Here we go then folks. One of the busiest periods in the history of Brighton & Hove Albion is upon us as the Seagulls prepare to enter the Europa League for the first time in 122 years.
The opening game is this Thursday against AEK Athens. If you cannot make it for whatever reason, it will be possible to tune in via BBC Radio Sussex and hear Johnny Cantor, Warren Aspinall and Adrian Harms talking us through the action.
In terms of television, the match will be shown live on TNT Sports. I face an added challenge of trying to find somewhere in Madeira to watch; we are on our annual visit to the island for some sun and rest. Bad timing but you cannot turn down a holiday, can you?
Being away also meant I missed the 3-1 win against Manchester United. I was tuned into BBC Sussex via the Albion TV app, which came through lead and clear 1,600 miles away from Old Trafford.
A week earlier and I had been at a very important family wedding. The majority of the guests were United fans born and bred in Sussex. How does that work I asked myself?
None of them were going to Old Trafford to watch United play the Albion, and most of them were a little surprised when I predicted a 3-2 win for the Albion. How great that Brighton silenced all those Sussex-based Red Devils fans, and for the fourth Premier League meeting in a row!
I am sure you know by now that I am always a very positive person, like Oddball in the film Kelly’s Heroes. He always says: “Don’t give me those negative ways, man.”
Those words of Donald Sutherland have always stuck with me, even when Brighton are taking on the mighty Manchester United. Kelly’s Heroes is a great film to watch, by the way.
The wedding clashed with Ukraine v England. Had Lewis Dunk been selected to play, I would have been unable to watch him earn his second international cap.
When he was picked to start against Scotland, I was over the moon. My god, didn’t he do a superb job at the back? He played as if he owned Hampden Park and marshalled the England defence brilliantly.
It must have been a very proud moment for Dunk and his family, as well as the Albion. Hopefully, Gareth Southgate from Hazlewick School, Pound Hill, Crawley continues to pick his fellow Sussex educated man for the next round of internationals.
Because the more I think about it, the more I think Dunk should partner Harry Maguire. Imagine how many goals they could score from set pieces?
And if anybody can help Maguire rediscover some form, it is Dunk. Even if there first time playing together did result in Rick O’Shay taking advantage an an own goal.
Dunk was not the only Brighton player in international action. The number of Albion representatives jetting off to all corners of the world sill seems unreal, going to prove how far the club has progressed over the past 10 years.
That progress and where Brighton are going in the future was wonderfully covered on last Tuesday’s Albion Unlimited podcast, where Jonny was joined by Mr Tony Bloom.
The overwhelming takeaway was that as we move forward, Mr Bloom will always have the club and fans’ interests at heart.
On this theme, I recommend watching the Amazon Prime series on Burnley. You can see the passion which the locals have for their team and how a new chairman and board tapped into this to rebuild the football club and get the Clarets back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
It felt like Burnley were using what we have the Amex as an inspiration. Brighton have that passion in spades and with Roberto De Zerbi, a manager who has tapped into and use it to drive the players on.
To link that back into Saturday at Old Trafford, I hope De Zerbi goes onto become the Albion equivalent of Sir Alex Ferguson.
How United could do with Ferguson now. All the talk in the press leading up to Brighton’s visit was about Jadon Sancho, Antony and their respective off-the-field issues.
Ferguson would never have tolerated what Warren labelled in the build up to the game a slow midfield with not a lot of mobility. His comments on Cassemiro really made me laugh; every time you turn on the TV to watch him, he appears to be getting bigger and bigger.
Before the game kicked off, Old Trafford was brought to silence by referee Jarred Gillett as a mark of respect for the thousands who have lost their lives in both Morocco and Libya over the last week.
Once the match got underway, the Albion fans could be heard louder than the Stretford End. Even with De Zerbi making six changes, the starting XI sill looked strong.
Tariq Lamptey was one of the recalled players and he picked up an undeserved yellow card in what was otherwise a blinder of a performance.
Marcus Rashford down the other side to Lamptey was on fire early on and Jason Steele had to make a good save to prevent Brighton falling behind. I kept thinking one of Rashford’s breaks would end with a goal.
That though was not to be and in the 20th minute, the Albion took the lead. Simon Adingra crossed from the right hand side into the the middle where Danny Welbeck and Adam Lallana were waiting.
Lallana produced a great dummy, jumping over the low pass from Adingra so that the ball continued right into the path of Welbeck. He made it 1-0 to the Albion.
Rashford continued to threaten with a shot which hit the right hand corner of post and bar. He then cut back a ball from the by-line for Rasmus Hojlund to scuttle into the back of the net.
Eagle-eyed Warren shouted instantly over the airwaves “It’s out of play.” VAR took a few minutes to confirm what Warren had spotted, the goal was disallowed and the score remained 1-0 to Brighton. Phew!
Rallied by De Zerbi, I expected the Albion to come out chomping at the bit to get that crucial second goal. Just eight minutes of the second half had passed when Pascal Gross popped up to torment United once again.
Lamptey played a nice pass into Gross, who beat Andre Onana low and hard into the bottom corner. Brighton led 2-0 and De Zerbi could be seen really enjoying himself with his familiar style of celebration.
Ansu Fati came on for his debut on 64 minutes along with Joao Pedro, replacing Lallana and Welbeck. The two veterans getting a well deserved rest ahead of a busy few months of football.
It took all of seven minutes for Pedro to get on the scoresheet. Lamptey again crossed and Pedro made no mistake, beating Onana to put Brighton 3-0 ahead with 19 minutes still to play.
A mass exodous from Old Trafford followed as United fans had seen enough. Some did stay until the bitter end to boo their team off, which is never good.
Erik ten Hag made some changes, including bringing on Hannibal Mejbri for Casemiro. It was Mejbri who prevented Steele keeping a clean sheet, scoring a great goal for the United consolation.
United used to be famous for scoring in “Fergie time”… late goals in the dying minutes. Or in the case of their visit to the Amex in 2020, after the final whistle by way of a VAR-awarded penalty.
There was never any danger of a repeat here. De Zerbi steadied the ship with James Milner and Billy Gilmour taking over from Lamptey and Mahmoud Dahoud, and after seven additional minutes the final whistle blew.
Deep joy for Brighton supporters worldwide, from everyone at Old Trafford to those of us in Madeira… and less happiness for all the Sussex-born-and-bred Manchester United fans.
Never mind!
Tony Noble @Noble1844Tony
Seagulls Best Ever Season Volume 2 charts Brighton’s record breaking 2022-23 campaign through the eyes of Tony Noble, an East Stand Upper season ticket holder at the American Express Stadium. It is available from Waterstones, WHSmith, Amazon Bookstore and all good bookshops as well as the Albion Superstore at the Amex and via this link.
