Reasons to moan post-Wolves – but the result wasn’t one of them
There were a few reasons to moan and groan when Wolves came to the Amex, but the final score was not one of them. You just have to look at what happened to Leeds who were beaten 7-0 by Manchester City to see a truly bad result.
Perhaps when the Seagulls concede seven unanswered goals, then we can start to air our concerns about the the football. We only lost 1-0 to Wolves, and their fans could not have been impressed by their performance as they did not play too well either.
What Wolves did do is defend superbly even as both sides missed opportunities. Marçal in particular had an excellent game, shutting down the threat that is Tariq Lamptey down the right.
That impressive team defensive display stretched into Wolves’ next game on Sunday when they drew 0-0 with Chelsea, highlighting what a good side they are.
One thing that definitely deserved to be moaned about was the number of Albion fans still refusing to mask up, both on the train and at the Amex.
What is wrong with these people? Perhaps they need to spend some time in the Covid wards at the Sussex County Hospital. Then they may be less likely to ignore the medical advice on offer.
On arriving at the Amex amongst the maskless, things looked much quieter than normal. Supporters appeared to be staying away as a result of the media and warnings relating to how easily the omicron variant can spread.
For a December evening, it was surprisingly mild weather-wise. That was in contrast to the Wolves supporters swelling the South Stand, who did their best to create an atmosphere that was anything but mild by being in good voice.
It felt like the whole of Wolverhampton had made the trip and they made the North Stand vocalists sound like a children’s choir. Seagulls supporters seem to be lacking in enthusiasm to cheer on the team at home recently and I cannot work out why that should be.
With so many players absent through injury and suspension, Dan Burn captained the side. At the start of the game, I looked across to the players’ viewing area which was busier than the North Stand with all those unable to play jostling for a seat.
Brighton had first half chances but they mainly slipped away. The Albion seemed to have trouble gelling with their passing game being less accurate than normal.
Still, it looked like we would make it to the break at 0-0 until the first half entered time added on. A Wolves corner which appeared to be badly taken was not cleared and the ball was chipped back into Romain Saiss.
He got a foot to it and suddenly, Brighton were 1-0 down. Disappointed was not the word. There was an instant chance to reply but Enock Mwepu was unlucky when a shot went just over the bar.
Robert Sanchez performed some great saves yet again as the second half began, Wolves’ Daniel Podence putting our goalkeeper to the test on more than one occasion.
Towards the end of the game it got more exciting for the Albion as we piled on the pressure. The game stretched to 100 minutes thanks to problems with referee Mr Tony Harrington’s communication equipment.
It was Mr Harrington’s Premier League debut and he is unlikely to forget it. Numerous times the game had to be stopped and in the end, it became quite painful.
Brighton fans of course aired their views relating to Mr Harrington’s unfortunate situation, which finally forced him to leave the pitch to try and get it sorted once and for all.
As the game headed toward its 10th minute of stoppage time, Brighton won a series of corners in front of the North Stand. These drew Sanchez up but they only allowed Wolves to again show how strong they are defensively as the Albion were unable to force an equaliser.
There was no sign of giving up from the Albion, but it just wasn’t to be this week – unlike the West Ham and Southampton games when Brighton brought things back from the edge late on.
So many people after the game started running the team down and there is no need for that sort of criticism for the side that was named against Wolves. Bearing in mind it was a backup team because of the numbers missing, they did well.
The Albion continued their policy of announcing crowd attendance figures which reflect tickets sold, not the number of people actually in the ground – even when on this occasion the difference was laughable.
God knows what would happen in an emergency. Do the club have any idea how many fans are in the actual stadium? Those who were there need some choir practice if we are to up the noise for the next home game, be that Brentford on Boxing Day or another date in the future if Covid continues to disrupt the Premier League.
The mask situation leaving the Amex was similar to that on arrival – many stupid people not bothering and putting all at risk. To make matters worse, the vocal Wolves fans decided to urinate off the upper levels of the gantry above Falmer Station.
It is not against the law to urinate in public, however local by-laws may have regulations. I just felt sorry for people below who may of thought it had started to rain. I am afraid stewards are not up to the task and it is not fair they should have to deal with such situations.
The lack of recent football is at least giving the squad time to recover and get fit for the games ahead. Hopefully, Graham Potter can find a way to return us to our form from earlier in the season.
I for one am looking forward to the next five months of the season and hope to see many more points added to our tally. Merry Christmas everyone and a happy and healthy 2022. Up the Albion!
Tony Noble @Nobble1844Tony
