Sussex World reporters Sam Morton and Henry Bryant ponder if Brighton and Hove Albion can still achieve a second season in Europe, starting with a much-win game at Burnley
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00:00 [Music]
00:29 Hello and welcome to Latest TV News. I'm Sam Warton, reporter for Sussex World and today
00:36 I'll be speaking to my colleague Henry Bryant about Brighton's 3-0 defeat at Arsenal before
00:42 we look ahead to this weekend's match at Burnley.
00:45 First here are the top stories from across the county.
00:48 A section of the 60mph B2244 just before Cripps Corner near Selvacombe is the most dangerous
00:54 in Sussex according to a resident living in the area. A study by Confused.com found that
01:00 Jevington Road near Eastbourne was the worst in the south east. But Hastings resident John
01:04 Lederer said the B2244 has a section with really deep potholes and ruts on both sides
01:10 which causes drivers to swerve head on to each other. It is known locally as the 'death
01:14 trap' and residents have put their own cones and markers down to warn drivers.
01:20 The famous Arlington Blue Belt Walk has opened to the public. The woodland walk which raises
01:25 thousands of pounds for charities is now in its 51st year and is expected to attract up
01:29 to 25,000 visitors during the five weeks that it is open. It is situated at Arlington at
01:35 the foot of the South Downs between Eastbourne, Lewis and Polgate. Owner John McCutcheon works
01:41 on improving the visitor experience each year.
01:44 Meanwhile Russ Cook has completed his incredible record-breaking run across the entire length
01:48 of Africa. The 26-year-old Brighton Hovalbion fan has been running for more than 350 days
01:54 in an extraordinary series of marathons. The runner, known as the 'Hardest Geezer', was
01:59 in the Tunisian countryside on the final leg of his journey on Sunday. He was joined by
02:04 dozens of his social media followers. The worthy man is the first person ever to run
02:08 the entire length of Africa. Starting in South Africa in April 2023, he ran 29 miles a day
02:14 through 16 countries, raising more than £700,000 for charity.
02:19 Drugs and cash were seized after a vehicle driver failed to stop for police in East Sussex.
02:24 Sussex Police said officers from the Tactical Firearms Unit followed a Peugeot 208 in their
02:29 unmarked vehicle after it had earlier failed to stop on March 31. Police said the driver
02:35 stopped in First Avenue in Hove, then attempted to run into a property but he was quickly
02:39 detained. Police said he was searched and found in possession of Class A and B drugs.
02:44 Police said detectives later attended an address to make further arrests and would later seize
02:48 drugs for paraphernalia, mobile phones and thousands of pounds in cash. Four other men
02:53 were also arrested, Sussex Police said. They have all been bailed pending further enquiries.
02:59 A Sussex runner undeterred by a devastating stage 4 cancer diagnosis has completed her
03:03 200th marathon. Noala Smyth ran the Brighton Marathon on Sunday in an incredible time of
03:09 3 hours 51 minutes. The running enthusiast turned 60 a day before the marathon and the
03:15 time was the fastest achieved in her age category. Noala, who is part of the A Runners Running
03:20 Club in Littlehampton, said it was a beautiful day and the crowds were just incredible. She
03:24 said there were a lot of people cheering her on and it was just an amazing, very emotional
03:27 day. Paula Ratcliffe, a three-time winner of the London Marathon, presented Noala her
03:32 medal. Noala said her friends were very emotional and she tried not to be and managed to keep
03:37 it together and focus on what she had to do.
03:40 Finally, two venues in Sussex have become a county winner for the National Pub and Bar
03:44 Awards. Pubs and bars from across the entirety of the United Kingdom are celebrating after
03:50 being named the best in their respective counties. Each of these venues have been named the best
03:54 in the south-east of England and will compete for the title of the National Pub and Bar
03:58 of the Year. The Geese in Brighton and the Free Moles in Selham made the list. These
04:03 pioneering hospitality operators have demonstrated excellence across a number of elements that
04:08 affect the customer journey, including design, service, style of offer, marketing and investment.
04:15 I have Henry Bryant here with me now to speak about all things Brighton and Hove Albion.
04:19 Henry, so we're just on the back of a disappointing 3-0 defeat against title challengers Arsenal
04:24 and the Amex Stadium at the weekend. There were goals for Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz and
04:30 former seagull Leandro Trossard sealed the win for Arsenal. How would you assess the
04:35 game?
04:36 Well, I think that Brighton just weren't up to it because of the quality of Arsenal. Arsenal
04:41 have been really pushing this season and this season really does look like they have got
04:45 a chance at winning the Premier League. They're doing everything in their power to do that
04:50 right now and getting the win against Brighton in quite an easy fashion, breezing past us,
04:56 really showed that they are a top side and they're able to break down teams like Brighton
05:00 that are difficult to beat in the defensive situations. One big issue was a penalty that
05:08 was conceded by Tarek Lamptey that resulted in a goal and I think that that sort of killed
05:13 off the game for Brighton really and a bit of unfortunate luck there from Tarek Lamptey
05:18 as he did win the ball but it's just the way that he came into that challenge which showed
05:24 that it was definitely a penalty in my eyes and clearly was a penalty in the referee's
05:29 eyes so I think that Brighton, although they had yet another decent performance, they just
05:33 weren't able to get the results needed.
05:36 So you mentioned the penalty decision just there and you think it was the right call.
05:39 Were the other goals avoidable? You think Kai Havertz obviously scored after a mistake
05:44 by Julian Assisso and that's been the story of Brighton's season isn't it? Just individual
05:48 errors leading to goals. So that one in particular and obviously the third goal I think probably
05:53 happened when Brighton were attacking and trying to force a way back into the game.
05:59 It was Pascal Gross this time that lost the ball and obviously Trosser made him and Brighton
06:04 pay. So were those goals avoidable do you think?
06:06 Well I think in the grand scheme of things the first goal with that mistake from Julio
06:11 Ancisa, although he's a great player he's able to attack in ways that a lot of players
06:16 can't for the Albion and really push us up the pitch. I think that that was just a sloppy
06:21 mistake really and a bit of lack of judgement really on where his position was and how he
06:28 gave it away and it really did provide them with a cushion really to go on and win the
06:33 game and it sort of put us in this difficult position where as you mentioned we do have
06:38 to attack and try and force a goal so that we can have maybe an interesting end to the
06:43 game if it does end up being 2-1 and Brighton can knock on the door and aim for a point.
06:48 But no it was Leandro Trosser that broke Brighton's hearts right near the end of the game and
06:54 it showed that although Brighton were attacking really well and showing some promising signs
06:59 they just weren't able to capitalise on any of that and were caught short at the back
07:03 and that was just sort of the final nail in the coffin really as a Brighton fan and showed
07:09 that a lot of the attacking moves that we were creating just weren't good enough and
07:14 the Arsenal attack really did punish us for that.
07:18 Yeah and you mentioned obviously that Brighton did have some chances and when you look at
07:22 the stats they actually had more possession as well as 10 shots on goal. I think probably
07:26 the closest they came was in the first half when Julio and Cicero had a long range shot
07:30 that was heading for the top corner but it was brilliantly saved by David Ryer. So do
07:35 you think Brighton probably did the best they could in the circumstances? Obviously because
07:40 they did come up against two hugely informed defenders in Saliba and Gabriel and they kept
07:46 so many clean sheets this season so do you kind of give Brighton the benefit of the doubt?
07:51 I think you have to and I think you have to look at the running of games that Brighton
07:54 have and it's a really difficult one. Speaking to Roberto De Zerbi after the Brentford draw
08:00 he was saying that this will be a completely different Brighton side from poor performances
08:04 previously and you know what, he's right. That Arsenal game showed that Brighton are
08:10 in a good way in terms of the way they're playing, good positions, good attacking quality,
08:16 it's just not enough against these big sides that are clearly pushing for something a little
08:21 bit greater than what we're pushing for at the moment.
08:23 Yeah and it was the first time Brighton have lost at home since August, since that 3-1
08:28 defeat very, very early on in the season against West Ham and that's something which Arteta
08:32 mentioned so it is a really tough place to go and I suppose just a real kind of banana
08:36 skin that Arsenal overcame to get past Brighton and obviously they were helped by Trossard,
08:42 the former Brighton man and did that hurt as a fan to see Trossard scoring against Brighton?
08:48 In terms of how Trossard left, he did leave on a bit of a dark cloud really and Brighton
08:54 fans were booing him throughout the game but yeah it was a shame as a Brighton fan because
08:59 I think that he did so well for the club and for him to leave and to be thriving it does
09:04 leave a bit of a sad part in you that he was able to put the final nail in the coffin for
09:10 Arsenal and allow them to win the game comfortably.
09:14 So Henry it was a bit of a damaging weekend for Brighton with Newcastle and West Ham both
09:17 picking up wins in the race for Europe as well as Brighton obviously losing against
09:21 Arsenal so do you think the Seagulls still can get to Europe next season?
09:25 Well I think that it's going to be really hard for Roberto De Zerbi's men to bounce
09:29 back and get results against some really difficult sides. I mean you look at Manchester City,
09:34 Manchester United, Newcastle that we've got to face amongst other challenging clubs that
09:40 Brighton are going to have to tackle in the final few games so for me personally I can't
09:45 really see Brighton and Hove Albion really getting into these European spots now and
09:50 I think it will take some sort of miracle and other clubs to fold and not do as well
09:55 as you think to get the win.
09:58 But do you think European football is essential for Brighton next season or do you think maybe
10:02 if they go back to playing once or twice a week in domestic competitions could help them
10:07 rediscover their form as of last year?
10:10 Well I think it would be a great shame if Brighton aren't able to get anywhere and not
10:15 able to actually compete anywhere in Europe. I think it's important for the club's progression
10:20 to at least be in the conference from now on because of the quality of our side and
10:26 although we lost a fair few players we were able to get through to the round of 16 and
10:31 that was brilliant for the Albion and it was a shame about the away day but it was great
10:37 for us to be playing the likes of Roma and in terms of a Brighton perspective I think
10:42 if you are going to grow the club and attract these players in the summer then we do need
10:47 to be offering them European football for them to have a little bit more of a consideration
10:52 to Brighton and Hove Albion.
11:07 Welcome to another episode of the Goldmouth Action Podcast where we take a look at all
11:10 the latest goings on at Brighton, Hove Albion, Crawley Town and Sporting Sussex. I'm Matt
11:14 Pohl and this week I'm joined by Brighton, Hove Albion writer Darren Howard, Sam Morton
11:18 who covers both the Seagulls and Crawley Town and Sussex Sport guru Steve Bone. Albion were
11:23 beating 3-0 at home by Premier League title contenders Arsenal at the weekend, leading
11:27 their European hopes well and truly in the balance. We'll look back at the Seagulls games
11:31 against the Gunners and look ahead to Albion's visit to Burnley this weekend. We'll also
11:35 reflect on the week of highs and lows for League Two playoff contenders Crawley Town
11:39 and give you all the takeaways from Sussex's opening game of the 2024 County Championship
11:44 campaign. You can read all the stories we are talking about with videos and pictures
11:48 online at sussexworld.co.uk/sport and you can check out other great videos on shotstv.com
11:53 and Freeview channel 276. You may also be watching on latest TV so thank you very much
11:59 for tuning in. As mentioned at the top of the podcast, Brighton failed to defeat Arsenal
12:04 with the Kai Osaka, Kai Havertz and ex-Albion favourite Leandro Trossard all on target. What
12:09 did you make of that performance Sam? In previous times you'd say that Brighton would stand
12:14 a chance against Arsenal but they've not had the rub of the green against them this year
12:17 have they? Exactly that, it just shows how different this season was to last season really
12:22 Matt, it kind of summed up where Brighton are I think in this moment in time. You think
12:26 last season Brighton secured a superb win at the Emirates to pretty much stop Arsenal's
12:32 title bid and really strengthen their own ambitions for European football. They could
12:39 have maybe done a repeat of that this season on another day but I don't think any of us
12:43 were expecting, I think we all predicted a defeat for Brighton didn't we, so it kind
12:47 of went as expected with a comfortable win for Arsenal and they really did show what
12:52 they're all about and why they are competing for the Premier League at the end of the day.
12:57 I think it was obviously a bit of a dubious penalty decision that got things underway
13:00 for them with Tarek Lamptey bringing down Gabriel Jesus and I personally didn't think
13:05 it was a penalty, I think he did get a touch of the ball but he did take down the striker
13:10 kind of in the resulting actions. I think yeah, it probably was a foul to be honest.
13:16 And obviously it was an error that led to the second goal with Julio Hinceso giving
13:19 the ball away and then being punished for it pretty much instantly with Havertz getting
13:24 the goal from close range. And the third goal, another mistake, Pascal Gross giving it away
13:29 with Brighton looking for that consolation goal and former Seagull Leandro Trossard made
13:35 no mistake with the finish and it was a bit of a sour taste there, a bitter pill to swallow
13:42 with him scoring the goal to seal the game. It was obviously a great finish and it kind
13:47 of showed what Brighton are missing really and he really has been a miss at Brighton
13:50 since he's left. But yeah, I think Brighton did have the chance to score, they had a long
13:55 shot from Hinceso that was brilliantly saved by David Raya. But they struggled to create
14:00 many clear-cut chances and that's a testament to how well drilled Arsenal are, how brilliant
14:05 Saliba and Gabriel are at keeping quality players quiet and that's what they did and
14:10 made life really difficult for Brighton. I think Arteta did praise Brighton for the way
14:14 they made life difficult for Arsenal. I think in the first 15 minutes Brighton did start
14:18 well and you thought well maybe they could nick an early goal like they did at Liverpool
14:21 but it wasn't too big on the day and Arsenal ran out pretty much easy winners in the end.
14:27 Well, deserving Brighton may have been praised by Arteta and Klopp in recent weeks but a
14:32 run of only three victories in their past 12 league games have left Brighton's ambitions
14:37 of repeating last season's first qualification for European football well and truly in the
14:40 balance. Darren, how would you rate Albion's European qualification chances with I think
14:45 seven Premier League games remaining?
14:47 Yeah, that's right. Seven tough games to go as well and they're 10th in the table at
14:53 the moment and there's some decent teams above them as well, all pushing for those European
14:59 places. So, Brighton really needed to get off to a good start after the international
15:04 break but they came up against the Liverpool side, a narrow 2-1 loss at Anfield was no
15:09 disgrace. They could have got their three points at Brentford but that was, again, that
15:15 was a tough physical game away at Brentford and so only one point really from their last
15:21 three matches since the international break. It's really given them a bit of a setback
15:27 to going in and they've got Burnley this Saturday, then Man City, Bournemouth, Villa, Newcastle,
15:31 Chelsea and Man United. So, it's a tough run to go in but they're still in the battle for
15:40 the European places and I think one thing that will work in their favour is that there's
15:44 no further distractions now, there's no Europa League. It's pretty much one game a week now
15:50 until the end of the season and last year Brighton were quite good at that. They can
15:54 be really competitive when they have a week to prepare. I think it's only the City-Bournemouth
16:00 game which is a quick turnaround, the home game against City and in the way of Bournemouth.
16:06 So as long as they don't have any more injuries, if Jal Pedro can get back among the goals
16:11 as well, then they've got a chance. They've got a chance but they really need three points
16:16 against Burnley to really get them going. But there's encouraging signs, De Serby still
16:22 thinks there's a chance, Pascal Gross was speaking today as well about how he really
16:27 thinks that there's still a chance and they're hungry to get into Europe again next season.
16:32 So, fingers crossed, seven games to go but it will be tough.
16:36 We'll come back to the Burnley game in a minute, Derham. But writing for the BBC after
16:41 the Arsenal loss, Scott McCarthy, writer for Airbnb and Fensite, we have Brighton who also
16:45 contributes to Hassock's match report for the Mid-Sassex Times, said Brighton stood
16:49 still this season and pointed to the fact that the club have struggled to fill the gaps
16:53 left by Moises Caicedo and Alexis McAllister. What do you make of Scott's comments and do
16:58 you agree or disagree with it?
17:01 I would agree I think in the sense that they haven't been able to replace them and that
17:05 was the worry, wasn't it, when they left at the beginning of the season. Brighton obviously
17:09 have made a name for themselves of being able to replace talents at will, bringing players
17:14 on the cheap and they end up being superstars and they've done it so many times. I don't
17:18 think anyone expects them to recover from the losses of Yves Basuma and Mark Kukerea
17:21 but they did. There was hope that they would do the same with McAllister and Caicedo but
17:28 we always felt like with the quality of those players and as we've seen especially with
17:31 McAllister who's just been brilliant for Liverpool and really, really shown what Brighton have
17:37 missed with him and you really never know what they could have achieved if he'd still
17:40 been in that midfield. Obviously they brought in Carlos Baleba as a direct replacement for
17:47 Caicedo and he's taken a bit of time to settle in. He's not really had a run of games probably
17:54 until Billy Gilmore was injured and that's really the time that he's come in and really
17:58 started to have a run of games. He's obviously been playing alongside Jakub Moda who himself
18:02 didn't have a run of games because of how long he was out for. So there's been difficulties
18:07 in that sense. Obviously Billy Gilmore's been brilliant and he's really come into his own
18:10 this season and Pascal Gross has played alongside him and he's obviously been excellent as well.
18:15 But it does seem like there's just been something missing and you hope that as these players
18:20 progress and gel together, mainly I think Carlos Baleba and hopefully we can see more
18:24 from him next season. You never know who might be signed as well to bolster those positions.
18:30 But I think it's not worked out as Brighton would have liked and with the additional games
18:35 that they've had to contend with, it really hasn't gone to plan in that sense and they've
18:40 not been able to be as solid in the midfield and as creative as they were last season.
18:45 But I think you look at other things as well, like Evan Ferguson's not been in the best
18:49 of form. It might be looked at a bit regret that they let Denis Sundev go because really
18:56 they've relied heavily on Jal Pedro and when he's not been there they've really noticed
19:01 it. And it was just a shame really that Evan Ferguson and even Adsi Fati that came in couldn't
19:08 do a bit more to step up in those players' absences. So there's several factors at play.
19:13 But Brighton definitely haven't probably got the most out of the players that they have
19:19 in big moments that they've obviously had in recent games. But injuries have obviously
19:24 not helped at all, have they? When you consider the amount of players they've had missing
19:29 at the same time at crucial moments and the fact that Jal Pedro was out for one of the
19:33 biggest games of the season at Roma, it's such a shame really. You never know what could
19:38 have happened if he was there.
19:39 Absolutely. Well, this Saturday sees the Seagulls travel to second from bottom Burnley. You
19:45 mentioned it with the running that they've got, Deryn, going towards the end of the season.
19:50 The three-pointers are a must for Brighton, isn't it? I don't think there's any other
19:52 way of looking at it if they want to get into Europe next season.
19:55 If they want to get into Europe, yeah, it is a must. And Burnley have actually been,
20:00 you know, they've picked up a bit of late and they've been showing some decent form.
20:05 Their loss to Everton last week was a really painful one. They were just starting to get
20:09 a bit of momentum, putting in some encouraging displays and then they were pegged back at
20:12 Everton, which was tough for them. It's going to be tough for them to now come out of the
20:18 relegation zone, but there's still a chance for them. And you get the feeling that Vincent
20:22 Kompany's team are going to be still up and fighting, especially with the point deduction
20:27 for Everton again this week. That gave them sort of like a little glimmer of hope, perhaps,
20:32 that they can, you know, if they can get some results together, they're still in with a
20:35 fighting chance. So, it's not going to be easy. They're going to be, you know, it's
20:41 going to be quite a good atmosphere up there. Burnley play some decent stuff. So, Brighton
20:46 are going to have to be well prepared and really, really on their game. And I think
20:50 what Sam was saying there about Moises Caicedo and Alexis McAllister, against sort of teams
20:56 like Burnley, with the squad that Brighton have, you can get away with it against, you
21:02 know, against the teams that, you know, that Burnley, Bournemouth and there. But when you
21:05 really have to step up against the Man Cities and, you know, the top teams like the Arsenal,
21:10 that's when that gap in class really shows. But against Burnley, I think they're going
21:16 to have enough in their midfield to win the game, I think, at Turf Moor.
21:22 Very quickly, Sam, do you agree with Darren?
21:24 Yeah, no, absolutely, I do agree. It's a must-win game. I thought Brentford was a must-win game
21:29 and I fear that one will be looked back on as one of those where they should have got
21:35 the win. There's been so many of those games this season and games where they've drawn
21:38 where they should have got the win, really. So I fear that it's not a repeat of that.
21:44 But I think this one, yeah, if they don't get a result, I think it probably is over.
21:49 Thank you for watching latest TV news. For more stories from across the county, please
21:53 visit sussexworld.co.uk
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