Post Match report for the West Ham game - Saturday, 1st February 2020

PREMIER LEAGUE: West Ham v Brighton - 1/2/20, P25.

ALBION SLUMP REAPPEARS TWELVE MONTHS LATER LIKE DEJA VU


VENUE: the London Stadium, Stratford, East London - thirteenth away match of twenty-five fixtures to date.
RESULT: 3-3 ~ og, Gross, Murray . (h-t 2-0) . SHAPE: 4-3-3 .
REF: experienced and understood how pressure could affect later stages.


PRE-KICKOFF: Brighton fans wondered how we had got here, metaphorically speaking. It appeared at this stage another second-half campaign of struggle and that there were five other such clubs in the ongoing dogfight to avoid relegation.
The result today was important for bookies future quotes to possibly go beat, or not, the dreaded drop.
GATE: 59,952 . WEATHER: mild winter afternoon.

GRAHAM POTTER had signed Aaron Mooy permanently in the now shut transfer window and let Gaetan Bong go to Forest.
Youngster Tariq Lamptey came in from Chelsea. Meanwhile Alexis Mac Allister would later arrive from South America following an original seasonal loan spell cut short.
Murray made a rare start, while substitutes were mostly regarded as of an offence variety.

TEAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Ryan
. 22 Montoya, 15 Webster, 5 Dunk, 30 Bernardo
. . . . . 18 Mooy, 6 Stephens, 24 Propper
. . . . . 13 Gross, 17 Murray, 11 Trossard

BENCH: 27 Button, 21 Schelotto (72), 46 Alzate, 16 Jahanbakhsh, 20 March (72), 44 Connolly, 7 Maupay.


GOALS: 30 - 1-0. A set piece from outside the area was pumped up to visitors far stick and converted. VAR confirmed.
45 - 2-0. By pushing numbers up just prior to the break left the away side exposed and hosts made sure to net.
47 - 2-1. At a corner by Gross, locals keeper made a mistake and the ball bounced in off a defender.
57 - 3-1. Visitors fall to a driven attempt that changes trajectory in their crowded area.
75 - 3-2. A calamity at the back by locals defence sees GROSS get a touch that counts.
79 - 3-3. An away attack concludes with a MURRAY effort that passes VAR for possible handball.


INCIDENTS: 36 - Ref blocks Stephens going forward, the ball ran loose and Iron miss a simple opportunity on the break.

YELLOWS: Stephens gave Ref no choice.

SUBS: 72 - Mooy & Montoya are withdrawn for March & Schelotto.
Potter maintained Gross & Murray on field, which proved influential following support from the double swap.


SYNOPSIS: following a bright opening, travellers went into their shell and conceded several free kicks from around their box. Writing was on the wall and duly became fact from fiction.
Albion had to come forward or fall deeper into mire but by halftime refreshments a fail to score stat hovered over team talks before turnaround. A very late second home score made things just that bit harder to reverse.
At beginning of the second period the away outfit received a slice of luck, thus reducing the deficit to a single goal.
Before The hour mark status quo rebalanced with hosts second attacking deflection paying dividends.
Pressure from Seagulls told during closing stages with a couple of goals to level an in and out and up and down affair.

NUMBERS: poss 35%-65%, on target 6-6, off target 6-13, corners 4-6, fouls 8-9, yellows 1-1, subs 3-2.

CONSEQUENCES: a point kept the club from falling further towards a dangerous situation developing prior to reaching the vital run in.

FS

MORE READING: via Stats page tabs - Squad, History & Travel, Archive for PL facts & figs and Clubs records.



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