Stoke win and winter break can set Brighton up for strong finish

Roberto De Zerbi told us before the trip to Stoke City that he would be taking the FA Cup seriously. A 4-2 win in the Potteries followed, meaning Brighton will be competing in the Premier League, Europa League and FA Cup once the season resumes after the winter break.

And we should be doing so with a much stronger squad. According to reports, the Albion are expecting all currently injured players to be back by the end of February – the one exception being poor Solly March.

We have seen in recent weeks the boost Pervis Estupinan and Jakub Moder have brought since their returns. Having others like Kaoru Mitoma, Simon Adingra, Julio Enciso, Ansu Fati, Tariq Lamptey, Joel Veltman and Igor Julio fit and available is going to make for a real exciting finish to the 2023-24 season.

Some 4,000 Brighton fans had made the journey to Stoke and could be heard loud and proud over the BBC Radio Sussex airwaves, along with our faithful commentators Johnny Cantor and Warren Aspinall.

In an attendance of only 17,032, that meant nearly a quarter of the crowd were Seagulls supporters. Six goals and a place in the fourth round of the competition made the journey worth it for those who travelled.

Both teams took the knee before kick off for the first time in 2024, showing us there is no room for racism in the beautiful game.

Brighton started brightly with their positive early football creating opportunities. Some great work from Joao Pedro on the left dinked a cross towards the back post.

It almost reached the head of Facundo Buonanotte, who instead of nodding the ball home found himself colliding with the post and nearly knocking himself out. Great dedication nonetheless from the teenager.

Stoke began to show they would not be easy opponents despite their lowly place in the Championship. Bart Verbruggen was brought into play to make a couple of saves before the pressure told and the Potters took the lead.

Bae Jun-ho crossed from the right with such power the unfortunate Jan Paul van Hecke could not get out of the way. The ball hit Van Hecke in the shins and went straight into the back of the Albion net.

These mistakes happen and it was just unfortunate for Van Hecke that his came at a time when he has been doing so well of late.

With Rick O’Shay now seemingly playing for Stoke, it was the hosts who were the better team after going 1-0 ahead.

Wesley let a cracking shot go which sent Verbruggen flying to his left like a bird. You could hear from the crowd reaction that it was not far away, the ball going just past the post.

It was some effort from Wesley and the Albion were lucky not to be 2-0 down. I wondered if Wesley thought he was Estupinan for a minute, shooting from such distance?!

By the time the clock ticked onto 45 minutes, all the stats were in Brighton’s favour. There had been chances too; Moder lifting over the bar, Buonanotte putting wide from a Jack Hinshelwood cross and Lewis Dunk wanting a penalty for handball after heading on a free kick. Referee Paul Tierney was having none of it.

Johnny and Warren felt the Albion had been sloppy, which explained why the players were about to head into half time 1-0 and no doubt facing a rocket from Roberto.

But with seconds remaining, the ball fell to Estupinan on the right-hand side of the box. Like a cannonball, Estupinan fired an unstoppable shot straight into the back of the net to make it 1-1 in the sixth minute of first half time added time.

It was a fantastic goal almost as good as his strike against Spurs two games ago. Boy, is it great to have Estupinan back.

We can only presume the team talk from De Zerbi was a little gentler as a result. There was no sign of any gentleness in the commentary box, where Johnny and Warren were left to fight over tea and soup as they attempted to stay warm with the temperature dropping by the minute.

The hope going into part two was that the Albion could get control of the tie, move ahead and then stay ahead. This plan got off to a good start when Dunk headed Brighton into a 52nd minute lead.

A short corner went from Pascal Gross to Estupinan and back to Gross. In turn, Gross crossed to the back post where Dunk rose convincingly right in front of the away end. The celebrations between the players and the travelling fans were great to see.

Brighton had the wind up their tails now. Evan Ferguson went down in the box with penalty appeals again waved away. Moder then should have pulled the trigger a little earlier as he was denied a goal to mark his first start since April 2022 after that horrible ACL injury.

Stoke responded and Wouter Burger let a shot go from distance which Verbruggen parried one-handed around the post for a really good save.

From the resulting corner, Dunk went up to head clear. The ball hit the chest of a Stoke player and rebounded into the arm of the Brighton captain.

With no VAR present, Mr Tierney had to make the decision himself and pointed straight to the spot. It seemed unfair on Dunk, who had no intention to handle and could not do anything to get out of the way.

Lewis Baker stepped up and although Verbruggen went the right way, he could not get close to the penalty. That made the score 2-2 with 63 minutes played; the prospect of a replay at the Amex in the middle of the winter break was now very real.

Eight minutes later and Brighton set about securing the 16 days rest they really need. Gross once again crossed and this time it was Pedro who headed in, moving the Albion back into the lead.

Watch the highlights back and you will see De Zerbi dancing around on the pitch after Pedro scores. The emotion and passion De Zerbi displayed showed he really does want to go far in the FA Cup, hopefully avenging last year’s semi final defeat to Manchester United.

Darkness began falling on Stoke in more ways than one before Pedro made the game safe with 10 minutes to spare. Van Hecke swept a low pass sideways into the box and Pedro slotted home, securing a 4-2 win for the Albion.

Whilst the fourth round draw on Monday did not provide the home tie most of us would have wanted, Brighton do have a winnable game away at Sheffield United. Let us hope the Albion prove sharper than the Blades when they go to Bramall Lane at the end of January!

It is game I will be away for as I head off on a world tour for my book Seagulls Best Ever Season Volume 2. To keep readers up-to-date, I shall be bringing my reports to you from Australia for the Wolves game and New Zealand for the games against Sheffield United, Luton Town and Crystal Palace.

I am hoping to meet some fellow Albion supporters in both Australia and New Zealand. I shall have books for signing at 10am in the Rydges Hotel, Pitt Street, Sydney on 22nd January and at the Wellington Cruise Terminal Entrance on 29th January 2024 for those in New Zealand.

If you still have not got your copy, then see the link below before they all sell out. Who knows how good the season will be looking by the time I return?!

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.