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Previous encounters (Notts Forest )
Nottingham FOREST - Home, Falmer Years: Prem 22/23-24/25, seasons 12-14 . . C'ship 11/12-16/17, seasons 1-6. no league meetings in seasons between 2017 to 2021. Prem previous encounters home & away: P5 W2 D2 L1 - see Clubs in Archive. Albion V Forest PL/EFL record @ Amex: W = 4 D = 3 L = 2 manager: Nuno Espirito Santo (2023) P26 W = 26.9% : July '24 . experience: ex-Prem and Saudi boss knows high & lows of footy. City Ground - 30.4k . nickname: Forest . shirt: red. Prem/EFL record from 11/12: 19 8 11 14 16 21 / 17 9 7 17 4 C, 16 17 7 @ 6/12/24. Prem: stayed up '23 '24 . C'ship: promo - '22 . top half - '13 '14 '19 '20. 24/25 odds at start: top half 6/1, rel 9-4 . sack NES 10/1 . expected to finish: lower mid div run in: Man Utd (H), Villa (A), Everton (H), Spurs (A), Br'ford (H), Palace (A), Le'ster (H), West Ham (A), Chelsea (H) run in forecast: ?pt > ?pt . max was ? . actual = ? . Po was ? . actual Po = ? Albion v Forest (H) from 17/18: - < - 0-0 1-0 2-2 . . . W = 1 D = 2 L = 0 . F3 A2 scorers: og Hinshelwood Welbeck memorable match: Season12 (H) - note: for away Falmer Years results and reports scroll further below. Season14, 8th Premier League (A) Sun 22/9/24 - 2-2 ~ Hinshelwood Welbeck Forest stayed in the division last term after enduring a very tough 23/24 campaign. They were R2 knockouts in the EFL Cup and R5 contestants in the FA Cup. NF pre-season friendlies; Chesterfield 0-3 (A), Spain tour: Sunderland 1-1, Millwall w 2-1, Elche l 0-1. Then Villarreal 0-0 (H), Olympiacos 3-4 (A). This Sunday lunchtime Prem fixture was the 3rd of 19 at home, coming early in the 10 game first quarter (Q1). It was also the third straight match at the Amex in a week, due to a home tie in the EFL Cup. The reverse Prem game was 1 Feb '25 in mid season (Q2-3) - see away scroll further below. We had won the away match last season during Nov '23 when at height of powers. Last term we'd met here during mid March '24 when pinching the points via an og. We finished 11th 48pts, while NF were 17th 32pts, with 4pts deducted. Now we had 8pts and they had 8pts in this early phase. Our Prem record at the Amex versus Forest was; dw - in the last two seasons to date. We were twice undefeated. They'd somehow survived second season syndrome, despite having suffered those points deducted to boot. Current home form was; W1 D1 L0 F2 A1 - unbeaten in 2. Visitors away form was: W2 D0 L0 F2 A0 - latest win at Anfield. At the moment Brighton were 6th, while Forest were 7th from 4 games played. In the last three campaigns we'd been placed 8, 8 & 7 after the start period (Q1). Albion were now looking for more points versus this midlands outfit. NF had 2 players on duty at Euro 24 finals in Germany during June. In August Forest were ko'd from the EFL Cup R2 north tie at home versus Newcastle when losing a penalty shootout 3-4. Their boss NE Santo had spent around 80m on 8 new talents, plus 2 on loan players, prior to the big kickoff and before the August window shut. The club's aim was to consolidate in the division within financial rules & regs. Headline news this week was in the EFL Cup 3rd round tie, where our 'second eleven' got past Wolves here by the odd goal in five. A full strength side was therefore expected to turn out today. There were four players in rehab awaiting return to training with the Prem group. * match report: a second successive home draw of three games at the Amex in a week but certainly not without incidents. Forest took the lead after Ref pointed to the spot following a hefty Baleba challenge in the area (13mins). Then visitors did everything in their playbook to disrupt affairs, turn it ugly and waste time. Then approaching halftime Albion quickly scored twice. First a Hinshelwood header from a deep van Hecke cross (42mins). And next Welbeck put a f-k around the wall & inside the far post as the keeper stood still (45mins). There was plenty of huff & puff during the second period but it was travellers who scored. They beat the offside trap to run away and net an equaliser (70mins). Shortly before the end Forest had a man sent off for a second bookable offence when taking out Pedro in front of dugouts (83mins). Both managers also received red cards as Ref took advice from the fourth official. It finished even steven, although the home crowd thought we'd let two points slip here for the second fixture running. And we'd now drawn the last three, which were all winnable in circumstances of the moment. On motd that evening BHA's tactics were disected and apparently our high line was to blame for getting caught time and again on the counter. To be fair there was no reason to argue against it. We played a game involving risks and paid the price versus lively opponents. Stats revealed better BHA numbers but another result where we did not outscore visitors once more. stats: ht 2-1, goals 42,45-13,70, poss 71%-29%, on target 3-3, off target 11-1, corners 9-1, fouls 12-11, yellows 3-5, red 0-1, subs 4-5, shape 4231-4231 weather: cloudy . gate: 31,444 . MoM: Welbeck - scoring vet team: 1 Verbruggen 34 Veltman 29 van Hecke 5 Dunk 30 Estupinan 11 Adingra 20 Baleba 41 Hinshelwood 22 Mitoma 14 Rutter 18 Welbeck subs: 27 Wieffer 62 (20), 17 Minteh 62 (11), 9 Pedro 71 (14), 28 Ferguson 82 (30) bench: 23 Steele 3 Julio 4 Webster 10 Enciso 24 Kadioglu squad: 2 Lamptey 15 Moder 26 Ayari . injured: 6 Milner 7 March 8 Gruda 33 O'Riley Prem P5 . W1 D2 L0 . F4 A3 . W1 D1 L0 . F4 A1 . Pt9 Po = 1.80pt/gm . W = 40% L = 0% Forest: Quatr: Pl . W D L . . . F A GD . . Pt Po pt/gm . W% L% hfwy: 14 . 06 04 04 . 16 16 00 . 22 07 = 1.57 . 42.8 28.5 start: 10 . 05 04 01 . 14 07 07 . 19 03 = 1.90 . 50.0 10.0 - Nuno Espirito Santo EFL Cup: Newcastle 3pen4 1-1 (H) R2 FA Cup: Luton (H) R3 Nov: 3rd in table, 4pts off 2nd at Q1 Season13, 7th Premier League (H) Sun 10/3/24 - w 1-0 ~ og It was mid-season and things were a bit mixed for Albion in the league. Also, we now hosted Reds on Sunday lunchtime due to our Europa League last 16 fateful trip to Rome on Thursday. So far visitors habitual away record was - W2 D3 L8 F15 A28. Our Prem record at the Amex versus Forest was; d - in our only PL hosting to date. A solitary draw and that was goalless to boot. In the January transfer window no big business was done by Prem clubs - Forest got a couple in on loan. Current BHA home form was; W6 D6 L1 F27 A16. At the moment in early March Brighton were 9th, while NF were 17th from 27 played . They had changed managers during our Prem years gatherings, now giving Nuno Espirito Santo a chance to consolidate. Based on one previous home meeting Brighton were looking for a first win against Nottingham Forest. * match report: it ended as a single score affair with Albion getting the verdict courtesy of an own goal. Gross swung a high ball deep into the area and it glanced into the net off a defender (29mins). Seagulls were ahead but couldn't add to that basic tally despite bossing the first half. De Zerbi made two double changes during the second period when opposition stayed in the game at one-nil. However getting another goal proved elusive and Brighton fans were a tad edgy through latter stages as the clock ticked down. On the final whistle we collected those three points - which was what mattered really after a less than pretty display of competitive football. Getting this win somewhat eased pressure building over recent days since three away defeats in the FA Cup, Prem and UEL with zero goals scored. We'd take the og now and thank lady luck for pointing fickle finger of fate. Brighton still held hope of finishing in a high enough place to qualify for Europe next term, given we were not shown strong enough overall at present. It had certainly been an acute learning curve and getting up to speed had sapped resources of our small squad with little experience of demanding multi-competition schedules. In some respects the mind was willing but the flesh was weak. We'd suffered with numerous injuries, inconsistency and overload. Reaching the top six and competing in four competitions was admirable. Staying at that level and getting yet more positive results was another ball game altogether. Development of our exisitng group beyond what had been achieved was at a crossroads. Brighton fans wondered which way Tony Bloom would look and whether De Zerbi was on board for that next milestone. stats: ht 1-0, goal 29, poss 64%-36%, on target 3-4, off target 7-5, corners 6-3, fouls 14-14, yellows 4-4, subs 5-5, shape 4231-433 weather: drizzle . gate: 31,505, away 2985 . MoM: Verbruggen - did the necessary. team: 1 Verbruggen 34 Veltman 29 van Hecke 5 Dunk 30 Estupinan 20 Baleba 13 Gross 15 Moder 31 Fati 24 Adingra 28 Ferguson subs: 2 Lamptey 60 (31), 18 Welbeck 60 (28), 10 Enciso 76 (15), 3 Julio 76 (30), 14 Lallana 80 (24) bench: 23 Steele 4 Webster 19 Barco 40 Buonanotte squad: 47 Baker-Boaitey . injured: 6 Milner 7 March 9 Pedro 22 Mitoma 41 Hinshelwood . ban: 11 Gilmour Prem P28 . W7 D6 L1 . F28 A16 . W4 D3 L7 . F22 A28 . Pt42 Po8 = 1.50pt/gm . W = 39.2% L = 28.5% Quatr: Pl . W D L . . . F A GD . . Pt Po pt/gm . W% L% total: 38 . 09 09 20 . 49 67 -18 . 32 17 = 0.84 . 23.6 52.6 3qtr: 29 . 06 07 16 . 35 51 -16 . 21 18 = 0.86 . 20.6 55.1 - (4pt deduction) hfwy: 19 . 04 05 10 . 22 34 -12 . 17 16 = 0.89 . 21.0 52.6 - Nuno Espirito Santo start: 10 . 02 04 04 . 10 15 -05 . 10 16 = 1.00 . 20.0 40.0 - S Cooper EFL Cup: Burnley 0-1 (H) R2 FA Cup: Man Utd 0-1 (H) R5, Bristol C 5pen3 1-1 aet (H) 0-0 (A) R4, Blackpool 2-3 aet (A) 2-2 (H) R3 Oct: 16th in table 5pts off 18th at Q1. Dec: 16th, 8pts from 12th at Q2. Mar: 18th, 1pt off 17th at Q3. 4pt deduction. May: finished 17th, 7pts from 16th at Q4. 23/24 odds at start: top half 9-2, bottom half 1-10, rel 5-2 . sack SC 10/1 . expected to finish: bottom six run in @ 30/3/24: Palace 1-1 (H), Fulham 3-1 (H), Spurs 3-1 (A), Wolves 2-2 (H), Everton 2-0 (A), Man City 0-2 (H), Sheff Utd 1-3 (A), Chelsea 2-3 (H), Burnley 1-2 (A) run in forecast @ 29/3/24: 21pt > 29pts . max was 48 . Actual = 32 . Po was 18th . Actual po = 17th Season12, 6th Premier League (H) Tue 18/10/22 - D 0-0 It was a mid-week evening kickoff for this initial elite meeting. And for the record was our 200th Prem match and 100th fixture at the Amex. Well, who knew? Forest gained promotion to the Prem by sensationally winning the p-o final at end of May '22. We last met here in Aug '16 at very start of the season that turned out to finish with our auto-promo from the C'ship (see season6 below). Since then Seagulls had managed to regularly fly high enough to maintain inclusion at this elite grade, while Forest toiled and struggled for all those years in that ultra-competitve EFL top tier (pyramid second layer). Now at long last it was deemed a Prem level playing field... or was it really? Newcomers, even without previous recent Prem history or experience, could and did survive. But of three coming up it was usual for two to go straight back down. The question was; which one was likely - Forest? Due to postponements during September, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, this fixture became the milestone for end of the first quarter Q1. Meanwhile new Albion head coach Roberto de Zerbi had settled in and from three played to date hadn't yet recorded victory but suffered two defeats. The other bad news was Enock Mwepu had been forced to retire due to worries over a hereditary heart condition. Forest spent 57m in pre-season, quite a sum but that covered a multitude of signings. They seemed to be playing percentages, upping the ante and hoping the ball would break for 'em. In the week prior to this contest their owner sacked two staff involved in summer recruitment. Welcome to the Prem! *** match report: our fifth home match so far resulted in a second goalless draw to go with not scoring in defeat last time here. Contrast that with two wins at the Amex in this campaign; initially a single goal victory and then scoring five when routing lowly opposition. That's the beautiful game - and you can't make it up. Albion were all over Forest like a rash and visitors were barely up to scratch. Chances came and went... and came again... and went... again. Sanchez had an evening stood on the halfway line while his outfield passed the ball around from flank to flank and all points in between across our svelt pitch. Dunk, Veltman & Webster had plenty of possession at the back as they soaked up sporadic travellers attacks and set things in forward motion once more. Mac Allister & Caicedo were willing work-horses in central midfield, generally following the game plan from back to front. Wing combinations of Gross & Marsh on the right and Lallana & Trossard on the left ensured forward movement to edge of the box. Welbeck patrolled the centre ground, waiting for a pin-point cross, thru ball or moment of opportunity. And these duly arrived... in their double figures. Brighton fans saw it all unfold as the ball persistantly assaulted opponents goalmouth. Hearts were in mouths, eyes on the prize, voices on verge of excited shouts but... once more heads in hands. De Zerbi said not to think about bad luck. He was happy with the display up to the area. His team, basically Potter's settled first eleven bar a tweak, had got it right bar putting the ball into the old onion bag. So on reflection we wonder what went wrong. Under Potter from start of this term his side was like Seagulls flying - holding 4th place in the table. In fairness our new head coach hadn't altered very much, preferring to take a watching brief from the technical area. He is feeling his way into the Prem and trying not to make mistakes. Perhaps we shouldn't be too harsh at the mo. But fans will question his caution; sticking with the status quo and not making changes to impact repetitive cause & effect. The Amex could sense stalemate as a likely outcome. What was the disadvantage in a Potter-like double sub - especially with 9 on the bench these days. Maybe he thinks there isn't enough depth in the squad. That there's a gulf in skill sets & levels from 1st 11 to U21s making up numbers. At end of the day, there is only one way to become experienced - by doing it over time. Anyhow we look forward to demanding fixtures ahead until that enforced reset for World Cup finals. A pattern of events will unfold to show us exactly where BHA and RdZ are in the great Prem scheme of things. stats: ht 0-0, goals 0, poss 70%-30%, on 7-0, off 12-3, corners 9-1, fouls 10-14, yellows 3-1, subs 2-5, shape 3421-433 weather: dry & mild . gate: 31,463 away 3040 . MoM: Dunk - capt's innings. team: 1 Sanchez 34 Veltman 4 Webster 5 Dunk 7 March 14 Lallana 10 Mac Allister 25 Caicedo 11 Trossard 18 Welbeck 13 Gross subs: 2 Lamptey 64 (14), 21 Undav 85 (13) bench: 23 Steele (gk) 19 Sarmiento 20 Enciso 27 Gilmour 30 Estupinan 43 Turns 29 van Hecke injured: 6 Colwill 22 Mitoma . rehab: 15 Moder . squad: 28 Ferguson . retired: 8 Mwepu. Prem: P10 . W2 D2 L1 . F6 A3 . W2 D1 L2 . F8 A8 . Pt15 Po7 = 1.50pt/gm . W = 40% L = 30% Quatr: Pl . W D L . . . F A GD . . Pt Po pt/gm . W% L% total: 38 . 09 11 18 . 38 68 -30 . 38 16 = 1.00 . 23.6 47.3 - S Cooper 3qtrs: 29 . 06 09 14 . 24 52 -28 . 27 17 = 0.93 . 20.6 48.2 hfwy: 19 . 05 05 09 . 15 34 -19 . 20 13 = 1.05 . 26.3 47.3 start: 10 . 01 02 07 . 07 23 -16 . 05 20 = 0.50 . 10.0 70.0 - S Cooper EFL Cup: Man U 0-3 (H) s-f . Wolves 4pen3 1-1 (H) q-f . Blackburn 1-4 (A) R4 . Spurs 2-0 (H) R3 . Grimsby 0-3 (A) R2. FA Cup: Blackpool 4-1 (A) R3. Oct: 20th in table, 4pts off 17th at Q1. Jan: 13th, 2pts off 12th at halfway stage Q2. Apr: 17th, 0pts above 18th at three quarters stage Q3. May: 16th, 2pts above 17th at Q4. 22/23 odds at start: rel 5-6, bottom 11-4, stay up 4-5, top half 9/1 . Sack SC 16/1 . Expected to finish: in bottom six. run in @ 8/4/23: Villa 2-0 (A), Man Utd 0-2 (H), Liverpool 3-2 (A), Brighton 3-1 (H), Brentford 2-1 (A), Soton 4-3 (H), Chelsea 2-2 (A), Arsenal 1-0 (H), Palace 1-1 (A) run in forecast @ 7/4/23: 27pt > 35pts . Max was 54 . Actual = 38 . Po was 17th . Actual po = 16th Seasons 7-11 (1st-5th) (H) - not Premier League. Forest away: Seasn . W D L . F A GD . . Pt Po pt/gm %Pt . . W% L% 24/25 - 3 2 1 . 8 7 1 . 11 07 = 1.83 57.8 . 50.0 16.6 - NES @ 28/11/24 23/24 - 4 4 11 . 22 37 -15 . 16 17 = 0.84 44.4 . 21.0 57.8 - Nuno Espirito Santo & Steve Cooper 22/23 - 1 5 13 . 11 44 -33 . 08 16 = 0.42 21.0 . 05.2 68.4 - Steve Cooper 17/18 - 21/22 not Premier League. Forest previous Prem: from 11/12 Prem points: - - - - - - - - - - - 38, 32 (4pt deduction) recent managers: Chris Hughton (20-21). Steve Cooper (21-23) P90 W = 43.3% @ July '23 . Experience: new boy to elite level been tested to extremes. Seasn . W D L . . F A GD . . . Pt Po pt/gm . . W% L% 23/24 - 09 09 20 . 49 67 -18 . 32 17 = 0.84 . 23.6 52.6 - (4pt deducted) Nuno Espirito Santo @ 20/5/24 Got punished for breaking fair play rules but gained enough points to beat the drop by last game. 22/23 - 09 11 18 . 38 68 -30 . 38 16 = 1.00 . 23.6 47.3 - Steve Cooper @ 28/5/23 Stayed in the div due to vital home form and strong local support. On edges of the d-z at run-in stage. 17/18 - 21/22 not Premier League. Knockouts from '18: FA Cup: R3, R3, R4, q-f R3 R5 EFL Cup: R4, R3, R1, R2, R2, R2 * * * * * Nott'm Forest, Home: Championship 11/12-16/17, Seasons 1-6. Albion v Forest (H) from 11/12 @ C: 1-0, 0-0, 1-3, 2-3, 1-0, 3-0 . . W = 3 D = 1 L = 2 memorable match: Season6 (H) - off the blocks at start of a C'ship promo campaign. Season6 (H) Championship 12/8/16 - 3-0 ~ Knockaert, Murray 2. This was the first home fixture (played on a Friday night) following a dramatic climax to the previous campaign when Albion went so close to automatic promotion. Chris Hughton had released Greer, Calderon & Zamora and Crofts went to Charlton but signed Steve Sidwell, Oliver Norwood and Glenn Murray (on loan). Expectation was high among supporters for another promotion challenge, given strength of relegated Prem clubs getting parachute payments. David Stockdale said, 'our aim was 89 points and we got it. If we can improve on the season we had then we've got a very good chance.' On the night 25k attended, despite problems on the railways due to strikes. * match report: Albion temporarily went to top of the table and laid down a marker for the forthcoming campaign at fortress Amex. The margin of victory perhaps flattered but winning home games as vital and will to win was exhibited from the outset. Knockaert opened the scoring when poking in Bong's cross ten minutes prior to the interval (36min). In the second period the visitors were always in the game but went further behind after the hour mark. Murray finished a f-k routine from Hemed's downward header to give Seagulls breathing space (68min). The contest opened out even more as the clock ticked down and it became end to end. From a swift counterattack Knockaert fed Baldock and he found Murray in the right position to net (82min). Hughton employed subs late in the day to have & hold. During stoppage time Stockdale was injured and so Dunk completed the 95 minutes between the posts. Hughton said, 'clean sheets are always going to be a foundation to build off and if you've got enough ability in the side to score goals then you've got a good formula.' Brighton fans celebrated five years at the Amex and there was no better way than to go home knowing their team had got all three points. Stats; h-t 1-0, goals 36, 68, 82, poss 46%-54%, on target 7-2, off target 11-12, corners 6-7, o/s 5-0, fouls 19-15, yellows 3-5 . att 25,748. Stockdale, Rosenior, Bruno, Dunk, Bong, Knockaert, Kayal (Stephens), Sidwell, Skalak (Norwood), Hemed (Baldock), Murray. Champ's P2 . W1 D1 L0 . F3 A0 . Pt4 Po5 . W = 50% L = 0% Season5 (H) 7/8/15 - 1-0 ~ LuaLua. This was the opening fixture of the new season, played on a Friday night in summery conditions. Chris Hughton had hired & fired during the close season and so this rebuilt team was his project in most aspects. A lot of the old guard were still around, bolstered by new signings - Gaetan Bong, Tomer Hemed, Liam Rosenior & keeper Niki Maenpaa. Previous loan players had not been re-signed and CMS, Hughes & McCourt had been released. There was an air of optimism among locals for a better campaign ahead, albeit a way to go to reach and hold dizzy heights of mid-table. This match would set the standard and show whether the monkey was off our back at the Amex, or just another Elephant in the dressing room. Also, Bobby Zamora had returned to play a part in Albion's future and took an on-pitch bow prior to kick-off. On the night 24k turned up to watch - having the option to view on tv. * match report: Albion won their first home game since March and ground out a single goal victory. The first half was eventful but goalless - plenty of pace in the attacks and tough tackling for possession. Both teams were at it nip & tuck, with Seagulls in 442 formation. Whatever Hughton said at h-t team-talk his words soon had desired effect. LuaLua took it on himself to take a dig from just around the area and his effort tucked inside the far post (50min). The front pairing were working hard and chances came & went but no further goals. Rearguard coped well with a depleted Reds threat and Hughton then made defensive tactical changes. Ince bolstered midfield with a quarter of an hour to go, followed quickly by O'Grady to be lone targetman. Rosenior got on for a few minutes as Seagulls saw out temporary elevation to top of the Championship in professional shape. Brighton fans, Chris Hughton, assistant Colin Calderwood, coaches Nathan Jones & Ben Roberts and the kit man as well, were all very pleased with the squad to boot. Stockdale, Bruno, Greer, Dunk, Bong, March, Kayal, Stephens, LuaLua (Rosenior), Hemed (Ince), Baldock (O'Grady). Champ's P1 . W1 D0 L0 . F1 A0 . Pt3 Po7 . W = 100% L = 0% Season4 (H) 7/2/15 - 2-3 ~ Dunk, Kayal. Going into this fixture, ex-England stalwart Stuart 'psycho' Pearce had just been sacked as Forest manager. Chris Hughton was on his third league game at the Amex and BHA were badly in need of points to get clear of the bottom four. The transfer window had shut and Leon Best and Beram Kayal latterly came in to boost squad numbers. A few old faces were still around from days of yore but fans thought this larger group overall was not a patch on earlier Amex teams. In fact, four of the eleven from last year had gone into the Prem. The mission now was for Hughton to use his skills to get best out of what he had inherited and keep the club in the division at all costs - without spending money! * match report: Albion continued with poor home form against Reds, leading initially but conceding three in a series of defensive lapses. March was injured early on and replaced by LuaLua but he was just back from a lay-off too and not quite up to speed (19min). Just prior to the break Holla took a corner and it found the net directly, although records show Dunk as scorer (42min). Then Stockdale blundered from Reds immediate counter, when failing to claim a high f-k into the area (44min). Seagulls fell behind just after the hour from a f-k driven into the box (63min). Hughton subbed, putting Best on to add punch up front. But with BHA trying to equalise, Forest countered and got a third as our defence was at sixes & sevens (86min). Kayal had just arrived and he headed a late consolation in a frantic finish (90min). Albion hit woodwork 3 times in the match but in truth had too many off targets and lacked clinical finishing. Hughton said, 'the margins at the moment are not going our way - we need to turn those around.' Brighton fans were hanging in there but the table does not lie and we were dangerously close now to a relegation dogfight in coming weeks. Stockdale, Bruno, Greer, Dunk, Bennett, Ince, Teixeira, Holla (Kayal), Calderon (Best), O'Grady, March (LuaLua). Champ's P29 . W6 D11 L12 . F32 A39 . Pt29 Po21 . W = 20.6% L = 41.3% Season3 (H) 5/10/13 - L 1-3 ~ Crofts. It was a late k-o at the Amex on a decent Autumn evening and Albion were in mid-table but were undefeated at home in four fixtures. Oscar Garcia had bad luck thru numerous injuries in the squad since pre-season, so was looking to kick on. There was a striker crisis and now Ulloa got himself a broken foot from a few days previously against Sheff Wed. The defence was pretty settled, where Greer (on fringe of Scotland squad) and Upson (ex-international) kept it tight in front of shot-stopper Kuszczak. Midfield tended to vary between matches, largely due to injury and loss of form, rather than tactically. Although Vicente had left and was considered a tad fragile, a player of his capability was really needed now to open up opposition defences. Garcia had a more direct game-plan than Gus Poyet, something more than a few fans appreciated these days. * match report: Brighton went one up around the half hour mark when Crofts stooped to head home a move involving Ward and Barnes (31min). At halftime the job wasn't done coz at this level a moment of madness, or mistake would be punished in a second. Forest came out on turnaround and duly netted three times in fifteen minutes to put the final result in no doubt (46, 60 & 62min). There was even a punch-up between a couple of coaches on repective benches as things became a tad heated. Garcia subbed immediately damage was done by introducing David (63min). Then Reds were reduced to 10 due to two bookables on LuaLua (67min). But it really made no difference and Albion just huffed and puffed until the end. Conway & Barker got on very late in the day - well, it was dark by now. We were ahead on stats but on-targets were poor - and Forest got three goals from six defo chances. Albion couldn't hit a proverbial barn door. Kuszczak, Calderon (Conway), Greer, Upson, Ward, Forster-Caskey (David), Andrews, Crofts, Buckley, Barnes (Barker), LuaLua. Champ's P11 . W3 D4 L4 . F11 A12 . Pt13 Po15 . W = 27.2% L = 36.3% Season2 (H) 15/12/12 - 0-0. A calendar year on from our last meeting at the Amex and what was different? Well, Albion were eighth in the Championship but Forest were only just behind on goal difference. Also there was ten points covering clubs from sixth to twentieth, so this division remained uber competitive. Gus Poyet had a better squad on paper, although Seagulls couldn't seem to get winning consistency from otherwise useful performances. Gus employed attacking 433 again and reverted to 451 on the road, where results were as good as any top-half sides. What was now needed from ongoing home fixtures would help decide our ultimate fate because gaining points here were more important than entertaining stalemates. CMS led the line with most goals but BHA required attacking midfielders to notch by getting well forward. Poyet had various numbers available but did they have the quality? On a rainy afternoon 26k+ supporters made for a ground record. * match report: Before it started to rain in earnest it seemed Albion would score at will. But several chances came and went including some glaring misses prior to the break. Approach play was quite ok and defenders did their jobs, however strikers fell short of the mark throughout. Yet you could bet they notched 'em easy-as on the training ground though. It all folded into a routine nil-nil in very wet conditions and the crowd felt washed out and all. Gus Poyet said, 'we have got to stop making excuses and put the ball in the net. We had 11 shots off target - that is embarrassing.' Reds keeper kept visitors alive, saving well from Buckley and Albion petered out at the death. GP said, 'it plays in your head and that's what happened in the second half.' Brighton fans were getting headaches from sheer frustration. Kuszczak, Calderon, Greer, El-Abd, Bridge, Crofts, Bridcutt (Hammond), David (Barnes), Buckley, Mackail-Smith, Hoskins (LuaLua). Champ's P22 . W8 D9 L5 . F29 A21 . Pt33 Po8 . W = 36.3% L = 22.7% Season1 (H) 3/12/11 - 1-0 ~ Buckley. Brighton had won three out of last four fixtures, before going into this match against lowly Forest at the Amex placed seventh. But bulk of the Championship table was covered by merely a dozen points and a good run would elevate any side accordingly. Gus Poyet had managed to extract reasonable displays recently from our inexperienced squad, following a slump in form, as we got used to campaign requirements for a tough division. There had also been a number of injuries to key personnel and regular yellow cards now threatened several bans. Poyet had been operating a 433 system, which he varied thru to 451 depending on circumstances - both h/a and/or quality of opposition. Generally Bridcutt patrolled in front of the rearguard, while Mackail-Smith ran around all over the line up-front. There was usually one winger employed, although what BHA lacked was a genuine class playmaker to stamp authority on our passing game methodology. On the day it was fine for footy, if a little cool and 20k punters attended, including 2k travelling support. * match report: The first half was goalless and both defences gave no quarter. Forest offered good value for their lowly league position and Albion couldn't break 'em down. A lot of teams in this division had tumbled to Albion's passing game and we were no longer unknown quantities. Reds pressed the ball constantly and allowed little time to pick a quality pass. During what seemed a prolonged second period, there was much more of the same. Nott'm were a tad unlucky not to open scoring, while BHA found it difficult to complete the final ball and create chances. Poyet went to 442 inside an hour by bringing on LuaLua. With this fixture appearing destined for stalemate, he then swapped the other flank for Buckley. Near the end Vincelot got on to try and freshen things up. In stoppage, CMS broke down the right and centred where the Frenchman cut back for supersub Buckley to rifle a shot inside the near post. The Amex immediately went ballistic. Gus said, 'we didn't have a good game.' But he was happy to be elevated into a play-off place. Ankergren, Reyes, Greer, Dunk, Taricco, Noone (Buckley), Bridcutt, Navarro (Vincelot), Paynter, Mackail-Smith, Barnes (LuaLua). Champ's P20 . W9 D5 L6 . F23 A21 . Pt32 Po6 . W = 45% L = 30% * * * * * * Withdean Era: 12 seasons from 1999 to 2011. Seasons 4 02/3, 6 04/5 - Championship . Seasons 8 06/7, 9 07/8 - League One. Withdean era: Albion V Forest 1-0, 0-0, 2-1, 0-2 . . . W = 2 D = 1 L = 1 memorable match: Season4 (H) - a year of struggle but sometimes the ball breaks ok. see: Seasons 4, 6, 8, 9 for club & stadium info. Also Paul Brooker, Leon Knight, Dean Hammond & Michel Kuipers. Note: July 1999 was date of the first game at Withdean - a friendly versus Forest.
Nott'm Forest - Away, Falmer Years: Prem 22/23-24/25, seasons 12-14 . . C'ship 11/12-16/17, seasons 1-6. Albion record @ Forest: W = 3 D = 3 L = 2 Forest v Albion (A) from 17/18: versus Albion - < - 3-1 2-3 . . . W = 1 D = 0 L = 1 . F4 A5 scorers: Buonanotte Ferguson Pedro 2 memorable match: Season12 (A) - note: for home Falmer Years results & reports scroll further up. Season14, 8th Premier League (A) Sat 1/2/25 - tba This reciprocal February '25 fixture was the 13th of 19 away, coming in the third quarter (Q3). The reverse game was 21 Sept '24 in the opening quarter (Q1) - see home scroll further above. Last term we'd met here during late Nov '23 when edging a five goal contest. We had won the home match last season during Mar '24 by an og in a single goal affair. At the halfway stage (Q2) we had xpts and they had xpts. Now at this later stage (Q3) we had xpts and they had xpts. Our Prem record at the City Ground versus Forest was; lw - in the last two seasons to date. There were goals in both those games. Current away form was; W D L F A tba. Hosts home form was: W D L F A tba. At the moment Brighton were xth, while Forest were xth from x games played. At the halfway stage we were xth and they were xth. In the last three campaigns we'd been 9, 6 & 8 at the halfway stage and finished 9, 6 & 11. Albion were looking for additional points today besides the Trent. Their boss had so far ... in the January window. In the FA Cup . Headline news this week was ... * match report: tba day after result stats: ht , goals , poss %-%, on target , off target , corners , fouls , yellows , subs , shape weather: . gate: . MoM: team: 23 Steele 2 Lamptey 29 van Hecke 5 Dunk 30 Estupinan 11 Adingra 10 Enciso 22 Mitoma 18 Welbeck subs: bench: 1 Verbruggen 3 Julio 4 Webster 6 Milner 7 March 9 Pedro 15 Moder 20 Baleba 28 Ferguson 34 Veltman 41 Hinshelwood 14 Rutter 17 Minteh 24 Kadioglu 27 Wieffer 33 O'Riley squad: . injured: Prem P24 . W D L . F A . W D L . F A . Pt? Po? = x.xxpt/gm . W = xx% L = xx% Season13, 7th Premier League (A) Sat 25/11/23 - W 2-3 ~ Ferguson, Pedro 2 This fixture followed the third international break. Back during mid summer pre-season build up Forest visited 4 European clubs prior to the Prem kickoff. They lost at Valencia 1-0 but beat Levante 1-2 in late July. Then got beat at Eindhoven 1-0, lost at home to Rennes 0-5 and drew at Frankfurt 0-0 in early Aug. Albion were 6th (62pts) and Reds 16th (38pts) last term, giving us a 24pts +ve difference. Since joining the elite, Brighton had finished 15, 17, 15, 16, 9, 6, while NF were 16 in their first season. Hosts were aiming to cement a place in the div if surviving second season syndrome. Our Prem record at the City Ground versus Forest was; l in our only PL visit to date. A shock too as we'd expected to score enough to win. The northern outfit had spent 41m in the Aug transfer window on 3 buys, plus 6 undisclosed, 4 on loan and a free. Going into this late Nov match BHA were 8th and NF were 14th from 12 played thus far. Hosts head coach Steve Cooper was expecting strong home form to stand up to scrutiny. Based on one previous elite meeting Brighton were now looking for a first Prem victory at Nottingham Forest. * match report: Dunk was sent off 15 mins from end of normal time for 2 double-quick cards (yellow & red) when he disputed VAR intervention that belatedly advised Ref of a penalty to Reds. Forest had opened scoring with their first attack and Albion were immediately chasing the game (3mins). Then Ferguson drew Seagulls level when firing in low from a Gross pass (26mins). But both Fati & Lamptey pulled up injured by merely half an hour gone. Just before halftime super-sub Pedro headed home from a Gross centre for a well deserved lead (45+4mins). After the break Albion extended the score around the hour mark when Ref gave a soft spot kick for a foul on Pedro - who got up and netted (58mins). Next big incident involved Dunk's comments, getting his marching orders and Forest scoring that reviewed pen (76mins). De Zerbi quickly put on 2 more subs as BHA worked thru final phases of this techy contest with the home crowd braying for a late equaliser. At the end De Zerbi ran over to away support and extrovertly celebrated a memorable victory. Brighton fans were glad to get the win, which kept us on tails of the top six, following a winless run in the Prem since September. Roberto said we were suffering due to our very long injury list, although replacements were stepping up to do their bit. Both young Hinshelwood and fit again Moder were thrown into the fray today as Seagulls fought for those points. The bench got supplemented by U21s as well to make depleted squad numbers up. At least it gave these kids a taste of match-day reality in a tough environment. And to learn you're only as good as your last result. Next day Dunk got a 2 match ban. stats: ht 1-2, goals 3,76-26,45,58, poss 47%-53%, on target 5-5, off target 5-3, blocks 8-3, corners 6-4, tackles 14-13, fouls 12-7, yellows 2-5, subs 3-5, shape 4141-4231 weather: cold . gate: 29,404 away 2880 . MoM: Gross - multiskilled hero team: 1 Verbruggen Y, 34 Veltman, 29 van Hecke, 5 Dunk R, 2 Lamptey, 11 Gilmour, 13 Gross, 14 Lallana, 24 Adingra Y, 28 Ferguson Y, 31 Fati subs: 9 Pedro 20 (31), 41 Hinshelwood 33 (2), 40 Buonanotte Y 46 (14), 20 Baleba 77 (11), 15 Moder 77 (28) bench: 23 Steele, 3 Julio, 47 Baker-Boaitey, 50 Jackson, 56 Duffus squad: 38 McGill (gk), 43 Samuels . ban: 8 Dahoud . injured: 4 Webster 6 Milner 7 March 10 Enciso 18 Welbeck 22 Mitoma 30 Estupinan Prem P13 . W3 D3 L1 . F15 A10 . W3 D1 L2 . F13 A13 . Pt22 Po8 = 1.69pt/gm . W = 46.1% L = 23% Season12, 6th Premier League (A) Wed 26/4/23 - L 3-1 ~ Buonanotte It was a big mid-week round of games in the Prem as the season escalated towards a climax. Albion's run-in sequence Q4 began from today. This was incidentally our fourth consecutive Prem away fixture in a row since beginning of the month. And fifth match running on the road if you count BHA's visit to Wembley for the FA Cup s-f last weekend. It had been over six years since our previous trip in Mar '17 to Forest's big old stad near Trent Bridge - where Seagulls had a useful record at level two (see away scroll below). That last visit was in our C'ship promo year, on the way to regular elite participation - now going into the run-in of a sixth Prem campaign. So the question was; could we return to get points there? Bizarrely it had been during our C'ship final term that we'd come unstuck after all six former visits during Falmer years (seasons 1-6). BHA were at a Dubai winter training camp during '22 WC finals in December. Forest went to Pireus in Greece and then Valencia in Spain. Since then Roberto de Zerbi had coached Albion to hold a regular top seven spot, while Forest were in a serious dog-fight to preserve their elite status. And Albion came here off the back of FA Cup s-f defeat in a penalty shootout. So somebody might end the night in tears as emotions ran both high & low. Previous sub youngster Buonanotte made a debut start. *** match report: Albion crashed to defeat after leading in the first half almost up to the interval. Forest were awarded a penalty early in the game but Steele saved that spot kick, so maintaining nil-nil. Approaching half time Buonanotte got a tap in after the keeper spilled March's shot (38mins). But Seagulls took their foot off the gas and hosts levelled via a deflection off Gross (45mins). During the second period visitors got caught on the counter and went behind (69mins). There was lots of huffing & puffing but Brighton failed to convert again, although had enough attempts to score. At the death Dunk handled and Steele got beat by the second pen (91mins). Albion were off the boil and looked weary following extra time in the FA Cup s-f on Sunday. De Zerbi said we deserved to lose. Brighton fans who travelled couldn't be heard because of the din created by home support who lifted their outfit to rally. All in all it was a poor away performance against a bottom three side fired up to get points. And Albion couldn't cope in these circumstances - putting this display in the 'too difficult' box. Yes, BHA soccer is pretty to watch this term but in the Prem there's a mix of various levels of skill and Seagulls fell short on will to win in a tough battle against determined opponents. The run in was only going to hot up now, so De Zerbi had a problem to solve in spreading a wafer-thin squad to compete three times a week until end of May. stats: ht 1-1, goals 45,69,91-38, poss 25%-75%, on 5-7, off 7-10, corners 2-7, fouls 7-8, yellows 2-0, subs 4-3, shape 3421-4231 weather: cloudy . gate: 28,808 (2531 away) . MoM: ? - a bad night! team: 23 Steele 13 Gross 5 Dunk 6 Colwill 30 Estupinan 7 March 10 Mac Allister 25 Caicedo 22 Mitoma 40 Buonanotte 20 Enciso. subs: 18 Welbeck 73 (30), 21 Undav 75 (20), 42 Offiah 88 (40) bench: 1 Sanchez (gk) 34 Veltman 4 Webster 29 van Hecke 26 Ayari 27 Gilmour injured: 2 Lamptey 14 Lallana 19 Sarmiento 28 Ferguson . squad: 15 Moder Prem: P30 . W7 D3 L4 . F25 A14 . W7 D4 L5 . F30 A26 . Pt49 Po8 = 1.63pt/gm . W = 46.6% L = 30.0% Seasons 7-11 (1st-5th) - not Premier League. Forest home: City Ground. Seasn . W D L . F A GD . . Pt Po pt/gm %Pt . . W% L% 24/25 - 2 2 2 . 7 6 1 . 8 07 = 1.33 42.1 . 33.3 33.3 - NES @ 28/11/24 23/24 - 5 5 09 . 27 30 -03 . 20 17 = 1.05 55.5 . 26.3 47.3 - Nuno E Santo & Steve Cooper 22/23 - 8 6 05 . 27 24 03 . 30 16 = 1.57 78.9 . 42.1 26.3 - Steve Cooper 17/18 - 21/22 not Premier League. * * * * * Nott'm Forest, Away: Championship 11/12-16/17, Seasons 1-6. Forest v Albion (A) from 11/12 @ C: 1-1, 2-2, 1-2, 0-0, 1-2, 3-0 . . W = 2 D = 3 L = 1 memorable match: Season6 (A) - an eye opener for away fans in a promo year. Season6 (A) Championship 4/3/17 - L 3-0. February had been a very busy month of 7 fixtures in 28 days. That sequence was, ldw dw wl = 11pts (1.57pt/gm) to maintain an automatic promotion place. This match was the first of only 4 in March but 3 of those were away. Also it marked completion of the three quarter stage prior to the run in thru April. Chris Hughton was looking to up the ante in weeks ahead after suffering 3 losses & 2 draws from 10 matches since mid January. He required a run of wins now and said, 'certainly the closer we are to Newcastle gives us the best chance of going up.' He had most of the squad fit for duty and had played a fairly settled side. Of those players here last term, all were available again except Goldson (who had a heart condition) and LuaLua out on loan, while Wilson had been borrowed from Man U anyway. In addition CH had summer signings Murray & Duffy as 1st 11 regulars now, plus on-loan recruits Tomori & Akpom on the bench. * match report: Albion crashed to defeat in bizarre fashion, although in truth were not up to standard on the day. Following a goalless first half when Seagulls hardly got off the ground, they started better and pressed into the second period. But on the hour mark Reds had the ball in our net and despite an o/s claim, Ref allowed the goal (60min). Brighton huffed & puffed so Hughton sent on March & Norwood and later Hemed. But all the possession flattered to deceive. At the death Stockdale made a present of a back pass and Albion had lost the match (89min). In stoppage Duffy was injured but hobbled on. Dunk gave away a very late penalty and it all ended in the worst loss on the road to date. Hughton said, 'at the moment I'm not happy because it's a performance & result we didn't want. I can't say we deserved to win. The first goal changes things. We needed to play better than we did.' Nearly 2k travelling support were let down too and didn't even have a goal to cheer, for the first time since another inept display on the road at PNE in mid January. Stats; h-t 0-0, goals 60,89,90+, poss 35%-65%, on target 3-3, off target 3-10, blocks 4-3, corners 4-5, o/s 2-3, fouls 4-12, yellows 0-3, subs 2-3 . att 22,020. Stockdale, Bruno, Duffy, Dunk, Rosenior, Knockaert, Stephens, Sidwell (Norwood), Murphy (March), Baldock (Hemed), Murray. Champ's P35 . W21 D8 L6 . F58 A31 . Pt71 Po2 . W = 60% L = 17.1% Season5 (A) 11/4/16 - w 1-2 - Dunk, Sidwell. Albion usually took a few supporters to the City Ground and this season, with promotion a possibility, huge numbers were expected to travel once more. Then Bloom & Barber sanctioned yet another selling of the silverware to satellite television and Monday just became another working day for faithful to listen to radio Sussex in the evening. At least it was better than commentary from '14/15, when BHA appeared to be heading back into League One under Hyypia's lacklustre leadership. But in 2015 Chris Hughton turned Seagulls into winners and er, sky was literally the limit. Seagulls had won half of fixtures to date and lost five times - merely twice on the road. They needed a result here to press the top two and mount an auto promo challenge thru rest of the run-in. * match report: Seagulls looked to be heading toward a point gained and maybe two that got away but sensationally snatched all three at the death. Dunk had opened the scoring with a header from a Skalak set piece as BHA dominated early play (27min). But Reds hit back after turnaround with a similar type of goal as heads went up (50min). Hughton responded with a couple of changes after the hour mark, introducing first Wilson and then Knockaert with over twenty minutes left. But it was the late swap in midfield that produced the moment for Sidwell to make the subs count as he drove in after Knockaert dribbled into the area (90+1). Hughton said, 'we felt we could bring players off the bench to influence the game. Steve can break forward. I did not bring him on for that but am very glad he did it.' The victory put BHA in the frame with Burnley & Middlesbrough - the latter team being the final away fixture of this exciting and unpredictable campaign. Stats; poss 54%-46%, on target 4-4, off target 9-9, corners 3-6, fouls 13-10, yellows 3-1. Stockdale, Bruno, Goldson, Dunk, Rosenior, Skalak, Stephens, Kayal (Sidwell), LuaLua (Wilson), Murphy (Knockaert), Hemed. Champ's P41 . W21 D15 L5 . F58 A39 . Pt78 Po3 . W = 51.2% L = 12.1% Season4 (A) 27/9/14 - 0-0. Both clubs were engaged in League Cup r3 ties in midweek prior to this fixture. But preparation may have been a little easier for the table-topping home unit, by going to Spurs without pressure on them. Bizarrely Forest got k-o'd but Brighton got thru and drew Spurs in the next round! So Albion meanwhile stayed in the midlands, after COC when visiting L2 second-placed Burton, and needed to prove something now as a bottom eight Championship outfit. Compared to the squad that visited Forest last May, Kuszczak, Upson, Ward, Andrews, Orlandi, Buckley, Ulloa and Lingard were no longer around. Sami Hyypia was now Seagulls manager and his style of place differed to last term, being much narrower and lacking a true target man. BHA league form was pretty mediocre and had not won a fixture H&A for over a month. On the day 23k turned up with about 900 Albion fans included. * match report: On the face of it this result was a step in the right direction but in truth, also a match Albion might have nicked more than just a point from. Forest were in a log jam but Seagulls didn't fly high enough to elevate around tops of massed trees. In a fairly even contest for possession & stats, it was lack of shots on target by both sides that produced goalless stalemate. Following a less than dynamic initial period, Hyypia introduced Ince to shore up in defence from around the hour mark. But his other very late offensive subs were merely to waste time, secure a valuable point and remain unbeaten. Gordon Greer said, 'we have been conceding goals so it was great to keep a clean sheet.' Although Sami said, 'we played too slow and were not up for it but in the second half were better and created one or two things. But I am still not happy with just a point.' Brighton fans didn't really expect a repeat of last May's result but we lacked an in form goal-scorer here and that again is the problem during these early campaign days. Stockdale, Bruno, Greer, Dunk, Bennett, Crofts, Holla (Ince), Forster-Caskey (Gardner), Colunga (McCourt), Mackail-Smith, LuaLua. Champ's P9 . W2 D3 L4 . F8 A10 . Pt9 Po17 . W = 22.2% L = 44.4% Season3 (A) 3/5/14 - W 1-2 ~ Ward, Ulloa. There is an expression we use these days about it all going down to the wire. This season was coming to a climax with the very last game away at the city ground. Albion were one of two clubs with realistic chance of obtaining sixth spot and a place in play-offs. Reading was the other team but if BHA bettered their result we would go thru. Forest could have sold half their stad out but restricted travelling support to merely 2k odd seats. In a crowd of 22k, B&W was just happy to be there on a very nice Saturday afternoon in early May. * match report: Albion went thru to play-offs with a dramatic stoppage-time winner from Ulloa (90+2). Sub CMS put the ball on his head and the visiting end erupted. At halftime Seagulls were behind due to a TK error from a header (22min). Ward equalised at a corner (53min). Oscar Garcia put LuaLua & March into the fray around the hour mark and much later CMS. It was this positivity in attack that finally swamped Reds who had nothing to play for but pride. Brighton wanted the victory badly and flooded forward at the death. The rest is history. OG said, 'I am really proud of my players.' Brighton fans went home very, very happy indeed. Kuszczak, Calderon, Greer, Upson, Ward, Forster-Caskey, Andrews, Orlandi (March), Buckley (Mackail-Smith), Ulloa, Lingard (LuaLua). Champ's P46 . W19 D15 L12 . F55 A40 . Pt72 Po6 . W = 41.3% L = 26% Season2 (A) 30/3/13 - 2-2 ~ Ulloa, Buckley. The battle to fill Championship play-off places was now in full cry during the run-in. At this stage there was a slight gap between Albion in seventh place and Bolton, Middlesbrough and Leeds below us, who were also chasing the top-six clubs. Today's opponents Forest were already in the p-o mix with Leicester, both these outfits just ahead of Brighton and a few points behind Palace and Watford. Meanwhile auto-promo spots were far from done and dusted, where Cardiff held advantage over Hull. We still had to meet other promo contenders and there was everything to play for at this stage. Gus Poyet had been headhunted or at least short-listed for the vacant Reading appointment but supposedly turned them down. Although this caused media and social networking attention, it soon blew over as yesterday's news. Of more alarm was that by the on-loan deadline, BHA had not managed to obtain services of a support striker - leaving Ulloa as lone front man at a crucial time. On the day over 28k attended at the City Ground including around 3k travelling fans for this Easter clash in very cold conditions. * match report: Brighton eventually drew a fixture we might have won. It was goalless at halftime and Reds probably deserved to be ahead but Ankergren had helped keep 'em out with a couple of parries away from danger. LuaLua got subbed immediately for the second period after picking up a yellow card for retaliation when kicked on the deck during stoppage time. Just before the hour mark Ulloa opened the scoring with a snap volley thru a meele at a corner (57min). Forest flooded forward thereafter, while travellers were reduced to hitting locals on the break. Late in the day Reds equalised when Seagulls were up-field looking for a second score (82min). Visitors hit back quickly via Buckley close home, following good work by Ulloa (85min). But it's never over until it's over and deep into injury time Ankergren let a speculative dig go thru him to level the scores right at the death. Gus Poyet said, 'that is why I didn't want my son to be a goalkeeper. It is a terrible position to play.' Buckley said, 'he's experienced and had his ups and downs in the past and will bounce back.' Brighton fans might remember a few occasions when they were there to witness such occurrences. Ankergren, Calderon, Greer, Upson, Bridge, David, Crofts, Orlandi (Dunk), Buckley, Ulloa, LuaLUa (Hammond). Champ's P39 . W15 D15 L9 . F56 A40 . Pt60 Po6 . W = 38.4% L = 23% Season1 (A) 24/3/12 - 1-1 ~ Vokes. Accounts for '10/11 were published and auditors said; 'these conditions... indicate the existence of a major uncertainty which may cast significant doubt about the group's ability to continue to trade as a going concern.' Oh dear, it was all going so nicely beforehand too. Tony Bloom was already a legend in his own stadium and Brighton fans believed he would further previous investment at the Withdean boardroom toward Falmer. Ok, of course we didn't expect him to do it for nought but he was certainly cheaper than conventional so-called financiers and true blue to boot. Considering general state of the nation, given a somewhat flat Budget from Westminster this very week, those doom & gloom bean-counters coulda been a tad more optimistic. After all, things could definitely be worse for BHA - in previous Championship seasons, we were forever in the drop-zone. The 'major uncertainty' then, was whether Albion could ever make it to tier two again - let alone stay there. Hey, try to look at the bright on side of life! On the day it was sunny and warm and over two thousand BHA followers attended in a 21k gate. * match report: If this match had been a dour nil-nil throughout, Brighton fans might have been grateful for a clean sheet and pinching a point. But in truth, although Albion didn't deserve to bag three pts, visitors shoulda won. It certainly wasn't a classic for over an hour and very soon after h-t, Sparrow came on for injured/ill LuaLua. There had been a virus in the camp and on a warm afternoon, Brighton appeared leg weary. Vokes put BHA into the lead when he nodded home Vicente's f-k (63min). Then travellers were on the back foot until the end and Razak got on for the last ten minutes. Sparrow was sent off for a second yellow card just before ninety minutes with Seagulls struggling for air speed. In stoppage, Forest equalised and justice was probably done. Gus was not too happy but damage was limited and other results went our way. We thought GP would sort things out for remaining away fixtures. In Gus we trust. Brezovan, Calderon, Greer, Dunk, Mattock, Vicente (Razak), Bridcutt, Navarro, LuaLua (Sparrow), Barnes, Vokes (Agdestein). Champ's P39 . W17 D11 L11 . F48 A40 . Pt62 Po4 . W = 43.5% L = 28.2% Forest home: City Ground. Seasn . W D L . F A GD . . Pt Po pt/gm %Pt . . W% L% 24/25 - 0 0 0 . 0 0 0 . 0 x = 0.00 00.0 . 00.0 00.0 - 23/24 - 5 5 09 . 27 30 -03 . 20 17 = 1.05 55.5 . 26.3 47.3 - Nuno E Santo & Steve Cooper 22/23 - 8 6 05 . 27 24 03 . 30 16 = 1.57 78.9 . 42.1 26.3 - Steve Cooper 17/18 - 21/22 not Premier League. * * * * * Withdean Era: 12 seasons from 1999 to 2011. Seasons 4 02/3, 6 04/5 - Championship . Seasons 8 06/7, 9 07/8 - League One. Withdean era: Forest V Albion 3-2, 0-1, 2-1, 0-0 . . . W = 1 D = 1 L = 2 memorable match: Season6 (A) - Seagulls were back in the C'ship and hoping past experience would help this time around. Noughties last there - 24/3/08 (A) League One. B'fans liked going to the City Ground, although four league results didn't reveal it as a lucky venue this decade. see: Seasons 4, 6, 8, 9 for club & stadium info. Also Mark McGhee & Dean Wilkins.
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Previous encounters (Notts Forest )
Nottingham FOREST - Home, Falmer Years: Prem 22/23-24/25, seasons 12-14 . . C'ship 11/12-16/17, seasons 1-6. no league meetings in seasons between 2017 to 2021. Prem previous encounters home & away: P5 W2 D2 L1 - see Clubs in Archive. Albion V Forest PL/EFL record @ Amex: W = 4 D = 3 L = 2 manager: Nuno Espirito Santo (2023) P26 W = 26.9% : July '24 . experience: ex-Prem and Saudi boss knows high & lows of footy. City Ground - 30.4k . nickname: Forest . shirt: red. Prem/EFL record from 11/12: 19 8 11 14 16 21 / 17 9 7 17 4 C, 16 17 7 @ 6/12/24. Prem: stayed up '23 '24 . C'ship: promo - '22 . top half - '13 '14 '19 '20. 24/25 odds at start: top half 6/1, rel 9-4 . sack NES 10/1 . expected to finish: lower mid div run in: Man Utd (H), Villa (A), Everton (H), Spurs (A), Br'ford (H), Palace (A), Le'ster (H), West Ham (A), Chelsea (H) run in forecast: ?pt > ?pt . max was ? . actual = ? . Po was ? . actual Po = ? Albion v Forest (H) from 17/18: - < - 0-0 1-0 2-2 . . . W = 1 D = 2 L = 0 . F3 A2 scorers: og Hinshelwood Welbeck memorable match: Season12 (H) - note: for away Falmer Years results and reports scroll further below. Season14, 8th Premier League (A) Sun 22/9/24 - 2-2 ~ Hinshelwood Welbeck Forest stayed in the division last term after enduring a very tough 23/24 campaign. They were R2 knockouts in the EFL Cup and R5 contestants in the FA Cup. NF pre-season friendlies; Chesterfield 0-3 (A), Spain tour: Sunderland 1-1, Millwall w 2-1, Elche l 0-1. Then Villarreal 0-0 (H), Olympiacos 3-4 (A). This Sunday lunchtime Prem fixture was the 3rd of 19 at home, coming early in the 10 game first quarter (Q1). It was also the third straight match at the Amex in a week, due to a home tie in the EFL Cup. The reverse Prem game was 1 Feb '25 in mid season (Q2-3) - see away scroll further below. We had won the away match last season during Nov '23 when at height of powers. Last term we'd met here during mid March '24 when pinching the points via an og. We finished 11th 48pts, while NF were 17th 32pts, with 4pts deducted. Now we had 8pts and they had 8pts in this early phase. Our Prem record at the Amex versus Forest was; dw - in the last two seasons to date. We were twice undefeated. They'd somehow survived second season syndrome, despite having suffered those points deducted to boot. Current home form was; W1 D1 L0 F2 A1 - unbeaten in 2. Visitors away form was: W2 D0 L0 F2 A0 - latest win at Anfield. At the moment Brighton were 6th, while Forest were 7th from 4 games played. In the last three campaigns we'd been placed 8, 8 & 7 after the start period (Q1). Albion were now looking for more points versus this midlands outfit. NF had 2 players on duty at Euro 24 finals in Germany during June. In August Forest were ko'd from the EFL Cup R2 north tie at home versus Newcastle when losing a penalty shootout 3-4. Their boss NE Santo had spent around 80m on 8 new talents, plus 2 on loan players, prior to the big kickoff and before the August window shut. The club's aim was to consolidate in the division within financial rules & regs. Headline news this week was in the EFL Cup 3rd round tie, where our 'second eleven' got past Wolves here by the odd goal in five. A full strength side was therefore expected to turn out today. There were four players in rehab awaiting return to training with the Prem group. * match report: a second successive home draw of three games at the Amex in a week but certainly not without incidents. Forest took the lead after Ref pointed to the spot following a hefty Baleba challenge in the area (13mins). Then visitors did everything in their playbook to disrupt affairs, turn it ugly and waste time. Then approaching halftime Albion quickly scored twice. First a Hinshelwood header from a deep van Hecke cross (42mins). And next Welbeck put a f-k around the wall & inside the far post as the keeper stood still (45mins). There was plenty of huff & puff during the second period but it was travellers who scored. They beat the offside trap to run away and net an equaliser (70mins). Shortly before the end Forest had a man sent off for a second bookable offence when taking out Pedro in front of dugouts (83mins). Both managers also received red cards as Ref took advice from the fourth official. It finished even steven, although the home crowd thought we'd let two points slip here for the second fixture running. And we'd now drawn the last three, which were all winnable in circumstances of the moment. On motd that evening BHA's tactics were disected and apparently our high line was to blame for getting caught time and again on the counter. To be fair there was no reason to argue against it. We played a game involving risks and paid the price versus lively opponents. Stats revealed better BHA numbers but another result where we did not outscore visitors once more. stats: ht 2-1, goals 42,45-13,70, poss 71%-29%, on target 3-3, off target 11-1, corners 9-1, fouls 12-11, yellows 3-5, red 0-1, subs 4-5, shape 4231-4231 weather: cloudy . gate: 31,444 . MoM: Welbeck - scoring vet team: 1 Verbruggen 34 Veltman 29 van Hecke 5 Dunk 30 Estupinan 11 Adingra 20 Baleba 41 Hinshelwood 22 Mitoma 14 Rutter 18 Welbeck subs: 27 Wieffer 62 (20), 17 Minteh 62 (11), 9 Pedro 71 (14), 28 Ferguson 82 (30) bench: 23 Steele 3 Julio 4 Webster 10 Enciso 24 Kadioglu squad: 2 Lamptey 15 Moder 26 Ayari . injured: 6 Milner 7 March 8 Gruda 33 O'Riley Prem P5 . W1 D2 L0 . F4 A3 . W1 D1 L0 . F4 A1 . Pt9 Po = 1.80pt/gm . W = 40% L = 0% Forest: Quatr: Pl . W D L . . . F A GD . . Pt Po pt/gm . W% L% hfwy: 14 . 06 04 04 . 16 16 00 . 22 07 = 1.57 . 42.8 28.5 start: 10 . 05 04 01 . 14 07 07 . 19 03 = 1.90 . 50.0 10.0 - Nuno Espirito Santo EFL Cup: Newcastle 3pen4 1-1 (H) R2 FA Cup: Luton (H) R3 Nov: 3rd in table, 4pts off 2nd at Q1 Season13, 7th Premier League (H) Sun 10/3/24 - w 1-0 ~ og It was mid-season and things were a bit mixed for Albion in the league. Also, we now hosted Reds on Sunday lunchtime due to our Europa League last 16 fateful trip to Rome on Thursday. So far visitors habitual away record was - W2 D3 L8 F15 A28. Our Prem record at the Amex versus Forest was; d - in our only PL hosting to date. A solitary draw and that was goalless to boot. In the January transfer window no big business was done by Prem clubs - Forest got a couple in on loan. Current BHA home form was; W6 D6 L1 F27 A16. At the moment in early March Brighton were 9th, while NF were 17th from 27 played . They had changed managers during our Prem years gatherings, now giving Nuno Espirito Santo a chance to consolidate. Based on one previous home meeting Brighton were looking for a first win against Nottingham Forest. * match report: it ended as a single score affair with Albion getting the verdict courtesy of an own goal. Gross swung a high ball deep into the area and it glanced into the net off a defender (29mins). Seagulls were ahead but couldn't add to that basic tally despite bossing the first half. De Zerbi made two double changes during the second period when opposition stayed in the game at one-nil. However getting another goal proved elusive and Brighton fans were a tad edgy through latter stages as the clock ticked down. On the final whistle we collected those three points - which was what mattered really after a less than pretty display of competitive football. Getting this win somewhat eased pressure building over recent days since three away defeats in the FA Cup, Prem and UEL with zero goals scored. We'd take the og now and thank lady luck for pointing fickle finger of fate. Brighton still held hope of finishing in a high enough place to qualify for Europe next term, given we were not shown strong enough overall at present. It had certainly been an acute learning curve and getting up to speed had sapped resources of our small squad with little experience of demanding multi-competition schedules. In some respects the mind was willing but the flesh was weak. We'd suffered with numerous injuries, inconsistency and overload. Reaching the top six and competing in four competitions was admirable. Staying at that level and getting yet more positive results was another ball game altogether. Development of our exisitng group beyond what had been achieved was at a crossroads. Brighton fans wondered which way Tony Bloom would look and whether De Zerbi was on board for that next milestone. stats: ht 1-0, goal 29, poss 64%-36%, on target 3-4, off target 7-5, corners 6-3, fouls 14-14, yellows 4-4, subs 5-5, shape 4231-433 weather: drizzle . gate: 31,505, away 2985 . MoM: Verbruggen - did the necessary. team: 1 Verbruggen 34 Veltman 29 van Hecke 5 Dunk 30 Estupinan 20 Baleba 13 Gross 15 Moder 31 Fati 24 Adingra 28 Ferguson subs: 2 Lamptey 60 (31), 18 Welbeck 60 (28), 10 Enciso 76 (15), 3 Julio 76 (30), 14 Lallana 80 (24) bench: 23 Steele 4 Webster 19 Barco 40 Buonanotte squad: 47 Baker-Boaitey . injured: 6 Milner 7 March 9 Pedro 22 Mitoma 41 Hinshelwood . ban: 11 Gilmour Prem P28 . W7 D6 L1 . F28 A16 . W4 D3 L7 . F22 A28 . Pt42 Po8 = 1.50pt/gm . W = 39.2% L = 28.5% Quatr: Pl . W D L . . . F A GD . . Pt Po pt/gm . W% L% total: 38 . 09 09 20 . 49 67 -18 . 32 17 = 0.84 . 23.6 52.6 3qtr: 29 . 06 07 16 . 35 51 -16 . 21 18 = 0.86 . 20.6 55.1 - (4pt deduction) hfwy: 19 . 04 05 10 . 22 34 -12 . 17 16 = 0.89 . 21.0 52.6 - Nuno Espirito Santo start: 10 . 02 04 04 . 10 15 -05 . 10 16 = 1.00 . 20.0 40.0 - S Cooper EFL Cup: Burnley 0-1 (H) R2 FA Cup: Man Utd 0-1 (H) R5, Bristol C 5pen3 1-1 aet (H) 0-0 (A) R4, Blackpool 2-3 aet (A) 2-2 (H) R3 Oct: 16th in table 5pts off 18th at Q1. Dec: 16th, 8pts from 12th at Q2. Mar: 18th, 1pt off 17th at Q3. 4pt deduction. May: finished 17th, 7pts from 16th at Q4. 23/24 odds at start: top half 9-2, bottom half 1-10, rel 5-2 . sack SC 10/1 . expected to finish: bottom six run in @ 30/3/24: Palace 1-1 (H), Fulham 3-1 (H), Spurs 3-1 (A), Wolves 2-2 (H), Everton 2-0 (A), Man City 0-2 (H), Sheff Utd 1-3 (A), Chelsea 2-3 (H), Burnley 1-2 (A) run in forecast @ 29/3/24: 21pt > 29pts . max was 48 . Actual = 32 . Po was 18th . Actual po = 17th Season12, 6th Premier League (H) Tue 18/10/22 - D 0-0 It was a mid-week evening kickoff for this initial elite meeting. And for the record was our 200th Prem match and 100th fixture at the Amex. Well, who knew? Forest gained promotion to the Prem by sensationally winning the p-o final at end of May '22. We last met here in Aug '16 at very start of the season that turned out to finish with our auto-promo from the C'ship (see season6 below). Since then Seagulls had managed to regularly fly high enough to maintain inclusion at this elite grade, while Forest toiled and struggled for all those years in that ultra-competitve EFL top tier (pyramid second layer). Now at long last it was deemed a Prem level playing field... or was it really? Newcomers, even without previous recent Prem history or experience, could and did survive. But of three coming up it was usual for two to go straight back down. The question was; which one was likely - Forest? Due to postponements during September, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, this fixture became the milestone for end of the first quarter Q1. Meanwhile new Albion head coach Roberto de Zerbi had settled in and from three played to date hadn't yet recorded victory but suffered two defeats. The other bad news was Enock Mwepu had been forced to retire due to worries over a hereditary heart condition. Forest spent 57m in pre-season, quite a sum but that covered a multitude of signings. They seemed to be playing percentages, upping the ante and hoping the ball would break for 'em. In the week prior to this contest their owner sacked two staff involved in summer recruitment. Welcome to the Prem! *** match report: our fifth home match so far resulted in a second goalless draw to go with not scoring in defeat last time here. Contrast that with two wins at the Amex in this campaign; initially a single goal victory and then scoring five when routing lowly opposition. That's the beautiful game - and you can't make it up. Albion were all over Forest like a rash and visitors were barely up to scratch. Chances came and went... and came again... and went... again. Sanchez had an evening stood on the halfway line while his outfield passed the ball around from flank to flank and all points in between across our svelt pitch. Dunk, Veltman & Webster had plenty of possession at the back as they soaked up sporadic travellers attacks and set things in forward motion once more. Mac Allister & Caicedo were willing work-horses in central midfield, generally following the game plan from back to front. Wing combinations of Gross & Marsh on the right and Lallana & Trossard on the left ensured forward movement to edge of the box. Welbeck patrolled the centre ground, waiting for a pin-point cross, thru ball or moment of opportunity. And these duly arrived... in their double figures. Brighton fans saw it all unfold as the ball persistantly assaulted opponents goalmouth. Hearts were in mouths, eyes on the prize, voices on verge of excited shouts but... once more heads in hands. De Zerbi said not to think about bad luck. He was happy with the display up to the area. His team, basically Potter's settled first eleven bar a tweak, had got it right bar putting the ball into the old onion bag. So on reflection we wonder what went wrong. Under Potter from start of this term his side was like Seagulls flying - holding 4th place in the table. In fairness our new head coach hadn't altered very much, preferring to take a watching brief from the technical area. He is feeling his way into the Prem and trying not to make mistakes. Perhaps we shouldn't be too harsh at the mo. But fans will question his caution; sticking with the status quo and not making changes to impact repetitive cause & effect. The Amex could sense stalemate as a likely outcome. What was the disadvantage in a Potter-like double sub - especially with 9 on the bench these days. Maybe he thinks there isn't enough depth in the squad. That there's a gulf in skill sets & levels from 1st 11 to U21s making up numbers. At end of the day, there is only one way to become experienced - by doing it over time. Anyhow we look forward to demanding fixtures ahead until that enforced reset for World Cup finals. A pattern of events will unfold to show us exactly where BHA and RdZ are in the great Prem scheme of things. stats: ht 0-0, goals 0, poss 70%-30%, on 7-0, off 12-3, corners 9-1, fouls 10-14, yellows 3-1, subs 2-5, shape 3421-433 weather: dry & mild . gate: 31,463 away 3040 . MoM: Dunk - capt's innings. team: 1 Sanchez 34 Veltman 4 Webster 5 Dunk 7 March 14 Lallana 10 Mac Allister 25 Caicedo 11 Trossard 18 Welbeck 13 Gross subs: 2 Lamptey 64 (14), 21 Undav 85 (13) bench: 23 Steele (gk) 19 Sarmiento 20 Enciso 27 Gilmour 30 Estupinan 43 Turns 29 van Hecke injured: 6 Colwill 22 Mitoma . rehab: 15 Moder . squad: 28 Ferguson . retired: 8 Mwepu. Prem: P10 . W2 D2 L1 . F6 A3 . W2 D1 L2 . F8 A8 . Pt15 Po7 = 1.50pt/gm . W = 40% L = 30% Quatr: Pl . W D L . . . F A GD . . Pt Po pt/gm . W% L% total: 38 . 09 11 18 . 38 68 -30 . 38 16 = 1.00 . 23.6 47.3 - S Cooper 3qtrs: 29 . 06 09 14 . 24 52 -28 . 27 17 = 0.93 . 20.6 48.2 hfwy: 19 . 05 05 09 . 15 34 -19 . 20 13 = 1.05 . 26.3 47.3 start: 10 . 01 02 07 . 07 23 -16 . 05 20 = 0.50 . 10.0 70.0 - S Cooper EFL Cup: Man U 0-3 (H) s-f . Wolves 4pen3 1-1 (H) q-f . Blackburn 1-4 (A) R4 . Spurs 2-0 (H) R3 . Grimsby 0-3 (A) R2. FA Cup: Blackpool 4-1 (A) R3. Oct: 20th in table, 4pts off 17th at Q1. Jan: 13th, 2pts off 12th at halfway stage Q2. Apr: 17th, 0pts above 18th at three quarters stage Q3. May: 16th, 2pts above 17th at Q4. 22/23 odds at start: rel 5-6, bottom 11-4, stay up 4-5, top half 9/1 . Sack SC 16/1 . Expected to finish: in bottom six. run in @ 8/4/23: Villa 2-0 (A), Man Utd 0-2 (H), Liverpool 3-2 (A), Brighton 3-1 (H), Brentford 2-1 (A), Soton 4-3 (H), Chelsea 2-2 (A), Arsenal 1-0 (H), Palace 1-1 (A) run in forecast @ 7/4/23: 27pt > 35pts . Max was 54 . Actual = 38 . Po was 17th . Actual po = 16th Seasons 7-11 (1st-5th) (H) - not Premier League. Forest away: Seasn . W D L . F A GD . . Pt Po pt/gm %Pt . . W% L% 24/25 - 3 2 1 . 8 7 1 . 11 07 = 1.83 57.8 . 50.0 16.6 - NES @ 28/11/24 23/24 - 4 4 11 . 22 37 -15 . 16 17 = 0.84 44.4 . 21.0 57.8 - Nuno Espirito Santo & Steve Cooper 22/23 - 1 5 13 . 11 44 -33 . 08 16 = 0.42 21.0 . 05.2 68.4 - Steve Cooper 17/18 - 21/22 not Premier League. Forest previous Prem: from 11/12 Prem points: - - - - - - - - - - - 38, 32 (4pt deduction) recent managers: Chris Hughton (20-21). Steve Cooper (21-23) P90 W = 43.3% @ July '23 . Experience: new boy to elite level been tested to extremes. Seasn . W D L . . F A GD . . . Pt Po pt/gm . . W% L% 23/24 - 09 09 20 . 49 67 -18 . 32 17 = 0.84 . 23.6 52.6 - (4pt deducted) Nuno Espirito Santo @ 20/5/24 Got punished for breaking fair play rules but gained enough points to beat the drop by last game. 22/23 - 09 11 18 . 38 68 -30 . 38 16 = 1.00 . 23.6 47.3 - Steve Cooper @ 28/5/23 Stayed in the div due to vital home form and strong local support. On edges of the d-z at run-in stage. 17/18 - 21/22 not Premier League. Knockouts from '18: FA Cup: R3, R3, R4, q-f R3 R5 EFL Cup: R4, R3, R1, R2, R2, R2 * * * * * Nott'm Forest, Home: Championship 11/12-16/17, Seasons 1-6. Albion v Forest (H) from 11/12 @ C: 1-0, 0-0, 1-3, 2-3, 1-0, 3-0 . . W = 3 D = 1 L = 2 memorable match: Season6 (H) - off the blocks at start of a C'ship promo campaign. Season6 (H) Championship 12/8/16 - 3-0 ~ Knockaert, Murray 2. This was the first home fixture (played on a Friday night) following a dramatic climax to the previous campaign when Albion went so close to automatic promotion. Chris Hughton had released Greer, Calderon & Zamora and Crofts went to Charlton but signed Steve Sidwell, Oliver Norwood and Glenn Murray (on loan). Expectation was high among supporters for another promotion challenge, given strength of relegated Prem clubs getting parachute payments. David Stockdale said, 'our aim was 89 points and we got it. If we can improve on the season we had then we've got a very good chance.' On the night 25k attended, despite problems on the railways due to strikes. * match report: Albion temporarily went to top of the table and laid down a marker for the forthcoming campaign at fortress Amex. The margin of victory perhaps flattered but winning home games as vital and will to win was exhibited from the outset. Knockaert opened the scoring when poking in Bong's cross ten minutes prior to the interval (36min). In the second period the visitors were always in the game but went further behind after the hour mark. Murray finished a f-k routine from Hemed's downward header to give Seagulls breathing space (68min). The contest opened out even more as the clock ticked down and it became end to end. From a swift counterattack Knockaert fed Baldock and he found Murray in the right position to net (82min). Hughton employed subs late in the day to have & hold. During stoppage time Stockdale was injured and so Dunk completed the 95 minutes between the posts. Hughton said, 'clean sheets are always going to be a foundation to build off and if you've got enough ability in the side to score goals then you've got a good formula.' Brighton fans celebrated five years at the Amex and there was no better way than to go home knowing their team had got all three points. Stats; h-t 1-0, goals 36, 68, 82, poss 46%-54%, on target 7-2, off target 11-12, corners 6-7, o/s 5-0, fouls 19-15, yellows 3-5 . att 25,748. Stockdale, Rosenior, Bruno, Dunk, Bong, Knockaert, Kayal (Stephens), Sidwell, Skalak (Norwood), Hemed (Baldock), Murray. Champ's P2 . W1 D1 L0 . F3 A0 . Pt4 Po5 . W = 50% L = 0% Season5 (H) 7/8/15 - 1-0 ~ LuaLua. This was the opening fixture of the new season, played on a Friday night in summery conditions. Chris Hughton had hired & fired during the close season and so this rebuilt team was his project in most aspects. A lot of the old guard were still around, bolstered by new signings - Gaetan Bong, Tomer Hemed, Liam Rosenior & keeper Niki Maenpaa. Previous loan players had not been re-signed and CMS, Hughes & McCourt had been released. There was an air of optimism among locals for a better campaign ahead, albeit a way to go to reach and hold dizzy heights of mid-table. This match would set the standard and show whether the monkey was off our back at the Amex, or just another Elephant in the dressing room. Also, Bobby Zamora had returned to play a part in Albion's future and took an on-pitch bow prior to kick-off. On the night 24k turned up to watch - having the option to view on tv. * match report: Albion won their first home game since March and ground out a single goal victory. The first half was eventful but goalless - plenty of pace in the attacks and tough tackling for possession. Both teams were at it nip & tuck, with Seagulls in 442 formation. Whatever Hughton said at h-t team-talk his words soon had desired effect. LuaLua took it on himself to take a dig from just around the area and his effort tucked inside the far post (50min). The front pairing were working hard and chances came & went but no further goals. Rearguard coped well with a depleted Reds threat and Hughton then made defensive tactical changes. Ince bolstered midfield with a quarter of an hour to go, followed quickly by O'Grady to be lone targetman. Rosenior got on for a few minutes as Seagulls saw out temporary elevation to top of the Championship in professional shape. Brighton fans, Chris Hughton, assistant Colin Calderwood, coaches Nathan Jones & Ben Roberts and the kit man as well, were all very pleased with the squad to boot. Stockdale, Bruno, Greer, Dunk, Bong, March, Kayal, Stephens, LuaLua (Rosenior), Hemed (Ince), Baldock (O'Grady). Champ's P1 . W1 D0 L0 . F1 A0 . Pt3 Po7 . W = 100% L = 0% Season4 (H) 7/2/15 - 2-3 ~ Dunk, Kayal. Going into this fixture, ex-England stalwart Stuart 'psycho' Pearce had just been sacked as Forest manager. Chris Hughton was on his third league game at the Amex and BHA were badly in need of points to get clear of the bottom four. The transfer window had shut and Leon Best and Beram Kayal latterly came in to boost squad numbers. A few old faces were still around from days of yore but fans thought this larger group overall was not a patch on earlier Amex teams. In fact, four of the eleven from last year had gone into the Prem. The mission now was for Hughton to use his skills to get best out of what he had inherited and keep the club in the division at all costs - without spending money! * match report: Albion continued with poor home form against Reds, leading initially but conceding three in a series of defensive lapses. March was injured early on and replaced by LuaLua but he was just back from a lay-off too and not quite up to speed (19min). Just prior to the break Holla took a corner and it found the net directly, although records show Dunk as scorer (42min). Then Stockdale blundered from Reds immediate counter, when failing to claim a high f-k into the area (44min). Seagulls fell behind just after the hour from a f-k driven into the box (63min). Hughton subbed, putting Best on to add punch up front. But with BHA trying to equalise, Forest countered and got a third as our defence was at sixes & sevens (86min). Kayal had just arrived and he headed a late consolation in a frantic finish (90min). Albion hit woodwork 3 times in the match but in truth had too many off targets and lacked clinical finishing. Hughton said, 'the margins at the moment are not going our way - we need to turn those around.' Brighton fans were hanging in there but the table does not lie and we were dangerously close now to a relegation dogfight in coming weeks. Stockdale, Bruno, Greer, Dunk, Bennett, Ince, Teixeira, Holla (Kayal), Calderon (Best), O'Grady, March (LuaLua). Champ's P29 . W6 D11 L12 . F32 A39 . Pt29 Po21 . W = 20.6% L = 41.3% Season3 (H) 5/10/13 - L 1-3 ~ Crofts. It was a late k-o at the Amex on a decent Autumn evening and Albion were in mid-table but were undefeated at home in four fixtures. Oscar Garcia had bad luck thru numerous injuries in the squad since pre-season, so was looking to kick on. There was a striker crisis and now Ulloa got himself a broken foot from a few days previously against Sheff Wed. The defence was pretty settled, where Greer (on fringe of Scotland squad) and Upson (ex-international) kept it tight in front of shot-stopper Kuszczak. Midfield tended to vary between matches, largely due to injury and loss of form, rather than tactically. Although Vicente had left and was considered a tad fragile, a player of his capability was really needed now to open up opposition defences. Garcia had a more direct game-plan than Gus Poyet, something more than a few fans appreciated these days. * match report: Brighton went one up around the half hour mark when Crofts stooped to head home a move involving Ward and Barnes (31min). At halftime the job wasn't done coz at this level a moment of madness, or mistake would be punished in a second. Forest came out on turnaround and duly netted three times in fifteen minutes to put the final result in no doubt (46, 60 & 62min). There was even a punch-up between a couple of coaches on repective benches as things became a tad heated. Garcia subbed immediately damage was done by introducing David (63min). Then Reds were reduced to 10 due to two bookables on LuaLua (67min). But it really made no difference and Albion just huffed and puffed until the end. Conway & Barker got on very late in the day - well, it was dark by now. We were ahead on stats but on-targets were poor - and Forest got three goals from six defo chances. Albion couldn't hit a proverbial barn door. Kuszczak, Calderon (Conway), Greer, Upson, Ward, Forster-Caskey (David), Andrews, Crofts, Buckley, Barnes (Barker), LuaLua. Champ's P11 . W3 D4 L4 . F11 A12 . Pt13 Po15 . W = 27.2% L = 36.3% Season2 (H) 15/12/12 - 0-0. A calendar year on from our last meeting at the Amex and what was different? Well, Albion were eighth in the Championship but Forest were only just behind on goal difference. Also there was ten points covering clubs from sixth to twentieth, so this division remained uber competitive. Gus Poyet had a better squad on paper, although Seagulls couldn't seem to get winning consistency from otherwise useful performances. Gus employed attacking 433 again and reverted to 451 on the road, where results were as good as any top-half sides. What was now needed from ongoing home fixtures would help decide our ultimate fate because gaining points here were more important than entertaining stalemates. CMS led the line with most goals but BHA required attacking midfielders to notch by getting well forward. Poyet had various numbers available but did they have the quality? On a rainy afternoon 26k+ supporters made for a ground record. * match report: Before it started to rain in earnest it seemed Albion would score at will. But several chances came and went including some glaring misses prior to the break. Approach play was quite ok and defenders did their jobs, however strikers fell short of the mark throughout. Yet you could bet they notched 'em easy-as on the training ground though. It all folded into a routine nil-nil in very wet conditions and the crowd felt washed out and all. Gus Poyet said, 'we have got to stop making excuses and put the ball in the net. We had 11 shots off target - that is embarrassing.' Reds keeper kept visitors alive, saving well from Buckley and Albion petered out at the death. GP said, 'it plays in your head and that's what happened in the second half.' Brighton fans were getting headaches from sheer frustration. Kuszczak, Calderon, Greer, El-Abd, Bridge, Crofts, Bridcutt (Hammond), David (Barnes), Buckley, Mackail-Smith, Hoskins (LuaLua). Champ's P22 . W8 D9 L5 . F29 A21 . Pt33 Po8 . W = 36.3% L = 22.7% Season1 (H) 3/12/11 - 1-0 ~ Buckley. Brighton had won three out of last four fixtures, before going into this match against lowly Forest at the Amex placed seventh. But bulk of the Championship table was covered by merely a dozen points and a good run would elevate any side accordingly. Gus Poyet had managed to extract reasonable displays recently from our inexperienced squad, following a slump in form, as we got used to campaign requirements for a tough division. There had also been a number of injuries to key personnel and regular yellow cards now threatened several bans. Poyet had been operating a 433 system, which he varied thru to 451 depending on circumstances - both h/a and/or quality of opposition. Generally Bridcutt patrolled in front of the rearguard, while Mackail-Smith ran around all over the line up-front. There was usually one winger employed, although what BHA lacked was a genuine class playmaker to stamp authority on our passing game methodology. On the day it was fine for footy, if a little cool and 20k punters attended, including 2k travelling support. * match report: The first half was goalless and both defences gave no quarter. Forest offered good value for their lowly league position and Albion couldn't break 'em down. A lot of teams in this division had tumbled to Albion's passing game and we were no longer unknown quantities. Reds pressed the ball constantly and allowed little time to pick a quality pass. During what seemed a prolonged second period, there was much more of the same. Nott'm were a tad unlucky not to open scoring, while BHA found it difficult to complete the final ball and create chances. Poyet went to 442 inside an hour by bringing on LuaLua. With this fixture appearing destined for stalemate, he then swapped the other flank for Buckley. Near the end Vincelot got on to try and freshen things up. In stoppage, CMS broke down the right and centred where the Frenchman cut back for supersub Buckley to rifle a shot inside the near post. The Amex immediately went ballistic. Gus said, 'we didn't have a good game.' But he was happy to be elevated into a play-off place. Ankergren, Reyes, Greer, Dunk, Taricco, Noone (Buckley), Bridcutt, Navarro (Vincelot), Paynter, Mackail-Smith, Barnes (LuaLua). Champ's P20 . W9 D5 L6 . F23 A21 . Pt32 Po6 . W = 45% L = 30% * * * * * * Withdean Era: 12 seasons from 1999 to 2011. Seasons 4 02/3, 6 04/5 - Championship . Seasons 8 06/7, 9 07/8 - League One. Withdean era: Albion V Forest 1-0, 0-0, 2-1, 0-2 . . . W = 2 D = 1 L = 1 memorable match: Season4 (H) - a year of struggle but sometimes the ball breaks ok. see: Seasons 4, 6, 8, 9 for club & stadium info. Also Paul Brooker, Leon Knight, Dean Hammond & Michel Kuipers. Note: July 1999 was date of the first game at Withdean - a friendly versus Forest.
Nott'm Forest - Away, Falmer Years: Prem 22/23-24/25, seasons 12-14 . . C'ship 11/12-16/17, seasons 1-6. Albion record @ Forest: W = 3 D = 3 L = 2 Forest v Albion (A) from 17/18: versus Albion - < - 3-1 2-3 . . . W = 1 D = 0 L = 1 . F4 A5 scorers: Buonanotte Ferguson Pedro 2 memorable match: Season12 (A) - note: for home Falmer Years results & reports scroll further up. Season14, 8th Premier League (A) Sat 1/2/25 - tba This reciprocal February '25 fixture was the 13th of 19 away, coming in the third quarter (Q3). The reverse game was 21 Sept '24 in the opening quarter (Q1) - see home scroll further above. Last term we'd met here during late Nov '23 when edging a five goal contest. We had won the home match last season during Mar '24 by an og in a single goal affair. At the halfway stage (Q2) we had xpts and they had xpts. Now at this later stage (Q3) we had xpts and they had xpts. Our Prem record at the City Ground versus Forest was; lw - in the last two seasons to date. There were goals in both those games. Current away form was; W D L F A tba. Hosts home form was: W D L F A tba. At the moment Brighton were xth, while Forest were xth from x games played. At the halfway stage we were xth and they were xth. In the last three campaigns we'd been 9, 6 & 8 at the halfway stage and finished 9, 6 & 11. Albion were looking for additional points today besides the Trent. Their boss had so far ... in the January window. In the FA Cup . Headline news this week was ... * match report: tba day after result stats: ht , goals , poss %-%, on target , off target , corners , fouls , yellows , subs , shape weather: . gate: . MoM: team: 23 Steele 2 Lamptey 29 van Hecke 5 Dunk 30 Estupinan 11 Adingra 10 Enciso 22 Mitoma 18 Welbeck subs: bench: 1 Verbruggen 3 Julio 4 Webster 6 Milner 7 March 9 Pedro 15 Moder 20 Baleba 28 Ferguson 34 Veltman 41 Hinshelwood 14 Rutter 17 Minteh 24 Kadioglu 27 Wieffer 33 O'Riley squad: . injured: Prem P24 . W D L . F A . W D L . F A . Pt? Po? = x.xxpt/gm . W = xx% L = xx% Season13, 7th Premier League (A) Sat 25/11/23 - W 2-3 ~ Ferguson, Pedro 2 This fixture followed the third international break. Back during mid summer pre-season build up Forest visited 4 European clubs prior to the Prem kickoff. They lost at Valencia 1-0 but beat Levante 1-2 in late July. Then got beat at Eindhoven 1-0, lost at home to Rennes 0-5 and drew at Frankfurt 0-0 in early Aug. Albion were 6th (62pts) and Reds 16th (38pts) last term, giving us a 24pts +ve difference. Since joining the elite, Brighton had finished 15, 17, 15, 16, 9, 6, while NF were 16 in their first season. Hosts were aiming to cement a place in the div if surviving second season syndrome. Our Prem record at the City Ground versus Forest was; l in our only PL visit to date. A shock too as we'd expected to score enough to win. The northern outfit had spent 41m in the Aug transfer window on 3 buys, plus 6 undisclosed, 4 on loan and a free. Going into this late Nov match BHA were 8th and NF were 14th from 12 played thus far. Hosts head coach Steve Cooper was expecting strong home form to stand up to scrutiny. Based on one previous elite meeting Brighton were now looking for a first Prem victory at Nottingham Forest. * match report: Dunk was sent off 15 mins from end of normal time for 2 double-quick cards (yellow & red) when he disputed VAR intervention that belatedly advised Ref of a penalty to Reds. Forest had opened scoring with their first attack and Albion were immediately chasing the game (3mins). Then Ferguson drew Seagulls level when firing in low from a Gross pass (26mins). But both Fati & Lamptey pulled up injured by merely half an hour gone. Just before halftime super-sub Pedro headed home from a Gross centre for a well deserved lead (45+4mins). After the break Albion extended the score around the hour mark when Ref gave a soft spot kick for a foul on Pedro - who got up and netted (58mins). Next big incident involved Dunk's comments, getting his marching orders and Forest scoring that reviewed pen (76mins). De Zerbi quickly put on 2 more subs as BHA worked thru final phases of this techy contest with the home crowd braying for a late equaliser. At the end De Zerbi ran over to away support and extrovertly celebrated a memorable victory. Brighton fans were glad to get the win, which kept us on tails of the top six, following a winless run in the Prem since September. Roberto said we were suffering due to our very long injury list, although replacements were stepping up to do their bit. Both young Hinshelwood and fit again Moder were thrown into the fray today as Seagulls fought for those points. The bench got supplemented by U21s as well to make depleted squad numbers up. At least it gave these kids a taste of match-day reality in a tough environment. And to learn you're only as good as your last result. Next day Dunk got a 2 match ban. stats: ht 1-2, goals 3,76-26,45,58, poss 47%-53%, on target 5-5, off target 5-3, blocks 8-3, corners 6-4, tackles 14-13, fouls 12-7, yellows 2-5, subs 3-5, shape 4141-4231 weather: cold . gate: 29,404 away 2880 . MoM: Gross - multiskilled hero team: 1 Verbruggen Y, 34 Veltman, 29 van Hecke, 5 Dunk R, 2 Lamptey, 11 Gilmour, 13 Gross, 14 Lallana, 24 Adingra Y, 28 Ferguson Y, 31 Fati subs: 9 Pedro 20 (31), 41 Hinshelwood 33 (2), 40 Buonanotte Y 46 (14), 20 Baleba 77 (11), 15 Moder 77 (28) bench: 23 Steele, 3 Julio, 47 Baker-Boaitey, 50 Jackson, 56 Duffus squad: 38 McGill (gk), 43 Samuels . ban: 8 Dahoud . injured: 4 Webster 6 Milner 7 March 10 Enciso 18 Welbeck 22 Mitoma 30 Estupinan Prem P13 . W3 D3 L1 . F15 A10 . W3 D1 L2 . F13 A13 . Pt22 Po8 = 1.69pt/gm . W = 46.1% L = 23% Season12, 6th Premier League (A) Wed 26/4/23 - L 3-1 ~ Buonanotte It was a big mid-week round of games in the Prem as the season escalated towards a climax. Albion's run-in sequence Q4 began from today. This was incidentally our fourth consecutive Prem away fixture in a row since beginning of the month. And fifth match running on the road if you count BHA's visit to Wembley for the FA Cup s-f last weekend. It had been over six years since our previous trip in Mar '17 to Forest's big old stad near Trent Bridge - where Seagulls had a useful record at level two (see away scroll below). That last visit was in our C'ship promo year, on the way to regular elite participation - now going into the run-in of a sixth Prem campaign. So the question was; could we return to get points there? Bizarrely it had been during our C'ship final term that we'd come unstuck after all six former visits during Falmer years (seasons 1-6). BHA were at a Dubai winter training camp during '22 WC finals in December. Forest went to Pireus in Greece and then Valencia in Spain. Since then Roberto de Zerbi had coached Albion to hold a regular top seven spot, while Forest were in a serious dog-fight to preserve their elite status. And Albion came here off the back of FA Cup s-f defeat in a penalty shootout. So somebody might end the night in tears as emotions ran both high & low. Previous sub youngster Buonanotte made a debut start. *** match report: Albion crashed to defeat after leading in the first half almost up to the interval. Forest were awarded a penalty early in the game but Steele saved that spot kick, so maintaining nil-nil. Approaching half time Buonanotte got a tap in after the keeper spilled March's shot (38mins). But Seagulls took their foot off the gas and hosts levelled via a deflection off Gross (45mins). During the second period visitors got caught on the counter and went behind (69mins). There was lots of huffing & puffing but Brighton failed to convert again, although had enough attempts to score. At the death Dunk handled and Steele got beat by the second pen (91mins). Albion were off the boil and looked weary following extra time in the FA Cup s-f on Sunday. De Zerbi said we deserved to lose. Brighton fans who travelled couldn't be heard because of the din created by home support who lifted their outfit to rally. All in all it was a poor away performance against a bottom three side fired up to get points. And Albion couldn't cope in these circumstances - putting this display in the 'too difficult' box. Yes, BHA soccer is pretty to watch this term but in the Prem there's a mix of various levels of skill and Seagulls fell short on will to win in a tough battle against determined opponents. The run in was only going to hot up now, so De Zerbi had a problem to solve in spreading a wafer-thin squad to compete three times a week until end of May. stats: ht 1-1, goals 45,69,91-38, poss 25%-75%, on 5-7, off 7-10, corners 2-7, fouls 7-8, yellows 2-0, subs 4-3, shape 3421-4231 weather: cloudy . gate: 28,808 (2531 away) . MoM: ? - a bad night! team: 23 Steele 13 Gross 5 Dunk 6 Colwill 30 Estupinan 7 March 10 Mac Allister 25 Caicedo 22 Mitoma 40 Buonanotte 20 Enciso. subs: 18 Welbeck 73 (30), 21 Undav 75 (20), 42 Offiah 88 (40) bench: 1 Sanchez (gk) 34 Veltman 4 Webster 29 van Hecke 26 Ayari 27 Gilmour injured: 2 Lamptey 14 Lallana 19 Sarmiento 28 Ferguson . squad: 15 Moder Prem: P30 . W7 D3 L4 . F25 A14 . W7 D4 L5 . F30 A26 . Pt49 Po8 = 1.63pt/gm . W = 46.6% L = 30.0% Seasons 7-11 (1st-5th) - not Premier League. Forest home: City Ground. Seasn . W D L . F A GD . . Pt Po pt/gm %Pt . . W% L% 24/25 - 2 2 2 . 7 6 1 . 8 07 = 1.33 42.1 . 33.3 33.3 - NES @ 28/11/24 23/24 - 5 5 09 . 27 30 -03 . 20 17 = 1.05 55.5 . 26.3 47.3 - Nuno E Santo & Steve Cooper 22/23 - 8 6 05 . 27 24 03 . 30 16 = 1.57 78.9 . 42.1 26.3 - Steve Cooper 17/18 - 21/22 not Premier League. * * * * * Nott'm Forest, Away: Championship 11/12-16/17, Seasons 1-6. Forest v Albion (A) from 11/12 @ C: 1-1, 2-2, 1-2, 0-0, 1-2, 3-0 . . W = 2 D = 3 L = 1 memorable match: Season6 (A) - an eye opener for away fans in a promo year. Season6 (A) Championship 4/3/17 - L 3-0. February had been a very busy month of 7 fixtures in 28 days. That sequence was, ldw dw wl = 11pts (1.57pt/gm) to maintain an automatic promotion place. This match was the first of only 4 in March but 3 of those were away. Also it marked completion of the three quarter stage prior to the run in thru April. Chris Hughton was looking to up the ante in weeks ahead after suffering 3 losses & 2 draws from 10 matches since mid January. He required a run of wins now and said, 'certainly the closer we are to Newcastle gives us the best chance of going up.' He had most of the squad fit for duty and had played a fairly settled side. Of those players here last term, all were available again except Goldson (who had a heart condition) and LuaLua out on loan, while Wilson had been borrowed from Man U anyway. In addition CH had summer signings Murray & Duffy as 1st 11 regulars now, plus on-loan recruits Tomori & Akpom on the bench. * match report: Albion crashed to defeat in bizarre fashion, although in truth were not up to standard on the day. Following a goalless first half when Seagulls hardly got off the ground, they started better and pressed into the second period. But on the hour mark Reds had the ball in our net and despite an o/s claim, Ref allowed the goal (60min). Brighton huffed & puffed so Hughton sent on March & Norwood and later Hemed. But all the possession flattered to deceive. At the death Stockdale made a present of a back pass and Albion had lost the match (89min). In stoppage Duffy was injured but hobbled on. Dunk gave away a very late penalty and it all ended in the worst loss on the road to date. Hughton said, 'at the moment I'm not happy because it's a performance & result we didn't want. I can't say we deserved to win. The first goal changes things. We needed to play better than we did.' Nearly 2k travelling support were let down too and didn't even have a goal to cheer, for the first time since another inept display on the road at PNE in mid January. Stats; h-t 0-0, goals 60,89,90+, poss 35%-65%, on target 3-3, off target 3-10, blocks 4-3, corners 4-5, o/s 2-3, fouls 4-12, yellows 0-3, subs 2-3 . att 22,020. Stockdale, Bruno, Duffy, Dunk, Rosenior, Knockaert, Stephens, Sidwell (Norwood), Murphy (March), Baldock (Hemed), Murray. Champ's P35 . W21 D8 L6 . F58 A31 . Pt71 Po2 . W = 60% L = 17.1% Season5 (A) 11/4/16 - w 1-2 - Dunk, Sidwell. Albion usually took a few supporters to the City Ground and this season, with promotion a possibility, huge numbers were expected to travel once more. Then Bloom & Barber sanctioned yet another selling of the silverware to satellite television and Monday just became another working day for faithful to listen to radio Sussex in the evening. At least it was better than commentary from '14/15, when BHA appeared to be heading back into League One under Hyypia's lacklustre leadership. But in 2015 Chris Hughton turned Seagulls into winners and er, sky was literally the limit. Seagulls had won half of fixtures to date and lost five times - merely twice on the road. They needed a result here to press the top two and mount an auto promo challenge thru rest of the run-in. * match report: Seagulls looked to be heading toward a point gained and maybe two that got away but sensationally snatched all three at the death. Dunk had opened the scoring with a header from a Skalak set piece as BHA dominated early play (27min). But Reds hit back after turnaround with a similar type of goal as heads went up (50min). Hughton responded with a couple of changes after the hour mark, introducing first Wilson and then Knockaert with over twenty minutes left. But it was the late swap in midfield that produced the moment for Sidwell to make the subs count as he drove in after Knockaert dribbled into the area (90+1). Hughton said, 'we felt we could bring players off the bench to influence the game. Steve can break forward. I did not bring him on for that but am very glad he did it.' The victory put BHA in the frame with Burnley & Middlesbrough - the latter team being the final away fixture of this exciting and unpredictable campaign. Stats; poss 54%-46%, on target 4-4, off target 9-9, corners 3-6, fouls 13-10, yellows 3-1. Stockdale, Bruno, Goldson, Dunk, Rosenior, Skalak, Stephens, Kayal (Sidwell), LuaLua (Wilson), Murphy (Knockaert), Hemed. Champ's P41 . W21 D15 L5 . F58 A39 . Pt78 Po3 . W = 51.2% L = 12.1% Season4 (A) 27/9/14 - 0-0. Both clubs were engaged in League Cup r3 ties in midweek prior to this fixture. But preparation may have been a little easier for the table-topping home unit, by going to Spurs without pressure on them. Bizarrely Forest got k-o'd but Brighton got thru and drew Spurs in the next round! So Albion meanwhile stayed in the midlands, after COC when visiting L2 second-placed Burton, and needed to prove something now as a bottom eight Championship outfit. Compared to the squad that visited Forest last May, Kuszczak, Upson, Ward, Andrews, Orlandi, Buckley, Ulloa and Lingard were no longer around. Sami Hyypia was now Seagulls manager and his style of place differed to last term, being much narrower and lacking a true target man. BHA league form was pretty mediocre and had not won a fixture H&A for over a month. On the day 23k turned up with about 900 Albion fans included. * match report: On the face of it this result was a step in the right direction but in truth, also a match Albion might have nicked more than just a point from. Forest were in a log jam but Seagulls didn't fly high enough to elevate around tops of massed trees. In a fairly even contest for possession & stats, it was lack of shots on target by both sides that produced goalless stalemate. Following a less than dynamic initial period, Hyypia introduced Ince to shore up in defence from around the hour mark. But his other very late offensive subs were merely to waste time, secure a valuable point and remain unbeaten. Gordon Greer said, 'we have been conceding goals so it was great to keep a clean sheet.' Although Sami said, 'we played too slow and were not up for it but in the second half were better and created one or two things. But I am still not happy with just a point.' Brighton fans didn't really expect a repeat of last May's result but we lacked an in form goal-scorer here and that again is the problem during these early campaign days. Stockdale, Bruno, Greer, Dunk, Bennett, Crofts, Holla (Ince), Forster-Caskey (Gardner), Colunga (McCourt), Mackail-Smith, LuaLua. Champ's P9 . W2 D3 L4 . F8 A10 . Pt9 Po17 . W = 22.2% L = 44.4% Season3 (A) 3/5/14 - W 1-2 ~ Ward, Ulloa. There is an expression we use these days about it all going down to the wire. This season was coming to a climax with the very last game away at the city ground. Albion were one of two clubs with realistic chance of obtaining sixth spot and a place in play-offs. Reading was the other team but if BHA bettered their result we would go thru. Forest could have sold half their stad out but restricted travelling support to merely 2k odd seats. In a crowd of 22k, B&W was just happy to be there on a very nice Saturday afternoon in early May. * match report: Albion went thru to play-offs with a dramatic stoppage-time winner from Ulloa (90+2). Sub CMS put the ball on his head and the visiting end erupted. At halftime Seagulls were behind due to a TK error from a header (22min). Ward equalised at a corner (53min). Oscar Garcia put LuaLua & March into the fray around the hour mark and much later CMS. It was this positivity in attack that finally swamped Reds who had nothing to play for but pride. Brighton wanted the victory badly and flooded forward at the death. The rest is history. OG said, 'I am really proud of my players.' Brighton fans went home very, very happy indeed. Kuszczak, Calderon, Greer, Upson, Ward, Forster-Caskey, Andrews, Orlandi (March), Buckley (Mackail-Smith), Ulloa, Lingard (LuaLua). Champ's P46 . W19 D15 L12 . F55 A40 . Pt72 Po6 . W = 41.3% L = 26% Season2 (A) 30/3/13 - 2-2 ~ Ulloa, Buckley. The battle to fill Championship play-off places was now in full cry during the run-in. At this stage there was a slight gap between Albion in seventh place and Bolton, Middlesbrough and Leeds below us, who were also chasing the top-six clubs. Today's opponents Forest were already in the p-o mix with Leicester, both these outfits just ahead of Brighton and a few points behind Palace and Watford. Meanwhile auto-promo spots were far from done and dusted, where Cardiff held advantage over Hull. We still had to meet other promo contenders and there was everything to play for at this stage. Gus Poyet had been headhunted or at least short-listed for the vacant Reading appointment but supposedly turned them down. Although this caused media and social networking attention, it soon blew over as yesterday's news. Of more alarm was that by the on-loan deadline, BHA had not managed to obtain services of a support striker - leaving Ulloa as lone front man at a crucial time. On the day over 28k attended at the City Ground including around 3k travelling fans for this Easter clash in very cold conditions. * match report: Brighton eventually drew a fixture we might have won. It was goalless at halftime and Reds probably deserved to be ahead but Ankergren had helped keep 'em out with a couple of parries away from danger. LuaLua got subbed immediately for the second period after picking up a yellow card for retaliation when kicked on the deck during stoppage time. Just before the hour mark Ulloa opened the scoring with a snap volley thru a meele at a corner (57min). Forest flooded forward thereafter, while travellers were reduced to hitting locals on the break. Late in the day Reds equalised when Seagulls were up-field looking for a second score (82min). Visitors hit back quickly via Buckley close home, following good work by Ulloa (85min). But it's never over until it's over and deep into injury time Ankergren let a speculative dig go thru him to level the scores right at the death. Gus Poyet said, 'that is why I didn't want my son to be a goalkeeper. It is a terrible position to play.' Buckley said, 'he's experienced and had his ups and downs in the past and will bounce back.' Brighton fans might remember a few occasions when they were there to witness such occurrences. Ankergren, Calderon, Greer, Upson, Bridge, David, Crofts, Orlandi (Dunk), Buckley, Ulloa, LuaLUa (Hammond). Champ's P39 . W15 D15 L9 . F56 A40 . Pt60 Po6 . W = 38.4% L = 23% Season1 (A) 24/3/12 - 1-1 ~ Vokes. Accounts for '10/11 were published and auditors said; 'these conditions... indicate the existence of a major uncertainty which may cast significant doubt about the group's ability to continue to trade as a going concern.' Oh dear, it was all going so nicely beforehand too. Tony Bloom was already a legend in his own stadium and Brighton fans believed he would further previous investment at the Withdean boardroom toward Falmer. Ok, of course we didn't expect him to do it for nought but he was certainly cheaper than conventional so-called financiers and true blue to boot. Considering general state of the nation, given a somewhat flat Budget from Westminster this very week, those doom & gloom bean-counters coulda been a tad more optimistic. After all, things could definitely be worse for BHA - in previous Championship seasons, we were forever in the drop-zone. The 'major uncertainty' then, was whether Albion could ever make it to tier two again - let alone stay there. Hey, try to look at the bright on side of life! On the day it was sunny and warm and over two thousand BHA followers attended in a 21k gate. * match report: If this match had been a dour nil-nil throughout, Brighton fans might have been grateful for a clean sheet and pinching a point. But in truth, although Albion didn't deserve to bag three pts, visitors shoulda won. It certainly wasn't a classic for over an hour and very soon after h-t, Sparrow came on for injured/ill LuaLua. There had been a virus in the camp and on a warm afternoon, Brighton appeared leg weary. Vokes put BHA into the lead when he nodded home Vicente's f-k (63min). Then travellers were on the back foot until the end and Razak got on for the last ten minutes. Sparrow was sent off for a second yellow card just before ninety minutes with Seagulls struggling for air speed. In stoppage, Forest equalised and justice was probably done. Gus was not too happy but damage was limited and other results went our way. We thought GP would sort things out for remaining away fixtures. In Gus we trust. Brezovan, Calderon, Greer, Dunk, Mattock, Vicente (Razak), Bridcutt, Navarro, LuaLua (Sparrow), Barnes, Vokes (Agdestein). Champ's P39 . W17 D11 L11 . F48 A40 . Pt62 Po4 . W = 43.5% L = 28.2% Forest home: City Ground. Seasn . W D L . F A GD . . Pt Po pt/gm %Pt . . W% L% 24/25 - 0 0 0 . 0 0 0 . 0 x = 0.00 00.0 . 00.0 00.0 - 23/24 - 5 5 09 . 27 30 -03 . 20 17 = 1.05 55.5 . 26.3 47.3 - Nuno E Santo & Steve Cooper 22/23 - 8 6 05 . 27 24 03 . 30 16 = 1.57 78.9 . 42.1 26.3 - Steve Cooper 17/18 - 21/22 not Premier League. * * * * * Withdean Era: 12 seasons from 1999 to 2011. Seasons 4 02/3, 6 04/5 - Championship . Seasons 8 06/7, 9 07/8 - League One. Withdean era: Forest V Albion 3-2, 0-1, 2-1, 0-0 . . . W = 1 D = 1 L = 2 memorable match: Season6 (A) - Seagulls were back in the C'ship and hoping past experience would help this time around. Noughties last there - 24/3/08 (A) League One. B'fans liked going to the City Ground, although four league results didn't reveal it as a lucky venue this decade. see: Seasons 4, 6, 8, 9 for club & stadium info. Also Mark McGhee & Dean Wilkins.
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