Post Match report for the West Ham game - Sunday, 22nd May 2022

PREMIER LEAGUE 21/22: Brighton V West Ham - 22/5/22 P38.


* * * * * ALBION END ON A HIGH * * * * *


RESULT: 3-1 ~ Veltman, Gross, Welbeck . (h-t 0-1) . . . . . SHAPE: fluid 4231 then 352.


VENUE: the Amex, Falmer - nineteenth home match of 38 fixtures to date . Sun 4:00pm.
PRE-MATCH: fans assembled at the community stadium hoping corresponding Prem results would leave us in the top ten when the season was completed by 5pm.
If not we had still finished higher than previously, which amounted to success.
WEATHER: sunny & warm . . . GATE: 31,604 . . ATMOSPHERE: went from average to climactic.

GRAHAM POTTER was asked about pitch invasions and said we have to have a serious think about how it got managed at this time.
He acknowledged both sides of the argument and that it was a big question for football to answer.
GP also diplomatically applied thinking to the team-sheet and the obvious absentee was 11 Trossard.
INJURED: 15 Moder, 60 Sarmiento . . . SQUAD: 28 Roberts, 42 Leonard.


TEAM . . . . . . . . . .1 Sanchez
. 34 Veltman 4 Webster 5 Dunk 3 Cucurella
. . . . . . 20 March 8 Bissouma 25 Caicedo
. 13 Gross . . . . . 18 Welbeck . . . . .10 Mac Allister

SUBS: 9 Maupay (45), 2 Lamptey (75), 12 Mwepu (79).
BENCH: 23 Steele, 14 Lallana, 17 Alzate, 24 Duffy, 57 Offiah, 58 Ferguson.


GOALS: 0-1 - 40 . defenders appeared impeded at a cross that fell to opposition feet and he hammered it on target.
1-1 - 50 . VELTMAN stuck a low drive from a ball coming out of the area via March that the keeper could not keep out.
2-1 - 80 . GROSS turned in the area and blasted a shot upwards following useful work by Welbeck in forward play.
3-1 - 92 . WELBECK got on the score-sheet at the death with a header from an assist by Gross. Both players were superb.


NOTED: some rather pedestrian passing, plus attempts to walk the ball in, from locals during opening phases.
Efficient and determined defending from hosts that blunted away attacks from a side well able to score goals.

YELLOWS: 83 Maupay - combative.

CHANGES: 45 Maupay for Bissouma . 75 Lamptey for March . 79 Mwepu for Caicedo.


FIRST HALF: an end of season chess match seemed to be set for stalemate at the interval but fickle finger of fate intervened.
Everything was cagey and at three-quarters pace, waiting for a mistake or rub of the green under a warm sun.
SECOND HALF: Potter put on Maupay from turnaround and reshaped with two strikers up front.
It was then a match of forty-five minutes once Seagulls equalised and the tempo improved considerably from back to front.
A goal spree erupted as visitors struggled to stay in the game after an intense and long campaign at home & abroad.
At end of the day it was a fair example of Prem standard and both teams had players of real quality on show.


NUMBERS: poss 50%-50%, on target 7-2, off target 11-5, corners 5-6,
fouls 9-9, yellows 1-1, subs 3-3, shape 4231-4231 . . . . . . gd-2 pt51 po9

FS


BROWSING: via Stats page tabs -
all History & Travel, E-talk, Squad, Archive - players apps/goals, plus updated Clubs records.

it is 25 years since Albion survived as a Football League club.
go to our Archive for Dick Knight, Martin Perry, Gory Years and Goldstone/Withdean managers.
also Falmer File & Diary for further reading.