Post Match report for the Tottenham game - Tuesday, 23rd April 2019
PREMIER LEAGUE; Spurs v Brighton
ALBION LOSE STAGE FRIGHT AT BRAND NEW STADIUM
VENUE; White Hart Lane, Tottenham, London N17 - eighteenth away match of 35 fixtures.
RESULT; 1-0 . (h-t 0-0) . SHAPE; 4-5-1 . REF; was aware of complexities of the occasion.
PREAMBLE; this clash was not considered a big one - but would be massive if somehow Seagulls could get something here up the Lane. To go down fighting was alternatively emotionally acceptable.
CHRIS HUGHTON had gone back to basics last time on the road when most of the promoted Championship side turned out. He did not repeat personnel from that working formula but made several changes for this midweek contest.
TEAM; . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Ryan
. . 22 Montoya, 4 Duffy, 5 Dunk, 30 Bernardo
. . . . . . 13 Gross , 6 Stephens , 8 Bissouma
. 16 Jahanbakhsh, 10 Andone, 9 Locadia
BENCH; 27 Button, 3 Bong, 33 Burn, 14 Balogun, 7 Kayal (86), 17 Murray (64), 20 March (73).
GOAL; 1-0 - 88. Just enough space opened up for a low shot from outside the area to beat Ryan inside a post.
INCIDENTS; 72 - following a corner Spurs strike the post and the ball rebounds across the goalmouth.
YELLOWS; 35 - Andone is too combative. 75 - Bernardo takes the guy out.
SUBS; 64 - Murray replaces Andone, much to his chagrin. 73 - March gets on for Jahanbakhsh. 86 - Kayal arrives in lieu of Bissouma.
The alterations made little difference to a side going nowhere.
ANALYSIS; the result can often be false after any ninety minutes but generally stats bear out in terms of scores over the long run. Albion rode their luck for the second away match in four days and almost beat the odds to keep an extended clean sheet. That they did not is significant at this stage of the run-in.
Nobody could criticise character showed to defend against a top six outfit but that alone is no guarantee of preserving the point started with.
Going forward remains cause for concern in all senses. Brighton have never been recognised as a counter attacking side and on many trips around the country appear devoid of knowhow when actually achieving a breakaway. Naive retention of the ball, schoolboy distribution tactics, inexperienced decisions and lower league mentality all contribute to a series of fail to score duck eggs.
NUMBERS; shape 433-451, poss 78%-22%, on target 5-1, off target 12-4, corners 6-3, fouls 7-13, yellows 1-2, subs 3-3.
FS
LAST WEEK OF APRIL MIDWEEK TABLE: bottom six
Po . Pl . -GD . Pt
15 . 35 . -18 . 40 Burnley
16 . 35 . -17 . 37 Southampton
17 . 35 . -22 . 34 Brighton
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
18 . 35 . -35 . 31 Cardiff
19 . 35 . -43 . 23 Fulham - relegated
20 . 35 . -49 . 14 Huddersfield - relegated
