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Previous encounters (Sunderland )
SUNDERLAND - Home (Amex), Falmer Years: seasons 15-16 = 2 Prem 25/26-26/27 . . 17/18-24/25 no Prem meetings . . . 11/12-16/17 -no C'ship meetings . . . '11 EFL Cup. FY - Albion v Black Cats record @ Amex from 11/12 . . Y16 P1 . W = 0 D = 1 L = 0 . W = 0% BHA v S'land Prem previous encounters home & away: Y10 P2 . W1 D1 L0 . W = 50% - see Sunderland in Clubs via Archive. S'land manager: Regis le Bris (1/7/2024) . experience: Prem rookie with talent for coaching youngsters. formed: 1879 . Stadium of Light 49k . . . nickname: Black Cats . . . shirt: red & white stripes. nostalgia: in 2027 it was 30 years since BHA survived as a Football League club. 2026 had been our 125th anniversary and coincided with 25 years since first promotion within the EFL at Withdean. Sunderland were a Prem club at turn of the century. We first met for fixtures in 2004. And last in 2026 - after a gap of 20yrs.. Cup tie played in '11. S'land Prem/EFL record from - 11/12: 13 17 14 16 17 20 P . . 17/18: 24 C, 5 7 4 5 L1, 6 16 4 C 7 x P @ 21/8/26. Prem: best = 7th '26 . worst = tba . . recent rel - '17 P, '18 C . p-os - '23 C, '19 '21 L1 . promo - '25 C, '22 L1. STATUS; lower-order Prem regulars this century until timeless fickle finger of footy fate pointed to lower league! But then after less than a decade... Prem - Albion V Black Cats (H) from 17/18: - < - 0-0 x-x . . Y10 P1 - W = 0 D = 1 L = 0 . F0 A0 . W = 0% scorers: 0 tba memorable match: season15 - goalless and we wondered how that beat the odds. results: best = 0-0 season15 . . worst = x-x seasonx note: for S'land away Falmer Years results & reports scroll further below. season16, 10th Premier League (H) Sat 8/5/27 - pre-match: well into the run-in we hosted this term's Europa League's challengers and previously had only once met Sunderland, for last Prem season, since 2017 - h&a w = 50%. This was our 35th fixture & 18th penultimate home game, played in early May '27. During our C'ship campaigns from 2011 we'd not entertained Cats - bar for an EFL Cup tie in Aug '11. And also met merely once throughout the Withdean era from 1999 - w = 100% memorable match: season6 - full scroll to bottom. Last term we drew here for an initial d sequence - see Prem (H) seasons below. Albion wanted to remain unbeaten for the second time; w0 d1 l0 w = 0%. Visitors PL away wins total was 0% for that 1yr period. Their current away form; w d l w = x%. The reverse fixture was during Oct '26 - see away scroll further below. At present BHA had xpts and were xth, while SFC had xpts and were xth. Sunderland previous Prem finish: 7 - top ten. Cats: Q1 w = x%, Q2 w = x%, Q3 w = x%, Q4 w = x%. EFLC/FAC in/out. Their boss Regis le Bris was tba. EL tba. News this week was... tba * report: stats: ht, goals, poss %-% on target, off target, corners, fouls, subs, shape team: subs: bench: squad: . injured: . rehab: weather: . MoM: Prem P35 . W D L . F A . W D L . F A . Pt Po = 1.xxpt/gm . W = % . L = % Black Cats: Quatr: Pl . W D L . . . F A GD . . Pt Po pt/gm . W% L% total: 3 qtr: hfwy: start: 00. 00 00 00 . 00 00 00 . 00 xx 1.xx . 00.0 00.0 - Regis le Bris @ 21/8/26 at start: W = % . odds: top ten ? sack RlB . aim: another European spot. Nov: xth, xpt behind xth at end of start Q1. EFLC in/out Jan: halfway Q2 Mar: three-quarters Q3. FAC in/out forecast: xpt . actual = xpt . Po was xth . actual Po = xth May: finish Q4 Eu Lg: EFL Cup: R2 FA Cup: R3 Season15, 9th Premier League (H) Sat 20/12/25 - 0-0 This was our ninth home game, coming on the weekend just prior to Xmas '25. We had not played here against Sunderland before in either the Prem or C'ship. In fact it was during opening weeks of the brand-spanking new Amex in August 2011 that we initially hosted them for an EFL Cup tie - see season1 report directly below. Since then fortunes had gone in opposite directions for both clubs. The reverse Prem fixture was in Mar '26 - see (A) scroll below. Black Cats finally returned to the Prem following their win in the '25 C'ship playoff final. Their start in the Prem Q1; w5 d4 l2 w = 50%. Now they had w7 d5 l4 w = 43.7%. Pre-season pundits considered opinion was S'land would finish 20th next May. They added 13 players for 152+m, plus an on loan to their squad in the summer window. Simon Adingra had joined them from BHA in July. Albion wanted to mark this inaugural Prem contest with a win Our opponents current away form; w2 d2 l4 w = 25%. At present BHA were 10th and S'land 8th. Now we had 23pt and they had 26pt. Our forecast was S'land would end with 61pts at current rate of progress - see yearly stats in scroll below. If so their boss Regis le Bris would have created memorable folklore on Teesside. Topical talking points: 1 - are Brighton a pukka top ten side? 2 - are Sunderland a club going to Europe? * report: one funny thing about Xmas period fixtures is that any sentimental attachment to merry festive anticipation & joy will be overcome by plain cold facts - win, lose or draw. Brighton fans already knew our ongoing record of zero wins under Hurzeler last term & now so far for this busy month of December required positive correction. Therefore to witness a goalless draw at the old community stadium today didn't exactly boost the mood for indulging in a pre-Xmas footy party at this juncture. Visitors gave a good account of themselves from early in the first half; set up to keep a clean sheet then attack with purpose when they had the ball. Meanwhile revamped hosts starting eleven appeared like a team of strangers actually getting used to one another - see team-sheet below. Indeed we were lucky to still be stalemated and not behind by the intermission. After halftime Hurzeler began to insert subs at further intervals and slowly began to regain some control in the game. Chances came & went and came again & went and came again... Three sides of a frustrated Amex began to stir into vocal support. More opportunities to score and break deadlock arrived as the clock ticked towards Xmas day. On the final whistle it was travelling support who were happier for taking a valuable point back to Teesside. Locals just wanted to get to a different place where food, drink & exciting entertainment was offered individually or collectively. We know each year nil-nil results happen at random. Just a yuletide pity it happened again here this weekend. stats: ht 0-0, goals 0, poss 56%-44% on target 4-6, off target 12-8, corners 3-4, fouls 11-15, yellows 2-2, subs 5-3, shape 4231-4231 weather: dry . MoM: ? team: 1 Verbruggen 27 Wieffer 42 Coppola 21 Boscagli 24 Kadioglu 26 Ayari 13 Hinshelwood 11 Minteh 8 Gruda 29 de Cuyper 10 Rutter (C) subs:46 - 34 Veltman (27), 64 - 22 Mitoma (29), 71 - 19 Kostoulas (11), 20 Milner (13), 87 - 14 Watson (8) bench: 23 Steele 49 Knight 54 Simmonds 58 Oriola squad: 17 Baleba (Afcon) 37 McGill (gk) . injured: 9 Tzimas 18 Welbeck . rehab: 4 Webster 7 March . ban: 5 Dunk 25 Gomez . ill: 6 van Hecke Prem P17 . W4 D4 L1 . F16 A11 . W2 D2 L4 . F9 A12 . Pt24 Po9 = 1.41pt/gm . W = 35.2% L = 29.4% Black Cats: Quatr: Pl . W D L . . . F A GD . . Pt Po pt/gm . W% L% total: 38 . 14 12 12 . 42 48 -06 . 54 07 = 1.42 . 36.8 31.5 Q4 3 qtr: 29 . 10 10 09 . 30 34 -04 . 40 11 = 1.37 . 34.4 31.0 Q3 hfwy: 19 . 07 08 04 . 20 18 02 . 29 07 = 1.52 . 36.8 21.0 Q2 start: 10 . 05 03 02 . 12 08 04 . 18 04 = 1.80 . 50.0 20.0 Q1 - R le Bris at start: w = 25.1% . odds - top half 18/1 . stay up 9-4 . rel 4-11 . sack RLB 7/1 . aim: to survive for next term. Nov: 4th, 1pt behind 2nd at end of start Q1. Out of EFL Cup. Jan: 7th, 1pt behind 6th at halfway Q2. Mar: 11th, 3pt behind 8th at 3/4 Q3. Out of FA Cup. run-in forecast: 52pt . actual = 54pt . Po was 11 . actual Po = 7 May: 7th, 3pt behind 6th at finish Q4. Qualified for Europa Lg. EFL Cup: Huddersfield 5pen6 1-1 (H) R2 FA Cup: Port Vale 1-0 (A) R5, Oxford 0-1 (A) R4, Everton 0pen3 1-1 (A) R3 Falmer Season7 (1st Prem) (H) onwards - S'land not Premier League. note: since Y2k Sunderland were a Prem club during the noughties onwards - see Sunderland in Clubs scroll via Archive. Sunderland away; Prem. Seasn . W D L . F A GD . . Pt Po pt/gm %Pt . W% L% 26/27 - 25/26 - 05 6 8 . 17 28 -11 . 21 09 = 1.10 38.8 . 26.3 42.1 - Regis le Bris @ 25/5/26 17/18-24/25 - not Premier League Prem: SUNDERLAND were initially part of the elite league (started in 1992) for 96/97. They were Prem regulars during the noughties & teens prior to BHA entering in 2017. We first met for PL fixtures in 2025. Sunderland - Previous Prem Prem points: - < - 54 previous coach: tba. Seasn . W D L . . . F A GD . . Pt Po pt/gm . W% L% 26/27 - 25/26 - 14 12 12 . 42 48 -06 . 54 07 = 1.42 . 36.8 31.5 - Regis le Bris @ 25/5/26 Made a bold bid for top ten and gained a place in Europe with a win on the last day. 17/18-24/25 - not Premier League knockouts: FA Cup tba . EFL Cup tba * * * * . Sunderland Falmer Years Home . . . '11 EFL Cup S'land Prem record from 11/12: 13 17 14 16 17 20 P S'land Falmer season2 (H) onwards - S'land not Championship. Falmer Season1 23/8/11 (H) League Cup round2 - 1-0 aet ~ Mackail-Smith. Brighton had drawn a Premiership side at the Amex a couple of weeks after hosting Gillingham in LCr1 there for the very first evening match. Seventeen thousand attended on an average August night weatherwise following a day of rain. This was our fourth home game in a month since start of the season and Albion were also unbeaten H&A in kicking off a Championship campaign. It was two competitive matches a week and our feet hadn't touched bottom yet, in a whirlwind opening to life at higher level in a super stadium of near sell outs. Gus Poyet gave Ryan Harley a debut but only tinkered with midfield by selecting Navarro. ** match report: Albion started smartly, although the Prem outfit were content to hold off early doors. They soon bossed most of the first half, with BHA defending and relying on breaks up-field from Noone. Vincelot replaced Greer at beginning of the second period but he was later injured and Taricco came on - Calderon going to c-d (76min). Harley got cramp and LuaLua took to the field with Albion now going for broke (88m). Visitors had become less of a threat, while Seagulls were flying with Noone, Barnes and CM-S getting chances to scare Black Cats rigid. CM-S hit a post and the ball went right across the goalmouth and out of play. In extra time, CM-S notched the winner from a cross by Navarro. Sunderland finished with four strikers looking to equalise but they had come a very long way to get nowt. Brighton fans were in seventh heaven, having witnessed a thoroughly deserved victory from a pulsating cup tie. Ankergren, Calderon, Greer (Vincelot, Taricco), Dunk, Painter, Noone, Bridcutt, Navarro, Harley (LuaLua), Barnes, Mackail-Smith. Sunderland Falmer Years season1 (H) - S'land not C'ship. * * * * * Sunderland Withdean era (H): Season6 04/5 - C'ship. Withdean era H&A: BHA v S'land . P2 . W1 D0 L1 . W = 50% C'ship (H): Albion V Black Cats - 2-1 . . . Y6 P1 . W = 1 D = 0 L = 0 . W = 100% memorable match: Season6 (H) - at the time of the Alive & Kicking fund, when the big north-east outfit came to town. results: best = 2-1 season6 . . worst = ? season n/a see: Season6 for club & stadium info. Also Mark McGhee & Dick Knight. S'LAND Prem/EFL from 99/00: 7 7 17 20 P, 3 1 C, 20 P, 1 C, 15 16 / 13 10 P
SUNDERLAND - away, Falmer Years: seasons 15-16 = 2 Prem 25/26-26/27 . . no Prem fixtures to 2025 . . . no EFL meetings in seasons between 2011 to 2017. Stadium of Light . 49k . no visits from 2011-2025. FY - Albion record @ Black Cats from 11/12 . . Y16 P1 . W = 1 D = 0 L = 0 . W = 100% Prem - Black Cats V Albion (A) from 17/18: - < - 0-1 x-x . . Y10 P1 - W = 1 D = 0 L = 0 . F1 A0 . W = 100% scorers: Minteh memorable match: season15 - unfamiliar territory but one ball with 11 v 11. results: best = 0-1 season15 . . worst = x-x seasonx note: for S'land home Falmer Years results & reports scroll further up. season16, 10th Premier League (A) Sat 10/10/26 - pre-match: we visited this term's Europa League challengers at the Stadium of Light and previously had only once met Sunderland, last Prem season, since 2017 - h&a w = 50%. In our 125th year this was the 6th fixture & 3rd away game, played during mid Oct '26, following a Prem pause for Nations League games. For C'ship contests Albion had never been entertained by Black Cats in the six seasons from 2011. But we did undertake that very long journey up to Wearside once during the Withdean era since 1999 - w = 0% memorable match: season6 - see full scroll below. Last term we won here for an initial w sequence - see Prem (A) season immediately below. Albion hoped to win for a second time running; w1 d0 l0 w = 100%. Hosts PL home wins total was 0% for that 1yr period. Their current home form; w d l w = x%. The reverse fixture was during early May '27 - see home scroll further above. At present BHA had xpts and were xth, while SFC had xpts and were xth. Sunderland previous Prem finish: 7 - top ten. Cats: Q1 w = x%. SFC pre-season friendlies: York 1-5 (A), L'pool 2-4 (Nashville), Leeds 0-1 (N Jersey), Wrexham 1-0 (P'vannia), Lens (A), Rennes (H). EFLC in/out. Their boss Regis le Bris was tba. EL tba. News this week was... tba * report: stats: ht, goals, poss %-% on target, off target, corners, fouls, subs, shape team: subs: bench: squad: . injured: . rehab: weather: . MoM: Prem P6 . W0 D0 L0 . F A . W0 D0 L0 . F A . Pt Po = 1.xxpt/gm . W = % . L = % Season15, 9th Premier League (A) Sat 14/3/26 - 0-1 ~ Minteh This was our 15th away game, coming in mid Mar '26 to begin the run-in. We had not played here against Sunderland in the Prem or C'ship during the Falmer Years. Our previous single visit was way back in '04 - see via Withdean Era tab. Albion wanted to get a first win at the Wearside outfit. Their current home form; w7 d5 l2 w = 50.0%. The reverse fixture was during Dec '25 - see home scroll above. At present BHA had 37pt and S'land 40pt. At halfway we were 14th and they were 7th. At the three-quarters stage we were 14th and they were 11th. Black Cats start Q1 w5 d3 l2 w = 50%. Halfway w7 d8 l4 w = 36.8%. Their record to date w10 d10 l9 w = 34.4%. Our forecast was S'land would end with 52pts at current rate of progress - see yearly stats in scroll above. Their boss Regis le Bris was now tasked with a top ten finish. In the FA Cup Cats got beat by Port Vale 1-0 (A) R5. Topical talking points: 1 - could Albion bounce back to top ten during the run-in? 2 - how deep did Tony Bloom & Co need to reach into pockets for next transfer window? * report: recent winter gloom was lifted for good as Brighton fans enjoyed a sunny visit to this distant northeast venue. Mid-season form had been disappointing to say very least and we couldn't seem to buy a win anyhow thru until late Feb. Now at start of the run-in Albion won here, thereby gaining our third victory in the last four contests. From kickoff both sides wanted to play attacking football, although from different set-ups. We pressed and pushed forwards, while hosts tried to hit us on the break, How it remained goalless before halftime is any-ones guess to venture. From turnaround locals soon had the ball in the net but VAR checks concluded offside occurred in build up. Then around the hour mark at an Albion corner Minteh somehow drove in the winner from close to the goal-line (58mins). The place fell silent bar cheering etc from Seagulls travelling support up in high tiers. Hurzeler held off from making changes too soon or falling back to sit on that single goal lead. Dunk cleared off the line as Cats showed some claws but otherwise we stayed strong against all threats. Albion kept a clean sheet, so went home happy to have got three points from a long tough day. Brighton fans felt things might be looking up once more and perhaps collective potential this squad had shown prior to November could be replicated - at least to secure a top ten spot. stats: ht 0-0, goal 58, poss 47%-53% on target 4-4, off target 10-8, corners 7-3, fouls 7-12, yellows 1-2, subs 3-4, shape 4141-4231 weather: cold . MoM: Minteh - stepped up team: 1 Verbruggen 27 Wieffer 6 van Hecke 5 Dunk 24 Kadioglu 25 Gomez 20 Milner 30 Gross 11 Minteh 13 Hinshelwood 18 Welbeck subs: 76 - 29 de Cuyper (11), 88 - 26 Ayari (13), 94 - 33 O'Riley (18), 34 Veltman (25) bench: 23 Steele 7 March 10 Rutter 21 Boscagli 53 Howell squad: 3 Julio 17 Baleba 19 Kostoulas 22 Mitoma 38 McGill (gk) . injured: 0 . rehab: 4 Webster 9 Tzimas 28 Ferguson . ool: 8 Gruda 14 Watson 42 Coppola Prem P30 . W6 D6 L3 . F22 A16 . W4 D4 L7 . F17 A20 . Pt40 Po10 = 1.33pt/gm . W = 33.3% L = 33.3% Sunderland home; Prem. Seasn . W D L . F A GD . . Pt Po pt/gm %Pt . W% L% 26/27 - 25/26 - 09 6 4 . 25 20 05 33 07 = 1.73 61.1 . 47.3 21.0 - Regis le Bris @ 25/5/26 17/18-24/25 - not Premier League S'land Falmer Years season7 (A) onwards - S'land not Premier League. S'land Falmer Years season1 (A) onwards - S'land not C'ship. Stadium of Light note: since Y2k Sunderland were a Prem club during the noughties onwards - see Clubs scroll in Archive. * * * * * Sunderland Withdean Era (A) 1999 to 2011 - see Clubs scroll in Archive: Season6 04/5 - Championship. Stadium of Light Withdean era C'ship (A): Black Cats V Albion - 2-0 . . . Y6 P1 . W = 0 D = 0 L = 1 . W = 0% memorable match: Season6 (A) - finding out for real about what we'd only read beforehand. results: best = ? season n/a . . worst = 2-0 season6 Noughties last there - 30/10/04 C'ship. Our only visit to the Stadium of Light during that extra long decade, with an extra long return mileage to boot. see: Season6 for club & stadium info. Also Mark McGhee.
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Previous encounters (Sunderland )
SUNDERLAND - Home (Amex), Falmer Years: seasons 15-16 = 2 Prem 25/26-26/27 . . 17/18-24/25 no Prem meetings . . . 11/12-16/17 -no C'ship meetings . . . '11 EFL Cup. FY - Albion v Black Cats record @ Amex from 11/12 . . Y16 P1 . W = 0 D = 1 L = 0 . W = 0% BHA v S'land Prem previous encounters home & away: Y10 P2 . W1 D1 L0 . W = 50% - see Sunderland in Clubs via Archive. S'land manager: Regis le Bris (1/7/2024) . experience: Prem rookie with talent for coaching youngsters. formed: 1879 . Stadium of Light 49k . . . nickname: Black Cats . . . shirt: red & white stripes. nostalgia: in 2027 it was 30 years since BHA survived as a Football League club. 2026 had been our 125th anniversary and coincided with 25 years since first promotion within the EFL at Withdean. Sunderland were a Prem club at turn of the century. We first met for fixtures in 2004. And last in 2026 - after a gap of 20yrs.. Cup tie played in '11. S'land Prem/EFL record from - 11/12: 13 17 14 16 17 20 P . . 17/18: 24 C, 5 7 4 5 L1, 6 16 4 C 7 x P @ 21/8/26. Prem: best = 7th '26 . worst = tba . . recent rel - '17 P, '18 C . p-os - '23 C, '19 '21 L1 . promo - '25 C, '22 L1. STATUS; lower-order Prem regulars this century until timeless fickle finger of footy fate pointed to lower league! But then after less than a decade... Prem - Albion V Black Cats (H) from 17/18: - < - 0-0 x-x . . Y10 P1 - W = 0 D = 1 L = 0 . F0 A0 . W = 0% scorers: 0 tba memorable match: season15 - goalless and we wondered how that beat the odds. results: best = 0-0 season15 . . worst = x-x seasonx note: for S'land away Falmer Years results & reports scroll further below. season16, 10th Premier League (H) Sat 8/5/27 - pre-match: well into the run-in we hosted this term's Europa League's challengers and previously had only once met Sunderland, for last Prem season, since 2017 - h&a w = 50%. This was our 35th fixture & 18th penultimate home game, played in early May '27. During our C'ship campaigns from 2011 we'd not entertained Cats - bar for an EFL Cup tie in Aug '11. And also met merely once throughout the Withdean era from 1999 - w = 100% memorable match: season6 - full scroll to bottom. Last term we drew here for an initial d sequence - see Prem (H) seasons below. Albion wanted to remain unbeaten for the second time; w0 d1 l0 w = 0%. Visitors PL away wins total was 0% for that 1yr period. Their current away form; w d l w = x%. The reverse fixture was during Oct '26 - see away scroll further below. At present BHA had xpts and were xth, while SFC had xpts and were xth. Sunderland previous Prem finish: 7 - top ten. Cats: Q1 w = x%, Q2 w = x%, Q3 w = x%, Q4 w = x%. EFLC/FAC in/out. Their boss Regis le Bris was tba. EL tba. News this week was... tba * report: stats: ht, goals, poss %-% on target, off target, corners, fouls, subs, shape team: subs: bench: squad: . injured: . rehab: weather: . MoM: Prem P35 . W D L . F A . W D L . F A . Pt Po = 1.xxpt/gm . W = % . L = % Black Cats: Quatr: Pl . W D L . . . F A GD . . Pt Po pt/gm . W% L% total: 3 qtr: hfwy: start: 00. 00 00 00 . 00 00 00 . 00 xx 1.xx . 00.0 00.0 - Regis le Bris @ 21/8/26 at start: W = % . odds: top ten ? sack RlB . aim: another European spot. Nov: xth, xpt behind xth at end of start Q1. EFLC in/out Jan: halfway Q2 Mar: three-quarters Q3. FAC in/out forecast: xpt . actual = xpt . Po was xth . actual Po = xth May: finish Q4 Eu Lg: EFL Cup: R2 FA Cup: R3 Season15, 9th Premier League (H) Sat 20/12/25 - 0-0 This was our ninth home game, coming on the weekend just prior to Xmas '25. We had not played here against Sunderland before in either the Prem or C'ship. In fact it was during opening weeks of the brand-spanking new Amex in August 2011 that we initially hosted them for an EFL Cup tie - see season1 report directly below. Since then fortunes had gone in opposite directions for both clubs. The reverse Prem fixture was in Mar '26 - see (A) scroll below. Black Cats finally returned to the Prem following their win in the '25 C'ship playoff final. Their start in the Prem Q1; w5 d4 l2 w = 50%. Now they had w7 d5 l4 w = 43.7%. Pre-season pundits considered opinion was S'land would finish 20th next May. They added 13 players for 152+m, plus an on loan to their squad in the summer window. Simon Adingra had joined them from BHA in July. Albion wanted to mark this inaugural Prem contest with a win Our opponents current away form; w2 d2 l4 w = 25%. At present BHA were 10th and S'land 8th. Now we had 23pt and they had 26pt. Our forecast was S'land would end with 61pts at current rate of progress - see yearly stats in scroll below. If so their boss Regis le Bris would have created memorable folklore on Teesside. Topical talking points: 1 - are Brighton a pukka top ten side? 2 - are Sunderland a club going to Europe? * report: one funny thing about Xmas period fixtures is that any sentimental attachment to merry festive anticipation & joy will be overcome by plain cold facts - win, lose or draw. Brighton fans already knew our ongoing record of zero wins under Hurzeler last term & now so far for this busy month of December required positive correction. Therefore to witness a goalless draw at the old community stadium today didn't exactly boost the mood for indulging in a pre-Xmas footy party at this juncture. Visitors gave a good account of themselves from early in the first half; set up to keep a clean sheet then attack with purpose when they had the ball. Meanwhile revamped hosts starting eleven appeared like a team of strangers actually getting used to one another - see team-sheet below. Indeed we were lucky to still be stalemated and not behind by the intermission. After halftime Hurzeler began to insert subs at further intervals and slowly began to regain some control in the game. Chances came & went and came again & went and came again... Three sides of a frustrated Amex began to stir into vocal support. More opportunities to score and break deadlock arrived as the clock ticked towards Xmas day. On the final whistle it was travelling support who were happier for taking a valuable point back to Teesside. Locals just wanted to get to a different place where food, drink & exciting entertainment was offered individually or collectively. We know each year nil-nil results happen at random. Just a yuletide pity it happened again here this weekend. stats: ht 0-0, goals 0, poss 56%-44% on target 4-6, off target 12-8, corners 3-4, fouls 11-15, yellows 2-2, subs 5-3, shape 4231-4231 weather: dry . MoM: ? team: 1 Verbruggen 27 Wieffer 42 Coppola 21 Boscagli 24 Kadioglu 26 Ayari 13 Hinshelwood 11 Minteh 8 Gruda 29 de Cuyper 10 Rutter (C) subs:46 - 34 Veltman (27), 64 - 22 Mitoma (29), 71 - 19 Kostoulas (11), 20 Milner (13), 87 - 14 Watson (8) bench: 23 Steele 49 Knight 54 Simmonds 58 Oriola squad: 17 Baleba (Afcon) 37 McGill (gk) . injured: 9 Tzimas 18 Welbeck . rehab: 4 Webster 7 March . ban: 5 Dunk 25 Gomez . ill: 6 van Hecke Prem P17 . W4 D4 L1 . F16 A11 . W2 D2 L4 . F9 A12 . Pt24 Po9 = 1.41pt/gm . W = 35.2% L = 29.4% Black Cats: Quatr: Pl . W D L . . . F A GD . . Pt Po pt/gm . W% L% total: 38 . 14 12 12 . 42 48 -06 . 54 07 = 1.42 . 36.8 31.5 Q4 3 qtr: 29 . 10 10 09 . 30 34 -04 . 40 11 = 1.37 . 34.4 31.0 Q3 hfwy: 19 . 07 08 04 . 20 18 02 . 29 07 = 1.52 . 36.8 21.0 Q2 start: 10 . 05 03 02 . 12 08 04 . 18 04 = 1.80 . 50.0 20.0 Q1 - R le Bris at start: w = 25.1% . odds - top half 18/1 . stay up 9-4 . rel 4-11 . sack RLB 7/1 . aim: to survive for next term. Nov: 4th, 1pt behind 2nd at end of start Q1. Out of EFL Cup. Jan: 7th, 1pt behind 6th at halfway Q2. Mar: 11th, 3pt behind 8th at 3/4 Q3. Out of FA Cup. run-in forecast: 52pt . actual = 54pt . Po was 11 . actual Po = 7 May: 7th, 3pt behind 6th at finish Q4. Qualified for Europa Lg. EFL Cup: Huddersfield 5pen6 1-1 (H) R2 FA Cup: Port Vale 1-0 (A) R5, Oxford 0-1 (A) R4, Everton 0pen3 1-1 (A) R3 Falmer Season7 (1st Prem) (H) onwards - S'land not Premier League. note: since Y2k Sunderland were a Prem club during the noughties onwards - see Sunderland in Clubs scroll via Archive. Sunderland away; Prem. Seasn . W D L . F A GD . . Pt Po pt/gm %Pt . W% L% 26/27 - 25/26 - 05 6 8 . 17 28 -11 . 21 09 = 1.10 38.8 . 26.3 42.1 - Regis le Bris @ 25/5/26 17/18-24/25 - not Premier League Prem: SUNDERLAND were initially part of the elite league (started in 1992) for 96/97. They were Prem regulars during the noughties & teens prior to BHA entering in 2017. We first met for PL fixtures in 2025. Sunderland - Previous Prem Prem points: - < - 54 previous coach: tba. Seasn . W D L . . . F A GD . . Pt Po pt/gm . W% L% 26/27 - 25/26 - 14 12 12 . 42 48 -06 . 54 07 = 1.42 . 36.8 31.5 - Regis le Bris @ 25/5/26 Made a bold bid for top ten and gained a place in Europe with a win on the last day. 17/18-24/25 - not Premier League knockouts: FA Cup tba . EFL Cup tba * * * * . Sunderland Falmer Years Home . . . '11 EFL Cup S'land Prem record from 11/12: 13 17 14 16 17 20 P S'land Falmer season2 (H) onwards - S'land not Championship. Falmer Season1 23/8/11 (H) League Cup round2 - 1-0 aet ~ Mackail-Smith. Brighton had drawn a Premiership side at the Amex a couple of weeks after hosting Gillingham in LCr1 there for the very first evening match. Seventeen thousand attended on an average August night weatherwise following a day of rain. This was our fourth home game in a month since start of the season and Albion were also unbeaten H&A in kicking off a Championship campaign. It was two competitive matches a week and our feet hadn't touched bottom yet, in a whirlwind opening to life at higher level in a super stadium of near sell outs. Gus Poyet gave Ryan Harley a debut but only tinkered with midfield by selecting Navarro. ** match report: Albion started smartly, although the Prem outfit were content to hold off early doors. They soon bossed most of the first half, with BHA defending and relying on breaks up-field from Noone. Vincelot replaced Greer at beginning of the second period but he was later injured and Taricco came on - Calderon going to c-d (76min). Harley got cramp and LuaLua took to the field with Albion now going for broke (88m). Visitors had become less of a threat, while Seagulls were flying with Noone, Barnes and CM-S getting chances to scare Black Cats rigid. CM-S hit a post and the ball went right across the goalmouth and out of play. In extra time, CM-S notched the winner from a cross by Navarro. Sunderland finished with four strikers looking to equalise but they had come a very long way to get nowt. Brighton fans were in seventh heaven, having witnessed a thoroughly deserved victory from a pulsating cup tie. Ankergren, Calderon, Greer (Vincelot, Taricco), Dunk, Painter, Noone, Bridcutt, Navarro, Harley (LuaLua), Barnes, Mackail-Smith. Sunderland Falmer Years season1 (H) - S'land not C'ship. * * * * * Sunderland Withdean era (H): Season6 04/5 - C'ship. Withdean era H&A: BHA v S'land . P2 . W1 D0 L1 . W = 50% C'ship (H): Albion V Black Cats - 2-1 . . . Y6 P1 . W = 1 D = 0 L = 0 . W = 100% memorable match: Season6 (H) - at the time of the Alive & Kicking fund, when the big north-east outfit came to town. results: best = 2-1 season6 . . worst = ? season n/a see: Season6 for club & stadium info. Also Mark McGhee & Dick Knight. S'LAND Prem/EFL from 99/00: 7 7 17 20 P, 3 1 C, 20 P, 1 C, 15 16 / 13 10 P
SUNDERLAND - away, Falmer Years: seasons 15-16 = 2 Prem 25/26-26/27 . . no Prem fixtures to 2025 . . . no EFL meetings in seasons between 2011 to 2017. Stadium of Light . 49k . no visits from 2011-2025. FY - Albion record @ Black Cats from 11/12 . . Y16 P1 . W = 1 D = 0 L = 0 . W = 100% Prem - Black Cats V Albion (A) from 17/18: - < - 0-1 x-x . . Y10 P1 - W = 1 D = 0 L = 0 . F1 A0 . W = 100% scorers: Minteh memorable match: season15 - unfamiliar territory but one ball with 11 v 11. results: best = 0-1 season15 . . worst = x-x seasonx note: for S'land home Falmer Years results & reports scroll further up. season16, 10th Premier League (A) Sat 10/10/26 - pre-match: we visited this term's Europa League challengers at the Stadium of Light and previously had only once met Sunderland, last Prem season, since 2017 - h&a w = 50%. In our 125th year this was the 6th fixture & 3rd away game, played during mid Oct '26, following a Prem pause for Nations League games. For C'ship contests Albion had never been entertained by Black Cats in the six seasons from 2011. But we did undertake that very long journey up to Wearside once during the Withdean era since 1999 - w = 0% memorable match: season6 - see full scroll below. Last term we won here for an initial w sequence - see Prem (A) season immediately below. Albion hoped to win for a second time running; w1 d0 l0 w = 100%. Hosts PL home wins total was 0% for that 1yr period. Their current home form; w d l w = x%. The reverse fixture was during early May '27 - see home scroll further above. At present BHA had xpts and were xth, while SFC had xpts and were xth. Sunderland previous Prem finish: 7 - top ten. Cats: Q1 w = x%. SFC pre-season friendlies: York 1-5 (A), L'pool 2-4 (Nashville), Leeds 0-1 (N Jersey), Wrexham 1-0 (P'vannia), Lens (A), Rennes (H). EFLC in/out. Their boss Regis le Bris was tba. EL tba. News this week was... tba * report: stats: ht, goals, poss %-% on target, off target, corners, fouls, subs, shape team: subs: bench: squad: . injured: . rehab: weather: . MoM: Prem P6 . W0 D0 L0 . F A . W0 D0 L0 . F A . Pt Po = 1.xxpt/gm . W = % . L = % Season15, 9th Premier League (A) Sat 14/3/26 - 0-1 ~ Minteh This was our 15th away game, coming in mid Mar '26 to begin the run-in. We had not played here against Sunderland in the Prem or C'ship during the Falmer Years. Our previous single visit was way back in '04 - see via Withdean Era tab. Albion wanted to get a first win at the Wearside outfit. Their current home form; w7 d5 l2 w = 50.0%. The reverse fixture was during Dec '25 - see home scroll above. At present BHA had 37pt and S'land 40pt. At halfway we were 14th and they were 7th. At the three-quarters stage we were 14th and they were 11th. Black Cats start Q1 w5 d3 l2 w = 50%. Halfway w7 d8 l4 w = 36.8%. Their record to date w10 d10 l9 w = 34.4%. Our forecast was S'land would end with 52pts at current rate of progress - see yearly stats in scroll above. Their boss Regis le Bris was now tasked with a top ten finish. In the FA Cup Cats got beat by Port Vale 1-0 (A) R5. Topical talking points: 1 - could Albion bounce back to top ten during the run-in? 2 - how deep did Tony Bloom & Co need to reach into pockets for next transfer window? * report: recent winter gloom was lifted for good as Brighton fans enjoyed a sunny visit to this distant northeast venue. Mid-season form had been disappointing to say very least and we couldn't seem to buy a win anyhow thru until late Feb. Now at start of the run-in Albion won here, thereby gaining our third victory in the last four contests. From kickoff both sides wanted to play attacking football, although from different set-ups. We pressed and pushed forwards, while hosts tried to hit us on the break, How it remained goalless before halftime is any-ones guess to venture. From turnaround locals soon had the ball in the net but VAR checks concluded offside occurred in build up. Then around the hour mark at an Albion corner Minteh somehow drove in the winner from close to the goal-line (58mins). The place fell silent bar cheering etc from Seagulls travelling support up in high tiers. Hurzeler held off from making changes too soon or falling back to sit on that single goal lead. Dunk cleared off the line as Cats showed some claws but otherwise we stayed strong against all threats. Albion kept a clean sheet, so went home happy to have got three points from a long tough day. Brighton fans felt things might be looking up once more and perhaps collective potential this squad had shown prior to November could be replicated - at least to secure a top ten spot. stats: ht 0-0, goal 58, poss 47%-53% on target 4-4, off target 10-8, corners 7-3, fouls 7-12, yellows 1-2, subs 3-4, shape 4141-4231 weather: cold . MoM: Minteh - stepped up team: 1 Verbruggen 27 Wieffer 6 van Hecke 5 Dunk 24 Kadioglu 25 Gomez 20 Milner 30 Gross 11 Minteh 13 Hinshelwood 18 Welbeck subs: 76 - 29 de Cuyper (11), 88 - 26 Ayari (13), 94 - 33 O'Riley (18), 34 Veltman (25) bench: 23 Steele 7 March 10 Rutter 21 Boscagli 53 Howell squad: 3 Julio 17 Baleba 19 Kostoulas 22 Mitoma 38 McGill (gk) . injured: 0 . rehab: 4 Webster 9 Tzimas 28 Ferguson . ool: 8 Gruda 14 Watson 42 Coppola Prem P30 . W6 D6 L3 . F22 A16 . W4 D4 L7 . F17 A20 . Pt40 Po10 = 1.33pt/gm . W = 33.3% L = 33.3% Sunderland home; Prem. Seasn . W D L . F A GD . . Pt Po pt/gm %Pt . W% L% 26/27 - 25/26 - 09 6 4 . 25 20 05 33 07 = 1.73 61.1 . 47.3 21.0 - Regis le Bris @ 25/5/26 17/18-24/25 - not Premier League S'land Falmer Years season7 (A) onwards - S'land not Premier League. S'land Falmer Years season1 (A) onwards - S'land not C'ship. Stadium of Light note: since Y2k Sunderland were a Prem club during the noughties onwards - see Clubs scroll in Archive. * * * * * Sunderland Withdean Era (A) 1999 to 2011 - see Clubs scroll in Archive: Season6 04/5 - Championship. Stadium of Light Withdean era C'ship (A): Black Cats V Albion - 2-0 . . . Y6 P1 . W = 0 D = 0 L = 1 . W = 0% memorable match: Season6 (A) - finding out for real about what we'd only read beforehand. results: best = ? season n/a . . worst = 2-0 season6 Noughties last there - 30/10/04 C'ship. Our only visit to the Stadium of Light during that extra long decade, with an extra long return mileage to boot. see: Season6 for club & stadium info. Also Mark McGhee.
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