Fighting on four fronts was always a Stamford Bridge too far

My first thought after Brighton had been eliminated from the Carabao Cup by Chelsea? Onwards and upwards, let us concentrate on just the three competitions instead.

For a young squad which currently has its fair share of injuries, fighting on four fronts was always likely to be a bridge too far… or in this case, a Stamford Bridge too far.

Now it can concentrate on the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Europa League. It still seems crazy to think the Albion are playing in Europe, and it is an adventure we should all savour. Not many people thought it would ever happen.

Roberto De Zerbi has said this season will be tougher. We therefore should make the most of it. The club itself will learn lessons, and what we have learnt so far is that you need a very deep squad to be able to compete on four fronts.

Something I am sure Mr Tony Bloom and Mr Paul Barber will bear in mind should we finish in the top seven again come May.

This was the first game Brighton had played since I returned from my holiday. Having missed the AEK Athens and Bournemouth matches at the Amex, it was great to see that our tickets for both fixtures had been resold on the exchange. I am grateful that the club offers this option. For us pensioners, every penny counts.

With the trip to Chelsea not on television, I followed the game via BBC Radio Sussex. Johnny Cantor and Warren Aspinall apparently found themselves in a commentary position about a foot from the ceiling, making it extremely difficult for them to see the pitch. What else can you expect from West London sheds?!

Amazingly, there was no VAR even though two Premier League sides were going head to head for a fourth round spot at a top flight stadium.

Had there been VAR, perhaps we may have had a penalty awarded to us or Chelsea sent down to 10 men in the first half for a red card after a bad tackle by Lesley Ugochukwu, who had already been booked.

Either decision going in the Albion’s favour could have led to a different outcome, such are the fine margins in football.

Chelsea kicked off from left to right, and I listened intently, hoping for an early flash of magic to get that first goal. It was not to be, however, and it sounded like the game was slow to get going.

Brighton recorded 59 percent possession compared to the 41 percent of the Blues through the first 13 minutes. Stamford Bridge meanwhile sounded silent.

All you could hear over the airwaves was the Albion support singing Sussex by the Sea. Given how poor Chelsea have been this season, it is not really a surprise that they sit there quietly, wondering what disappointment is coming next from their billion pound squad.

Our old teammate Robert Sanchez seemed determined to spark some life into the game following that slow start. He nearly gave the Albion an opening after 22 minutes, making a terrible mistake when attempting to show that De Zerbi was wrong and Sanchez can play with the ball at his feet.

The Chelsea goalkeeper went to play out from the back but instead passed it straight to Joao Pedro. All Pedro had to do was lob it back over Sanchez and into the empty net.

Pedro though must have been caught out by the shock of being gifted the opportunity and he put too much on it. The shot flew over the bar; not such much a “Bridge Too Far” but more a “Great Escape” for the Blues.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing and watching the highlights back, a square pass from Pedro would have left Ansu Fati with an even easier opportunity to put Brighton 1-0 up.

Sanchez’s mistake was part of a very dodgy first half performance. He sent four long balls down the pitch, all of which went directly out of play. To me, that came across as nerves brought on by playing against his old club.

The goalkeeper was of course not the only former Albion man in the Chelsea team. Marc Cucurella, Moises Caicedo and Levi Colwill all played as well.

As was written elsewhere on WAB in the lead up to the game, it felt rather like a Brighton & Hove Albion A Team versus a Brighton & Hove Albion B Team.

Fati had another great chance thanks to a second major error from the Chelsea back line when Caicedo had the ball taken off him by Carlos Baleba.

With only Sanchez to beat, Fati shot disappointingly wide. Boy, did Sanchez show his anger towards his teammates for creating that opportunity for Brighton.

At the other end, Tariq Lamptey made a great challenge on Mykhailo Mudryk close to half time to save the day for the Albion.

Chelsea captain Ben Chilwell could be seen making strong representations to referee Thomas Bramall, even though it was a brilliantly timed and totally fair tackle from Lamptey.

Warren summed up the first half by saying that Brighton had been poor in the final third and wondered if the Albion would go onto regret those missed chances. The answer to that turned out to be a yes.

De Zerbi undoubtedly gave the team a good half time briefing, to put it politely. Solly March came on for Fati and Johnny told us it was a lively start for Brighton, which sounded like a good sign.

Then against the run of play, Chelsea scored. Number nine Nicolas Jackson shot beyond Bart Verbruggen with the ball rolling over the line.

The Albion were clearly missing the experience of the rested Lewis Dunk and the injured Pascal Gross; the younger players were learning the hard way what happens when you do not take your opportunities.

Chelsea seemed to play with a bit more positivity after the goal, their confidence no doubt increasing as they had previously failed to find the back of the net through all of September.

Warren had a lot of praise for the recently acquired Cole Palmer, who seemed to be running the show. Verbruggen had to make a great save to prevent Chelsea from taking a two goal lead, after which there were further substitutions for the Albion.

On came one of our own ex-Chelsea players, Billy Gilmour. He has been playing so well this season and took over from Baleba. Danny Welbeck replaced Kaoru Mitoma and then young Jack Hinshelwood was given an opportunity.

How proud must his family be? Hinshelwood is a genuine Sussex born-and-bred lad who has played for Brighton since the age of eight. It is great to see him having made it all the way to the Premier League.

Jackson thought he had scored again on 72 minutes, only for the flag to go up and rule it out for offside. With no VAR in place, the on pitch decision of the linesman stood regardless.

March produced an amazing diving header that went straight into the arms of Sanchez. It would have been a great goal had it gone in, but at that point I began to feel deep down that it was just not going to happen for Brighton on this occasion.

At the end of five minutes added time, Mr Bramall blew his whistle and that was it. The Albion were out of the Carabao Cup at the first hurdle.

It had sounded like a mighty scrappy game and opinion from those who were there sounded divided. Some posted on social media that it was just the chances missed which caused the downfall of the Albion. Others said neither side played well enough to deserve victory.

Whereas Chelsea have no European football to worry about, Brighton will at least find their squad not further stretched by the Carabao Cup.

That was not the only reason to be thankful… we also avoided dreaded penalties after the experiences last season against Charlton Athletic and Manchester United. We all know what losing from 12 yards can do for morale!

Tony Noble @Noble1844Tony

Seagulls Best Ever Season Volume 2 charts Brighton’s record breaking 2022-23 campaign through the eyes of Tony Noble, an East Stand Upper season ticket holder at the American Express Stadium. It is available from Waterstones, WHSmith, Amazon Bookstore and all good bookshops as well as the Albion Superstore at the Amex and via this link.