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Previous encounters (Rotherham )
Rotherham - Home, Falmer Years: C'ship 14/15-16/17, seasons 4-6 . 17/18 onwards - Prem, no meetings. ground: New York Stadium 12k . nickname: Millers . shirt: red, white sleeves. EFL record from 11/12: 10 2 L2, 4 L1, 21 21 24 C / 4 L1, 22 C, 2 L1, 23 C, 2 L1, 19 24 C @ 4/5/24. recent promo - '13 L2, '14 '18 '20 '22 L1 . rel - '17 '19 '21 '24 C. Season7 (1st) (H) onwards - not Premier League. Albion v United (H) from 11/12 @ C: - - - 1-1 2-1 3-0 . . W = 2 D = 1 L = 0 For Away Falmer Years results and reports scroll further below. memorable match: Season6 (H) - the campaign got off to a great start and so far so good. Season6 (H) Championship 16/8/16 - 3-0 ~ Knockaert, Murray, Hemed. This was the third home game in a row and they'd all been evening matches, over the course of eight summer nights. The first two had ended in victory, 4-0 in the League Cup versus Colchester and 3-0 against Forest in the Championship. Chris Hughton had fielded different sides but the squad this term was perhaps stronger and more settled. Steve Sidwell & Glenn Murray (loan) had signed on but both knew the club. Oliver Norwood came in before the season kicked off but he was very experienced in this league. Bruno was employed in c-d in lieu of Goldson who was recovering from injury. And Maenpaa made his league debut as Stockdale was crocked in the last contest. Expectation among supporters was high and fortress Amex anticipated another win under floodlights. 250 Millers fans also turned up amid a 25k crowd. We think they had John Smiths ale to keep them happy in a quiet south stand. * match report: It turned out to be a routine victory on the night, although Albion were slow off the blocks. But inside half an hour the home side were two up and the Amex waited for more goals to go in. Knockaert opened the scoring with a low drive (23min). Then Murray notched the second from a cross by Rosenior (26min). In the second period Ref blew up after Murray got flattened off the ball and Hemed converted the penalty (58min). Ten minutes later Hughton made a double swap with points safely in the bag. He said, 'they were two moments of real quality for the first two goals. The first was produced out of nothing and second a typical strikers goal.' He also said, 'anyone coming in and playing well should give me a decision to make. I thought the crowd were excellent. We had to be patient to break opposition down and wait for our moment.' All in all a good night's work and very similar to last term when Brighton fans enjoyed a good late summer from early August. Stats; h-t 2-0, goals 23, 26, 58, poss 63%-37%, on target 4-2, off target 9-5, corners 4-4, o/s 2-1, fouls 14-13, yellows 1-4, subs 2-2 . att 25,128. Maenpaa, Rosenior, Bruno, Dunk, Bong, Knockaert (LuaLua), Norwood, Stephens, Murphy, Hemed (Baldock), Murray. Champ's P3 . W2 D1 L0 . F6 A0 . Pt7 Po1 . W = 66.6% L = 0% Season5 (H) 15/9/15 - 2-1 ~ Hemed, Stephens. Following the Hull match, where touching pre-kickoff tributes were paid to victims of the Shoreham Airshow disaster, fans once more turned out in numbers (21k) at the Amex - for this midweek clash of top & bottom clubs. Brighton had made a sensational start to the season, considering those twelve months previously under Sami Hyypia, being unbeaten at head of the table. One positive factor was the signing of players on contract who committed futures to BHA - rather than relying on loans from other clubs. Also Chris Hughton had almost an injury-free full squad to select from at this stage. He was keen for a very good start to the campaign and that is exactly what had happened to date. * match report: Albion duly took three more points to extend their lead in the division to five points. But it certainly wasn't a cake walk, despite what stats revealed. Seagulls display began with the usual flourish acquired from high confidence and chances quickly came & went. A useful move forward set Murphy off down the left and his deep, low centre was booted into roof of the net by Hemed rushing forward (27min). After the break visitors appeared swamped by a blue tide but defences weren't breached again until well past the hour mark. Stephens slotted a fast breaker that skimmed off the surf, er, turf (67min). Hughton then put on Zamora but he was soon to become the lone front-man after Millers pulled one back from a header at a set piece (71min). Ince arrived to shore up rearguard while travellers pressed for an equaliser. Rosenior got a few moments play and Stockdale was booked for time wasting, as Seagulls ran down the clock and took maximum points from all four fixtures at the Amex so far. And it was all so very different from eleven months ago! Stats; poss 65-35, on target 8-1, off target 13-5, corners 7-3, fouls 13-10. Stockwell, Bruno, Greer, Huenemeier, Bong, March (Rosenior), Kayal, Stephens, Murphy, Baldock (Zamora), Hemed (Ince). Champ's P7 . W6 D1 L0 . F11 A5 . Pt19 Po1 . W = 85.7% L = 0% Season4 (H) 25/10/14 - 1-1 ~ Bennett. Before kick-off, Albion had not won a fixture for nine matches, in fact since defeating Bolton at the Amex during mid September. Sami Hyypia supposedly had full backing of chairman Tony Bloom and the board, as he sought a way of stopping the autumn rot. Merely six draws and consequently the same number of points, were gained through this two month period and the latest home reversal versus Middlesbro had further exposed deficiencies in BHA displays. Basically, Hyypia's method of play had not produced required goals from strikers, albeit some chances were created - but taken by defenders at set pieces! Brighton fans were generally being patient but felt enough time had elapsed for the newly assembled squad to at least hold a mid-berth slot in this tough division, rather than be flirting with the drop zone. Today would be telling of how Seagulls future would eventually pan out... 'must win' had never been more appropriate. Apparently, on a dry, mild afternoon, 24k turned up - but with many season-ticket holders absent, there were great gaps of spare blue seats on show. *** match report: You might say Stockdale was single handedly responsible for ensuring Seagulls remained unbeaten during a torrid afternoon for local fans. Another disappointing match swung from initial stalemate toward home advantage, then almost to away daylight robbery at the death. As usual Albion flattered to deceive from kick-off, dominating possession and building slowly from the back. But from what chances were actually created, habitually the ball would not go into the net. Suddenly, with Ref looking to blow for h-t, Albion got lucky when Bennett notched from a tight angle whilst demonstating attacking wingback skills (45+min). Immediately after turn-around, Millers equalised via ex-Seagull Alex Revell, in simple fashion, as BHA defence were mentally still in the dressing room (48min). The rest of this contest went back & forward, up & down, to & from, call it what you will, although in stoppage visitors coulda won it. Stockdale had kept them at bay and now had to tip over a sliced lob - from Greer!! Hyypia had sent on McCourt with twenty minutes remaining to try and open up a resolute rearguard, then Teixeira joined in too for the last ten minutes. All to no avail, despite crosses being sent over and several set pieces to boot. Brighton fans thought the team lacked will to win and Hyypia said, 'we need to be mentally tougher and more mature to play the whole 90 minutes. We need to bring in a few players to add quality.' Now he tells us!! Stockdale, Calderon, Greer, Dunk, Bennett, Gardner (McCourt), Ince, Forster-Caskey (Teixeira), Baldock, O'Grady, Colunga. Champ's P14 . W2 D7 L5 . F13 A16 . Pt13 Po21 . W = 14.2% L = 35.7% Seasons 1-3 (H) - not C'ship. * * * * * Withdean Era: 12 seasons from 1999 to 2011 - Season1 99/00 - League Two . Seasons 4 02/3, 6 04/5 - Championship . Season8 06/7 - League One. Withdean era: Albion V Millers 1-1, 2-0, 1-0, 0-0 . . . W = 2 D = 2 L = 0 memorable match: Season6 (H) - halfway thru a campaign grafting for every goal & point. see: Season 1-8 for squad background over several campaigns.
Rotherham - Away, Falmer Years: C'ship 14/15-16/17, seasons 4-6 . 17/18 onwards - Prem, no meetings. Season7 (1st) (A) onwards - not Premier League. United v Albion (A) from 11/12 @ C: - - - 1-0 2-0 0-2 . . W = 1 D = 0 L = 2 For Home Falmer Years results & reports scroll further up. memorable match: Season4 (A) - we went to their new stadium for a familiar C'ship experience. Season6 (A) Championship 7/3/17 - w 0-2 ~ Knockaert, March. Albion went to rock bottom Millers on a Tuesday night once more in mid season. Of the team that crashed to defeat here last winter, Ridgewell, Greer, Crofts, Zamora & Wilson were all history, while LuaLua was now out on loan. Main core of the side were still together and knocking up multiple apps this term too. Sidwell, Murray & Duffy had joined in summer to bolster the match-day squad looking for promotion again. Plus Chris Hughton had secured services off the bench of Tomori & Akpom on loan from Prem clubs. Unfortunately Duffy got crocked in the last fixture when BHA were beat 3-0 to boot! If ever Seagulls needed a win double quick it was now, as form on the road had taken bit of a dip recently. Hughton said, 'we have a tough away game and I have to pick a side that is going to get a result.' * match report: Albion duly produced the goods but it took a while and a couple of saves from Stockdale to turn stalemate into a winning position. After turnaround Seagulls awoke from visions of a goalless result with a fast start. Kayal & Baldock tested the keeper prior to Knockaert putting it away (49min). Hughton made changes with 15 minutes to go when March & Murray came on. And it was the young winger who made it safe on the night by smashing home a low drive (79min). BHA piled on the pressure and Towell had a great chance to bag another after he arrived with 5 minutes left. Huenemeier deputised for Duffy in only his second Championship game this term but did ok, as the rearguard kept an 18th clean sheet to date. Hughton said, 'the scoreline could have been greater but they were resilient and gave us a few frights early in the game. Once we got the first goal I fancied us to get more.' Brighton had a great result on this occasion when other top six teams dropped points. Hughton also said, 'we certainly have to win a good percentage of games to stay where we are.' Stats; h-t 0-0, goals 49,79, poss 39%-61%, on target 3-7, off target 5-15, corners 2-8, o/s 1-2, fouls 10-6, yellows 1-0, subs 3-3 . att 8,366. Stockdale, Bruno, Huenemeier, Dunk, Rosenior, Knockaert (March), Kayal, Stephens, Skalak, Hemed (Murray), Baldock (Towell). Champ's P36 . W22 D8 L6 . F60 A31 . Pt74 Po2 . W = 61.1% L = 16.6% Season5 (A) 12/1/16 - L 2-0. It was a Tuesday nite during early Jan and in some ways, start of Albion's second half of the season. December had been poor for return of points gained and that spilled over into New Year. Although Seagulls were unbeaten on the road, they'd just lost three in a row at the Amex over the festive period and got knocked out the FA Cup at Hull last Saturday. A few Brighton fans wondered if the wheels had now come off after the team set a club record for being undefeated in the league prior to Xmas. Chris Hughton had made additional signings in Ridgewell, Towell & Knockaert and also had Baldock & LuaLua returning from injury to boost the match-day squad. The result of this fixture would put down a marker for the kind of expectation as to how Albion might fare thru winter into spring. But it seemed a big ask at this stage to regain a once coveted automatic promotion spot. * match report: Albion crashed to a first defeat on travels in the league but continued the run of poor form. They had now gone nearly 10hrs without scoring and looked a shadow of the team that set the division alight in summer & autumn. The first half was dire for Seagulls, who fell behind at the psychological moment just prior to the break. Dunk slipped and his man took full advantage (45min). Hughton had elected to play 442 with new winger Knockaert making debut and Murphy on the other flank. But BHA were becoming more inept as an attacking force. Zamora replaced Wilson around the hour mark and things began to look up. Albion seemed likely to score but the impetus stalled before too long. Fit again LuaLua got on for Murphy in the last 20mins, although making little impact on his return from long-term injury. Then Greer pulled out with ten mins left and Crofts came on. Visitors went to 352 and attempted to equalise. With less than 5mins to go, Bruno made a bramah and Millers netted a second and won the contest (86min). Hughton said, 'you can go through periods of time when you get away with things but at the moment when we make a mistake we are getting punished.' Brighton fans thought they were seeing too many mistakes and not enough goals. After all, it's down to the whole team to defend and attack in order to influence the final score. Stats; poss 43%-57%, on target 8-2, off target 3-5, corners 3-7, o/s 0-4, fouls 10-11. Stockdale, Bruno, Greer (Crofts), Dunk, Ridgewell, Knockaert, Stephens, Kayal, Murphy (LuaLua), Wilson (Zamora), Hemed. Champ's P26 . W11 D11 L4 . F31 A27 . Pt44 Po6 . W = 42.3% L = 15.3 Season4 (A) 6/4/15 - L 1-0. On Easter Monday Albion went north to play Millers in their new stadium. They were struggling to stay in the Championship having been promoted the season beforehand and in different circumstances this fixture could have been thought of as a six pointer. Chris Hughton had previously steered Seagulls clear of the drop-zone and like United were a few points short of reaching 50 for the season and keeping a place for next campaign. A big problem on the road was lack of scoring goals, although BHA worked very hard to keep clean sheets. With the season ending soon, there was never a better time to find strikers hitting form and pushing the club into mid table. Nearly one thousand travelling fans attended in a crowd a tad shy of 10k on a nice afternoon. *** match report: Oooops, Albion once again failed to find the net and but for three constantly losing teams at foot of the table, would be in more trouble during the run-in. Our hosts scored after 8minutes when taking a basic chance but for all the huffing & puffing that Seagulls could muster, there was no equaliser. There was one shot on target, 4 off-target, 10 corners and almost 60% possession - however, zero goals scored. Another stat was that visitors had not now scored in open play when away from home in over 13 hours of football. The latest signing in Carayol made his debut on the right flank but swapped over with LuaLua for the second half. O'Grady was replaced by Best immediately after the interval, to try and improve the striking stats. Much later CMS and Tex took over on wings but it was all to no avail. Hughton said, 'we weren't good enough in the first half. In the second half we were a lot better and I felt we could get a result but our work in the final third has got to be more productive in terms of clearcut chances and goal opportunities.' So there you are, which ever way it was said, Albion were just not good enough today... and for most of this campaign if the truth is told. It certainly appeared a complete overhaul of the squad was necessary in the summer. Stockdale, Bruno, Halford, Dunk, Bennett, Kayal, Ince, Stephens, Carayol (Teixeira), O'Grady (Best), LuaLua (Mackail-Smith). Champ's P41 . W10 D15 L16 . F43 A48 . Pt45 Po18 . W = 24.3% L = 39% Seasons 1-3 (A) - not C'ship. * * * * * Withdean Era: 12 seasons from 1999 to 2011 - Season1 99/00 - League Two . Seasons 4 02/3, 6 04/5 - Championship . Season8 06/7 - League One. Withdean era: Millers V Albion 1-3, 1-0, 0-1, 0-1 . . . W = 3 D = 0 L = 1 memorable match: Season6 (A) - Seagulls were desperate for points with two games left this term. Noughties last there - 5/8/06 (A) League One. Millmoor (old venue) wasn't too bad a place for B'fans to go and meet at the railway end... four times and three divs during that decade. see: Season4 for stadium background.
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Previous encounters (Rotherham )
Rotherham - Home, Falmer Years: C'ship 14/15-16/17, seasons 4-6 . 17/18 onwards - Prem, no meetings. ground: New York Stadium 12k . nickname: Millers . shirt: red, white sleeves. EFL record from 11/12: 10 2 L2, 4 L1, 21 21 24 C / 4 L1, 22 C, 2 L1, 23 C, 2 L1, 19 24 C @ 4/5/24. recent promo - '13 L2, '14 '18 '20 '22 L1 . rel - '17 '19 '21 '24 C. Season7 (1st) (H) onwards - not Premier League. Albion v United (H) from 11/12 @ C: - - - 1-1 2-1 3-0 . . W = 2 D = 1 L = 0 For Away Falmer Years results and reports scroll further below. memorable match: Season6 (H) - the campaign got off to a great start and so far so good. Season6 (H) Championship 16/8/16 - 3-0 ~ Knockaert, Murray, Hemed. This was the third home game in a row and they'd all been evening matches, over the course of eight summer nights. The first two had ended in victory, 4-0 in the League Cup versus Colchester and 3-0 against Forest in the Championship. Chris Hughton had fielded different sides but the squad this term was perhaps stronger and more settled. Steve Sidwell & Glenn Murray (loan) had signed on but both knew the club. Oliver Norwood came in before the season kicked off but he was very experienced in this league. Bruno was employed in c-d in lieu of Goldson who was recovering from injury. And Maenpaa made his league debut as Stockdale was crocked in the last contest. Expectation among supporters was high and fortress Amex anticipated another win under floodlights. 250 Millers fans also turned up amid a 25k crowd. We think they had John Smiths ale to keep them happy in a quiet south stand. * match report: It turned out to be a routine victory on the night, although Albion were slow off the blocks. But inside half an hour the home side were two up and the Amex waited for more goals to go in. Knockaert opened the scoring with a low drive (23min). Then Murray notched the second from a cross by Rosenior (26min). In the second period Ref blew up after Murray got flattened off the ball and Hemed converted the penalty (58min). Ten minutes later Hughton made a double swap with points safely in the bag. He said, 'they were two moments of real quality for the first two goals. The first was produced out of nothing and second a typical strikers goal.' He also said, 'anyone coming in and playing well should give me a decision to make. I thought the crowd were excellent. We had to be patient to break opposition down and wait for our moment.' All in all a good night's work and very similar to last term when Brighton fans enjoyed a good late summer from early August. Stats; h-t 2-0, goals 23, 26, 58, poss 63%-37%, on target 4-2, off target 9-5, corners 4-4, o/s 2-1, fouls 14-13, yellows 1-4, subs 2-2 . att 25,128. Maenpaa, Rosenior, Bruno, Dunk, Bong, Knockaert (LuaLua), Norwood, Stephens, Murphy, Hemed (Baldock), Murray. Champ's P3 . W2 D1 L0 . F6 A0 . Pt7 Po1 . W = 66.6% L = 0% Season5 (H) 15/9/15 - 2-1 ~ Hemed, Stephens. Following the Hull match, where touching pre-kickoff tributes were paid to victims of the Shoreham Airshow disaster, fans once more turned out in numbers (21k) at the Amex - for this midweek clash of top & bottom clubs. Brighton had made a sensational start to the season, considering those twelve months previously under Sami Hyypia, being unbeaten at head of the table. One positive factor was the signing of players on contract who committed futures to BHA - rather than relying on loans from other clubs. Also Chris Hughton had almost an injury-free full squad to select from at this stage. He was keen for a very good start to the campaign and that is exactly what had happened to date. * match report: Albion duly took three more points to extend their lead in the division to five points. But it certainly wasn't a cake walk, despite what stats revealed. Seagulls display began with the usual flourish acquired from high confidence and chances quickly came & went. A useful move forward set Murphy off down the left and his deep, low centre was booted into roof of the net by Hemed rushing forward (27min). After the break visitors appeared swamped by a blue tide but defences weren't breached again until well past the hour mark. Stephens slotted a fast breaker that skimmed off the surf, er, turf (67min). Hughton then put on Zamora but he was soon to become the lone front-man after Millers pulled one back from a header at a set piece (71min). Ince arrived to shore up rearguard while travellers pressed for an equaliser. Rosenior got a few moments play and Stockdale was booked for time wasting, as Seagulls ran down the clock and took maximum points from all four fixtures at the Amex so far. And it was all so very different from eleven months ago! Stats; poss 65-35, on target 8-1, off target 13-5, corners 7-3, fouls 13-10. Stockwell, Bruno, Greer, Huenemeier, Bong, March (Rosenior), Kayal, Stephens, Murphy, Baldock (Zamora), Hemed (Ince). Champ's P7 . W6 D1 L0 . F11 A5 . Pt19 Po1 . W = 85.7% L = 0% Season4 (H) 25/10/14 - 1-1 ~ Bennett. Before kick-off, Albion had not won a fixture for nine matches, in fact since defeating Bolton at the Amex during mid September. Sami Hyypia supposedly had full backing of chairman Tony Bloom and the board, as he sought a way of stopping the autumn rot. Merely six draws and consequently the same number of points, were gained through this two month period and the latest home reversal versus Middlesbro had further exposed deficiencies in BHA displays. Basically, Hyypia's method of play had not produced required goals from strikers, albeit some chances were created - but taken by defenders at set pieces! Brighton fans were generally being patient but felt enough time had elapsed for the newly assembled squad to at least hold a mid-berth slot in this tough division, rather than be flirting with the drop zone. Today would be telling of how Seagulls future would eventually pan out... 'must win' had never been more appropriate. Apparently, on a dry, mild afternoon, 24k turned up - but with many season-ticket holders absent, there were great gaps of spare blue seats on show. *** match report: You might say Stockdale was single handedly responsible for ensuring Seagulls remained unbeaten during a torrid afternoon for local fans. Another disappointing match swung from initial stalemate toward home advantage, then almost to away daylight robbery at the death. As usual Albion flattered to deceive from kick-off, dominating possession and building slowly from the back. But from what chances were actually created, habitually the ball would not go into the net. Suddenly, with Ref looking to blow for h-t, Albion got lucky when Bennett notched from a tight angle whilst demonstating attacking wingback skills (45+min). Immediately after turn-around, Millers equalised via ex-Seagull Alex Revell, in simple fashion, as BHA defence were mentally still in the dressing room (48min). The rest of this contest went back & forward, up & down, to & from, call it what you will, although in stoppage visitors coulda won it. Stockdale had kept them at bay and now had to tip over a sliced lob - from Greer!! Hyypia had sent on McCourt with twenty minutes remaining to try and open up a resolute rearguard, then Teixeira joined in too for the last ten minutes. All to no avail, despite crosses being sent over and several set pieces to boot. Brighton fans thought the team lacked will to win and Hyypia said, 'we need to be mentally tougher and more mature to play the whole 90 minutes. We need to bring in a few players to add quality.' Now he tells us!! Stockdale, Calderon, Greer, Dunk, Bennett, Gardner (McCourt), Ince, Forster-Caskey (Teixeira), Baldock, O'Grady, Colunga. Champ's P14 . W2 D7 L5 . F13 A16 . Pt13 Po21 . W = 14.2% L = 35.7% Seasons 1-3 (H) - not C'ship. * * * * * Withdean Era: 12 seasons from 1999 to 2011 - Season1 99/00 - League Two . Seasons 4 02/3, 6 04/5 - Championship . Season8 06/7 - League One. Withdean era: Albion V Millers 1-1, 2-0, 1-0, 0-0 . . . W = 2 D = 2 L = 0 memorable match: Season6 (H) - halfway thru a campaign grafting for every goal & point. see: Season 1-8 for squad background over several campaigns.
Rotherham - Away, Falmer Years: C'ship 14/15-16/17, seasons 4-6 . 17/18 onwards - Prem, no meetings. Season7 (1st) (A) onwards - not Premier League. United v Albion (A) from 11/12 @ C: - - - 1-0 2-0 0-2 . . W = 1 D = 0 L = 2 For Home Falmer Years results & reports scroll further up. memorable match: Season4 (A) - we went to their new stadium for a familiar C'ship experience. Season6 (A) Championship 7/3/17 - w 0-2 ~ Knockaert, March. Albion went to rock bottom Millers on a Tuesday night once more in mid season. Of the team that crashed to defeat here last winter, Ridgewell, Greer, Crofts, Zamora & Wilson were all history, while LuaLua was now out on loan. Main core of the side were still together and knocking up multiple apps this term too. Sidwell, Murray & Duffy had joined in summer to bolster the match-day squad looking for promotion again. Plus Chris Hughton had secured services off the bench of Tomori & Akpom on loan from Prem clubs. Unfortunately Duffy got crocked in the last fixture when BHA were beat 3-0 to boot! If ever Seagulls needed a win double quick it was now, as form on the road had taken bit of a dip recently. Hughton said, 'we have a tough away game and I have to pick a side that is going to get a result.' * match report: Albion duly produced the goods but it took a while and a couple of saves from Stockdale to turn stalemate into a winning position. After turnaround Seagulls awoke from visions of a goalless result with a fast start. Kayal & Baldock tested the keeper prior to Knockaert putting it away (49min). Hughton made changes with 15 minutes to go when March & Murray came on. And it was the young winger who made it safe on the night by smashing home a low drive (79min). BHA piled on the pressure and Towell had a great chance to bag another after he arrived with 5 minutes left. Huenemeier deputised for Duffy in only his second Championship game this term but did ok, as the rearguard kept an 18th clean sheet to date. Hughton said, 'the scoreline could have been greater but they were resilient and gave us a few frights early in the game. Once we got the first goal I fancied us to get more.' Brighton had a great result on this occasion when other top six teams dropped points. Hughton also said, 'we certainly have to win a good percentage of games to stay where we are.' Stats; h-t 0-0, goals 49,79, poss 39%-61%, on target 3-7, off target 5-15, corners 2-8, o/s 1-2, fouls 10-6, yellows 1-0, subs 3-3 . att 8,366. Stockdale, Bruno, Huenemeier, Dunk, Rosenior, Knockaert (March), Kayal, Stephens, Skalak, Hemed (Murray), Baldock (Towell). Champ's P36 . W22 D8 L6 . F60 A31 . Pt74 Po2 . W = 61.1% L = 16.6% Season5 (A) 12/1/16 - L 2-0. It was a Tuesday nite during early Jan and in some ways, start of Albion's second half of the season. December had been poor for return of points gained and that spilled over into New Year. Although Seagulls were unbeaten on the road, they'd just lost three in a row at the Amex over the festive period and got knocked out the FA Cup at Hull last Saturday. A few Brighton fans wondered if the wheels had now come off after the team set a club record for being undefeated in the league prior to Xmas. Chris Hughton had made additional signings in Ridgewell, Towell & Knockaert and also had Baldock & LuaLua returning from injury to boost the match-day squad. The result of this fixture would put down a marker for the kind of expectation as to how Albion might fare thru winter into spring. But it seemed a big ask at this stage to regain a once coveted automatic promotion spot. * match report: Albion crashed to a first defeat on travels in the league but continued the run of poor form. They had now gone nearly 10hrs without scoring and looked a shadow of the team that set the division alight in summer & autumn. The first half was dire for Seagulls, who fell behind at the psychological moment just prior to the break. Dunk slipped and his man took full advantage (45min). Hughton had elected to play 442 with new winger Knockaert making debut and Murphy on the other flank. But BHA were becoming more inept as an attacking force. Zamora replaced Wilson around the hour mark and things began to look up. Albion seemed likely to score but the impetus stalled before too long. Fit again LuaLua got on for Murphy in the last 20mins, although making little impact on his return from long-term injury. Then Greer pulled out with ten mins left and Crofts came on. Visitors went to 352 and attempted to equalise. With less than 5mins to go, Bruno made a bramah and Millers netted a second and won the contest (86min). Hughton said, 'you can go through periods of time when you get away with things but at the moment when we make a mistake we are getting punished.' Brighton fans thought they were seeing too many mistakes and not enough goals. After all, it's down to the whole team to defend and attack in order to influence the final score. Stats; poss 43%-57%, on target 8-2, off target 3-5, corners 3-7, o/s 0-4, fouls 10-11. Stockdale, Bruno, Greer (Crofts), Dunk, Ridgewell, Knockaert, Stephens, Kayal, Murphy (LuaLua), Wilson (Zamora), Hemed. Champ's P26 . W11 D11 L4 . F31 A27 . Pt44 Po6 . W = 42.3% L = 15.3 Season4 (A) 6/4/15 - L 1-0. On Easter Monday Albion went north to play Millers in their new stadium. They were struggling to stay in the Championship having been promoted the season beforehand and in different circumstances this fixture could have been thought of as a six pointer. Chris Hughton had previously steered Seagulls clear of the drop-zone and like United were a few points short of reaching 50 for the season and keeping a place for next campaign. A big problem on the road was lack of scoring goals, although BHA worked very hard to keep clean sheets. With the season ending soon, there was never a better time to find strikers hitting form and pushing the club into mid table. Nearly one thousand travelling fans attended in a crowd a tad shy of 10k on a nice afternoon. *** match report: Oooops, Albion once again failed to find the net and but for three constantly losing teams at foot of the table, would be in more trouble during the run-in. Our hosts scored after 8minutes when taking a basic chance but for all the huffing & puffing that Seagulls could muster, there was no equaliser. There was one shot on target, 4 off-target, 10 corners and almost 60% possession - however, zero goals scored. Another stat was that visitors had not now scored in open play when away from home in over 13 hours of football. The latest signing in Carayol made his debut on the right flank but swapped over with LuaLua for the second half. O'Grady was replaced by Best immediately after the interval, to try and improve the striking stats. Much later CMS and Tex took over on wings but it was all to no avail. Hughton said, 'we weren't good enough in the first half. In the second half we were a lot better and I felt we could get a result but our work in the final third has got to be more productive in terms of clearcut chances and goal opportunities.' So there you are, which ever way it was said, Albion were just not good enough today... and for most of this campaign if the truth is told. It certainly appeared a complete overhaul of the squad was necessary in the summer. Stockdale, Bruno, Halford, Dunk, Bennett, Kayal, Ince, Stephens, Carayol (Teixeira), O'Grady (Best), LuaLua (Mackail-Smith). Champ's P41 . W10 D15 L16 . F43 A48 . Pt45 Po18 . W = 24.3% L = 39% Seasons 1-3 (A) - not C'ship. * * * * * Withdean Era: 12 seasons from 1999 to 2011 - Season1 99/00 - League Two . Seasons 4 02/3, 6 04/5 - Championship . Season8 06/7 - League One. Withdean era: Millers V Albion 1-3, 1-0, 0-1, 0-1 . . . W = 3 D = 0 L = 1 memorable match: Season6 (A) - Seagulls were desperate for points with two games left this term. Noughties last there - 5/8/06 (A) League One. Millmoor (old venue) wasn't too bad a place for B'fans to go and meet at the railway end... four times and three divs during that decade. see: Season4 for stadium background.
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