Mark Dunford is joined by Brighton writer Derren Howard and Sam Morton, who covers both the Seagulls and the Reds.
The international break may have been in full swing, but there are still plenty of Albion talking points to chew over.
We’ll bring you all the latest from Seagulls, including a preview to their Premier League trip to Bournemouth this Saturday, plus we'll bring you all the news from Crawley Town, who picked up a battling League One point at Bristol Rovers on Saturday.
The international break may have been in full swing, but there are still plenty of Albion talking points to chew over.
We’ll bring you all the latest from Seagulls, including a preview to their Premier League trip to Bournemouth this Saturday, plus we'll bring you all the news from Crawley Town, who picked up a battling League One point at Bristol Rovers on Saturday.
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SportsTranscript
00:00Welcome to another episode of the Goal Malfaction podcast, where we take a look at all the latest
00:05goings on at Brighton & Hove, Albion and Crawley Town. I'm Mark Dunford, and this week I'm
00:09joined by Brighton writer Darren Howard and Sam Morton, who covers both the Seagulls and
00:14the Reds. In the second half, Darren will take over as host to ask me questions about
00:18Crawley Town.
00:20The international break may have been in full swing, but there are still plenty of Albion
00:24talking points to chew over. We'll bring you the latest from the Seagulls, including a
00:27preview to their Premier League trip to Bournemouth this Saturday, plus we'll bring you the news
00:31from Crawley Town, who picked up a battling League One point at Bristol Rovers on Saturday.
00:36You can read all the stories we are talking about with videos and pictures online at sussexworld.co.uk
00:41forward slash sport, and you can check out other great videos on shotstv.com and Freeview
00:46channel 262. You may also be watching on latest TV, so thank you for tuning in.
00:52So during the international break, Brighton striker Evan Ferguson was on the score sheet
00:56for the Republic of Ireland as they beat Finland 1-0 in the UEFA Nations League on
01:00Thursday evening. Only Robbie Keane and David Connolly have scored more goals for Ireland
01:04before the age of 21. Ferguson also started for Ireland in their 5-0 thumping by England,
01:09but we'll gloss over that. Should we gloss over that? I don't know. But it was a great
01:14goal by Ferguson against the Finns, wasn't it Darren? And good to see him finding a bit
01:18goal scoring form.
01:19Yeah, really pleased. Really pleased for Evan Ferguson. He's had a tough time of late. He's
01:24had this foot injury, which he took a while, longer than expected to come back from. And
01:30then he hasn't really been able to make an impact on Fabian Hurlitz's team. He's sort
01:36of seen as just a step behind Danny Welbeck, Jal Pedro and now Georginio Rutter as well,
01:42who came in from Leeds during the summer. So he's had to bide his time. And he scored,
01:49he came on again for Brighton in the now infamous sort of 2-2 draw against Wolves. And he actually
01:54scored the second goal after coming on as a sub, which we all thought was a winner,
01:59but then Wolves turned it around. So, so that was, you know, personally, that was a very
02:03good achievement for him to get the goal. But he's, he's had more minutes for Ireland
02:07than he has actually for Brighton in the last, in the last few months. And it's probably
02:13not a situation. Yeah. Yeah. It's a situation he wouldn't want to continue. I'm sure he's
02:19going to be pushing for more game time, but he played really well for Ireland. So yeah,
02:23he made his debut sort of 18 years old for Ireland. He's now got 18 caps with 13 starts
02:31and he's got four goals and one assist from, from those outings. So that's, you know, that's
02:36a pretty good strike ratio for a youngster breaking into international football. So,
02:41so it's clear that, you know, he's a talented player and he's probably Ireland's best bet
02:45of having an established goal scorer for the next, you know, potentially the next decade,
02:50you know, or so if he continues as he's going. So, so they've got big hopes for him. They're
02:55going to want him to start playing regularly for Brighton, but we'll see whether he's actually
03:01involved against Bournemouth because Brighton have got a lot of players back, but, but yeah,
03:06encouraging for that. He's playing well for Ireland and, and, and great that he's among
03:10the goals. It's great news. Yeah.
03:13Yeah, absolutely. Another Brighton player who caught the eye during the international
03:17break isn't actually at the club yet. Midfielder, midfielder, Diego Gomez is set to join Albion
03:21in January and he played a starring role in Paraguay's 2-1 World Cup qualifying win over
03:26Argentina alongside future team mate, Julio Enciso on Thursday evening. For those who
03:31don't know the player, Sam, tell us a bit about Gomez, please, and how will he fit into
03:35Fabian Herzog's side?
03:36Well, first of all, I should point out that it sounds like Brighton, again, a bit of a
03:40feisty player because I've looked at the thing he was saying, he was actually sent off in
03:43the following game against Bolivia. I think he was, he was on the bench, I think. Violent
03:49conduct, I read. Haven't actually seen the incident, but yeah, it's, yeah, potentially
03:54a bit of a feisty player Brighton have got on their hands there. But yeah, he's, I think
03:58another really talented, another talented player, but obviously, as you mentioned, we
04:01can't link up with Julio Enciso, who actually scored the equalising goal against Bolivia.
04:06So Brighton seem to be making waves everywhere, in every corner of the globe at the moment.
04:12But yeah, in terms of Diego Gomez, he is at Inter Miami at the moment. He's a versatile
04:1721-year-old midfielder who has stayed with me at Miami until the end of their season
04:22and has obviously played alongside Lionel Messi.
04:24So why would you leave Miami to go to Brighton?
04:31Anyone's guess again, but I think it's, yeah, for him, it's obviously a massive step up
04:35to the Premier League and to show what he can do. And I was reading a report from ESPN
04:41journalist Roberto Rojas, who basically describes Gomez as a Swiss army knife. He's able to
04:47do so much. He can track back and defend, lay off assists, and he can score. What kind
04:51of team doesn't want to have that kind of player? When he does come to the Premier League,
04:54it'll be a big jump. But for all of the challenges he's faced, such as injuries, he's come back
04:58better. And it's a credit to what he brings to the table. Whatever position any manager
05:02wants to play him in, he'll strive. You're getting a player that can do so much, the
05:05spirit of the team from midfield. And it sounds like he'd be deployed across the midfield,
05:10featuring mainly centrally and on the left wing. He's been capped at senior international
05:14level, as we've mentioned, by Paraguay since making his debut in 2022, and has represented
05:19his country at the summer's Paris Olympics, starting all four matches. And he also capped
05:23in the side as Paraguay reached the quarterfinals. So yeah, I think, as you mentioned, he's a good
05:28role in the 2-1 win over Argentina in the international break. Clearly, he's got a lot
05:34of talent, and it'll be interesting to see how he fits in at Brighton in a team with
05:37obviously lots of attacking talent. So it'll be interesting to see what he adds.
05:41Yeah, I know. He sounds like a good prospect, doesn't he?
05:45Yassin Ayari has been on international duty with Sweden, starting both games against Slovakia
05:50and Azerbaijan. The midfielder has begun to prove himself at Brighton, despite the club's
05:54big money signings and his own challenging loan spells in the championship with Coventry
05:58and Blackburn last season. How impressed have you been with Ayari, Darren? Surprise package
06:03for Albi in this season, do you think?
06:05Oh yeah, definitely. I think most fans and most people who follow Albion would have expected
06:10another loan this season. As you say, he struggled a bit on loan with Blackburn and Coventry last
06:15season. And it was interesting to see what they were going to do with him this year. I was
06:21expecting another loan to the championship or maybe to a European club this season. But he
06:27made a big impact in pre-season on Fabian Herlitz. And he played very well in the tournament in
06:34Japan. And I think that's when Herzl realized that he's got a player that he can use in the
06:41Premier League this season. He's very, very aggressive on the press. He's good on the ball
06:48as well. And he's been a real plus for Brighton this season. They've had a couple of injuries
06:54in the midfield area. And he's been one player who's been, well, I say that, but then he was
07:00injured in the final game against Sweden. He hobbled off against Azerbaijan in the last game.
07:08So we're going to have to see if he's fit to play against Bournemouth. But as far as his season goes
07:13so far, he's been great. And I loved his comments when we did a piece on him this week. And he was
07:21saying that he said he didn't care who they brought. He knew they were going to be signing
07:25players, but he was going to work harder. He was going to train harder and really put himself than
07:31anybody else. He said he didn't care who they signed. He was going to really put down a marker.
07:35And he's done just that. And I think that's quite encouraging to see that despite the big money
07:41signings and there's sometimes pressure on the manager, oh, we've just paid 30 million for this
07:45guy. We need to put him in. But no, he's stuck with Iari. And he's been rewarded for his hard
07:51work. So I hope he's fit to play against Bournemouth. But he's been very good this season.
08:00And you mentioned Bournemouth there. Brighton return to Premier League action this week
08:03with a trip to Bournemouth as Fabian Herzog looks ready to unleash the attacking duo,
08:08João Pedro and Jorginho Rutter for the first time this season. How excited are you to see
08:13these two start in tandem at the seagulls, Sam? And what does João Pedro's return mean for the
08:17seagulls? Yeah, it's a massive, massive plus to have João Pedro back in action, really. Obviously,
08:23we saw his impact against Man City when he came on as a substitute. And he's been so brilliant
08:29for Brighton, really, ever since he signed. And he's only got better and better. And it's a shame
08:32he's obviously had those couple of injuries of late, but he seems to come back stronger every
08:37time. And having him back is only a positive thing. And he can really help Brighton pick up
08:42some more points starting at Bournemouth. And if he does start in this one, I'm really confident
08:48that Brighton can get the result. And to link up with Rutter would be a real nice thing to see as
08:53well. But don't forget Welbeck, who's obviously been the star striker of the season. So I would
08:58really like to see all three of them. I think that would be something to see. Obviously,
09:03Welbeck up front and João Pedro and Rutter maybe just in behind or something on those lines. I
09:10think they're such versatile players. And then interlink and change up where they play. I think
09:14that's a real preposition for Brighton to get all three of those playing together. We've already
09:20seen Rutter and Welbeck, the partnership they formed has been brilliant. So if they can get
09:24Pedro to just add to that, the signs are only positive. So yeah, really looking forward to
09:29seeing how they get on. And just a shout out to Simon Odinga as well, who has obviously been
09:35limited to first 18 minutes of the season. But whenever he's played, he's been quality. And he
09:39got another great goal in the international break for the Ivory Coast as well. So I'm keen to see
09:43him get some minutes this weekend as well. But it just goes to show, we've mentioned
09:47it with Ferguson as well, just the attacking talent. It's incredible. And if you have them
09:53all fit, then teams will rightly be quite scared of playing Brighton.
09:57Yeah. Will it be the new Salah, Mane, Firmino, Rutter, Welbeck and Pedro, do you think?
10:03Could well be, yeah.
10:04Absolutely.
10:06Excellent. Albion's opponents Bournemouth sit 12th in the Premier League, but have already
10:10taken some big scalps at home this season, including Man City and Arsenal. How do you
10:15see it going, Darren?
10:17It's going to be a tough one. It's such an intense little atmosphere there. There's only
10:22Vitality Stadium, I think it's 12, 13,000 capacity. But it's really tight and enclosed.
10:30They play at such a pace under Areola. They run more, they sprint more than most teams.
10:37And it's going to be a very tough outing, especially after the international break,
10:41where you've got the likes of Estupinan and Idinga coming back from Africa and South America
10:47and then into two degrees on the South Coast. It's going to be quite a change for those two.
10:54But I actually asked Fabian today about the three players up front, Welbeck,
11:02Jorginho and Pedro playing together. And he said, yes, that is a possibility and something that
11:08he's considering for the weekend. But it would be a change of system because they have played
11:13with the two wide men, usually Matoma and Minte on the flanks with sometimes two in the middle.
11:20So it would be a change of system. But with Matoma coming back
11:24from Japan, he's had a long trip back. He played in both international games.
11:28Minte is only just coming back from injury as well. Idinga is coming back from his international
11:34duty. So I think that could be a possibility this week with the three of them playing.
11:39So it will be a tweak of formation. It's going to be an interesting one to go. But it's going
11:46to be a tough occasion. As you say, they've beaten Arsenal, they've beaten Manchester City
11:51at the Vitality. So, yeah, it's going to be a difficult one for Brighton and especially if
11:56Lewis Dunk isn't fit as well. I think we spoke to the boss today and he's saying that it's a bit
12:03dodgy whether Dunk's going to be fit or not. So, yeah, it'll be an interesting one. But in Dunk's
12:10absence, Van Hecker and Igor Julio have played well in his absence.
12:15Yeah, well, all the best to Brighton at Bournemouth on Saturday. We're going to take a
12:19short break and then when we come back, Darren and me are going to swap places
12:22and I'm going to talk all things Crawley.
12:26OK, welcome back after the break. Crawley Town were held to a goalless draw of Bristol Rovers,
12:31a result that leaves the Reds in the relegation places. Sum that up for us, please, Mark.
12:36Rob Elliott seemed pretty pleased with the point.
12:40Yeah, it was a good point. I mean, any point that I can get away from home this year,
12:43Crawley, they're going to be pleased with. They've got some big, tough trips to come
12:47and have already been as well. But the first half was a little bit of the Truman show.
12:52Conal Truman, the emergency loan keeper, he pulled off some wonderful saves to keep Bristol
12:58Rovers at bay. They had a lot of chance, especially early on, but he was on top four on Truman.
13:04And then the second half, it was all Crawley. It was completely the one-way traffic.
13:09But they struggled to get any kind of goal threat. They had all the possession,
13:14created a lot of chances, but actually testing the Bristol Rovers keeper,
13:17there wasn't that much there. So, yeah, it was a really good performance,
13:21probably a missed opportunity. I mean, there was a quick shout for a penalty for Crawley
13:27in the dying moments of injury time. But the referee, I saw a few people saying the referee
13:32bottled it, giving a penalty to an away side right at the end would have been quite a thing to do,
13:37especially a place like the Memorial Ground, I think. So, yeah, but a really good point.
13:43And I was talking to Rob Elliott this morning and Ronan Darcy the same. They both said that
13:49they're now got a little bit of a momentum going. They've kept a couple of clean sheets recently,
13:53picked up a couple of points here and there. So hopefully it's, yeah, start of a good run.
13:58And yeah, no, like I say, any time they can keep a clean sheet away from home
14:03and pick up a point, I think is a good result for Crawley this season.
14:08You mentioned Truman. He put an excellent performance between the sticks. He denied
14:13the Pirates on a number of occasions before half-time. How impressed have you been with
14:17the Millwall loanee? Yeah, he's a funny one because in the first, in his first emergency
14:23loan spell when he came in, he let in nine goals in two games and he didn't really show much. But
14:29to be fair to him, he hasn't played hardly a game of football in 10 months, I think it was,
14:35because of injuries, et cetera. And he's obviously not getting in the Millwall side.
14:39So he was brought back after Jojo Wollekot's concussion against Maidenhead.
14:45And he's done really, really well. He pulled off some, like I said on Saturday, some great saves.
14:51And in the previous game as well, he pulled off a couple of really good saves to,
14:56what one was it? The 2-2 with Huddersfield. And in the first half Crawley were 1-0 up,
15:01and he pulled off a brilliant save to keep it at 1-0 at half-time. So yeah, he's done really well.
15:09And it wouldn't surprise me if we see him again at some point, because you could tell when you
15:15speak to Rob Elliott, obviously a former Premier League goalkeeper, you'd like to think he knows
15:20what a good goalkeeper he is. And when you asked him about Conor Truman, you could see
15:27his face lit up a little bit. He obviously rates him highly. So he could be back.
15:33Good, good, good, good. And what is the situation with the goalkeepers,
15:38Mark? Jojo Wollekot, he was on the bench for Ghana during the international break.
15:43If he's close to full fitness, what does that mean for Truman, do you think?
15:47So Truman has gone back now. He's done his emergency loan. I saw Jojo Wollekot was at
15:52training this morning, and I asked Rob Elliott about him, and he said, yeah, he's back and he's
15:58fit, obviously because it was a head injury against Maidenhead. They obviously have to
16:03take precautions with concussion rules, et cetera, and that now. So he had to miss the games against
16:08Huddersfield and the, which one was it, the Wickham Wanderers game and another one. There
16:14was another game he had to miss because of that head injury. But then he went on international
16:18duty. Rob Elliott said he was a bit gutted for him that he didn't get to play because Ghana
16:22didn't qualify for that, for the competition. So yeah, he didn't get any minutes, but he's back,
16:29he's fit. And Rob Elliott says when you've got a player like Jojo Wollekot coming back,
16:34he's going to make a, give the whole team a boost kind of thing. He's been really good for Crawley
16:39this year. So hopefully, yeah, he's going to be back on good form against, who are they playing
16:46Saturday? Rotherham United on Saturday. Yeah, hopefully it will be on really good form against
16:49them. Sounds good. Sounds good. And then just going back to the Bristol Rovers game,
16:54Tulio Suomini's 81st minute effort was Crawley's first on target at Memorial Stadium. How concerning
17:02is the Reds' lack of goal threat away from home and their goal threat in general, Sam?
17:08They've scored just once in their last five away games.
17:12Do you want to be concerned?
17:17Oh, sorry. Yeah, it's definitely a concern. It's kind of been the story of the last few months,
17:22really. Just not being able to put those chances away and turn the possession and the domination
17:29into goals. But one thing they have resolved is it seems to be the leaky defence and they have
17:35seemed to get better in that department. So they've kind of, they're halfway there. They've
17:40solved that issue of leaking goals and now it's just about trying to trying to score out the other
17:44end. And time will tell if they can do that. But obviously, the longer it goes on, the more
17:49concerning it gets in terms of the league position. So I think they need to hopefully put that behind
17:56them, obviously, these scoring problems and the drought they're on. And hopefully they get a few
18:00goals against Rotherham. I think as soon as you get a couple of goals, the floodgates can open and
18:04you get that confidence back in the team. I think they obviously need some more players across the
18:09team chipping in as well. So yeah, hopefully, hopefully they get a good winning against
18:12Rotherham to get that confidence going again in front of goal.
18:15Yeah. One man who is tipped to solve crawlies while he was in front of goal is Tyrese
18:19John-Jules. He made his league debut for the Reds at Rovers. It sounds like he was quite impressive,
18:26Mark. Would that be fair?
18:28Yeah. So the last couple of games, actually, because he came on as a sub against Wickham
18:31in the Bristol Street Motors as well. And reading all the fans' reaction on that,
18:36they all seem quite impressed with him. I mean, he's obviously got quality. He's come through the
18:41Arsenal Academy. He's played at Lincoln, Doncaster, Blackpool, Sheffield Wednesday.
18:47But where he really impressed, I think, was Ipswich Town. And there's a couple of people
18:52who go to Crawley who are Ipswich Town fans, and they were raving about him when Crawley signed
18:57him. So he's got quality. The only problem is he hasn't played a lot of football in the last year
19:01or so. So Rob Elliott's very wary about not just throwing him in too soon with fitness-wise and
19:07that. So he's got to get a match fit. But if he can come on as an impact sub and be a real goal
19:12threat and creative threat for Crawley, he could have a huge impact kind of thing. And if they can
19:19get him fully fit, and then he'll start pushing the likes of Will Swan, Hepburn, Murphy, and all
19:24that in those attacking positions, it can only be a good thing for Crawley. And yeah, he's a new
19:29signing. And yeah, hopefully, I think he's popular around the training ground and the changing room
19:35as well. So fingers crossed, hopefully, he'll get some goals. Because yeah, like Sam said,
19:40it is a little bit of concern. They have so much possession, create a lot of chances. But actually
19:45threatening the goal is their weakest point at the moment. So fingers crossed. Hopefully,
19:50he can have an impact. Yeah, he must be a good lad if he played for Ipswich. So that's all.
19:54So this Saturday, Cesar Reds entertain Rotherham, who have struggled in League One this season
20:01following their relegation from the championship. The Millers sit 17th in the table, but are only
20:06four points clear of the drop. How do you see this one going, Sam? Yes, it's a tough game to call,
20:14actually, this one, Darren. I think, as you mentioned, Rotherham not having a great season.
20:18It's definitely below expectations. Obviously, they're managed by former Reds boss Steve Evans.
20:24I was reading an article, actually, and he was saying that he's well aware of the threat that
20:28his former team has already posed. He said he watched the game against Bristol Rovers and
20:32thinks they played really well and were obviously deserving of more than just a point, it sounds
20:37like. In terms of Rotherham, they've won just one of the last five League One games. But they did
20:43defeat Bradford City on Tuesday night in the EFL trophy. So yeah, it's a game between two teams,
20:52they're not in the best of form, not full of confidence at the moment. And both teams will
20:57be desperate for the win at the end of the day. So Cordy will be travelling to Rotherham, knowing
21:03that they need to get some points to get out of the relegation zone, while Rotherham will be
21:07looking over their shoulders. They have got that game in hand, Rotherham, but still precarious
21:12position for them to be in. Even at this stage of the season, they're looking to get some points
21:16as early as possible. And you know, Steve Evans is a really experienced manager, as we know, and
21:21it'll be an interesting game coming up against them.
21:24He's quite a quiet fella, Steve Evans, isn't he?
21:26Yeah, he certainly is. So yeah, I'm looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to seeing
21:30how Cordy get on and hopefully they can get an important three points.
21:34This is an interesting one, this sort of expectations, because I read up on Rotherham
21:40against Barnsley, they lost 1-0 last week. And apparently at the end, the players literally had
21:44to run for cover because the fans were screaming at them, having a go at them and everything.
21:50I mean, they're only 17th. I mean, sorry, they're only 17th, which is obviously below expectations.
21:57But Crawley, who are 20th, Crawley fans have been absolutely brilliant in supporting the side
22:06away from home. I mean, even at Reading, when they lost 4-1, Crawley played really well that day,
22:11how they lost 4-1, I'll still never understand. But the fans were just there applauding them off
22:16and everything. So it's amazing the difference in expectations between the two sides and that.
22:21But if Crawley fans can get on Rotherham's back, Rotherham players' backs and everything,
22:27pressure will be on them. And so it's a good chance for Crawley to really take advantage
22:31of that, I think.
22:33Yeah. Yeah, no, it looks like a good opportunity. And we'll take a look at some
22:37score predictions now. Sam, we'll start with you. Brighton away at Bournemouth for a 3pm
22:43kick-off at the Vitality, the Battle of the Piers, as it's called. How do you see this one?
22:50Tough game to call. I think we've mentioned the threats that Bournemouth pose.
22:54But I think Brighton will have too much on the day. I'm going to go with a 2-1 win to Brighton.
23:00I was going to say the same. I was going to say the same. Mark, what do you think of this one?
23:04Oh, I think there's definitely goals in this one. I'm going to go for a 3-1 draw.
23:073-1 draw.
23:09It's a bit maverick. I'm going, yeah. I think it'll be one of the games of the weekend, I think,
23:14because both teams have been playing really good football, haven't they, this season?
23:18Yeah.
23:19Yeah, no, it should be good. And Crawley welcome Rotherham, which we just touched upon. Mark,
23:24what do you think the score will be there?
23:27I think what I just said about the fans getting on Rotherham players' backs and stuff,
23:33pressure's all on them. And I think Crawley, this is going to be one of those good days
23:38for Crawley. I'm going to go 2-0 Crawley.
23:40Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm going to go for a 1-0 for Crawley for that one. I think you're right. I
23:45think it could be a good day for Crawley. Sam, how do you see that one?
23:50I'm going to go another 2-1, Crawley. The goals will be back.
23:54And they'll leak one, but they'll get the job done.
23:57Great stuff. Well, here's hoping they can do that. Thanks, guys, for joining. And thanks,
24:02everybody, for watching. You can catch up with all the latest sports news covering everything
24:05we've talked about today at sussexworld.co.uk. And you can watch more excellent videos on
24:11shotstv.com and Freeview channel 262. But thanks very much for tuning in.