Sunderland. With the halfway mark fast approaching, a direct comparison could be made with season1 stats and eventually those shown below for season2. BHA's aim was once again to make play-offs but momentum had earlier stalled during an injury crisis thru autumn. Certain regulars were on the way back and the bench appeared strong too. Some League One team members of the Withdean era had stepped up ok to lev2 quality, like Brezovan, Bridcutt, El-Abd, Greer, Calderon, LuaLua, Barnes and Crofts. There was a useful standard in the squad over all, given Kuszczak, Bruno, Ulloa, David, Upson, Ward, Buckley, Orlandi and young prospects Ince & Forster-Caskey, were also on board. Still to make a return to full training were CMS and Hoskins. On-loan Conway was about to go back to Cardiff. * match report: This fixture appeared to be drifting toward goalless stalemate before Upson, wearing a head bandage, nodded a corner into roof of the net (85min). Boro were useful at home and another victory on those long roads north added to a points tally that needed to be around 38pts come New Year. Brighton went for it from word go, although failed to penetrate oppositions goalmouth. Inside ten mins, Barnes headed a corner onto a post with Seagulls flying at that stage. David also later took a dig that the home keeper collected. After turn around, Garcia wasn't slow to encourage visitors forward and not defend deep. About the hour mark LuaLua got on for David. Calderon later replaced Ward who was in the wars as a frantic finish began. Ulloa joined the fray prior to the winning goal against run of play when Boro threatened. Nathan Jones said, 'we tried to win it and made positive subs. Ironic we won with a set piece - not the way we planned it.' Brighton fans didn't really care - it was three more points gained. Brezovan, Bruno, El-Abd, Upson, Ward (Calderon), Crofts, Bridcutt, Ince, David (LuaLua), Barnes (Ulloa), Conway. Champ's P20 . W8 D7 L5 . F25 A18 . Pt31 Po8 . W = 40% L = 25% Season2 (A) 13/4/13 - W 0-2 ~ Orlandi, David. With time running out this season, Albion took the long road north to Teesside. Boro had once led the division back before Xmas but were on a poor run of form since New Year. Meanwhile Albion gained ground and were just inside play-off places thanks mainly to results elsewhere going our way. In fact Seagulls away sequence in 2013 was merely; wdd lwd lld. So it appeared we had to up the ante during the run-in in order to cut the mustard in a hot series of victories. Our squad was a lot stronger this term and considered capable of holding their own at a critical stage, unlike the previous year when falling short of a consistent p-o challenge. Spanish maestro Andrea Orlandi said, 'we follow the footsteps of Barcelona and want to play football from the back. Sometimes we can't and have a striker who can help us with that style. But when the ball is down we have the players to play around teams.' * match report: Of the match itself Orlandi said, 'at halftime and nil-nil we hadn't had a lot of chances. We knew we had to change something and be more direct and aggressive. It gave us a motivation to push and we got a great result. The fullbacks were more aggressive and I think Wayne Bridge was unbelievable.' On the hour mark Orlandi scored when receiving a square ball from Hammond (60min). Boro tried to respond, although the game became more open with ebb and flow. Then Bridcutt's long ball forward found David exploiting space and he ran on the counter and chipped the keeper (76min). Gus Poyet said, 'it is a massive and much needed win after too many draws. We are in a strong position with four games to go now and our challengers have to play each other.' Regarding stats, you could see that there was little in the way of on/off targets and set pieces. For Albion to actually net twice therefore made all the difference to ongoing belief and rising confidence. Gus said, 'lets get two more wins as soon as possible and see where that takes us.' Ankergren, Calderon, Greer, Upson, Bridge, Hammond, Bridcutt, Crofts, David (Dicker), Ulloa, Orlandi (Forster-Caskey). Champ's P42 . W16 D17 L9 . F59 A41 . Pt65 Po5 . W = 38% L = 21.4% Season1 (A) 10/12/11 - L 1-0. Brighton & Hove City Council was run by the Green Party and Brighton Pavillion ward had the only Green MP, Dr Caroline Lucas. BHA wanted to increase capacity for season2 at the Amex and applied for car-parking on land at the old Falmer High School, within Unitary limits at North Moulsecoombe. A bit of bovver kicked off but some accord eventually prevailed and Dr Lucas said, 'I fully support stadium expansion.' Meanwhile regarding BHA phased ambitions, Gus Poyet said, 'if you give me all the money in the world, I like it.' Albion had tripled crowds in the Championship from regular sell-outs and their commercial programme also took off like a rocket. So Blue, green, or whatever hue reflected, there were no combined forecasts to ever be in the red again. Seagulls flew up to Middlesboro and at present were flying high in this div just around p-o places. If BHCC supported our club, Tony Bloom produced extra funds and Gus established as a top manager, then we'd truly keep going from gutter to the stars. Boro were ex-Prem and a big club - get the colourful picture? *** match report: We got beat one-nil on our first league app at the Riverside since Goldstone days of yore. A draw was probably the fairest result and certainly not beyond this BHA squad. Our trademark passing game gave us plenty of possession in 451 shape but did not create enough chances to win. Albion took the game to Boro and were considered unlucky to concede. Ankergren fumbled a bouncing ball, beat out a shot but a red-shirt tapped in the rebound (21min). As usual Poyet was positive with midfield getting Sparrow and Vincelot forward to aid CM-S. Perhaps both wingers didn't give enough supply, so Gus introduced Buckley after an hour. Later on he double subbed and went 442 with Paynter and Barnes up front(74m). Brighton continued to battle, although we picked up plenty of yellow cards to further add to a disciplinary problem. Nearly 700 B'ton fans attended, including northern exiles who were more than disappointed by the result. Gus said, 'it was that kind of game. We had to take risks. It was crazy.' He would therefore check a transfer budget on return to Falmer, with more than an idea of spending soon. Ankergren, Reyes, Greer, Dunk, Taricco, Noone (Barnes), Bridcutt, Sparrow (Buckley), Vincelot, Mackail-Smith (Paynter), LuaLua. Champ's P21 . W9 D5 L7 . F23 A22 . Pt32 Po7 . W = 42.8% L = 33.3% * * * * * Withdean Era: 12 seasons from 1999 to 2011 - no league vists. Noughties last there - 24/9/03 (A) EFL Cup R2 L 1-0 aet. Falmer was merely a dream but B'fans visiting the Riverside could see what the proposed community stadium might kinda be like in future.
Middlesbrough - Home, Falmer Years: 11/12 - 15/16 C'ship, Seasons 1-5 . 17/18 - 22/23 Prem, no meetings. Season7 (H) onwards - not Premier League. Albion v Boro (H) from 11/12 @ C: 1-1, 0-1, 0-2, 1-2, 0-3, - . . W = 0 D = 1 L = 4 For Away Falmer Years results & reports scroll further up. memorable match: Season5 (H) - a reversal to shock Brighton fans back into reality. Season6 (H) - not C'ship. Season5 (H) Championship 19/12/15 - L 0-3. For a kick off, this fixture started at lunchtime - due to tv coverage featuring a clash of the top two. And compared to last year, this campaign was way ahead of that previous disappointment - see below. With Chris Hughton in charge now, Albion were going places - hopefully upwards! He had retained solid Championship players and gotten in others who'd turned the squad into one able to compete in the top positions. His match day eighteen was pretty settled and only several ongoing injuries meant he'd gone into the loan market. Keeper was Stockdale with Maenpaa in reserve. Defenders were; Bruno, Greer, Dunk or Huenemeir and Calderon for injured pair Rosenior & Bong, with Chicksen & Goldson on the bench. Central midfield was Stephens & Kayal, with Crofts, plus subs Ince, JFC & Holla. Wingers were; Murphy, La Parra (on loan), Manu and injured LuaLua & March. Strikers were; Hemed, Zamora, Wilson (on loan) and injured Baldock. On the day 26k attended including large numbers from Teesside. * match report: Albion lost their record breaking unbeaten record and were made to look very average by the best team in the division by miles. Even Jose Mourinho turned up to witness a stunning victory and although jobless, he still knew a good team from one just pretending to be so. Boro scored with their first big attack inside five minutes as Seagulls floundered (4min). From then on it was up hill for locals as they huffed & puffed to little avail. Just prior to the break BHA went two in arrears with a header from a set piece (41min). Around the hour mark Huenemeier got injured and Goldson made his debut. Within moments Boro put the match to bed by netting a third headed goal, again from a corner (61min). Stockdale kept the score down but in truth we were well beat coz as a strike force our unit was poor. Hughton made a double change with 15 mins to go but he could have replaced all 11 for same result. CH said, 'on hard facts they were better than us. I hope the team will see it as a reality check... we need to put it in perspective. As a whole the season has been very positive.' Stats; poss 62%-38%, on target 2-6, off target 6-3, blocks 6-1, corners 3-4, fouls 6-7, o/s 0-3, yellow 0-1. Stockdale, Bruno, Greer, Huenemeier (Goldson), La Parra, Stephens, Kayal, Murphy (Crofts), Hemed (Zamora), Wilson. Champ's P22 . W11 D10 L1 . F31 A23 . Pt43 Po3 . W = 50% L = 4.5% Season4 (H) 18/10/14 - L 1-2 ~ Greer. This fixture followed the second international break and also completed the first quarter of this fourth campaign at Falmer. Sami Hyypia badly need a victory to put his mantra back on track - Albion had not won a league match in two months. Compared to the report for season3 below, Seagulls had a new manager and revamped squad but still couldn't score goals - unless it was by defenders! In fact Dunk was leading scorer at this stage!! Hyypia like Garcia, was also a student of rotation, although many Brighton fans would disagree, even at this juncture. There was a school of thought that Bloom & Burke (chairman/head of ops) had made a hash of signings, albeit constrained financially by fair play rules and bills coming in for the new training complex at Lancing. On the day 26k attended, partly because weather was warm and home games had been rarer than FA Cup 6th round apps recently - think about it! * match report: Boro did a job on Seagulls from the second minute when Teixeira got crunched and was replaced by McCourt on the half hour. But by then Albion were already a goal behind and chasing the game. There seemed to be too many unmarked black-shirts as they passed around our defence including stranded Stockdale and slotted home (8min). All the steady approach play in the world would not break dirty northern teessiders down and at the break fans wondered about lack of plan B. After the break O'Grady was on for Holla in order to pep up attack. But not long into the second period Boro broke fast from nicking the ball as Albion pressed, countered at speed down a flank and as Stockdale pushed his semi block straight into path of an onrushing striker - oh dear... (53min). From then on heads dropped and Colunga joined the fray with fifteen minutes left. One thing struck season-ticketed masses, Seagulls were physically inferior to some of these giant teams in the division - and it made a big difference when crosses came over. Having said that, chances were created but big, average or small it seemed beyond BHA players to notch. Then at the death Greer nodded in a Bennett corner to give disappointed faithful something to cheer at last (88min). However, all was not well that ended well. Stockdale, Calderon, Greer, Dunk, Bennett, Gardner, Holla (O'Grady), Forster-Caskey (Colunga), Teixeira (McCourt), Baldock, LuaLua. Champ's P12 . W2 D5 L5 . F11 A14 . Pt11 Po20 . W = 16.6% L = 41.6% Season3 (H) 29/3/14 - 0-2. It was a glorious afternoon at Falmer and fans from the north were in good spirits as well as locals. We were involved in the run-in and trusting to pick up valuable points following two defeats in this last week H&A. Oscar Garcia was insisting that his squad rotated when necessary and did have options on the bench. However there was still a shortage of recognised strikers because CMS & Hoskins were slowly returning from long-term injury. Nobody further back seemed capable of scoring since Crofty was also sidelined when busting his knee. If only we could turn possession into goals there would be no further worries for fans. * match report: Boro broke twice after soaking us up and scored on each occasion to get all three points. Brighton were booed off at half time and full time and thousands made a very early exit for public transport when their second went in (65 & 86min). Ulloa missed a penalty to level scores at a crucial time (78min). Buckley limped off on the half hour and JFC turned up to run midfield. LuaLua got on around the hour mark but Garcia's plan back-fired and he had to withdraw Ince for March and go 424 for the last fifteen minutes. And so Albion crashed to a third consecutive defeat on the bounce. Play-off dreams hung by a thread now. Kuszcazak, Bruno, Greer, Upson, Ward, Andrews, Ince (March), David (LuaLua), Buckley (Forster-Caskey), Ulloa, Lingard. Champ's P38 . W15 D11 L12 . F39 A33 . Pt56 Po9 . W = 39.4% L = 31.5% Season2 (H) 20/10/12 - 0-1. Brighton fans went to the Amex during mild autumn weather in happy mood. After a week of rain, Falmer remained temporarily dry for this occasion and by and large, over the past year, it had hardly been wet here. Perhaps it was also a tad ironical, considering around four-thousand hardcore sat in open air on Withdean's south bank for over a decade. Albion had evolved since those days and following a promising mid-table finish in our inaugural season at the Amex, was now ensconced in a play-off spot. The gate of 26k was usual for the community stadium since summer increase in capacity and BHA were now figuring high in the elite attendance league. Gus had previously injured squad members returning to fitness while the international break had taken precedence over Prem & Championship fixtures. Top scorer CMS returned to the line-up, along with Crofts but there was a noticeable absence of wingers at kick-off. * match report: Seagulls took off at once and zoomed toward goal like namesake birds diving for fast food on the prom. However Boro opened the scoring when we lost possession and they swooped via a deflection (21 min). Albion tried to hit back but the rest of the first half was best forgotten. No doubt Gus had soothing words of comfort at the interval, although he knew turning it around wouldn't be a quick fix. On the hour GP elected to replace El-Abd and Crofts for attackers in hope of getting an equalising goal sooner rather than later. Home support woke up as b&w stripes battered the red rearguard in attempting to breakthrough. Chances came thick and fast but the ball forever stayed outside of posts. On/off targets were well into double figures but we couldn't hit that proverbial barn door. Gus sent on LuaLua late, pushing five men forward with Boro hanging on like grim death. There were set-pieces, pen shouts, mad scrambles, Ref baiting and last gasp tackles but no more score. We'd lost and fortunate visitors nicked all points. Gus said, 'we only have ourselves to blame.' Kuszczak, Bruno, Greer, El-Abd (Buckley), Bridge, Hammond, Bridcutt, Crofts (Dobbie), David (LuaLua), Mackail-Smith, Barnes. Champ's P11 . W5 D3 L3 . F15 A7 . Pt18 Po8 . W = 45.4% L = 27.2% Season1 (H) 31/3/12 - 1-1 ~ Calderon. Summer had come early to Sussex with plenty of sun and warmth in the week leading up to this clash of play-off candidates. Any number of recognised big clubs also began staking claims for involvement in knockout stages a month hence and Albion was well and truly left in the mix. A winning sequence from mid-table could secure a coveted spot by completion of the run-in, where everybody was looking over their shoulders for possible dangers. Ten points tally from those already occupying p-o spots would usually be sufficient but chasers remained close enough with twenty-one pts still on offer. It was sure to go to the wire and teams that could score goals and preserve blank sheets would pull through at end of it all. Gus Poyet had plenty of options available on his selection list, although Seagulls struggled with fielding teams for delivering optimum performance week by week. There were some useful individuals at level-two but getting them to regularly hit high team standards was yet another headache for Gus and his coaches. On the day over 20k at the Amex got along to witness an intriguing contest. *** match report: Although the first half stayed goalless, there were fair amounts of football and goalmouth incidents at both ends. Visitors from away in the northeast proved worthy opponents and their side contained quality. Poyet put out a version of 433 with Navarro holding but Vicente kicking on down the middle at every opportunity. BHA was a tad lop-sided, so wingbacks got encouraged to patrol flanks in support. Around the hour mark the match hung in balance before Boro snatched the lead from a corner (61min). Poyet responded almost immediately by swopping two front runners. Before too long Albion equalised from a corner by LuaLua, when Calderon dived to head home near the far upright (73m). Each side played out this fascinating footy chess, where Ref flashed a few cards but most tackles were within legal limits. Gus said, 'there were nerves all over the place but we can't complain. It shows we can compete and how far we've come.' Brighton fans went home checking other results and so far so good. It continued very tight around p-o places and perhaps goal difference would take effect at the death. Brezovan, Calderon, Greer, El-Abd, Mattock, Bridcutt, Navarro, Vicente, Buckley (LuaLua), Vokes, Barnes (Mackail-Smith). Champ's P40 . W17 D12 L11 . F49 A41 . Pt63 Po6 . W = 42.5% L = 27.5% * * * * * Withdean era: no meetings 1999 to 2011 - 12 seasons.
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