Post Match report for the Leicester game - Tuesday, 26th February 2019

PREMIER LEAGUE; Leicester v Brighton

ALBION FAIL TO NAVIGATE A WAY PAST CITY LIMITS


VENUE; King Power Stadium, Leicester - fourteenth away match of 27 fixtures.
RESULT; 2-1 ~ Propper . (h-t 1-0) . SHAPE; 4-4-1-1 then 4-5-1 . REF; did not have too much to worry about.

PREAMBLE; Albion were pretty hopeless on the road but sometimes fickle finger of fate, variable Lady Luck and circumstances beyond any control took precedent over cause & effect.
Brighton fans turned up at the King Power knowing hosts were signing a new manager and wondering whether player power was now the old fate of ex-kings.
GATE; 30,558 . WEATHER; cool after a very mild day.

CHRIS HUGHTON had taken his charges to foreign climes as the weekend fixture was postponed but bizarrely temperatures at Lancing training pitches this week were equally pleasant for kicking a ball about.
He selected from nearly a full squad, who were fit, tanned and raring to prove whether their wages were internationally sustainable.

TEAM; . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Ryan
. . . 22 Montoya, 4 Duffy, 5 Dunk, 3 Bong
. 11 Knockaert, 6 Stephens, 24 Propper, 20 March
. . . . . . . 13 Gross, . . . . . . 17 Murray

BENCH; 27 Button, 30 Bernardo, 33 Burn, 8 Bissouma (51), 9 Locadia (67), 19 Izquierdo (81), 16 Jahanbakhsh.


GOALS; 1-0 - 10. Visitors kiss goodbye to a clean sheet when opened up early, like a fox among headless chickens being caught all over the place.
2-0 - 63. Locals show how to score from decisive movement and expert finishing that leaves southern softies exposed and embarrassed.
2-1 - 66. PROPPER scores his first goal with a positive effort in the box after assisted by Knockaert. But is just a consolation.

INCIDENTS; 53 - Murray makes a hash of a simple opportunity and in response changes boots immediately.

YELLOWS; 23 - Montoya was outpaced but stopped the opponent anyhow.

SUBS; 51 - Gross is injured and comes off for Bissouma. 67 - March gets replaced by Locadia. 81 - Stephens is withdrawn for Izquierdo.
Seagulls alter formation to 442 at the last change.


ANALYSIS; Albion began with Gross close to Murray but after conceding within a few minutes, were quick to reshape with three in midfield. The home outfit sat back for a spell, almost preferring to attack on the break when travelling green-shirts inevitably lost possession by pushing up.
During the second period the away side again had fair share of possession but were not going anywhere in the final third. Once again on travels Seagulls flattered to deceive, with square & backward passes rather than cut & thrust.
Brighton are not known as a counterattacking side, so apart from set pieces suffer with overly patient build up while opponents bank bodies around the area markings.
Continually on the road the play becomes reactive due to chasing the game following goals conceded. The whole squad have to be on their A-game to have any chance in other PL stadia but alas it merely happens on the extreme odd occasion these days.

CONSEQUENCES; not a night to remember. But thankfully the 17th club was beaten too. Home form now is crucial.

NUMBERS; ht 1-0, goals 10,63-66, shape 433-451, poss 49%-51%, on target 3-3, off target 16-12, corners 4-8, fouls 6-4, yellows 1-1, subs 3-3. MoM - Knockaert.

FS

TUESDAY NIGHT END OF FEB TABLE: bottom half
Po . Pl . -GD . Pt
11 . 28 . -05 . 35 Leicester
12 . 27 . -10 . 34 Bournemouth
13 . 28 . -08 . 31 Newcastle
14 . 27 . -04 . 30 Palace
15 . 28 . -19 . 30 Burnley
16 . 27 . -12 . 27 Brighton
17 . 28 . -30 . 25 Cardiff
18 . 27 . -18 . 24 Southampton
19 . 27 . -35 . 17 Fulham
20 . 28 . -35 . 14 Huddersfield