Post Match report for the Tottenham game - Saturday, 8th October 2022
PREMIER LEAGUE 22/23: Brighton V Tottenham - 8/10/22 P8.
* * * * * SOUTH-COAST BUBBLE POPPED BY A SPUR * * * * *
RESULT: 0-1 . (h-t 0-1)
VENUE: the Amex, Falmer - fourth home match of 8 fixtures to date . Sat 5:30pm.
BEFORE KICKOFF: Brighton fans arrived for this teatime kickoff by all manner of transportation bar railways on the Lewes line.
Anticipation following a prolonged pause since our last domestic engagement was for a heartfelt, welcome-to-the-Albion gathering for BHAs new head coach.
On a sunny early evening in semi-rural Sussex, multiple pints were supped, fast finger-foods gorged and a merry time was had while the party got started.
WEATHER: mild at dusk . . . GATE: 31,498 . . . PITCH: super surface.
ROBERTO de ZERBI looked at the whole squad yet again, in order to provide a team-sheet for meeting his strategic and the clubs pragmatic needs at this juncture.
RdZ elected to leave things unaltered from his initial selections last week up in the northwest.
STARTING SHAPE: 3-4-2-1
TEAM . . . . . . . . . 1 Sanchez
. . . . . . 34 Veltman 5 Dunk 4 Webster
. 7 March 25 Caicedo 10 Mac Allister 30 Estupinan
. . . 13 Gross . . . 18 Welbeck . . . 11 Trossard
SUBS: 22 Mitoma (67), 14 Lallana (82), 2 Lamptey (88), 27 Gilmour (89).
BENCH: 23 Steele, 6 Colwill, 43 Turns, 19 Sarmiento, 21 Undav.
SQUAD: 8 Mwepu, 20 Enciso, 28 Ferguson, 29 van Hecke.
GOALS: 0-1 - 22 . sustained pressure kept the ball alive in Seagulls area. A miss-hit was diverted past Sanchez.
YELLOWS: Veltman - tackle from behind.
CHANGES: 67 Mitoma for Estupinan . 82 Lallana for Gross.
88 Lamptey for Veltman . 89 Gilmour for Caicedo.
FIRST HALF: locals gave travellers a lot of respect from kickoff.
Once the away outfit led there appeared more necessity from hosts to raise their game.
The valid question arose; was this actually actionable?
SECOND HALF: it all became too predictable, with little inventiveness or fluidity.
Everything hung on the next score or perhaps as likely, no score.
But ongoing it was all like a tame war game, where blood & guts were hypothetical.
OF NOTE: most of hosts forays & threats foundered on edge of oppositions box.
Albion are not a recognised counter attacking team, which played into visitors blocking set up - they had time & space to regain possession and break.
Past the hour mark an immediate change of tactics via impact subs seemed a way back into this toiling contest.
Did it happen tho? Facing reality was lost in a futile paper exercise of swapping personnel almost at the death.
IN THE END: De Zerbi began his home sequence with a single goal loss, appearing to play catch up to his opposite but much experienced co-Italian coach.
The Prem is a different & steeper learning curve to elsewhere in Europe and at the mo Roberto is a work in progress.
NUMBERS: poss 59%-41%, on target 4-3, off target 10-5, corners 6-2,
fouls 9-14, yellows 1-2, subs 4-3, shape 3421-352 . . . . . gd5 pt14 po6
FS
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