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Previous encounters (Millwall )
Millwall - Away, Falmer Years: C'ship 11/12-14/15, seasons 1-4 . '19 FA Cup . 17/18 onwards - Prem, no meetings. ground: the Den 20.1k . nickname: Lions . shirt: dark blue. EFL record from 11/12: 16 20 19 22 C, 4 6 L1 / 8 21 8 11 9 8 13 C @ 4/5/24. C'ship: stayed up - '13 '14 '19, relegated - '15 . L1: promo - '17. Seasons 8, (2nd) (A) onwards - not Premier League Season8 (A) Sunday 17/3/19 FA Cup Q-F - w 4-5 pens, 2-2 aet ~ Locadia, March. This tie against regular Championship side Lions was the last held on the QF weekend and broadcast live on terrestial tv for good measure - just in case of showing a PL giant-killing act. BHA Prem 'reserves' got past lev2 Derby in the 5th round at the Amex and previously beat Rams' fellow Championship club West Brom, again shown live on tv, aet on an eventful evening for a 4th rnd replay up in the midlands. The Q-F draw was also televised live and hey-ho, BHA (ball no.8) gets to be picked out last to boot, making it an away tie up in South Bermondsey. We were once more fortunate to avoid Man City & Man Utd, the last two big-six outfits left in the Cup, although could have gotten paired with one of 3 other current PL rivals, either Palace, Watford or Wolves, thru alternative permutations of time & space. In the event a short trip into SE London at the Den didn't seem too bad a place to visit, as we'd been there a lot in days of yore - see below for Falmer Years Championship fixtures & also peruse the pre-Amex, Withdean Era tab too. On the day Chris Hughton put out his 'best' PL side, plus a strong group on the bench. *** match report: With no VAR operating here, the contest was not without 'big' talking points around decisions, as exposed by replays from bbc tv, regarding 'unseen' fouls & 'seen' offsides. Albion were almost out for the count with ten minutes to go of normal time, having just gone two goals behind (70 & 79min). But astute changes from off the bench worked wonders when two of three offensive Seagulls subs netted. First Locadia with a quick turn & shot (88min) then March (95min) finding the top corner from a very deep f-k, sent this extreme rollercoaster tie into extra time. That additional half an hour was strangely uneventful, bar more wintry precipitation and Lions having a man sent off late for kicking Dunk from behind (119min). In the penalty shootout, Murray hit the bar but Locadia, March, Stephens, Propper & lastly Dunk all scored theirs, while Ryan had saved one from the initial five, so took it into sudden death. Lions last effort flew over the bar and thus BHA went on thru to the semi-finals. Hughton said, 'there are moments in the game that go for you and go against you. There were three that went against us, while Solly's bit of fortune went for us. I think it is unfair that there is not VAR at all grounds. If a team has benefitted from it, is it fair on teams that don't.' Brighton fans could hardly believe how luck changed in an instant, especially as BHA actually first 'led' the tie outright after the sixth critical pen, scored by Dunk. You couldn't make it up for an unlikely reality like in a Roy of the Rovers story. But it's never over until... Stats; ht 0-0, f-t 2-2, et 0-0, pens 4-5, goals 70,79-88,95, shape 451-433, poss 34%-66%, on target 7-9, off target 4-6, corners 4-6, o/s 1-5, fouls 11-9, yellows 0-2, red 1-0, subs 3-3 . Gate 17,137 away 2338 . Weather - sun then rain, windy . MoM - March, changed the game. 1 Ryan, 22 Montoya Y, 4 Duffy, 5 Dunk, 30 Bernardo Y, 7 Kayal (19 Izquierdo 73), 6 Stephens, 24 Propper, 11 Knockaert (Locadia 73), 17 Murray, 16 Jahabakhsh (20 March 67) . Subs - 27 Button, 2 Bruno, 3 Bong, 33 Burn. Draw for semi-final - Manchester City @ Wembley. Season7 (1st) (A) - not Premier League. * * * * * * * * * * Millwall away Falmer years - C'ship. Lions v Albion (A) from 11/12 @ C: 1-1 1-2 0-1 0-0 - - . . W = 2 D = 2 L = 0 For Home Falmer Years results and reports scroll further below. memorable match: Season2 (A) - going into Lions Den was popular with Brighton fans. Seasons 5-6 - not C'ship. Season4 (A) Championship 17/3/15 - 0-0. We were now into the run-in and hoping to get 50pts at least to ensure safety from relegation. Lions were also having a very poor campaign and appeared bound for League One again - having sacked Ian 'Ollie' Holloway just prior to this midweek match, their next home fixture. So could the game now be considered a six-pointer? We were a point above, while they were adrift by nine points to the cut-off line. Well, it was sure to be a dogfight anyway and Albion could not rely on form at the Amex to pick up all points required in the next six weeks. Chris Hughton wanted to field his best eleven and had lately been tinkering with m-f & strikers but had to alter his back four because Dunk was suspended. On the night over 1300 travelling fans turned up in support. * match report: It was something of a damp squib of a game with little in the way of on/off targets, corners and so on. But Albion did gain 19 free kicks and Bennett hit the bar direct from one. The home side probably had better of exchanges in the first half, although Seagulls weathered Lions rampage and restricted any initial breakthrough. Kayal did not appear for the second period and LuaLua came on, so Stephens dropped further back in m-f. CMS was playing close to Best but both were removed after 75mins for another combo in O'Grady & Teixeira. In truth neither pair managed to break deadlock, which continued a lack of scoring goals on the road - especially by strikers and forwards. Hughton said, 'we've certainly played better than that. I can't say it was a performance that deserved a win. You don't get the volume of time on the training ground you would like but just keep looking for the right formula.' Other results helped the cause, so BHA were now eight points above the drop but Hughton would keep noses to the grind and not assume safety just yet. Stockdale, Bruno, Greer, Halford, Bennett, Holla, Stephens, Kayal (LuaLua), Calderon, Best (O'Grady), Mackail-Smith (Teixeira). Champ's P38 . W9 D15 L14 . F42 A46 . Pt42 Po19 . W = 23.6% L = 36.8% Season3 (A) 1/3/14 - W 0-1 ~ David. Albion had been to visit Lions many times in the last couple of decades but on this occasion we were the much bigger club. Ambition at BHA was for Prem participation sooner rather than later. Meanwhile Millwall were sitting on the proverbial dock, watching the tide roll away. Oscar Garcia was developing a squad to his tastes and coaching talent which would be in the Barca mould, La Liga style. Well, that was the theory at this stage of the game anyway. One glaring fact was that his striker could score goals but many others could not. So for Brighton to win, we had to keep a clean sheet at least. Seven of the last nine wins had been 1-0 to illustrate a point or three. * match report: Backed by usual excellent travelling support, Albion snatched the spoils from luckless Lions. David converted a soft penalty decison not long before halftime and Seagulls held out thereafter (39min). On the hour Buckley got a run out and six minutes later was joined by Forster-Caskey. OG was being ultra tactical and nullified many contant threats by the labouring home unit. Lingard did ok on his debut on-loan from Man Utd, gaining the spot kick when decked and generally running about a lot. Gordon Greer said, 'the game should have been over by halftime. We should have scored a few more because we had the chances.' But you couldn't help thinking it would have been nil-nil without the pen and B'ton had only scored this one away from home after six hours of play in total. Somebody somewhere might have an answer to the stats but perhaps laws of averages applied at present. There were merely 5 on/off target attempts. Oh well... Kuszczak, Bruno, Greer, Upson, Ward, David (Buckley), Andrews, Stephens, Orlandi (March), Ulloa, Lingard (Forster-Caskey). Champ's P32 . W13 D10 L9 . F34 A22 . Pt49 Po8 . W = 40.6% L = 28.1% Season2 (A) 22/9/12 - W 1-2 ~ Barnes, El-Abd. After starting our second Championship season with a loss away and a goalless draw at home, Albion then won four in a row to shoot right up the table. Gus Poyet had added quality to the squad in pre-season and things were beginning to look better than opening weeks of last term. We met Millwall a month earlier than before (see below) and although they came good at end of that previous campaign, they were struggling again this time. Gus was employing his usual attacking 433 shape but there was less reliance on slow build-up and dual wingers. The idea was to get it forward from across the park and try to get CMS involved thru plenty of movement. On a nice afternoon in London over 2k travelled to watch Seagulls attempt to keep the great run going. * match report: Albion went ahead via Barnes strike when Buckley did well with the ball at his feet and centred (17min). On balance of play in the first forty-five minutes, Seagulls were worth their lead. However CMS was forced to leave the field of battle just prior to the break and Bruno didn't come out for the second period either. No matter, with pukka replacements on, Gus pushed Barnes and Orlandi forward and Dicker bolstered midfield. Soon afterwards, El-Abd bagged a rare goal at a corner melee and BHA were two up (50m). There were only two yellows in the match but unfortunately for one guy of the home team (67m). Locals got behind their ten-man outfit and Brighton sat back on the lead, gradually going deeper. Lions eventually netted to put the final result in doubt and pressed for an equalliser (79m). LuaLua got on very late but the attacking impetus was still with Millwall and Kuszczak saved point-blank to deny them a point. So Gus got three points again but said, 'we are supposed to know how to play against ten men but did not. It was incredible the pressure they put us under.' Brighton fans went home happy anyway. Kuszczak, Bruno (Calderon), Greer, El-Abd, Bridge, Hammond, Bridcutt, Orlandi (LuaLua), Buckley, Mackail-Smith (Dicker), Barnes. Champ's P7 . W5 D1 L1 . F14 A4 . Pt16 Po1 . W = 71.4% L = 14.2% Season1 (A) 18/10/11 - 1-1 ~ Noone. We were back playing Millwall in the Championship, after moving to Falmer when promoted from League1 at Withdean. Albion had started the season under Gus Poyet in fine form but had tailed off following initial euphoria of going top of the table early doors. The usual suspects turned up at the Den and it was packed in upper level of the away end. It was also good weather for October and everything seemed ok to get three points on the stary night. Gus changed his line-up slightly from previous disappointing results and had attacking options on the bench. * match report: The first half appeared to be very league-one and marked by Lions inability to score. They missed a couple of sitters but Ankergren performed heroics to keep it clean. As things began to hot up, lino signalled for a pen when CM-S got chopped. Harley fluffed his attempt and the follow-up too when goalie got lucky (17min). Gus musta had a word during coffee break because Seagulls took off in the second period. On the hour, CM-S put a cross onto the spot and Noone arrived to volley home (61m). Brighton had probably done enough to win but you know what footy is like by now. Ten mins from time a home attacker fired off a pot shot that went into the bottom corner like a missile (81m). Gus made a couple of late changes but the game was up well before stoppage. All in all we were finding our feet in this division and judging by the present table, over half of clubs appeared capable of battling for automatic promotion from this stage. Ankergren, Calderon, Greer, Dunk, Painter, Sparrow, Bridcutt, Harley (LuaLua), Hoskins (Barnes), Mackail-Smith, Noone. Champ's P12 . W5 D4 L3 . F17 A15 . Pt19 Po9 . W = 41.6% L = 25% * * * * * Withdean Era: 12 seasons from 1999 to 2011 - Seasons 4 02/3, 6 04/5, 7 05/6 - Championship . Seasons 8-11 06/7 to 09/10 - League One. Season1 7/12/99 (H) - League Trophy R1 . Season2 - EFL Cup R1 5/9/00 (H) & 22/8/00 (A) . Season8 28/11/06 (A) - JPT q-f. Withdean era: Lions V Albion 1-0, 2-0, 0-2, 0-1, 3-0, 0-1, 1-1 . . . W = 3 D = 1 L = 3 2pen3 1-1 EFL Trophy . 1-1 EFL Cup. memorable match: Season7 (A) - better news on the pitch than off in a campaign of struggle. Noughties last there - 28/8/09 (A) League One. Final fixture of seven league visits to the Den in two divs thru this decade. 28/11/06 (A) EFL Trophy q-f. Plenty to excite B'fans on a night out in South Bermondsey. 5/9/00 (A) EFL Cup R1. Was in those days of two legged ties and our opposition was at higher grade back in the day. see: Season2 for stadium background. Season4 for Martin Hinshelwood . Season 6-8 for Mark McGhee . Season 8-9 Dean Wilkins . Season10 for Micky Adams . Season11 for Russell Slade.
Millwall - Home, Falmer Years: C'ship 11/12-14/15, Seasons 1-4 . 17/18 onwards - Prem, no meetings. Season7 onwards (H) - not Premier League. Albion v Lions (H) from 11/12 @ C: 2-2 2-2 1-1 0-1 - - . . W = 0 D = 3 L = 1 For Away Falmer Years results & reports scroll further up. memorable match: Season4 (H) - a difficult C'ship campaign, with Sami Hyypia on borrowed time. Seasons 5-6 (H) - not C'ship. Season4 (H) Championship 12/12/14 - L 0-1. We'd played Lions many times since returning to Brighton in 1999 but this fixture had real significance for both clubs. Albion were currently stuck in the bottom three, two points behind struggling metropolitan rivals and adrift of apparent safety. That Brighton fans could even be considering a relegation battle at this stage of the campaign seemed kinda strange, although as we knew, the table doesn't lie. There were calls for Sami Hyypia to be dismissed and he too sensed time was running out on future credibility with board & fans. Fellow under fire manager Ian Holloway was also trying to find a fix to recent problems. He had years of experience, whereas Hyypia did not - but the situation was the same for both men. And only one could win, perhaps making life untenable for the other to boot. * match report: It was Hyypia who tasted defeat as Albion went down to a third straight loss and now merely had one win in seventeen fixtures. And twice a crescendo of booing sent our hapless eleven into the changing room knowing they had blown it in each half. After 15 mins Lions nicked a lead when hunting in the area for a killer goal. Try as Seagulls did, an equaliser failed to happen - despite having plenty of possession and pressure on opposition. But as so often before at the Amex this term, creating chances that ended in on-targets was the stat to show deficiency in attack. We had an ex-England striker out there but kinda failed to get him enough on the ball or link up with men in support. Albion build up play lacked pace, urgency and penetration - there was little or no one touch football and incisive interplay. During the second period, Hyypia withdrew one front man for another and similarly added fresh legs in midfield later. In truth his options from the bench were limited anyway due to injuries and recognised strikers being out on loan. Sami said, 'I need to think carefully how we carry on after this. When we have a few days we will see what the outcome is. I think the fans during the game we ok. They supported the team.' There was an outcry on social media for Hyypia to go but apparently the board and Tony Bloom in particular were not about to give a knee jerk reaction to such events ongoing. Stockwell, Bruno, Halford, Dunk, Chicksen, E Bennett (McCourt), Forster-Caskey, Gardner, March (Colunga), Bent, Teixeira. Champ's P21 . W3 D9 L9 . F21 A29 . Pt18 Po22 . W = 14.2% L = 42.8% Season3 (H) 31/8/13 - 1-1 ~ Ulloa. It was the summer of warmth and sunshine so far, even though Albion had sweated blood in trying to gather vital points against regular Championship fare. But now, that infamous transfer deadline approached and new coach Oscar Garcia was on a steep learning curve. He said, 'it is not easy with the budget to do this job. In Spain it's normally the sporting director. The club and David Burke (hd of ops) are helping me a lot.' Apparently there was unlikely to be additions to the squad, over and above those signings of Chicksen, Agustien, Andrews and Ward (both these on long loans). Some youngsters had already stepped up too and done well, notably Rohan Ince in the familiar Bridcutt role in front of defence. One pundit said, 'Brighton need to sustain pressure, especially at the Amex. I think they let teams off the hook too easily. But it's little, subtle things that I am sure Oscar is working on.' A crowd of 26.8k turned up on a warm afternoon in Falmer at very end of August. * match report: Albion set about rolling off another routine home victory but were shocked to find the ball would not go into opponents net. In fact visitors took the lead not long after turn-around and BHA were chasing the game (50min) from then. The first 45min are best forgotten anyway. Orlandi started the second period, quickly follwed by LuaLua (57min) and both players made an immediate impact. The experienced Andrews got twenty minutes at the death as B'ton went in search of an equaliser. Shortly afterward Lions went down to ten men thru 2 bookables. LuaLua ran amok down the flank and finally Ulloa bundled in a cross in a packed area (88min). Right at the death Seagulls went for broke but somehow travellers held on to pinch a point. Garcia said, 'we deserved to score because we had had many chances.' Seems he likes to play the percentage game. Kuszczak, Calderon, Greer, Upson, Ward, Crofts, Lopez (LuaLua), Ince (Andrews), Agustien (Orlandi), Ulloa, Buckley. Champ's P5 . W2 D1 L2 . F6 A5 . Pt7 Po13 . W = 40% L = 40% Season2 (H) 18/12/12 - 2-2 ~ LuaLua, David. This fixture was rescheduled from Boxing Day due to concerns about getting seventy-five percent of anticipated large crowds to the Amex by public transport on a festive holiday. Gus Poyet hadn't been too happy about it but logistics determined a revised evening date irrespective of his footy-manager feelings. This derby match thus became our halfway point of current campaign on completion and the first H/A pairing prior to Xmas & New Year festivities. Both southern clubs were having a half-decent campaign to date, so there was added flavour ahead of that regular Yuletide bash. A top-six berth was up for grabs and points in the bag at this stage would be priceless. Bizarrely we'd drawn Newcastle in FAC3 (see below) for opening 2013 knockout action, so there was all to play for once more. On a cold night 24k attended and saw Albion k-o with an unusual 352 formation. * match report: Brighton were one down (25min) at halftime and Gus changed tactics before then, bringing on LuaLua (39min) and going to 433. David hit the post from a f-k just into the second period. But ho, ho, ho we wuz two behind before an hour gone and ex-BHA loanee Wood got 'em both (57min). Then LuaLua struck from down range past the hour mark to wake up the home crowd from deep depression (61min). Poyet further tinkered with shape, sending on Barnes after we scored, trying to beef-up attack. Lions appeared to be holding out and massed at the back as Seagulls flooded forward. Hoskins then got a run out for fifteen mimutes. With time running out BHA claimed the ball crossed the line during a melee but Ref wasn't interested. Then he pointed to the spot when CMS got chopped and David did the biz ok (88min). The Amex came to life but Millwall fans musta been choked coz really, all three points were available. Anyway they had a good singsong and were the noisiest lot at our place this term. Brighton fans were glad to keep an unbeaten home run going but it woulda been nice to get the win and spend Xmas in p-o spots. Kuszczak, El-Abd, Greer, Dunk (LuaLua), David, Crofts (Barnes), Bridcutt (Hoskins), Hammond, Bridge, Mackail-Smith, Buckley. Champ's P23 . W8 D10 L5 . F31 A23 . Pt34 Po8 . W = 34.7% L = 21.7% Season1 (H) 14/2/12 - 2-2 ~ Vokes, LuaLua. It was St Valentine's night and plenty of fans swerved romantic liaisons to go see if Albion could stay hard on the pace of play-off bedfellows. Gus Poyet had brought the squad safely through late 2011 injury and suspension crises, added quality in numbers and remained unbeaten during 2012 to date. The home victory against Newcastle in FAC4 highlighted how far we'd come this term at higher level. Perhaps with that forthcoming money-spinning FA Cup tie at Liverpool in mind, the ebullient Uruguayan changed regular modus operandi and selected true 433 formation, with Jara Reyes moved into midfield and a trio of recognised strikers up front. Brighton fans were used to our trademark passing game by now but previous shapes of 451 variations included a winger or two. Gus also liked to get fullbacks forward during build-up and other clubs outside the Premiership were adopting similar approaches. Over 19k attended on a cold evening and 2k+ came down from the big black smoke for a proverbial butchers at the Amex. * match report: The match itself was a bit of a dogs breakfast. Lions might have been toward drop-zone positions but they'd got past second-placed Southampton in the Cup and certainly didn't perform like mugs. They went ahead inside half an hour following Brezovan's punch that was played back in and caught us cold (23min). Early into the second period Albion were pressing and Navarro let fly from distance. The ball deflected to on-loan Vokes, who notched his first score with a simple six-yard clip (52m). Apparently each battling side couldn't gain territorial advantage and Gus double subbed just before the hour to go for the win and points we needed. But it was Millwall who struck again when we appeared a shambles in our own area (64m). With noisy Lions support behind the Albion defence and tricky opponents in front, it seemed defeat was staring us in the old boat race. Gus threw on LuaLua five minutes from normal time and he levelled it at the death (88m). A f-k was set-up for the bullet-fast winger to rifle a low shot goal-ward and the hapless keeper helped it find the net. Gus took the blame for tactical problems, although there was a tad too much ball watching and build-up so pedestrian we thought it was like walking in slow motion. Could BHA continue to keep all eyes on the Championship ball when knockout action was completed? Brezovan, Calderon, Greer, Dunk, Mattock, Reyes (Noone), Bridcutt (LuaLua), Navarro, Barnes, Vokes, Mackail-Smith (Agdestein). Champ's P31 . W14 D7 L10 . F34 A31 . Pt49 Po9 . W = 45.1% L = 32.2% * * * * * Withdean era: seasons 4, 6-7 - 02/3, 04/5 to 05/6 C'ship . Seasons 8-11 - 06/7 to 09/10 League One. Season1 EFL Trophy, Season2 EFL Cup. Withdean era: Albion V Lions 1-0, 1-0, 1-2, 0-1, 3-0, 4-1, 0-1 . . . W = 4 D = 0 L = 3 1-0 EFL Trophy . 1-2 EFL Cup. memorable match: Season10 (H) - a goal fest and Murray is star man. see: Season1-2 & 10 for Micky Adams . Season 4, 6-8 for Mark McGhee . Season9 for Dean Wilkins . Season11 for Gus Poyet.
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Previous encounters (Millwall )
Millwall - Away, Falmer Years: C'ship 11/12-14/15, seasons 1-4 . '19 FA Cup . 17/18 onwards - Prem, no meetings. ground: the Den 20.1k . nickname: Lions . shirt: dark blue. EFL record from 11/12: 16 20 19 22 C, 4 6 L1 / 8 21 8 11 9 8 13 C @ 4/5/24. C'ship: stayed up - '13 '14 '19, relegated - '15 . L1: promo - '17. Seasons 8, (2nd) (A) onwards - not Premier League Season8 (A) Sunday 17/3/19 FA Cup Q-F - w 4-5 pens, 2-2 aet ~ Locadia, March. This tie against regular Championship side Lions was the last held on the QF weekend and broadcast live on terrestial tv for good measure - just in case of showing a PL giant-killing act. BHA Prem 'reserves' got past lev2 Derby in the 5th round at the Amex and previously beat Rams' fellow Championship club West Brom, again shown live on tv, aet on an eventful evening for a 4th rnd replay up in the midlands. The Q-F draw was also televised live and hey-ho, BHA (ball no.8) gets to be picked out last to boot, making it an away tie up in South Bermondsey. We were once more fortunate to avoid Man City & Man Utd, the last two big-six outfits left in the Cup, although could have gotten paired with one of 3 other current PL rivals, either Palace, Watford or Wolves, thru alternative permutations of time & space. In the event a short trip into SE London at the Den didn't seem too bad a place to visit, as we'd been there a lot in days of yore - see below for Falmer Years Championship fixtures & also peruse the pre-Amex, Withdean Era tab too. On the day Chris Hughton put out his 'best' PL side, plus a strong group on the bench. *** match report: With no VAR operating here, the contest was not without 'big' talking points around decisions, as exposed by replays from bbc tv, regarding 'unseen' fouls & 'seen' offsides. Albion were almost out for the count with ten minutes to go of normal time, having just gone two goals behind (70 & 79min). But astute changes from off the bench worked wonders when two of three offensive Seagulls subs netted. First Locadia with a quick turn & shot (88min) then March (95min) finding the top corner from a very deep f-k, sent this extreme rollercoaster tie into extra time. That additional half an hour was strangely uneventful, bar more wintry precipitation and Lions having a man sent off late for kicking Dunk from behind (119min). In the penalty shootout, Murray hit the bar but Locadia, March, Stephens, Propper & lastly Dunk all scored theirs, while Ryan had saved one from the initial five, so took it into sudden death. Lions last effort flew over the bar and thus BHA went on thru to the semi-finals. Hughton said, 'there are moments in the game that go for you and go against you. There were three that went against us, while Solly's bit of fortune went for us. I think it is unfair that there is not VAR at all grounds. If a team has benefitted from it, is it fair on teams that don't.' Brighton fans could hardly believe how luck changed in an instant, especially as BHA actually first 'led' the tie outright after the sixth critical pen, scored by Dunk. You couldn't make it up for an unlikely reality like in a Roy of the Rovers story. But it's never over until... Stats; ht 0-0, f-t 2-2, et 0-0, pens 4-5, goals 70,79-88,95, shape 451-433, poss 34%-66%, on target 7-9, off target 4-6, corners 4-6, o/s 1-5, fouls 11-9, yellows 0-2, red 1-0, subs 3-3 . Gate 17,137 away 2338 . Weather - sun then rain, windy . MoM - March, changed the game. 1 Ryan, 22 Montoya Y, 4 Duffy, 5 Dunk, 30 Bernardo Y, 7 Kayal (19 Izquierdo 73), 6 Stephens, 24 Propper, 11 Knockaert (Locadia 73), 17 Murray, 16 Jahabakhsh (20 March 67) . Subs - 27 Button, 2 Bruno, 3 Bong, 33 Burn. Draw for semi-final - Manchester City @ Wembley. Season7 (1st) (A) - not Premier League. * * * * * * * * * * Millwall away Falmer years - C'ship. Lions v Albion (A) from 11/12 @ C: 1-1 1-2 0-1 0-0 - - . . W = 2 D = 2 L = 0 For Home Falmer Years results and reports scroll further below. memorable match: Season2 (A) - going into Lions Den was popular with Brighton fans. Seasons 5-6 - not C'ship. Season4 (A) Championship 17/3/15 - 0-0. We were now into the run-in and hoping to get 50pts at least to ensure safety from relegation. Lions were also having a very poor campaign and appeared bound for League One again - having sacked Ian 'Ollie' Holloway just prior to this midweek match, their next home fixture. So could the game now be considered a six-pointer? We were a point above, while they were adrift by nine points to the cut-off line. Well, it was sure to be a dogfight anyway and Albion could not rely on form at the Amex to pick up all points required in the next six weeks. Chris Hughton wanted to field his best eleven and had lately been tinkering with m-f & strikers but had to alter his back four because Dunk was suspended. On the night over 1300 travelling fans turned up in support. * match report: It was something of a damp squib of a game with little in the way of on/off targets, corners and so on. But Albion did gain 19 free kicks and Bennett hit the bar direct from one. The home side probably had better of exchanges in the first half, although Seagulls weathered Lions rampage and restricted any initial breakthrough. Kayal did not appear for the second period and LuaLua came on, so Stephens dropped further back in m-f. CMS was playing close to Best but both were removed after 75mins for another combo in O'Grady & Teixeira. In truth neither pair managed to break deadlock, which continued a lack of scoring goals on the road - especially by strikers and forwards. Hughton said, 'we've certainly played better than that. I can't say it was a performance that deserved a win. You don't get the volume of time on the training ground you would like but just keep looking for the right formula.' Other results helped the cause, so BHA were now eight points above the drop but Hughton would keep noses to the grind and not assume safety just yet. Stockdale, Bruno, Greer, Halford, Bennett, Holla, Stephens, Kayal (LuaLua), Calderon, Best (O'Grady), Mackail-Smith (Teixeira). Champ's P38 . W9 D15 L14 . F42 A46 . Pt42 Po19 . W = 23.6% L = 36.8% Season3 (A) 1/3/14 - W 0-1 ~ David. Albion had been to visit Lions many times in the last couple of decades but on this occasion we were the much bigger club. Ambition at BHA was for Prem participation sooner rather than later. Meanwhile Millwall were sitting on the proverbial dock, watching the tide roll away. Oscar Garcia was developing a squad to his tastes and coaching talent which would be in the Barca mould, La Liga style. Well, that was the theory at this stage of the game anyway. One glaring fact was that his striker could score goals but many others could not. So for Brighton to win, we had to keep a clean sheet at least. Seven of the last nine wins had been 1-0 to illustrate a point or three. * match report: Backed by usual excellent travelling support, Albion snatched the spoils from luckless Lions. David converted a soft penalty decison not long before halftime and Seagulls held out thereafter (39min). On the hour Buckley got a run out and six minutes later was joined by Forster-Caskey. OG was being ultra tactical and nullified many contant threats by the labouring home unit. Lingard did ok on his debut on-loan from Man Utd, gaining the spot kick when decked and generally running about a lot. Gordon Greer said, 'the game should have been over by halftime. We should have scored a few more because we had the chances.' But you couldn't help thinking it would have been nil-nil without the pen and B'ton had only scored this one away from home after six hours of play in total. Somebody somewhere might have an answer to the stats but perhaps laws of averages applied at present. There were merely 5 on/off target attempts. Oh well... Kuszczak, Bruno, Greer, Upson, Ward, David (Buckley), Andrews, Stephens, Orlandi (March), Ulloa, Lingard (Forster-Caskey). Champ's P32 . W13 D10 L9 . F34 A22 . Pt49 Po8 . W = 40.6% L = 28.1% Season2 (A) 22/9/12 - W 1-2 ~ Barnes, El-Abd. After starting our second Championship season with a loss away and a goalless draw at home, Albion then won four in a row to shoot right up the table. Gus Poyet had added quality to the squad in pre-season and things were beginning to look better than opening weeks of last term. We met Millwall a month earlier than before (see below) and although they came good at end of that previous campaign, they were struggling again this time. Gus was employing his usual attacking 433 shape but there was less reliance on slow build-up and dual wingers. The idea was to get it forward from across the park and try to get CMS involved thru plenty of movement. On a nice afternoon in London over 2k travelled to watch Seagulls attempt to keep the great run going. * match report: Albion went ahead via Barnes strike when Buckley did well with the ball at his feet and centred (17min). On balance of play in the first forty-five minutes, Seagulls were worth their lead. However CMS was forced to leave the field of battle just prior to the break and Bruno didn't come out for the second period either. No matter, with pukka replacements on, Gus pushed Barnes and Orlandi forward and Dicker bolstered midfield. Soon afterwards, El-Abd bagged a rare goal at a corner melee and BHA were two up (50m). There were only two yellows in the match but unfortunately for one guy of the home team (67m). Locals got behind their ten-man outfit and Brighton sat back on the lead, gradually going deeper. Lions eventually netted to put the final result in doubt and pressed for an equalliser (79m). LuaLua got on very late but the attacking impetus was still with Millwall and Kuszczak saved point-blank to deny them a point. So Gus got three points again but said, 'we are supposed to know how to play against ten men but did not. It was incredible the pressure they put us under.' Brighton fans went home happy anyway. Kuszczak, Bruno (Calderon), Greer, El-Abd, Bridge, Hammond, Bridcutt, Orlandi (LuaLua), Buckley, Mackail-Smith (Dicker), Barnes. Champ's P7 . W5 D1 L1 . F14 A4 . Pt16 Po1 . W = 71.4% L = 14.2% Season1 (A) 18/10/11 - 1-1 ~ Noone. We were back playing Millwall in the Championship, after moving to Falmer when promoted from League1 at Withdean. Albion had started the season under Gus Poyet in fine form but had tailed off following initial euphoria of going top of the table early doors. The usual suspects turned up at the Den and it was packed in upper level of the away end. It was also good weather for October and everything seemed ok to get three points on the stary night. Gus changed his line-up slightly from previous disappointing results and had attacking options on the bench. * match report: The first half appeared to be very league-one and marked by Lions inability to score. They missed a couple of sitters but Ankergren performed heroics to keep it clean. As things began to hot up, lino signalled for a pen when CM-S got chopped. Harley fluffed his attempt and the follow-up too when goalie got lucky (17min). Gus musta had a word during coffee break because Seagulls took off in the second period. On the hour, CM-S put a cross onto the spot and Noone arrived to volley home (61m). Brighton had probably done enough to win but you know what footy is like by now. Ten mins from time a home attacker fired off a pot shot that went into the bottom corner like a missile (81m). Gus made a couple of late changes but the game was up well before stoppage. All in all we were finding our feet in this division and judging by the present table, over half of clubs appeared capable of battling for automatic promotion from this stage. Ankergren, Calderon, Greer, Dunk, Painter, Sparrow, Bridcutt, Harley (LuaLua), Hoskins (Barnes), Mackail-Smith, Noone. Champ's P12 . W5 D4 L3 . F17 A15 . Pt19 Po9 . W = 41.6% L = 25% * * * * * Withdean Era: 12 seasons from 1999 to 2011 - Seasons 4 02/3, 6 04/5, 7 05/6 - Championship . Seasons 8-11 06/7 to 09/10 - League One. Season1 7/12/99 (H) - League Trophy R1 . Season2 - EFL Cup R1 5/9/00 (H) & 22/8/00 (A) . Season8 28/11/06 (A) - JPT q-f. Withdean era: Lions V Albion 1-0, 2-0, 0-2, 0-1, 3-0, 0-1, 1-1 . . . W = 3 D = 1 L = 3 2pen3 1-1 EFL Trophy . 1-1 EFL Cup. memorable match: Season7 (A) - better news on the pitch than off in a campaign of struggle. Noughties last there - 28/8/09 (A) League One. Final fixture of seven league visits to the Den in two divs thru this decade. 28/11/06 (A) EFL Trophy q-f. Plenty to excite B'fans on a night out in South Bermondsey. 5/9/00 (A) EFL Cup R1. Was in those days of two legged ties and our opposition was at higher grade back in the day. see: Season2 for stadium background. Season4 for Martin Hinshelwood . Season 6-8 for Mark McGhee . Season 8-9 Dean Wilkins . Season10 for Micky Adams . Season11 for Russell Slade.
Millwall - Home, Falmer Years: C'ship 11/12-14/15, Seasons 1-4 . 17/18 onwards - Prem, no meetings. Season7 onwards (H) - not Premier League. Albion v Lions (H) from 11/12 @ C: 2-2 2-2 1-1 0-1 - - . . W = 0 D = 3 L = 1 For Away Falmer Years results & reports scroll further up. memorable match: Season4 (H) - a difficult C'ship campaign, with Sami Hyypia on borrowed time. Seasons 5-6 (H) - not C'ship. Season4 (H) Championship 12/12/14 - L 0-1. We'd played Lions many times since returning to Brighton in 1999 but this fixture had real significance for both clubs. Albion were currently stuck in the bottom three, two points behind struggling metropolitan rivals and adrift of apparent safety. That Brighton fans could even be considering a relegation battle at this stage of the campaign seemed kinda strange, although as we knew, the table doesn't lie. There were calls for Sami Hyypia to be dismissed and he too sensed time was running out on future credibility with board & fans. Fellow under fire manager Ian Holloway was also trying to find a fix to recent problems. He had years of experience, whereas Hyypia did not - but the situation was the same for both men. And only one could win, perhaps making life untenable for the other to boot. * match report: It was Hyypia who tasted defeat as Albion went down to a third straight loss and now merely had one win in seventeen fixtures. And twice a crescendo of booing sent our hapless eleven into the changing room knowing they had blown it in each half. After 15 mins Lions nicked a lead when hunting in the area for a killer goal. Try as Seagulls did, an equaliser failed to happen - despite having plenty of possession and pressure on opposition. But as so often before at the Amex this term, creating chances that ended in on-targets was the stat to show deficiency in attack. We had an ex-England striker out there but kinda failed to get him enough on the ball or link up with men in support. Albion build up play lacked pace, urgency and penetration - there was little or no one touch football and incisive interplay. During the second period, Hyypia withdrew one front man for another and similarly added fresh legs in midfield later. In truth his options from the bench were limited anyway due to injuries and recognised strikers being out on loan. Sami said, 'I need to think carefully how we carry on after this. When we have a few days we will see what the outcome is. I think the fans during the game we ok. They supported the team.' There was an outcry on social media for Hyypia to go but apparently the board and Tony Bloom in particular were not about to give a knee jerk reaction to such events ongoing. Stockwell, Bruno, Halford, Dunk, Chicksen, E Bennett (McCourt), Forster-Caskey, Gardner, March (Colunga), Bent, Teixeira. Champ's P21 . W3 D9 L9 . F21 A29 . Pt18 Po22 . W = 14.2% L = 42.8% Season3 (H) 31/8/13 - 1-1 ~ Ulloa. It was the summer of warmth and sunshine so far, even though Albion had sweated blood in trying to gather vital points against regular Championship fare. But now, that infamous transfer deadline approached and new coach Oscar Garcia was on a steep learning curve. He said, 'it is not easy with the budget to do this job. In Spain it's normally the sporting director. The club and David Burke (hd of ops) are helping me a lot.' Apparently there was unlikely to be additions to the squad, over and above those signings of Chicksen, Agustien, Andrews and Ward (both these on long loans). Some youngsters had already stepped up too and done well, notably Rohan Ince in the familiar Bridcutt role in front of defence. One pundit said, 'Brighton need to sustain pressure, especially at the Amex. I think they let teams off the hook too easily. But it's little, subtle things that I am sure Oscar is working on.' A crowd of 26.8k turned up on a warm afternoon in Falmer at very end of August. * match report: Albion set about rolling off another routine home victory but were shocked to find the ball would not go into opponents net. In fact visitors took the lead not long after turn-around and BHA were chasing the game (50min) from then. The first 45min are best forgotten anyway. Orlandi started the second period, quickly follwed by LuaLua (57min) and both players made an immediate impact. The experienced Andrews got twenty minutes at the death as B'ton went in search of an equaliser. Shortly afterward Lions went down to ten men thru 2 bookables. LuaLua ran amok down the flank and finally Ulloa bundled in a cross in a packed area (88min). Right at the death Seagulls went for broke but somehow travellers held on to pinch a point. Garcia said, 'we deserved to score because we had had many chances.' Seems he likes to play the percentage game. Kuszczak, Calderon, Greer, Upson, Ward, Crofts, Lopez (LuaLua), Ince (Andrews), Agustien (Orlandi), Ulloa, Buckley. Champ's P5 . W2 D1 L2 . F6 A5 . Pt7 Po13 . W = 40% L = 40% Season2 (H) 18/12/12 - 2-2 ~ LuaLua, David. This fixture was rescheduled from Boxing Day due to concerns about getting seventy-five percent of anticipated large crowds to the Amex by public transport on a festive holiday. Gus Poyet hadn't been too happy about it but logistics determined a revised evening date irrespective of his footy-manager feelings. This derby match thus became our halfway point of current campaign on completion and the first H/A pairing prior to Xmas & New Year festivities. Both southern clubs were having a half-decent campaign to date, so there was added flavour ahead of that regular Yuletide bash. A top-six berth was up for grabs and points in the bag at this stage would be priceless. Bizarrely we'd drawn Newcastle in FAC3 (see below) for opening 2013 knockout action, so there was all to play for once more. On a cold night 24k attended and saw Albion k-o with an unusual 352 formation. * match report: Brighton were one down (25min) at halftime and Gus changed tactics before then, bringing on LuaLua (39min) and going to 433. David hit the post from a f-k just into the second period. But ho, ho, ho we wuz two behind before an hour gone and ex-BHA loanee Wood got 'em both (57min). Then LuaLua struck from down range past the hour mark to wake up the home crowd from deep depression (61min). Poyet further tinkered with shape, sending on Barnes after we scored, trying to beef-up attack. Lions appeared to be holding out and massed at the back as Seagulls flooded forward. Hoskins then got a run out for fifteen mimutes. With time running out BHA claimed the ball crossed the line during a melee but Ref wasn't interested. Then he pointed to the spot when CMS got chopped and David did the biz ok (88min). The Amex came to life but Millwall fans musta been choked coz really, all three points were available. Anyway they had a good singsong and were the noisiest lot at our place this term. Brighton fans were glad to keep an unbeaten home run going but it woulda been nice to get the win and spend Xmas in p-o spots. Kuszczak, El-Abd, Greer, Dunk (LuaLua), David, Crofts (Barnes), Bridcutt (Hoskins), Hammond, Bridge, Mackail-Smith, Buckley. Champ's P23 . W8 D10 L5 . F31 A23 . Pt34 Po8 . W = 34.7% L = 21.7% Season1 (H) 14/2/12 - 2-2 ~ Vokes, LuaLua. It was St Valentine's night and plenty of fans swerved romantic liaisons to go see if Albion could stay hard on the pace of play-off bedfellows. Gus Poyet had brought the squad safely through late 2011 injury and suspension crises, added quality in numbers and remained unbeaten during 2012 to date. The home victory against Newcastle in FAC4 highlighted how far we'd come this term at higher level. Perhaps with that forthcoming money-spinning FA Cup tie at Liverpool in mind, the ebullient Uruguayan changed regular modus operandi and selected true 433 formation, with Jara Reyes moved into midfield and a trio of recognised strikers up front. Brighton fans were used to our trademark passing game by now but previous shapes of 451 variations included a winger or two. Gus also liked to get fullbacks forward during build-up and other clubs outside the Premiership were adopting similar approaches. Over 19k attended on a cold evening and 2k+ came down from the big black smoke for a proverbial butchers at the Amex. * match report: The match itself was a bit of a dogs breakfast. Lions might have been toward drop-zone positions but they'd got past second-placed Southampton in the Cup and certainly didn't perform like mugs. They went ahead inside half an hour following Brezovan's punch that was played back in and caught us cold (23min). Early into the second period Albion were pressing and Navarro let fly from distance. The ball deflected to on-loan Vokes, who notched his first score with a simple six-yard clip (52m). Apparently each battling side couldn't gain territorial advantage and Gus double subbed just before the hour to go for the win and points we needed. But it was Millwall who struck again when we appeared a shambles in our own area (64m). With noisy Lions support behind the Albion defence and tricky opponents in front, it seemed defeat was staring us in the old boat race. Gus threw on LuaLua five minutes from normal time and he levelled it at the death (88m). A f-k was set-up for the bullet-fast winger to rifle a low shot goal-ward and the hapless keeper helped it find the net. Gus took the blame for tactical problems, although there was a tad too much ball watching and build-up so pedestrian we thought it was like walking in slow motion. Could BHA continue to keep all eyes on the Championship ball when knockout action was completed? Brezovan, Calderon, Greer, Dunk, Mattock, Reyes (Noone), Bridcutt (LuaLua), Navarro, Barnes, Vokes, Mackail-Smith (Agdestein). Champ's P31 . W14 D7 L10 . F34 A31 . Pt49 Po9 . W = 45.1% L = 32.2% * * * * * Withdean era: seasons 4, 6-7 - 02/3, 04/5 to 05/6 C'ship . Seasons 8-11 - 06/7 to 09/10 League One. Season1 EFL Trophy, Season2 EFL Cup. Withdean era: Albion V Lions 1-0, 1-0, 1-2, 0-1, 3-0, 4-1, 0-1 . . . W = 4 D = 0 L = 3 1-0 EFL Trophy . 1-2 EFL Cup. memorable match: Season10 (H) - a goal fest and Murray is star man. see: Season1-2 & 10 for Micky Adams . Season 4, 6-8 for Mark McGhee . Season9 for Dean Wilkins . Season11 for Gus Poyet.
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