Matt Pole is joined by Brighton writer Derren Howard, Crawley Town expert Mark Dunford, and Sam Morton, who covers both Albion and the Reds.
Danny Welbeck once again underlined his importance to Brighton with a match-winning contribution in their 1-0 win at Newcastle on Saturday.
Wel pick over the bones of the Seagulls’ hard-fought victory at St James’ Park, plus we’ll bring you all the latest from Crawley Town, who picked up a much-needed win this week.
Danny Welbeck once again underlined his importance to Brighton with a match-winning contribution in their 1-0 win at Newcastle on Saturday.
Wel pick over the bones of the Seagulls’ hard-fought victory at St James’ Park, plus we’ll bring you all the latest from Crawley Town, who picked up a much-needed win this week.
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SportsTranscript
00:00Welcome to another episode of the Goldmouth Action Podcast where we take a look at all
00:04the latest goings on at Brighton, Hove Albion and Crawley Town. I'm Matt Polk and this week
00:09I'm joined by Brighton writer Darren Howard, Crawley Town expert Mark Dunford and Sam Morton
00:13who covers both Albion and the Reds. Danny Welbeck once again underlined his importance
00:18to Brighton with a match-winning contribution in their 1-0 win at Newcastle on Saturday.
00:23We'll pick over the bones of the Seagulls' hard-fought win at St James' Park plus we'll
00:26bring you all the latest from Crawley Town who picked it a much-needed win this week.
00:32You can read all the stories we are talking about with videos and pictures online at sussexworld.co.uk
00:36forward slash sport and you can check out other great videos on shotstv.com and Freeview
00:40Channel 262. You may also be watching on the latest TV so thank you very much for tuning
00:45in but as we said Danny Welbeck's fifth goal in his eight top flight appearances this season
00:51secured the three points for Albion at Newcastle but boss Fabian Hazala admitted it wasn't
00:56a deserved win for Brighton. How did you see things and do you agree with him?
01:02Yeah I have to agree with Hazala's comments after that. Brighton certainly rode their luck.
01:10You can talk all about systems, low blocks and high lines and everything but sometimes you just
01:15need some old-fashioned luck and Brighton certainly got that at St James' Park. It was an off day for
01:22the Newcastle Strikers especially for Isak as well. I think we mentioned on the podcast just
01:28before the game that he was just coming back from injury. We were hoping that he would be a bit
01:32rusty as well and it turned out that he was. He had a couple of really good chances and he just
01:38didn't quite have his usual shooting boots on which Eddie Howe sort of alluded to after the game as
01:46well. So Brighton were lucky in that respect but you've also got to credit them as well. There
01:52were some class performances from Verbruggen in particular, Bart Verbruggen the goalkeeper.
01:57He played extremely well, was probably Brighton's best player on the day and it's good to see him
02:04playing so well as well. He's really established himself now as Brighton's number one. I remember
02:11they chopped and changed last year with Jason Steele and Verbruggen as he settled into the
02:17Premier League but I think playing in the Euros, having a really good Euros with Holland. He was
02:22the Netherlands number one last for the Euros and I think that's just given him so much confidence.
02:29He's really came into this, missed the first couple of games of the season but since he's
02:33come into the team I think he's looked really solid and as you'd expect very good on the ball
02:37as well. Some of the saves he produced at Newcastle were top class and Brighton are
02:43going to need that, especially when their defence is a bit shaky. They've still got a couple of
02:47injury concerns at the back and it was literally they just had to do everything they could to keep
02:52a clean sheet and fair play to them. They did that moment of class from Danny Welbeck as well,
02:58nice little link up with Eugenio Rutter for the goal and he posted on Twitter to say he sustained
03:06that injury in the second half. He posted on Twitter to say he's okay and he hopes to be back soon but
03:11he's a bit dodgy for the Wolves game I should think but hopefully it's not as serious as it
03:15first looked. All in all, a really good performance at Newcastle and a vital win which takes them to fifth.
03:24Do we have any more further concrete information on that injury, Sam?
03:31I think we would have found it hard to believe at the start of the season that he was
03:33such a key man for Brighton.
03:36Yeah, no, he's been the standout player of the season so far. He's been exceptional really and
03:41pretty much in the form of his career which is crazy to say really when he's been around for
03:45so many years. But he really is on fire at the moment, obviously scoring the winner
03:51at Newcastle. It was such a brilliant goal as well so it was such a shame when he did go down.
03:57It was a really bizarre incident. He obviously got a knee to the back from Fabian Scheer and he
04:03actually needed oxygen as he left the pitch. It looked really bad. I obviously pick up the
04:10reports on his final score and on Twitter at the time of what was happening and it
04:15really didn't sound too good. I wasn't too sure if it was a collision or what was going on but
04:21it does seem like he's okay. He put out a post on social media that night to say he's a bit sore
04:27but after some extra checks and the scan he's pleased to say he should be back in training soon
04:31and he thanks all the medical staff at Newcastle's A&E team for their care and everything.
04:38That sounds really positive. To talk about being back in training so soon after
04:43what seems such a serious incident can only be positive and even if it is a couple of games that
04:48he ends up having to miss, just as a precaution, that is such a positive update because the signs
04:52really weren't good at first. I think it does seem like he won't be out of action too long.
04:58Good news. Hopefully we see him back on the pitch soon.
05:01Josela at Newcastle switched from his usual 4-2-3-1 to a 4-4-2 at St James' Park and it
05:07worked a treat as Brighton defended resolutely and looked much more compact.
05:12Deren, does this show that Josela has learned and adapted since the debacle at Chelsea?
05:18Yeah, I think it did and I think he needed to as well. They needed to adapt slightly. They
05:25clearly weren't comfortable with certain aspects of those tactics at Chelsea,
05:30especially when you look at the pace of some of the Brighton defenders that they have.
05:37It just didn't look right and what was interesting as well is that after that Chelsea game Josela
05:43said that he will be speaking to some of the senior players and see how they progress from
05:48there and what's the best way to go in some matches. I don't think it's the end of it.
05:55I don't think it will be the end of this highline but I think it just shows that he's prepared to
06:04adapt and he's not so rigid to certain tactics and that he will tweak it to certain teams as
06:10to who they're playing against and what they expect from the day. They knew at Newcastle
06:15they were going to be under pressure. They start fast at St James' Park. It's a really good
06:20atmosphere up there and if you're too loose you could be two or three down within minutes. So,
06:27they really had to be resolute as much as possible and I think it was an encouraging sign that he
06:33wasn't too stubborn, that he stuck to his guns no matter what. He was prepared to be flexible
06:38and prepared to work with a team that were without Van Heckers as well. They didn't have
06:44Pervis Istupinjan, they didn't have Van Hecke in the defence as well. So, he was working with what
06:51he had and they produced those tactics to try and negate Newcastle as best they could. They also
06:57played Yassine Ayari who was back in the midfield as well with Hinshaw Wood and Bolivar. So, that
07:02gave them a little bit of extra energy and protection as well in front of that backline.
07:08So, yes, it's all quite a big dose of luck to go with it as well. So, you have to factor that into
07:17it no matter what for that game. Absolutely. Well, the win at Newcastle moved Brian up to fifth in
07:23the Premier League. Just six points adrift of league leaders Liverpool. Sam, it might be a
07:28little bit too fanciful to imagine a now being title tilt, but I suppose we can't really rule
07:33out a European charge this season, can we? No, absolutely not. I think it really should be the
07:38main objective for Brighton when you consider the amount of money spent and the amount of
07:42the squad depth that they now have. I think Europe has to be the objective. Obviously, they've been
07:48there already and they want to be back and it's as simple as that really because obviously they
07:52would have been disappointed with the way the season finished last year, which was mainly to
07:56do with the fact that they were just playing the same players all season and had so many injuries
08:00and not a lot of players to cover those that were out. But it's a completely different story this
08:04year, especially in those attacking areas. It even feels like with Joao Pedro out, such a key player, but
08:11obviously he will be missed and he is being missed, but it feels like they've got so many
08:14options that they can still score goals to win games as we saw against Spurs coming back from
08:182-0 down. So, it feels like attacking wise, there's no concerns and they will always score goals
08:24with the options they have. It's just the main area is defence and it's so crucial they've
08:28managed to get Van Hecker back a lot earlier than expected. I think that is really the key
08:35area that will determine how high they finish in the table, really, if they can manage to keep
08:39these key players fit. Because as we saw when Van Hecker was out and we saw Lewis Dunn partner up
08:45with Adam Webster, it can obviously go a bit wrong. As we saw against Chelsea, it's down for a bridge
08:52and if you're playing that high line, you need someone with a bit of pace to be able to make it
08:56work. Igor has done well, actually, I think in recent weeks, so he's another option if need be.
09:02But I think, yeah, in those defensive areas, it's probably not as much depth as there is in those
09:06attacking areas, so that's maybe something to look at in the January transfer window. But I think
09:10form-wise, they've responded so well to that dip in form and question marks over the tactics and
09:16the line-up and everything like that with two brilliant wins against Spurs and Newcastle. So,
09:20I think the times are really positive and especially if they start to get some players
09:24back, hopefully Jal-Pedro won't be out for too much longer. So, I think, yeah, the times are
09:28really good and I can't see why they can't push for a European place once again.
09:33Well, they hope to look to strengthen those European credentials at home to Wolves this
09:37Saturday in the Premier League. Wolves have yet to win in the league this season, taking one point
09:40from eight games on paper, Deron. Brighton look like heavy favourites for this one, but one just
09:45has to remember the Ipswich game to go, but it might not all go their way.
09:49No, for sure. You're absolutely right. And the Nottingham Forest game as well,
09:54where they were on top for large spells, especially at home at the Amex when the
09:58pressure is on them to get those points. But, yeah, I think if they can get a victory against
10:03Wolves, that really will strengthen their chances of European football. Again, it's a long way to
10:08go, but I agree with Sam. I think they have to look towards Europe. They haven't spent
10:13200 million just to sit in the lower reaches of the Premier League.
10:19They did an exhibition of the Brighton in Europe at the museum and Tony Bloom was there
10:27giving a talk on that and his aim is to get back into Europe pretty much this season. You could
10:32tell by the way he was speaking. They really enjoyed the European trips last year and that
10:39is the target this year to get back into Europe. I think against Wolves, that can be quite tricky.
10:48They haven't won. I think they've only drawn once this season against Nottingham Forest to
10:53get their only point that they've got from their first eight matches. But they've given Liverpool
10:57a good game. They lost narrowly to Liverpool, lost narrowly to Newcastle and they were well
11:02in it against Manchester City as well last week. So, they've got a few injuries as well, Wolves,
11:08but I still think that they can cause problems and it's not going to be an easy game. It should
11:15be. Brighton should have enough to get the job done against them, but I think it could be another
11:21one of those games where it could be a little bit edgy at the Amex because all the fans go there
11:27expecting a win and sometimes it's not as easy as that. It doesn't always work out that way. Gary
11:32O'Neill knows what he's doing. He just hasn't had someone to rubber the green, hasn't had much luck,
11:37said that there's some unconscious bias towards the top six teams in his latest interview, which
11:43maybe he has a point, I don't know. But I think he'll get them fired up, tactically correct,
11:49and it will be a tough, tough game for Brighton this Saturday at the Amex.
11:54Couldn't agree with you more, Darren. Well, thank you for that. We're going to take a quick break
11:57and when we come back, we're going to talk things all Crawley Town. Welcome back to part two and
12:03we're going to take a look at this week at Crawley Town. Starting on Saturday,
12:06they suffered a 4-1 defeat at Reading, leaving them mired in the relegation zone at the time.
12:12But the scoreline doesn't tell the full story, does it, Mark? You were at
12:15Reading last weekend. What was your view of things?
12:19Yeah, it was another crazy game where Crawley absolutely dominated. Well, they dominated all
12:25the stats at the end of the game. In possession, 64 per cent. They had 19 attempts on goal to
12:30Reading's 13. Nine shots on goal to Reading's 6. 13 corners to Reading's 2. So it sort of shows
12:38the dominance they had. But they just weren't ruthless. They just could not score. Well,
12:42they did score, obviously, and that was a deflected shot from Harry Forster. But there
12:48were so many chances. Well, 19, as I said. But they had two cleared off the line. It was
12:56frustrating because one of the first chances, Darcy, Ronan Darcy, who had come on to cross the
13:02ball in, and Quaterna was on the six-yard box. And he literally just had to hammer it into the roof
13:07of the net. Because Darcy had beaten the keeper. But there were three Reading players on the line,
13:13and he just tried to sidefoot it with no power. And they cleared it off. And then in the second
13:18half, Darcy got behind the defence, slotted past the keeper, and he thought he'd scored. But then
13:23a player came from nowhere, cleared it off the line. But that end of the pitch was fine, apart
13:28from the finishing. But the other end of the pitch, it just looked a little bit shambolic.
13:32Joey McCain, I don't know if he's playing with... I think Rob Elliott's insinuated in the past that
13:37he's been playing a little bit with an ankle injury. He looked well off it. He's been really
13:42good this year for Crawley, but he looked really off it on Saturday. And they had a lot of luck
13:47down his side because he was playing on the left-hand side of the back three. But just every
13:52time Reading went forward, it looked like they were going to score. And yeah, they had six shots
13:56on goal. Four of them ended up in the back of the net. So it sort of tells the story. But it was a
14:01frustrating one because they did play so well. And you could sense the Crawley fans. There was 602,
14:07I think, there. They were all at the end. They were there clapping the side because they realised
14:11they played really well. But they just... And you just sense at this point, are they ever going to
14:16get a win again? I mean, obviously, spoiler alert, Sam's going to talk about a brilliant win last
14:21night. But it was just, yeah, unbelievable. They just didn't win. And Reading fans afterwards were
14:27saying to the media team and that just one of the best teams they've played this year. Really good.
14:32But like Rob Elliott said, it's no good playing all that fancy stuff if you're not going to win.
14:37So, yeah, it was a really good performance. But just, yeah, just a shambolic at the back.
14:44Well, one of the positives that came from the game at Reading was Ronan Darcy and Rob Elliott was
14:50sort of praised for him saying that he was certain that the midfielder was destined to play at a
14:53higher level. How good was Darcy on Saturday, Mark? And do you expect to see clubs sniffing
14:59around him in January, potentially? I do. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, on Saturday,
15:04out of those 19 goal attempts, he must have been involved in 75% of them. He was the main catalyst
15:12of everything that Crawley did good. He was looking for the ball, picking it up deep in
15:17deep in midfield and then driving forward or putting balls behind the defence. He's just
15:23fantastic and he's been like it all season. And the thing you can see with him, if you watch him
15:27closely, he gets very frustrated because it's just not coming off. He's doing everything he can,
15:33but somebody's missing a sitter, somebody else is shooting off target. And then he's just getting a
15:40little bit frustrated. Last year, he was a key part of the coaching squad and everything seemed
15:45to go right last year. And at the beginning of this year, everything seems to be going a little
15:49bit wrong. So you can see the frustration in him, but he is a real lead. He was captain on Saturday
15:54as well. First time he'd captained the side this season anyway. And he really did lead by example.
16:01And yeah, he's only 23. That's why I forget. He feels like someone who's been around for
16:07ages and there's a real experience. And he is an experienced member of the team. But he is only 23.
16:12He's still got the best years ahead of him. So yeah, going back to your question about,
16:15will someone want to pick him up? I think you can put MK Dons on that list straight away because
16:19Scott Lindsay is a huge fan. He loves Ronan Darcy. He calls him the Duracell bunny because he never
16:25stops running. Yeah, Crawley would do very well to keep hold of him. But if they start picking up
16:31wins like they did last night, Darcy scored and it starts clicking a bit more and he realises how
16:38much of an integral part he is. I think he will be good for the club and him to stay, I think.
16:47Absolutely. You mentioned it there, Mark. Darcy was on the score sheet as Crawley ran out three
16:51nil winners. Home to Lincoln on Tuesday evening, claiming three points in the league for the first
16:54time since August. Will Swan and Russian Hepburn Murphy also netted as Rob Elliott recorded his
17:00first win as Crawley manager? You were at the game, Sam. Sum that up for us, please. It sounded
17:05like it was a markedly different performance from what Mark was saying. Yeah, it was brilliant,
17:11actually, Matt, to be honest. The first half was quite cagey. But going into the game,
17:16kind of we're having to talk about the journalists there and whatnot, and you kind of all had the
17:21same kind of feeling that just had no confidence that Crawley were going to get a result. But at
17:25the end of that, I was thinking, but that's football and they'll probably go and win now.
17:28Everyone thinks they're not going to get a result and then they'll come out winners. That's exactly
17:32what happened because the first half, as I say, was quite cagey where Crawley had quite a lot of
17:36the ball and they were doing some decent stuff. And Lincoln were a threat as well with some really
17:41dangerous crosses. But Jojo Wolcott was exceptional. He kind of claimed every cross. He was so
17:46commanding. Charlie Barker was a standout defender. He was brilliant. And going forward, Jeremy Kelly
17:52was lively. I think Armando was a bit quiet and he did unfortunately go off with an injury in the
17:58second half. So hopefully that's not too serious. But I felt like Crawley were winning the game and
18:02they could very easily have taken the lead in that first half. And they really did that solid
18:06defensively. It didn't feel like they were kind of in any huge danger really of conceding. But
18:12they bided their time and the halftime break obviously came in a brilliant time to obviously
18:17get some new ideas in because they got a goal immediately after the restart. And it was Jeremy
18:22Kelly that played in Will Swan and he fired it into the top corner at the near post. And it was
18:28such a confident finish for his second goal in two home games. So you really hope that after a bit
18:33of a slow start that will help him settle down and hopefully the floodgates will open for him now.
18:38And you kind of felt that Lincoln then would react and get back into the game. But Crawley
18:43just defended so well again and really did keep Lincoln out. And as we've mentioned, Darcy
18:49got the second goal. It was a brilliant goal. A solo effort as he kind of guided, weaved his way
18:53through the defence and found a really good finish. And then some changes, Robert Elliott
19:00made some changes. Heber Murphy came on and he had a chance to make it 3-0 when he's played through
19:04on goal. It was a brilliant run. He kind of looked like he just got tired as he's about to find the
19:09finish and it was a bit of a poor effort at the end. But he more than made up for it with another
19:16chance one-on-one that he's played through by Panuche Camara. And he added the icing onto the
19:20cake in injury time. So it was a superb win for Crawley really. Really gutsy in the circumstances
19:26after such a long time without a win. So really impressive actually. I thought it was a great
19:32performance. And what was the view of Elliott and the players after the Lincoln win, Sam? I
19:36imagine there was a huge sense of relief that they'd finally broken that unwanted duck.
19:41Yeah, no, there absolutely was. I think just starting off with Will Swan who spoke to us
19:45after Robert Elliott. And he said there's just a feeling of relief more than jubilation really
19:50because he just felt like they've been playing well in these previous games, as Mark mentioned,
19:54but they just couldn't seem to score and they obviously were really poor defensively.
19:58So I think just a real sense of relief and kind of the weight lifted off their shoulders. They
20:02finally got that first win under Rob Elliott. And he actually did where Will Swan did actually say
20:08it wasn't the best performance they've had in these recent weeks and months. And it feels like
20:14they've played better and lost. So that just sums football up for you. But I'm not sure I agree.
20:18I think they were brilliant last night and they really did play well against a really strong
20:22side in Lincoln. And I think that really does set a good pedestal for the future and kind of how
20:27they want to play it because they didn't have as much possession, which is one noticeable point
20:32where maybe they're going to try and look to be more clinical than pretty, I guess. But it was
20:37a great performance. And Rob Elliott was just as relieved, I think, just to finally get that first
20:42win after a tough few weeks. But he said football was a strange game sometimes. He genuinely couldn't
20:47be proud of the group. He thinks everyone in Crawley could be proud of every single player.
20:51But sometimes in football, it doesn't always go your way. But if you show the fight and
20:56determination, that's the main thing, really. And he just feels like it's had to be a bit more of
21:02themselves and to kind of get that pressure off and try and find some consistency. Because he said
21:07there's no point getting one win if you don't back it up again at the weekend at Northampton. So
21:12I think it's a really good win for Crawley. And just as Rob Elliott said, it can't be a one-off.
21:19And I don't think it will be. I think we saw signs against Lincoln. They can
21:23take that as a blueprint for future games.
21:25Well, you mentioned Northampton there, Sam. As you said, this Saturday sees the Reds travel
21:29to Northampton, who sit two points and two places above Crawley in 19th. How do you see this one
21:34going, Mark? Is it, again, another one to potentially call a relegation six-pointer?
21:39We're still very early on in the season, but it's quite a big game.
21:43Yeah, every time I look at the League One table, the team they're playing are all
21:47down there as well. And you think someone like Northampton, quite a big side and that,
21:51it's going to be, yeah, they're on 19th, two places above. They've got a game in hand over
21:55Crawley. But yeah, I mean, Crawley have got to go there and just go and take advantage of this
22:01mini-wave that they've just started. So I think they can definitely get something from there.
22:06But yeah, they've got a good record there against Northampton as well. I mean,
22:12I think they, well, it's an equal record. They both each won five of the 13 matches with three
22:19draws. But Crawley beat them 4-2 in their famous FA Cup run in 1991 before they locked 5-0 to
22:26Brighton. But so maybe they can take a bit of spirit of 91 with them into the Cobblers. So
22:33yeah, no, I think Crawley are capable of being anyone, as they've shown last night,
22:39of anyone in this league, if it all clicks for them at the right time. And hopefully now
22:43it has clicked and this will just give them the confidence to go forward and win.
22:48Absolutely. And as a customary for each episode, we'll take a stroll down Steve Bone's
22:52score prediction corner, starting with Brighton against Wolves on Saturday. Darren, how do you
22:56see that one going? I think, as we said, I think it might be a tight one.
23:01Yeah, I'm going to go with a 2-1, I think, for Brighton. I think, yeah, I think it will be tight.
23:07But I'm hoping that Brighton should just have enough firepower to just get over the line.
23:12Mr Moore, how do you see this one?
23:153-1 Brighton. Yeah, good win. A good win to follow up on a good run of four.
23:22Mark, full house of Brighton wins?
23:25Yep, I'm going to go a little more one-upmanship. I'm going 3-0. They're not going to concede.
23:30I can see it finishing 1-1. I'm going to be the miserable one here.
23:34I'm only basing it, as Darren has mentioned, on the Forest and Ipswich games and they struggle
23:38against teams like Wolves. That's my only concern. They'll end up winning about 16-0 now that I've
23:43said that. Yeah, hopefully they'll learn from those games.
23:45All good for us though. And finally, Northampton v Crawley, Mark. Crawley win there? I reckon
23:51they'll be buoyed after Tuesday evening. I think so. I think Will Swan's going to
23:56be 2-1 Crawley. Sam Morton?
24:00I was going to say the same. I'll be different though. 1-0 Crawley. Another key sheet.
24:07And Darren finally, last but not least. Again, we're going for a full house of Crawley wins.
24:12I'm not, no, because I said last week that they would get results at Reading and they
24:16got hammered. So I'm going to say they're only going to lose 1-0 this week.
24:21I like your thinking. Brilliant. Well, thank you very much, chaps.
24:24You can catch up with all the latest sports news covering everything we have talked about today
24:27at sussexworld.co.uk forward slash sport. And you can watch more excellent videos on shotstv.com
24:32and preview channel 262. Thank you very much for listening and watching,
24:36and we will see you all next week.