Matt Pole is joined by Brighton writer Derren Howard, Crawley Town expert Mark Dunford, and Sam Morton, who covers both the Seagulls and the Reds.
Kaoru Mitoma scored a superb goal as Brighton loosened Chelsea's grip on a place in the top four of the Premier League with their second victory over the Blues inside a week.
We look back at that win over the Blues, plus we’ll bring you the latest injury news as Albion prepare to visit beleaguered Southampton on Saturday, and host Bournemouth on Tuesday, as well as all the latest from Crawley Town.
Kaoru Mitoma scored a superb goal as Brighton loosened Chelsea's grip on a place in the top four of the Premier League with their second victory over the Blues inside a week.
We look back at that win over the Blues, plus we’ll bring you the latest injury news as Albion prepare to visit beleaguered Southampton on Saturday, and host Bournemouth on Tuesday, as well as all the latest from Crawley Town.
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SportsTranscript
00:00Welcome to another episode of the Goal Math Action Podcast, where we take a look at all
00:04the latest goings on at Brighton, Hove Abbey and Crawley Town. I'm Matt Pole and this week
00:08I'm joined by Brighton writer, Darren Howard, Crawley Town expert, Mark Dunford, as well
00:12as Sam Morton, who covers both the Seagulls and the Reds. Kaoru Mitoma scored a superb
00:17goal as Brighton loosened Chelsea's grip on a place in the top four of the Premier League
00:20with their second victory over the Blues inside a week. We'll look back at that win over the
00:25Blues, plus we'll bring you the latest injury news as Abbey and prepare to visit beleaguered
00:29Southampton on Saturday, and host Bournemouth on Tuesday, as well as all the latest from
00:33Crawley Town. You can read all the stories we are talking about with videos and pictures
00:37online at sussexworld.co.uk forward slash sport, and you can check out other great videos
00:42on shotstv.com and Freeview channel 262. You may also be watching on latest TV, so thank
00:47you very much for tuning in, but we will start at the Amex, where Kaoru Mitoma's magical
00:52opener and Jankuba Minter's double inspired Brighton to a 3-0 win over a lacklustre Chelsea
00:57on Friday evening. What did you make of Abbey's performance? They really seem to have Chelsea's
01:02number at the moment, don't they?
01:04They really do. It came swiftly after their FA Cup victory against them, where they knocked
01:09them out of the fourth round of the FA Cup with a 2-1 victory, and they followed that
01:14up with an even better display. The intensity levels, which we've heard so much about after
01:22the Nottingham Forest defeat, is back as high as it could have been. It was a 90-minute
01:29performance, which they haven't always delivered under Fabian Herzela this season, but it was
01:35really impressive. The best I've seen them play, actually, since Herzela took charge
01:40last summer. It really just came from individual work rate, winning battles against their players
01:50and really buying into the team ethic. On top of that, they then had these individual
01:57moments of brilliance, which Sam's going to speak about a bit later on. Mitoma and Jankuba
02:06Minter probably stole the headlines. I was really impressed with Danny Welbeck and Adam
02:10Webster as well. I thought those two were outstanding. Welbeck in particular, he's two
02:16assists for Minter's goals. Albion just looks such a better team when he's fully fit and
02:24playing as well. Really, really impressive. Chelsea were pretty bad. They started so well
02:37under Maresca this season and you thought they were going to really surprise a few people.
02:42They could still make it into the Champions League if they can recover from this little
02:47dip in form that they've got at the moment, but they just look lacking a centre forward
02:51really. Cole Palmer, as good as he is, as good as he has been, even against the first
02:56game against Brighton, just looked a little bit lost at times against Brighton. If they
03:02can get him back on form, I'm sure they'll be fine. As far as Brighton's concerned, really,
03:08really encouraging and one of the best games I've seen under Herzog.
03:12Absolutely, yes. They were fantastic. You mentioned Matoma's opener there, Deren. It
03:18earned comparisons to Lionel Messi and Dennis Bergkamp as he plucked the ball out the sky
03:22before slotting the ball past Chelsea goalkeeper Philip Jorgensen inside half an hour after
03:27a long ball over the top from Bart Verbruggen. We've all seen it, Sam. Just how good was
03:32that goal? It surely must be one of the best in Albion's history and maybe even in Premier
03:36League history. It was a great touch, wasn't it?
03:38Absolutely. It was an incredible, incredible goal. I was gutted I wasn't there to see it
03:43in person, but it was just as good on TV. It was just hard to believe, really. Not only
03:52the touch, but to then straight away to have the presence of mind to get out of his feet
03:58and have a shot straight away. It took the keeper by complete surprise. I've seen some
04:02people say, the keeper should have done better, but who in their right minds can expect someone
04:06to pluck the ball out of the sky as quickly as he did? It was just incredible. I've not
04:12seen a goal quite like it and definitely one of the best in Brighton's history. Matoma
04:18has been electric in recent weeks, showing his best form and it just goes to show why
04:23Brighton are so keen to keep him on. In January, there was that big bid from Al Nasser in Saudi
04:29Arabia with some big funds mentioned. Obviously, a lot of money being talked about, but I think
04:36it just showed how important of a player he is to Brighton. He can be the difference and
04:40he's got that world-class quality that's so important. It really did set Brighton on the
04:45way to a brilliant win over Chelsea. He scored in both games, but that second one, it would
04:51take some beating. If you're thinking about cracking goals, in my time watching Brighton,
04:55you think of Alexis McAllister and his free-kick against Leicester. That potentially was the
05:00best before that. He had that one that was so harshly ruled out for offside as well,
05:05McAllister.
05:06And Cissé's won that against Man City as well.
05:10Cissé's won that against Man City, obviously winning the Piscat Award. He also scored against
05:15Chelsea in brilliant style as well. I'm a bit different about it. You see long-range
05:20goals and you see some screeners, but just the pure touch and being able to bring it
05:25down in the way that he did is going to take some beating. I think it was an incredible
05:28goal. Up there definitely with the goal of the season.
05:32Absolutely, yes.
05:33I was just going to say, Dennis Bergkamp's my favourite overseas player. Overseas, that
05:39sounds cricket, doesn't it? He's my favourite foreign player in the Premier League ever
05:44and that was just straight out Bergkamp sort of quality, just the way he took that down.
05:50Goal against Leicester, I think Bergkamp scored that time, where he beat Matt Elliott.
05:54Yeah, he bought me a can of Diet Coke once, Matt Elliott, there you go.
05:57He was playing for Oxford United. But anyway, yeah, I just thought I'd add that in. It was
06:03absolutely sublime.
06:04High praise from Mr Dunford. And in further midterm news, Court Offside have reported
06:11that Brighton might reluctantly sell the 27-year-old for about £66m this summer as he enters the
06:16final two years of his contract with, surprise, surprise, Chelsea, one of the clubs interested.
06:21Darren, how much credibility does this story have? And all that aside, should Albion fans
06:27potentially be worried about a potential Matoma exit in the future?
06:33My personal view is that no credibility in the story. I think obviously Brighton's players
06:39are always linked. If they're performing well, especially after a goal like that, you often
06:44see these rumours emerge and reports emerge after a player's done really, really well.
06:49And it's an obvious link to go from Albion to Chelsea. So, there is a potential that
06:58he could leave in the summer. But for this story, for them to quote a figure as well
07:02of £66m, I don't know. I think it's just a little bit of speculation at this stage.
07:11Obviously, as Sam mentioned, there was the bid from Al Nasser, which Brighton point blank refused.
07:17And I think Matoma wasn't keen on Saudi Arabia. He's got ambitions of playing in the, he's
07:22spoken of this in the past, where he wants to play in the Champions League in his career
07:28in the future. So, there could be a scenario where Matoma does leave. Hopefully, it won't
07:34be this summer because I've said before on this podcast, I just love watching him play.
07:40He's such a, he has, as Sam said, he's got that extra world-class touch about him as
07:46well. And yeah, just watching that goal highlighted it. And when I was in the press box, you know,
07:52you don't usually, you're sort of busy working and you don't usually sort of celebrate a
07:57goal. I don't, you know, but when that one went in, it was sort of an involuntary action
08:02to actually, you know, go up and celebrate because it was just something, you know, that
08:08you don't see hardly at all, that type of level of class. So, it was a real sort of,
08:14you know, moment that stopped you in your tracks. And yeah, there'll be plenty of clubs
08:20looking at that, looking at how he performs at the end of the season at the very, very
08:25highest level that would have made a lot of clubs pay attention. And if there are interested
08:32teams in the summer, there could be a situation where there's a bit in war. So, if there's
08:38a few other interested parties that could see his price rise, you know, even further
08:44way above the 66 million. But he's a massive player for Brighton on the pitch, but also
08:49commercially as well. He's increased their profile in Japan so much. And you just see
08:55on the match day as well, there's so many Japanese fans that love coming to Brighton
09:00now as well. So, he's huge, absolutely key in every aspect of the club and they will
09:06not want him to go. And he's worth, at the moment, on the pitch more than 66 million
09:12and probably off the pitch as well in terms of what the club benefit from having him there.
09:18So, hopefully he will stay, but we'll see.
09:22And if you want quality goals each week, sorry, just go to Crawley Town, you'll be fine. We'll
09:27get on to that later.
09:28Yeah, I was just going to say on my phone, there's been a new mural painted on London
09:32Road near the big Sainsbury's I think I saw recently as well. So, I think that just goes
09:37to show obviously just how much of a fan favourite he really is. And I think Brighton put out
09:42all the stops to keep hold of him if they can.
09:44Yeah, they'd be mad to sell him. Absolutely mad to sell him. But moving back to matters
09:48on the pitch, sorry. This Saturday sees the Seagulls travel to bottom of the table Southampton,
09:53who've accrued just nine Premier League points so far this season. First up, Deron, what's
09:58the latest injury news from the Brighton camp? And will anything but a win for Albion
10:04be a monumental disappointment?
10:06Yeah, I think so. Obviously, they'll be looking to follow up on the back of those two great
10:12Chelsea performances. But it's against these teams, against Southampton, they drew with
10:17them early in the season. So, it's against these teams where Albion haven't always produced
10:22their best performances, particularly at home. So, hopefully on the road, Southampton will
10:26have a bit more encouragement to come out. And I think if Southampton do try and attack
10:30Brighton, then if they can produce anywhere near the level they did against Chelsea, they
10:37should be able to pick Southampton off quite well. But that hasn't always been the case
10:42with Brighton against the teams at that level. So, yeah, it's going to be an interesting
10:46one to see if they can maintain that level which they've had for the last two matches.
10:51In terms of injuries, Louis Stuntz still struggling with his rib issue, but Adam Webster
10:56performed very well in his absence against Chelsea last week. So, there's no pressure
11:00to rush the skipper back. Pervis Estupinian and Soli March were both spotted in training
11:05this week. We had a piece on the Sussex World website about their recoveries. They've both
11:11missed the last three or four matches with muscle injuries. Backup goalkeeper Jason Steele,
11:18he continues his recovery from his shoulder surgery. Kadioglu is still out with his toe
11:22injury. James Milner is missing with his hamstring. Igor Julio is out for the season, obviously.
11:29But there could be a return for Matt Swiffer. He made the matchday squad against Chelsea,
11:33was an unused substitute. But he's sort of recovered from his knee injury, last played
11:39against West Ham and will hopefully be available to play if needed at Southampton.
11:46And finally, for part one, Tuesday evening sees Brian entertain high-flying Bournemouth
11:50at the Amex. At the time of recording, the Cherries sit fifth in the Premier League,
11:54just one point adrift of the automatic Champions League qualification places. They're having
11:59a great season, aren't they, Bournemouth, Sam? How do you see this one going? It could
12:03be quite a good game.
12:04Yes, I think it's got hallmarks of a great game and a very, very tough one for Brighton,
12:09because Bournemouth are absolutely flying this season. Obviously, in fifth place, just
12:14at one point below fourth-placed Man City. Only Liverpool and Arsenal conceded fewer
12:19goals than them this season. And obviously, they're very dangerous going forward as well.
12:24But Albion got a narrow win at their place earlier this season, but the hosts did go
12:29so close in that game. And obviously, hitting crossbar, I think, the last kick in the game.
12:31They were quite fortunate to get that win, weren't they?
12:34Very fortunate, very fortunate. Yeah, it could have gone either way. And if you look at the
12:37results, Bournemouth have only lost one game in 2025, and that was against Liverpool. And
12:42before that, their last defeat was against Brighton. So, they've only had one defeat
12:46since that day in all competition. So, it just goes to show how much of an incredible
12:50season Bournemouth are having. And Brighton definitely will have their work cut out for
12:54them, I think. But it's a game that they obviously will be going into the game with confidence,
12:58started bouncing back from that Forrest defeat with two brilliant wins over Chelsea. So,
13:04there's definite reasons to be optimistic, but Bournemouth are definitely one of the
13:08toughest teams to play at the moment. It seems crazy to say, you couldn't imagine saying
13:13that even last season. So, yeah, it's going to be a great game, I think, obviously, on
13:19a Tuesday night. And yeah, it should be, should be a really good one to watch. And Brighton
13:23will be going into it, obviously, knowing it'll be a tough game, but knowing they've
13:26got the qualities to get the job done.
13:28Absolutely. Well, best of luck to Brighton this week. We'll take a short break now, but
13:33stay tuned as we will be discussing all things Corley Town, who are holding their own Goal
13:36of the Month competition this month. Welcome back to part two, and Corley Town enjoyed
13:42a home doubleheader in League One this week. On Saturday, the Reds picked up a highly creditable
13:47one-all home draw with high-flying Wycombe. Will Swan gave Corley an early lead, but Daniel
13:52Udo levelled for Wanderers on 20 minutes. Sam, you're at this one. How did you rate
13:58the Reds against Wycombe? On paper, it seems like a wonderful result for them.
14:03It was a brilliant result for Corley. I think we discussed, obviously, in last week's podcast
14:06that they were going to this game knowing that a draw would be as good as a win. It
14:10was really kind of the best that we could really hope for from this game, because Wycombe
14:13being second in the league, highest goal scorers, and you kind of felt like everything was pointing
14:17towards a Wycombe win in that sense. Obviously, when you look at the two teams' fortunes this
14:21season, but as we know in football, you can take nothing for granted. And Corley quite
14:26often do play their best football against the so-called better teams in the league,
14:30sort of against Wrexham, where they were very hard done by to lose that one. And yet
14:35again, they put a very good performance in against Wycombe on this occasion. They took
14:40the lead early on. It was the earliest goal of the season, actually, from Corley, and
14:43it was absolutely a cracker from Will Swan. Definitely one of the best goals. Even if
14:48you can say that this season, because there's been so many, but it was an excellent strike
14:53and it was a great way to start the match. Corley obviously did come under some pressure.
14:59Jojo Wollekopp made a great save shortly after.
15:02What a save that was.
15:03Brilliant save. It was a key moment in the match for me there. They unfortunately did
15:08concede on about the 20th minute. Yeah, just kind of the quality show from Wycombe there.
15:14And I don't think Corley could have done too much to stop it, but their response to it
15:18was brilliant. And they've shown so many times this season where they've been a little bit
15:21fragile and when they concede a goal, they can then concede several and they can lose
15:25the game in the space of a few minutes. But they did show a real resilient edge to them
15:29in this game and they did concede that goal, but they made sure they didn't concede again.
15:33And they did hold on for a really impressive point in the circumstances really. And I was
15:38really impressed by the performance. And obviously we'll go on to discuss the Wycombe game as
15:42well, which arguably they probably would have wanted to win, but they've obviously got another
15:45point there as well. So it's three games unbeaten now. So I think it's definitely some improvements
15:49from Corley and definitely that Wycombe performance was reason to be optimistic for the rest of
15:55the season.
16:19Yeah, it was because Wigan came into the game. I don't think they'd won in three or four games.
16:24It looked like a game Corley should probably go on and win given their performances against
16:27Stevenage and Wycombe. Yeah, Wycombe beforehand. But it looked like the end of a long week for
16:34the Corley players. They've still got some injuries and knocks and that, but people were
16:39playing through them because they have to. And it was a really tired, hard-working performance.
16:46Rob Elliott said after the game that it was a game a couple of months ago they would have
16:50lost. Like Sam just said, they were at a point where they concede one, they concede two or three
16:55quite quickly. But their response to the opening goal was really good. And it was Ronan Darcy,
17:01who I know we're coming on to. He did brilliantly to set up. He got the assist for the Wigan goal,
17:08but the response was fantastic. And yeah, Charlie Barker's strike, absolutely thunderbolt. It was
17:14a proper centre-back just kicking it as hard as he can. And it flew into the top corner and it was
17:21a really good goal. But after that, I mean, the second half, it was pretty much one-way traffic.
17:26Wigan in total had 27 shots and 17 corners. And it was just a bombardment on the Corley goal.
17:34They had two goals disallowed as well for offside Wigan. Jojo Wallachot did really well,
17:39pulled off a couple of good saves again. But yeah, really tight performance, but it showed
17:46how far they've come, I think, under Rob Elliott. Because yeah, like I say, a couple of months ago,
17:51they would have easily lost that game 3 or 4-1, I think. But no, not a really good performance.
17:57It was a terrible game of football from both sides, really. And you can see why Wigan are
18:01struggling as well. And I said to one of our assistant papers, the Wigan Observer, I was
18:07chatting to one of their reporters. And at half time, I said, God, that was awful, wasn't it? And
18:13he said, yeah, imagine I've got to watch that every week sort of thing. So yeah, I think both
18:19sides will be looking. So I think Corley play the better football, but Wigan arguably got the better
18:25players who can probably, they should. They're a much bigger club, obviously, Wigan. So they
18:29should be climbing up the table a bit more. But promising signs for Corley. That's three games
18:34unbeaten. And as long as they're not losing, it's a good sign for Corley.
18:38Yes, absolutely. And you've mentioned Ronan Darcy. The former Reds hero made his first
18:43start for Wigan against his old club on Tuesday night, and he provided the assist for Taylor's
18:47opener. How was he received, first and foremost, Mark? And I suppose it's probably not the main
18:52concern for Corley fans, but what was his performance like for Wigan?
18:56He looked really good. It was his first start for Wigan since he signed for them in January.
19:01I thought he looked good. He looked lively. And you could see what Corley were missing a
19:05little bit, a little bit of creativity. The goal, he started it like on the centre circle,
19:10made a pass, ran through down to the left, got the ball back, a couple of jinky little turns and
19:16that, and then crossed it over and Daniel Taylor scored. So he played well. Second half, he did
19:21tail off a bit, but that might be a match fitness kind of thing, because it was his first start in
19:26a couple of months. So, but yeah, Corley fans, they love Ronan Darcy. There was a few boos in
19:33the crowd. It was a bit odd, but I think it was from one small minority group in the crowd who
19:38were booing him. But he, at the end of the game, like there's a video on my Twitter feed or ex
19:44feed, whatever you call it these days. If you want to have a look, he's clapping the crowd and the
19:49crowd are singing the Ronan Darcy song that they sung all last year and at the beginning of this
19:53season. So it was, it was a nice welcome back for him. After he did the assist, he didn't do one of
20:00those not celebrating things, which I hate, like hate with a passion, people who don't celebrate.
20:05If you don't want to celebrate, don't score. But that's from mine and pet peeve from me.
20:12But he did celebrate and he was, yeah, which is what he deserves to do kind of thing. But
20:18he will be missed by Corley, but he is definitely Wigan's gain and I think
20:22Sean Maloney said afterwards that he offered them something different that they haven't had
20:25this season. So he will, I think he will be an integral part for them climbing up the table.
20:31Yeah, absolutely. So it was a two point week then for the Reds after their draws with Wigan
20:36and Wiccan. Sam, what was Rob Elliott's pervading mood after these results and where does it leave
20:40Corley in the battle to stay in League One? Yeah, so I spoke to Rob after the Wiccan game
20:45and he was understandably delighted with the point against Wiccan there and obviously the
20:50performance and everything like that. It was kind of the perfect day in the sense that kind
20:55of what they were up against and the performance that he saw from his team. And against Wiccan,
21:00he actually also saw it as a point gained as well. I mean, we obviously looked at it as a game that
21:04we expected Corley to potentially win. But I think when you look at the performance and the fact that
21:10Wiccan did definitely had the better chances, had the goals disallowed, I think when you consider
21:16that it's a point gained and that's exactly what Rob Elliott said. And he said it's probably the
21:21effects of the last few games, the physicality and everything going into the game. They tried
21:25to freshen the team up as much as possible to give them the best energy, but there's probably
21:30seven or eight lads carrying knocks and whatnot. But he thought the application and mentality was
21:34terrific. The lads were dead on their feet out there. Wigan were the better team, there's no
21:38doubt, but he loved the mentality of the lads to stay in the game despite the fact they didn't get
21:41the play quite right. So, yeah, I think that's an honest assessment from Rob Elliott there after
21:46the second game. And as I mentioned, obviously, three unbeaten, obviously getting that win against
21:50the Eveningers followed by two draws is a really good upturn in form. And Corley, obviously,
21:57as we'll mention soon, travelled to Blackpool next and they will be looking to win that one
22:00because in terms of where they sit in the league table, it's still looking a little bit precarious
22:04as they sit two points adrift of 20th place, Peterborough now, and they're sandwiched in
22:08between Thurston and Shrewsbury who have both played a game fewer. So in the sense of their
22:13competition with the rest of the relegations, they're a little bit better off, but they're
22:16just in danger of a little bit of coming cut off from safety. So they need to start getting some
22:21wins if they can. They do indeed. But as we have mentioned repeatedly on this podcast so far,
22:27Crawley Town appear to be holding a goal of the month competition amongst themselves this month.
22:32Barker's Rocket against Wigan follows excellent goals such as Kamari Doyle's 40-yard run and
22:37finish against Stevenage. Harry Forster's Thunderbolt against the same opposition
22:42and Bradley Ibrahim's exquisite volley against Wrexham. Mark, just why are the Reds scoring such
22:47good goals? And what would your pick be for Crawley's goal of the month for February?
22:51There's plenty of options there. There is, yeah. I've written a little piece for the website about,
22:56because I've, like I say, I've watched Crawley for about 20 years on and off now. And I mean,
23:02I remember when, because they always do a goal of the month at the end of the year. And I remember
23:05one year, I can't remember which year it was, where literally there was one really good goal
23:09and the rest were all tap-ins from six yards because there was no option. And you normally
23:14get two or three maybe in a season where you think, oh, they're the obvious goals. But this
23:19month has been absolutely incredible. I was live commentating on the Bradley Ibrahim volley against
23:26Wrexham and that was something else because, but the fact that Wrexham went up the other end and
23:30scored, we know it was, shouldn't have been allowed, but sort of took the edge off that one
23:35a little bit. But I think just pure technically, I think probably Will Swans was my favourite and
23:41just Matt, even Matt, just Max Anderson's little back heel to set him up for that curling effort
23:46was really good. But yeah, so I think probably Will Swans just edges it for me for the technical
23:51sort of prowess of it. I loved Charlie Barker's strike the other day because he just absolutely
23:57well-eed it. And please take a look at it again. And Charlie Barker, he's been so good for Crawley.
24:04But I think, I mean, Rob Elliott said afterwards, he thinks it is just, he wasn't sure why, because
24:09I said, have you put magnets in the top corners of your goals? Not that that would work because
24:14the ball isn't made of metal, but anyway, it was made a funny question. But he said he thinks it's
24:21just reward for sort of the bad luck and the bad decisions they've had. I mean, he referenced the
24:26Reading game where they lost 4-1, but they hit the post, had two efforts cleared off the line
24:31and everything. And then you look at the Wrexham game when the winning goal shouldn't have been
24:36allowed. Bolton when there was the extra somehow 12-minute injury time and they scored in the
24:44whatever minute of it. But even in that game, sorry, Rushan Hepburn-Murphy's brace were both
24:50very, very good goals and Will Swans' effort in that one was really good as well. So it's just
24:56been sensational to watch. And I don't think Crawley Town fans have ever been treated to such
25:00quality of goals. I mean, they're playing really good football as well, not getting the results
25:04maybe they should, but fantastic. But yeah, I think Will Swans' one just edges me just outside
25:10of the boot. Lovely curling effort. Absolutely. Yeah. Long may it continue. As Sam Morton mentioned
25:17this Saturday sees the Reds travel to Steve Bruce's Blackpool, the Tangerines sit 12th in
25:22League One, but they've drawn their last four league games. How do you see this one going, Sam?
25:27And should we put the house on a draw considering both teams' recent form? Yeah, I think it looks
25:32likely, doesn't it? Especially when you look at Blackpool, they've had so many draws, but they've
25:36not lost a game in 2035 actually. They had three draws at the start of the year, followed by two
25:42wins for the latest run of four draws. So they've had some crazy games really. There's been a number
25:51of occasions where they fought back from behind. They were 3-1 down, will come back to draw three
25:56or get to Mansfield. They rescued a 93rd minute leveller at Burton. And before that, they came
26:01from two down to hold Charlton to a draw. So it shows they've obviously got a lot of fight and
26:05a lot of fighting spirit in the team. But you look at the league position, they haven't necessarily
26:10got huge amounts of play because they're not obviously in danger of relegation and they're
26:13quite a way off the playoffs, but obviously they still potentially could get there and then
26:18definitely fighting in those matches, even when they fall behind, they're still coming
26:23back into them. So that's definitely impressive and one that Crawley have to watch out for, even
26:27if they do take a two goal lead, as we've seen by Crawley standards, they've done it a number of
26:32times where they've been in the lead and they've let it slip. So it does potentially bode quite
26:37badly when you look at the form, but hopefully Crawley can get a win here. And it's a game that
26:42obviously when you look at the table, that they're really kind of optimistic of potentially
26:49kind of getting a result. But when you look at the form, obviously a draw wouldn't be bad. It
26:52wouldn't be a bad result going away to Blackpool and getting a big club as well. So it's a difficult
26:58one, but Crawley will be optimistic they can get a win when you look at their form and some of the
27:03recent results they've had. So yeah, fingers crossed it can be a successful away trip.
27:08Absolutely. Best of luck to Crawley this weekend. And as ever, we'll round out the
27:12score predictions, starting with Albion's trip to Southampton on Saturday. Deron,
27:17I think it was any other club against Southampton you'd say, how many would they win by? But
27:22with Albion, you don't know, do you?
27:24No, it's one of those, but Southampton are so far adrift at the bottom. I don't see the point
27:30in them just being defensive. And so you'd think they would sort of try and attack against and I
27:37think that will play into Brighton's hands if they do. So yeah, I'm going to go with a 3-1,
27:46I think, to Brighton.
27:483-1. Sam, how do you see this one going? Are we saying a Brighton win?
27:52Yeah, I'm going to say a Brighton win. I'm going to this one actually. I'm looking forward to it
27:55and hopefully Brighton can get an early goal, settle some nerves, don't make it too edgy.
28:01But I think it might be a bit close. I think they'll go 2-0 up if Southampton get a goal back
28:05and Brighton will just hold on and see what happens.
28:08Mark, how do you reckon this one will go down at St Mary's?
28:11Oh, I think it's going to be a hammering 5-1, Brighton, I'm going for. Matoma hat-trick.
28:17Add a few more million to that price tag, of course.
28:21Tuesday, as we mentioned, Albion are at home to Bournemouth. Sam, a difficult one to call,
28:27I think.
28:29Yeah, I don't think this will be a win. I think when you look at Bournemouth's form
28:33I think a good result would be 1-0. I think a win at Southampton,
28:37a good performance and a draw against Bournemouth, I don't think there would be too many complaints.
28:41Darren, do you agree with that? Do you think a draw would be seen as a positive result for
28:44Albion against Bournemouth?
28:47No, I think it's going to be a really good game, one I'm really looking forward to. I'm going to
28:51go for a 2-0 Brighton for this one. I think Brighton just seem to be on that upward momentum
28:59at the moment and maybe the injuries will start to catch up with Bournemouth a little bit.
29:03Yeah, 2-0 Brighton.
29:05And Mark, what do you reckon?
29:07I'm going to go 2-2, go for a draw like Sam, but I think there'll be goals in it.
29:11And finally, Crawley travel to Blackpool on Saturday. Mark, I can only see a draw in this,
29:17unfortunately. Or not, I don't know.
29:20Well, you don't know, but they'll do well to get a win up there, but I'm going to go
29:25for the third 1-1 draw on the trot for Crawley. But you look at the games they've got coming up,
29:31they've got home games against Cambridge, Peterborough, Northampton, Bristol Rovers
29:35all coming up, who are all in and around that. So, if they can get through this without a defeat,
29:42I think it would put them in really good stead for that run of really important
29:45games against teams around them.
29:47Yeah, absolutely. Sam, how do you see this one going at Blackpool?
29:512-1. Crawley obviously got a 2-1 win against Blackpool right at the start of the season
29:56at home, and they'll obviously be looking to replicate that. But I think, yeah, 2-1 for this one.
30:02Darren, are we going for a clean sweep of draws?
30:04Yeah, after Sam's analysis of Blackpool, I'm going for a draw as well. So, I'm going to go for 1-1.
30:14Excellent stuff. Well, yeah, as I said, best of luck to Brighton and Crawley this week.
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