We’ll look at those games, and there’s more excellent news from Crawley Tow as they win their play-off semi-final first against MK Dons.
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00:00Hi, and welcome to another episode of Goldmouth Action Podcast, where we'll look at all the
00:15latest goings on Brighton, Hove Albion and Crawley Town. I'm Deren Howard, and this week
00:20I'm joined by Crawley Town expert Mark Dunford and Sam Morton, who covers both the Seagulls
00:25and the Reds. Brighton got back to winning ways with a 1-0 win over Aston Villa, and
00:30are preparing for a trip to Newcastle United. We'll look at those games, and there's more
00:35excellent news from Crawley Town as well. You can read all the stories we're talking
00:39about with videos and pictures online at sussexworld.co.uk forward slash sport, and you can check out
00:45other great videos on shotstv.com and Freeview channel 276. You may also be watching on latest
00:53As last week, we'll start with Crawley Town, and what a night it was at the Broadfield
01:00Stadium on Tuesday, Mark. Talk us through what happened there at the game.
01:05Yeah, well, it was amazing, really. It was obviously the first leg of the League Two
01:10semi-final against MK Dons, and Crawley were absolutely magnificent. They absolutely battered
01:17MK Dons. 3-0 they were, and MK Dons just weren't at the races. It could have been also
01:28different. The first couple of minutes, Max Dean got through for MK Dons, rounded Coria
01:35Dye, looked like he just had the easiest job slotting home. He's getting a better shot.
01:40Will Wright came from nowhere and cleared off the line. It was absolutely magnificent
01:44and Sam, it was just incredible clearance. And yeah, and then Crawley pretty much went
01:49straight out the other end. Liam Kelly scored a goal, played a 1-2 around Campbell. Brilliant
01:55finish from the edge of the area. Then just before the break, Will Wright's free kick
02:00found Jay Williams, and he poked home to make it 2-0. And then the second half, it was all
02:05Crawley. I mean, they could have got more, but they got the one goal. Ronan Darcy came
02:10on, hit his sort of deflected cross-cum-shot, looped over Kelly in the MK Dons goal, and
02:18it was a brilliant, brilliant win. But the atmosphere was just sensational. It was 5,500
02:25people there, and yeah, they got one for Wembley. But yeah, it was crazy. One of the big highlights
02:34was Coria Dye, the keeper. I mean, it went a little bit viral, I think. Liam Kelly, who
02:38was man of the match, he was absolutely outstanding most of the game. He made just one inexplicable
02:44error, really. It was a huge back pass from the halfway line, pretty much, passed it back
02:50to Coria Dye, but it went high in the air. And as it landed towards the goal, Coria Dye
02:55pulled off a brilliant touch. It was almost like a Croy's turn. And then he went a little
03:00bit away from him. The attacker came forward, and he just touched it past the defender,
03:05skipped past him, ran up the pitch. It was wonderful, wasn't it, Sam?
03:09Yeah, it was brilliant. I mean, there's a heat map, actually, showing Coria Dye's starting
03:12position and where he was playing for most of the first half, and he was right back.
03:15Yeah, and you think maybe when the cameras are there, he might be a little bit more reserved
03:21and play a bit safe, but he went completely the opposite and wanted to really make a show
03:25in front of the cameras and really show what he's all about and the real modern-day keeper
03:30that he is. And it was great to watch. And the fact that he kept a clean sheet while
03:33doing it, no one can complain. So, yeah, I echo what Mark said, really. It was just
03:39an absolutely amazing night at the Broadfield Stadium. Definitely one of the best in history,
03:44I think. And I think it surprised everyone just how good they were. Obviously, this season,
03:48they have been brilliant in big moments, but there has been times when the crowd's been
03:54full, obviously, in those recent couple of games where they made the tickets cheaper
03:57and had lots of fans, and it didn't actually help. And they lost both of those games. There
04:01was a little bit of wondering how they're going to do with the expectation and the pressure
04:06that that brings, but they completely lived up to that and were just phenomenal, really,
04:12and really made it look easy on the night.
04:15Just highlights what a great job Scott Lindsay's done, really, doesn't it? But why was it on
04:19a Tuesday? Wasn't the first leg supposed to be on a Monday?
04:24It was, yes. So, it was all set to be played on the bank holiday Monday. All the fans were
04:30excited, obviously, for that and to obviously go to a sellout crowd. And obviously, there
04:35was a huge demand for tickets and everything. So, it was all set to be on the Monday afternoon.
04:41But we had an incredible amount of rain in Crawley and West Sussex on Monday. And it
04:47was inevitable that it would be called off. And there was no... I think what the fans
04:52were really frustrated at was there was no kind of updates on pitch inspections and everything.
04:57There was a lot of unwarranted criticism given to the club and to the people involved,
05:07even though they had absolutely no control over the situation. And it was an unprecedented
05:11amount of rain, really, on the day. And no surprise at all that the game couldn't go
05:15ahead. And actually, it probably benefited Crawley. I think Scott Lindsay said himself
05:19that the game was on the Tuesday night. Gave a little bit more time to prepare. Another
05:24extra day rest for the second leg, which is on Saturday. And it really didn't help
05:28MK Dons, who had to obviously travel back to Crawley, or the fans. I think we were impacted
05:32by a train strike on Monday as well. So, Tuesday, sorry. So, it really wasn't ideal at all for
05:37MK Dons. But probably worked out better for Crawley in a roundabout way. But yeah, obviously,
05:44it was not ideal at the time. But obviously, Crawley win 3-0. I don't think they're going
05:49to be competing in hindsight.
05:50And a second leg on Saturday, did you say?
05:53Second leg on Saturday, yes. So, an extra day's rest, because it was initially going
05:56to be on the Thursday night. Tonight, obviously, going to MK. So, yeah, a couple of extra days
06:02to wait for that one. So, yeah, we'll see. We'll see how that one pans out. But yeah,
06:08obviously, a big uphill task now for MK Dons to turn it around.
06:12Big task. Yeah, yeah. And you were saying, Mark, do you think the rearrangement has worked
06:17in Crawley's favour? And have they done enough to get to Wembley? And what was the mood in
06:22the camp like after Tuesday?
06:24Yeah, it's funny. When I spoke to Scott Lindsay on Monday, it was Tuesday morning, actually,
06:30before the game. He said it could actually work in their favour. But he says it worked
06:34the same for MK Dons. He said the only thing was MK Dons obviously had to have an extra
06:38night in the hotel. So, that worked against them a little bit. But the gap between the
06:43two games, yeah, it seems both teams really with the extra day's recovery. But in regards
06:51to them doing enough, I think they have. Scott Lindsay afterwards, it was very telling actually
06:57straight away. He normally does the celebration in front of the fans when they win at home.
07:01He goes up and does sort of a bit of a Yerbin clock type thing with the fans. But straight
07:06away, he walked over and you could see him just going, not today, not today kind of thing.
07:10It is only half time in the fixture. So, I mean, yeah, I mean, it will be, yeah. I mean,
07:18we saw last year with Peter Brewer and Sheffield Wednesday in that incredible playoff when
07:22Peter Brewer were 4-0 up in the first leg and then lost 5-1 in the second leg and then
07:26on penalties kind of thing. So, there's always plays in the back of your mind. But MK Dons
07:32just look absolutely, I don't know. I spoke to the MK Dons reporter and he said they just
07:39look like they were a bit stage fright. They just, I think it's now, this is their fifth
07:46or sixth playoff campaign and they've never got to Wembley. And you've got to think that's
07:51got to be playing on their minds a little bit. They've got this mental block in the
07:55playoffs. So, I think Crawley have done enough and I think they'll do enough on the day as
08:01well. I mean, they might not win at MK Dons. The only thing they've got to do is make sure
08:05that MK Dons don't score early. Because if MK Dons score in the first 10 minutes, then
08:10the pressure's on kind of thing. It starts playing in your mind, doesn't it, as a player?
08:15Like, oh God, we can't let in another one now. And then you start getting more defensive
08:19and then invite more pressure. So, Crawley have just got to go and play their natural
08:22game and I'm sure they will. Scott Lindsay said afterwards that they've got to remain
08:27professional and humble now and I'm sure they will. He does describe me as the kind of manager
08:32that would ever let his team get complacent. So, yeah, it's kind of getting exciting. I
08:38want to say that, yeah, they're there already, but I'm not going to. I don't want to tempt
08:41fate.
08:42I did see a tweet yesterday of someone cancelled. Cutting their holiday to Greece, I think it
08:49was, short. So, he's paid £400 so he can come home from his holiday early for Wembley.
08:55And he said, I can't believe my little old Crawley are going to Wembley, kind of thing.
09:00And the comments are saying, this is the type of tweet that's going to get us beat
09:034-0, kind of thing, in the second leg.
09:06What did you think of MK Dunn's? Do you give them any hope in the next round?
09:22They were obviously really poor at the Broadfield Stadium and I think they surprised the fans.
09:27I think they're their own fans because they weren't playing how they've been playing this
09:30season. I think they were kicking the ball long from the goalkeeper because they actually
09:34are known to play a similar brand of football to Crawley. Keeping it on the floor and playing
09:38attractive football. But we really didn't see that. And it could be as a result of the
09:41level of pressure that Crawley were putting on. They were relentless, really, with their
09:45pressing from the front. And everyone really just put in an incredible shift for Crawley
09:49that it probably made life really difficult for MK Dunn to do what they do best.
09:54And obviously the home support as well probably sucked that ball towards the MK Dunn's end
09:59more than the other way around, kind of thing. But they were poor, really, and I think they
10:04can only improve in the second leg. And they've obviously got to. And as Mark said, if they
10:09do get that early goal, you just never know what can happen for them. And there's a reason
10:12why they were so high up on the table and finished, obviously, in the fourth place.
10:18So you never know what can happen in football, as we saw with Peterborough last year. So
10:24we'll hope that they don't, but obviously just be wary of the threat they do pose. And
10:30I think it's important that Crawley score first in the second leg and make sure they
10:35don't allow any kind of comeback.
10:37Yeah, yeah. It's difficult to see a way back for MK Dunn, but fingers crossed Crawley will
10:42get the job done. But we're going to take a break for now. And then when we come back,
10:47we'll talk about all things Brighton and Hove Albion as they head to Newcastle this
10:52weekend.
11:47Yeah, it was. It looked much better from Brighton. It followed on from the shambles
12:13at Bournemouth, really, where they were quite off the pace. And they needed a positive reaction.
12:20They needed to show that they're going to finish the season, hopefully, on a positive
12:26note. And that was a big step towards that Aston Villa. I thought they looked so much
12:31better. They had an experienced defence out there. Joel Veltman right back, Lewis Dunk,
12:38Adam Webster was back in the team as well. And then Igor Julio on the left as well.
12:44And I was quite pleased for Adam Webster. He's had a tough, tough season. Jean-Paul
12:49van Gecke, he's sort of moved above him in the pecking order of late. And then when Webster
12:55has come in and had his chance to play, he hasn't always been that good. I remember looking
13:00back to the Aston Villa in the reverse fixture, Ollie Watkins ran him ragged really at Villa
13:06Park that time. And he's been in and out of the team against Fulham. I think he came back
13:11as well and struggled. And I was pleased for him against Aston Villa. He looked really
13:16good. He looked sort of back to his best alongside Lewis Dunk. And when he's fit and physically
13:22fit and ready to go, he's a really good Premier League defender. And I think that could be
13:29a good sign for him next season, if they can keep him at this level, then that gives Brighton
13:35another option as well at the back there. So, good for Adam Webster. I thought Billy
13:39Gilmour as well. He was excellent back in alongside Pascal Gross. Remember, he's been
13:45out with a knee injury for a while. And it was just his second game back. And I thought
13:49having him back in that midfield added a lot more control. And he looked very good as well.
13:56And obviously, Simon Odinga, he was probably just about man of the match. He was a real
14:01threat down the left-hand side. And it was his sort of trickery at the end that won the
14:06penalty when he was brought down by Ezra Econza, who he gave really torrid time to throughout,
14:13really. So, yeah, lots of positives for Brighton. I was pleased to see them sort of show that
14:19they're back to a level where they can compete against the better teams.
14:26Yeah, they needed to get there, didn't they? They were struggling. But yeah, it's just
14:29three matches remain this season now, starting with Newcastle this Saturday. What are your
14:33thoughts ahead of this trip to St James' Park, Sam?
14:36Yeah, tough game. Tough game for Brighton, this one. Obviously, Newcastle are still in
14:40with a chance of getting into the Europa League. They're just four points below Spurs, actually,
14:46at the moment, with three games remaining. So, they could even get into fifth position.
14:50So, yeah, again, Newcastle will be really wanting to win, really. And I think they've
14:55had a decent record against Brighton at home. They've won the last two games at St James' Park
15:00against Brighton. And they're obviously coming into the game on the back of a 4-1 win away at
15:04Burnley. And before that, they won 5-1 against Sheffield United. And obviously, two teams that
15:10are likely to be going down to the championship. But I think you can just show Newcastle can
15:17score goals. And Brighton really need to put in a good performance to prevent a defeat,
15:23really. Because obviously, as we know, the atmosphere can be quite intimidating at St
15:28James' Park. And they've got good crowd support there. So, yeah, just fingers crossed Brighton
15:34can pick up where they left off against Aston Villa. Because it was a surprise result, really.
15:38I think everyone was expecting Aston Villa to win that one, being obviously fourth in the league,
15:42trying to solidify their place in the Champions League. But they really did look off it on the
15:46day. And Brighton took advantage and definitely deserved that late goal. So, hopefully, that's
15:51got the confidence back. Because there's been a real lack of confidence in Brighton's team for
15:55quite a few weeks now. So, hopefully, there's a bit of an injection of energy back. And they
15:59can continue that and get a really positive result and end the season strongly.
16:04Yeah, definitely. Off the pitch, the German midfielder Pascal Gross was named
16:09both Men's Player of the Year and Player of the Year. He's made 46 appearances so far
16:13and contributed four goals and 10 assists in the Premier League. Well deserved, isn't it, Darren?
16:18Yeah, you couldn't argue with that. There are a few good candidates for the Player of the Year.
16:24But I think Pascal Gross would have got my vote. I just think he's been excellent all season.
16:33And you sort of wonder where Brighton would be in the table without him, really. He's just been
16:41such a consistent player for all season. And as you say, with the goals and assists
16:48that he pops up with as well, he's just a real class act. And what's pleased me the most this
16:55season as well is that he's also been recognised by Germany at last. The last couple of seasons,
17:04you think he should have been in and around the team, especially with Germany, they weren't doing
17:07so well. And not to even select him for a squad and have a look. So yeah, hopefully he'll be
17:14at the Euros this summer as well with Germany. But yeah, I think for Brighton, I just hope that
17:21he stays for another season as well because there has been talk that he may go back to the Bundesliga
17:27next season. He'll have one year left on his contract this summer. So it'll be interesting
17:32to see. He's sort of said he likes the Bundesliga and for family reasons, he may look to go back.
17:39He said that earlier in the season. But I'm sure Deserby will be pestering him from now until the
17:46end of the season to try and keep him there because I think he's such a vital player for them,
17:51especially as Caicedo and McAllister, they left last season and there was a big hole in that
17:56midfield. And I think his performances and how he controls his game, he's always available to
18:02receive the ball as well. And I just think for the younger players to have someone like himself
18:08is so valuable and hopefully he'll stay for another season. But also, I think Billy Gilmore's
18:14had a great season, Van Hecker as well. He's had a really good season. I think he could have made
18:19a case for perhaps Jack Hinchelwood as well if he hadn't have got injured in the last few games.
18:27It's been a really breakthrough season for him, isn't it?
18:30Yeah, I think Hinchelwood has been great. Three goals he got as well from full-backs.
18:35So yeah, he'll have a big role to play next season, I'm sure.
18:42One player, Antu Fati's name has cropped up a few times this week. He continued to remain on the
18:46bench for Bryan and he looks uncertain for next season. He will return to Barcelona at the end
18:51of the season with transfer expert Fabrizio Romano claiming the Catalan giants will look to offload
18:57him this summer. It looks unlikely, but is there a scenario where he's at Brighton next season, Sam?
19:03I think it's very unlikely. I think the question has been asked to Serbia a few times and he's
19:08said that discussions will be had with the owners to see whether that's something which they would
19:13like to do. But from the pure fact that as his loan is coming to an end and he can't even get
19:19onto the pitch, I think that's a bad sign for him. I can't imagine that Brighton would be in
19:24any rush to bring him back. It's a shame, really, because he has been a disappointment, really. I
19:30think when they signed him on loan, it obviously shocks the world of football, really. No one could
19:36really believe that Brighton had pulled off such a star signing like that. He was obviously the
19:43heir to Messi's throne, taking the number 10 shirt at Barcelona, and then a couple of years later and
19:48he's playing for Brighton. So it was a big shock and I think a lot was expected of him to really
19:54show what he's all about and show why he's been able to be the next big star of Barcelona.
20:00Unfortunately, it hasn't worked out like that at all. He did have some promise and started to
20:04show signs of his best form in those games at home and away at Ajax. He really started to
20:09show glimpses of quality with a goal and an assist in those games. But he then picked up an injury
20:16and he was out for a few months and since then he's not really been able to find any kind of form
20:22at all. He's had quite a lot of stick from the fans. It's a shame that he's not been able to
20:29rediscover that form and to really show what he's all about. It doesn't look like he's going to get
20:33that opportunity before he departs. There has been talk from Fabrizio Romano to say that Barcelona
20:38are likely to sell him. So time will tell where he ends up, but I definitely can't see it being
20:43Brighton. Yeah, it's such a shame, mate. I think I said it before, you were so excited when he
20:49arrived, Sam, weren't you? Yeah, I remember being just... I just couldn't believe it. I remember
20:54being at home and seeing it all up on Twitter that it had gone through and you saw how on earth
20:59that happened kind of thing. Just really looking forward to watching him play and seeing how he
21:03gets on. Yeah, so it is a shame that it hasn't really worked out for him and I'm sure the fans
21:07are disappointed as well. Yeah. Before we get on to score predictions, we'll give a quick
21:12congratulations to Horsham. They won the Sussex Senior Cup last night at the Amex. They beat
21:19Hastings United 3-0 in completely dominant performance. There's lots of video reaction,
21:24stories, pictures, specials, etc. on sussexworld.co.uk. So, score predictions. We'll start off
21:32with Crawley. They're away at MK Don Saturday night, 7.45 kick-off. I'm going for a 1-1 draw.
21:40I think Crawley will do the job and yeah, they'll go through and we'll have a day out at Wembley.
21:47Sam? I was going to say the exact same thing, Mark. I was going to say 1-1. I think Crawley
21:52will take the lead and then MK Dons will equalise. It just won't be enough for them on the day,
21:59so yeah, 1-1. Yeah. Darren? I'm going to go for a 2-1 to Crawley. I think MK Dons will push. I
22:06think they'll take the lead but then I think Crawley will come back and then finish the job
22:12strongly and go to Wembley. Will it be their first time at Wembley if they go? Yeah, first
22:17time ever. I think it's just them and Akron and Stanley who have never played at Wembley,
22:22old or new. So, yeah, it will be their first ever time. So, incredible achievement. I mean,
22:28it's an incredible achievement what they've done so far but to get to Wembley, it will be amazing.
22:32Yeah. No, I think 2-1. I think they'll get the job done. Yeah. Well, sure. Scott Lindsay
22:39appreciates your prediction more than ours. We'll go to Newcastle versus Brighton. That's
22:46three o'clock Saturday, I believe. Sam, what's your prediction there? I'm going to go for a draw
22:52for this one. I think, obviously, the reverse fixture was a win for Brighton when they were
22:55in great form and could have started the season but it's obviously a bit of a different story now.
23:00I think it'll be a 2-2 draw. Both teams have been in and out of form so I think, yeah,
23:05I'd go for a draw. Darren? Yeah, it's a tricky one. I remember last, in the reverse
23:12fixture, it was Evan Ferguson, wasn't it, got the hat-trick against Newcastle and,
23:17yeah, but I can't see Brighton. I think 2-0 Newcastle. I think Newcastle are just hitting
23:22their good run of form at the moment and Isak and Anthony Gordon, they look really good up front. So,
23:28yeah, I'm going to go for a 2-0 Newcastle, unfortunately.
23:32Yeah, I'm going to go for the same difference but I'm going to go 3-1. I think Brighton will score
23:36but, like you say, Newcastle are just looking very good. But I predicted, I think, Villa to
23:41win 3-1 on Sunday. So, thanks, guys. Have a safe trip to Newcastle, Sam, and, yeah,
23:45watch all the coverage there.