Sussex World's Matt Pole and is joined by Brighton & Hove Albion writer Sam Morton, Crawley Town expert Mark Dunford and Sussex sport guru Steve Bone.
The Seagulls endured an up and down week, as a thumping FA Cup fourth round win at Sheffield United was followed by a humbling Premier League defeat at Luton Town.
We’ll pick over the bones of this week’s action, and take a look at all the January deadline day deals at Albion and League Two, and the latest news from our non-league sides.
You can read all the stories we are talking about with videos and pictures online at SussexWorld.co.uk/sport, and you check out other great videos on ShotsTV.com and Freeview channel 276.
The Seagulls endured an up and down week, as a thumping FA Cup fourth round win at Sheffield United was followed by a humbling Premier League defeat at Luton Town.
We’ll pick over the bones of this week’s action, and take a look at all the January deadline day deals at Albion and League Two, and the latest news from our non-league sides.
You can read all the stories we are talking about with videos and pictures online at SussexWorld.co.uk/sport, and you check out other great videos on ShotsTV.com and Freeview channel 276.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 Welcome to another episode of the Goldmouth Action Podcast, where we take a look at all the latest goings on at Brighton & Hove Albion at Crawley Town and Sporting Sussex.
00:09 I'm Matt Poulton, this week I'm joined by Brighton & Hove Albion writer Sam Walton, Crawley Town expert Mark Dunford and Sussex Sport guru Steve Bone.
00:16 The Seagulls endured an up and down week as a thumping FA Cup fourth round win at Sheffield United was followed by a humbling Premier League defeat at Luton Town.
00:24 We'll pick over the bones of this week's action and take a look at all the January transfer deadline day deals at Albion and League Two club Crawley, as well as the latest news from our non-league slides.
00:34 You can read all the stories we are talking about with videos and pictures online at sussexworld.co.uk/sport and you can check out other great videos on shotstv.com and freeview channel 276.
00:44 As mentioned at the top of the podcast, Brighton advanced the fifth round of the FA Cup with an excellent 5-2 win at Premier League rival Sheffield United. The Seagulls will visit Wards in the next round on 28th February.
00:55 Sum that performance up for us Sam, what do you make of the draw for Brighton?
00:59 The result against Sheffield was brilliant really. I was there at Bramall Lane and it was everything coming together for Brighton. Despite the injuries they had, obviously lacking in the wide areas with players either injured or out on international duty.
01:14 But you wouldn't really have known that really. They were really clinical, creating lots of chances and obviously João Pedro started the show with a brilliant hat trick.
01:22 Obviously another two penalties, he's had a lot of penalties this season but I don't think there's a better penalty taker in Europe really or even across the whole of football because you just know he's going to score.
01:33 You just don't have any reason to believe he won't score from the spot. He added a brilliant goal from just outside the box to seal his hat trick as well.
01:42 Obviously there was a little bit of room for improvement defensively because they were completely in control in the first half and next thing you know it was two-all at half-time.
01:51 That is something that De Serbi wasn't too happy about at the end of the game and probably wanted to make sure there was no repeat to that in the next game, which obviously we'll get into and that did happen defensively.
02:03 Went a bit wrong in the following game. So I think there's definitely problems defensively but going forward, João Pedro is in brilliant form and he really showed his best at Sheffield United.
02:14 In terms of the draw, I think it's another frustrating one for Brighton, isn't it? They've had three long away trips in a row. Stoke, Sheffield and now Wolves.
02:22 It's a real tough one to take for the fans, I'm sure, especially on a Tuesday night. But it's a favourable draw, I guess.
02:30 I know Wolves are obviously a good side. They held Brighton to a draw recently. So there's definitely no pushover.
02:38 We saw against Man United how tough of a team they can be as well.
02:44 You had to mention Man United, didn't you, Sam? You had to just get that in last night. What a goal that was last night.
02:51 Yeah, I'm not sure I'm quite over what happened last night yet. That was mental.
02:56 Just on the draw. If they beat Wolves, they deserve to get to the final and win it, don't they? What horrible draws.
03:03 I don't remember a team having that many horrible away draws in the FA Cup. I'm just going to wind Steve Bone up here.
03:12 Is João Pedro the best penalty taker in the Premier League since Matt Letizia?
03:16 I think he's much better than Matt Letizia. Matt Letizia missed a few.
03:21 Did he miss a few? I thought he didn't miss that many. I know he missed at least one.
03:26 In my mind, he missed more than he scored.
03:33 How many caps for England has Matt Letizia got compared to João Pedro, Mark? That's the real quiz.
03:38 Yeah, that's the real quiz, absolutely.
03:41 Tuesday night saw Albion back in Premier League action, but Roberto de Zobisade were humbled as they were beating 4-0 at Luton.
03:47 Looking at the reaction on Twitter after the game, Sam, it seemed to be a night to forget for the Seagulls.
03:53 Yes, absolutely. It was a real tough game to get over, really, I guess, because it's probably the worst performance in result of the season.
04:05 There's been a couple of bad ones. You think about the 6-1 at Aston Villa.
04:09 And obviously, even last season, you think of the 5-1 at Everton, De Serbi against Everton.
04:15 But De Serbi said that it's definitely the worst defeat in his time at the club.
04:19 And there will be probably some tough words and tough lessons learned, I think, from the game.
04:25 I don't think anyone really saw it coming. I remember previewing the game and thinking that Luton would be a tough team to beat.
04:31 I knew that they had good players going forward.
04:36 Obviously, Ross Barkley has been in brilliant form, Adi Baiot.
04:39 And we mentioned all these players as well. But I think it really was a shock when they went 2-0 up within three minutes.
04:44 And Bryton looked shell-shocked and never really looked like getting back into the game.
04:48 It was definitely a poor performance by their standards, 100%.
04:52 And one they'll be looking to bounce back from really quickly, because it is very unlike them, really.
04:57 And Luton really did stifle everything that Bryton can do to hurt teams.
05:01 And that's probably one that De Serbi will want to forget very quickly and to put things right.
05:08 There's a local connection with Adi Baiot, isn't there, Steve? Our local football guru?
05:14 There is. He was at Bognor for a little while. Yeah, on loan in the 2016/17 season, I think it was.
05:21 Holds the unusual distinction of having scored a hat-trick for Bognor and a hat-trick against Bognor in the same season.
05:27 They thought, let's get him on loan and he did the same for them.
05:31 But he didn't look then like a player who would go on to play in the Premier League.
05:36 But that's a long time ago. You just don't know, do you? Amazing how some of these players go up through the levels.
05:41 Am I right in thinking that Lewis Dunk was also on loan at Bognor? Steve, is that right?
05:46 He was, yeah. A bit before that. That was back in 2010, I think that was.
05:51 Had a couple of months at Bognor. Looked very good there. He was only 17. You could tell, man, he was going to go a long way.
05:59 And branching into TV world, the Bognor contestant on The Apprentice last night, he played for Bognor as well, didn't he?
06:07 He did, yeah. Everybody's played for Bognor, haven't they? Yeah, Phil Turner, who we all need to back in The Apprentice,
06:13 played for Bognor and Wick and a couple of other local teams as well back in the day.
06:17 So, yeah, we're all supporting him. Blimey, I didn't know that.
06:22 Kevin Betsy. Kevin Betsy was once on loan at Bognor as well. There you go.
06:29 Is that true? Yeah, Kevin Betsy was. Yeah, I was going to go to a game with him at Bognor because he wanted to see Jack Pierce.
06:38 Because he hadn't seen him in a long time. But yeah, as we know, it didn't last that long.
06:42 So I didn't get a chance to go to a game at Bognor with Kevin Betsy.
06:46 Well, we talk about Crawley Town a little bit later on, but the January transfer window slammed shut on Thursday
06:52 with a major Seagulls signing departing the club.
06:55 Can you tell us, Sam Morton, a little bit about the move that saw Mahmood Dahoud exit the Amex and why Roberto Deserbe allowed him to leave?
07:03 Yeah, so he's been considerably out of favour for Bryce in the season.
07:08 Dahoud, when he was brought in, he was obviously hoping to bring a bit of experience into midfield,
07:13 which lost huge, huge names and huge talents in McAllister and Quesada.
07:18 And they signed Dahoud in the hope that he could bring a bit of stability into that midfield whilst they try to bed in some of the younger players,
07:25 like Buleba, for example. But it didn't really work out. Dahoud looked brilliant in pre-season.
07:30 There was some flashes of what he can do and the talent that he has.
07:34 He never really showed it in the Premier League particularly, really.
07:39 And there was, I think, the real turning point was when he was sent off in the home game against Sheffield United
07:47 for a reckless and completely unnecessary challenge, which ended up Bryton losing the lead they had at the time.
07:54 But he did start the following game, then was hooked at half time.
07:57 So I don't think he really made the impression that he would have liked to, the fans would have wanted to see from him.
08:03 And as we know, De Serbi is very ruthless.
08:06 If there's players that he doesn't feel suit his style, suit the needs he has for the team.
08:11 And obviously, yeah, that was just an unfortunate one, really,
08:16 where he couldn't make the impact that everyone would have liked him to.
08:20 And De Serbi thought it was best to loan him out.
08:23 And if the buy option that Stuttgart do have is taken up, it will be a nice little bit of profit for Bryton as well.
08:29 Hopefully he has his success back in the Bundesliga and obviously he will be reunited with Denis Undov,
08:34 who's on loan at Stuttgart as well.
08:39 And he's tearing it up in the Bundesliga.
08:41 So it will be interesting to see what Bryton do with him when he returns, if he's going to stay in the Bundesliga or come back to Bryton.
08:47 Because I think he's one to think about definitely because he's been brilliant over there.
08:52 Before we go into a break, this Saturday sees the small matter of Bryton v Crystal Palace at the Amex in the Premier League.
08:58 How do you see that one going, Sam?
09:02 Tough game. I think it's one of those where a massive game gets huge rivals, form kind of goes out the window.
09:08 So we hope that Bryton are able to put that losing game behind them and just get back to what they were doing well,
09:14 and especially against Palace. But a lot will depend on whether Michael Alisse and Evroche Eze are fit,
09:21 because they are everything good about Palace.
09:24 You saw they literally won the game against Sheffield United recently on their own.
09:28 Fantastic goals, weren't they?
09:30 Oh, they were amazing goals. I don't think Alisse was fully fit either, and he got two assists.
09:35 An amazing goal on the half-volley almost.
09:40 And yeah, even Eze has scored an absolute cracker as well.
09:44 So two players that I think Bryton will be hoping are not ready because there's a little bit of doubt whether they'll be fit for it,
09:49 particularly on Eze. I don't know if he'll be available, but a lot will depend on that.
09:54 And obviously Bryton will have to be at their best, have to have Jal Pedro hopefully scoring more hat-tricks.
10:00 But yeah, I think it should be a good game. Definitely better than the one we saw at Selhurst Park, I think,
10:05 because that was a bit of a drab affair. I think it'd be hopefully a bit more lively, this one, and the atmosphere should be rocking.
10:12 And it's the kind of game that Bryton need after that Luton game, isn't it? One where you need no motivating for.
10:21 I mean, if they were a Wolves away now, it would be like, oh God, just been Luton away.
10:26 But now, yeah, this is absolutely perfect.
10:29 Well, we will wait and see, won't we? We're going to take a very quick break, and when we come back,
10:32 we will talk all things Crawley Town and non-league in Sussex.
10:35 Crawley Town were also very active in the transfer market on the final day of the January transfer window.
10:41 American midfielder Jeremy Kelly and defender, and I apologise in advance, I'm going to butcher this name,
10:47 Mustafa Olugundu has joined on loan from Huddersfield Town.
10:50 Mark Dunford, what do we know about the pair of those and where will they fit in Scotland's side?
10:56 So I think you pronounced it perfectly as well. Well done.
11:00 Thanks.
11:01 So Jeremy Kelly, he's, I mean, obviously the Crawley fan, some, a small minority of Crawley fans went crazy on Twitter last night
11:10 because there was an American link. So obviously we're just going to sign American players now. Crazy.
11:16 But looking at him, I mean, he hasn't played anywhere in Europe. He was born in the Czech Republic.
11:21 He's played for USA under 20s, I think it was. He's quite a versatile player by all accounts.
11:28 He can play in defence, midfield. He can even go up, play in a more attacking role.
11:33 So I think with some of the injuries that Crawley have got with the likes of Ben Gladwin,
11:37 now Dion Conroy's had niggles recently and illnesses.
11:41 And that is, I think they just need someone that they can slot in somewhere if needed kind of thing.
11:48 So he seems like that kind of player. I was chatting to Scott yesterday and he mentioned that they did look at him last summer,
11:54 but they couldn't quite work it out. So is someone, it's not a panic last minute buy, is someone who was on their radar.
12:01 And Mustafa Oluguncu, he's been at loan at Ebbsfleet, I think. He hasn't actually made a first team appearance for Huddersfield yet.
12:09 By all accounts, good central defender, good on the ball. So yeah, again, good cover for, you've got Dion Conroy,
12:17 like I say, who has had a few injury issues, but you've got Harry Ransom who's had injuries this year as well.
12:23 But Joy McCain is coming through. And I mean, again, Crawley fans, some of them,
12:29 they sort of think, oh, this is just another non-league buy. But look at the non-league players they got in.
12:34 Joy McCain, who was brilliant against Pisa last week, against one of the best players in League One, Efron Clark.
12:43 You've also got Mason Clark, sorry, Efron Mason Clark, isn't it? And then, yeah, Joy McCain.
12:49 Clydie Lollos has been a huge hit with the fans and that. So it could be another really shrewd sort of signing to the end of the season there.
12:58 We are expecting maybe one or two more. We believe paperwork is done, but they're just waiting for confirmation.
13:07 A name that was put out there last night on Twitter from fans and as they heard is Donovan Wilson,
13:13 who's at Grimsby and it will be a loan move until the end of the season.
13:18 He scored five goals in 10 games for Grimsby this year. So not a bad return at all.
13:25 And what Scott Lindsay said yesterday in his press conference before the Morecambe game was that the one position they do need to sort of have real backup is the striker,
13:34 because Danilo Orsi has been playing up front on his own all season.
13:38 And there's been times where Scott's wanted to take him off, but he's got no one on the bench to replace him that could do the job that Danilo Orsi is.
13:45 So someone like Donovan Wilson, hopefully, if they can get it over the line, will be a really good addition.
13:51 And we're hoping one more, but we don't know the details about that one.
13:55 I think that should probably bring the best out of Orsi as well. If you give him the rest and you're not kind of relying on him every week,
14:01 you can kind of give him the rest that he needs to then find his best form.
14:05 And that can in turn help Crawley massively in kind of the running, really.
14:09 So, yeah, I agree. There's some good, good, exciting signings there for Crawley. Hopefully that can make a difference.
14:15 Absolutely. Yeah. And the thing with Orsi as well, you've seen him, Sam, he doesn't stop running.
14:21 He's just, even if he's not getting on the ball, he just does not stop running.
14:25 So he must be absolutely shattered because he's played almost every minute of every game sort of thing.
14:30 But he's got a good return and he's done really well this year.
14:32 So, yeah, but like you say, that just gives him that extra boost if he knows not all the pressure is on him.
14:37 So, yeah. Yeah, absolutely.
14:40 Well, this weekend sees Crawley Town entertain Morecambe in League Two after an extended hiatus.
14:45 The Shrimpers sit two points and three places behind the Reds going into the game at Walfield Stadium.
14:50 How do you see this one going, Mark? I must admit, I don't really know much about Morecambe, but I'm hoping you can enlighten us all.
14:56 Well, no, again, I don't know too much either, but Scott Lindsay filled me in a bit yesterday.
15:00 He watched their game. They beat MK Don's 2-1 away from home the other day.
15:06 And he said he really analysed that game. He's had two weeks to analyse them now, rather than just the like three or four days that he normally gets.
15:13 So he said, yeah, they're a team full of threats.
15:16 They obviously haven't done as well as they'd hoped. They got relegated from League One last year.
15:20 And like most teams, you'd expect them to try and bounce back straight back.
15:24 But they changed manager in November. I think it's Jed Brennan now.
15:29 All right. And yeah, I mean, it's a game you'd expect Crawley to win.
15:35 But we said that against Salford, didn't we? And Crawley were awful that day.
15:39 And I can't imagine Scott Lindsay allowing another performance like that.
15:44 The players know they didn't play well. Scott Lindsay know they didn't play well.
15:47 I think they've got to turn around for this. They'll be more prepared.
15:50 And it'd be interesting to see if any of the if either Jeremy Kelly or Ologundu comes into the squad.
15:56 He said he prepared the side without them. But if they're fit and ready to go and they need them to step in, I'm sure they will be.
16:04 Meanwhile, Eastbourne Borough and Worthing both enjoyed winning weekends in National League South.
16:09 Steve Bone, how big were those victories for the two clubs who are battling at different ends of the table?
16:15 Yeah, massive wins for both, really.
16:19 Eastbourne Borough were really in that situation where they needed a win.
16:23 Time is running out for them. They're in the bottom four.
16:27 I think before Saturday, they were six points adrift of the safety line.
16:31 They beat Farnborough 2-1, really good, sort of hard earned.
16:35 It wasn't a classic, I don't think, but good, sort of gritty, hard earned win.
16:39 It was the first win under the new manager, Adam Murray.
16:42 And everybody there is going to be thinking this has to be a turning point.
16:45 You know, we need to build on this now.
16:47 Kevin Anderson sent us a report from that game.
16:50 And having spoken to people down there in the weekend, he said you can certainly sense a little bit of a lifting of the gloom with that win.
16:58 But it's what they do now. They're off to Bath City tomorrow.
17:02 So they will look to keep that going, at least with a point there.
17:05 And then at the other end of the table, as you say, Worthing, they beat Torquay 4-2.
17:10 They've done the double over Torquay a few years ago.
17:12 If you said Worthing were going to do the double over Torquay, nobody would have believed you, would they?
17:16 They've actually won 7-2 on that as well because they won 3-0 at Torquay earlier in the season.
17:21 Again, had a slow start, went a goal down, but came back, recovered well, were 3-1 up by half time.
17:26 And they're now, you know, a couple of points clear in second place, looking good for a good, not just a playoff place, but a good playoff place.
17:35 You know, they could be straight into the playoff semifinals there.
17:38 So big wins for those two, but they just need to keep that going now, both of them.
17:43 There were also excellent wins in the Esmeon Premier for Horsham, Bognor Regis Town, Lewis and Hastings in front of big cramps to boot.
17:51 Where does this leave those four clubs in the table, Stephen?
17:53 How heartening is it to see that those clubs are getting such big attendances at home?
17:57 Yeah, as you say, wins for all four.
18:00 In fact, quite an unusual day because Eastbourne Borough, Worthing, Hastings, Horsham, Lewis and Bognor were all at home and they all won.
18:08 And they all had massive crowds as well.
18:10 Something in the air last weekend.
18:13 I've worked out that the six between them last weekend played in front of 9,000 people.
18:19 So it was an average of 1,500.
18:21 So Hastings and Worthing both had well over 2,000.
18:24 Horsham and Eastbourne Borough both had well over 1,000.
18:27 Bognor and Lewis both had more than 900, which is incredible, really.
18:30 I just think it shows.
18:31 You see it in non-league generally, it's not just in Sussex, but crowds in non-league are very good.
18:36 They're on the up.
18:37 They've rocketed really since COVID and all the lockdowns and that period where people couldn't go to football.
18:43 I think that's been a factor in it.
18:46 So great to see.
18:47 Hope it continues.
18:48 Those clubs are all working hard to get the people through the gates and credit to them for that.
18:53 In terms of the results, Hastings now up into the playoff zone.
18:56 So they're fourth after two wins in a week.
18:58 They beat Hashtag Anmar Gate in midweek.
19:00 Bognor not too far behind them.
19:02 Five wins in their own league.
19:03 They're seventh.
19:04 Horsham and Lewis a bit further behind, still with work to do to force their way into that fight.
19:09 But they've given themselves a chance.
19:11 So we'll see how they all do this weekend.
19:15 Best of luck to all of them.
19:16 Quickly going to go down a stroll down Steve Bones' score prediction corner, starting with Brighton over Albion against Crystal Palace.
19:23 Sam Morton, how do you see that one going?
19:25 I think it'll be a close game.
19:27 I think, obviously, as I said earlier, it will depend on who is fit for the game on both sides, really.
19:33 But I think Brighton will edge it.
19:36 I think it'll be 2-1, 2-1 Brighton.
19:38 They'll bounce back brilliantly from the losing defeat.
19:42 Mark, how do you see this one going?
19:45 Well, I'd be brave like Steve Bones was last week predicting Luton to beat Brighton.
19:51 Not quite like they did.
19:53 But I think it's going to be a draw.
19:57 I think it'll be Crystal Palace are on a high.
19:59 Brighton obviously want to fight back straight away.
20:01 But I think it'll be a draw.
20:03 But I agree with Sam that it all depends on Eze and Alissa if they're fully fit.
20:08 It could be another torrid day for Brighton.
20:11 Steve, how do you see that one going?
20:13 I think pressure on Brighton a little bit after the Luton defeat.
20:16 I think De Zerby will have them fired up for it.
20:19 The crowd will be up for it.
20:21 I'm going 3-1 Brighton.
20:23 And I think most listeners are desperate to hear your views on Crystal Palace, Steve.
20:27 Are they in your good books or in your bad books?
20:29 I don't really like them.
20:31 I haven't got a lot of time for them, really.
20:33 Pompey used to go to Salisbury Park regularly in the 1980s and get beaten with all sorts of bad luck and controversy and everything else.
20:42 I once went to a game there where it rained from the moment we got off the train at Norwood Junction all the way through the game on the big open terrace as it used to be
20:52 until the moment we got back on the train and, inevitably, Pompey lost as well.
20:56 I've never thought of it.
20:58 I don't like them as much.
20:59 Sorry.
21:00 They're one of the few teams I don't like.
21:02 We need to do this podcast.
21:04 I'm desperate to do this podcast.
21:06 Crawley at home to Morecambe, as mentioned.
21:09 Sam, how do you see that one going?
21:12 Oh, it's a difficult game.
21:14 Crawley at home have been good this season, making it a bit of a fortress.
21:18 So, let's say 2-0.
21:20 I've never predicted a clean sheet for Crawley, so let's make it a fast 2-0.
21:24 Mark, how do you see this one going?
21:26 You mentioned they had a fortnight off.
21:28 Could that potentially lean to a bit of ring rust for the Reds?
21:31 It can work both ways, can't it?
21:34 A bit of ring rust, not having the match practice, but also they can come back refreshed.
21:40 I think their last home game – or, the last league game – was a 1-0 defeat at home to Salford.
21:44 So, like I said, I don't think that will be accepted again.
21:47 So, I'm going to go 3-1 Crawley and Jeremy Kelly coming on in his debut
21:51 and scoring the third goal to seal the win.
21:55 There you go.
21:56 Captain America will be christened after this.
21:58 I don't even know if he's in the country yet, but, yeah, who knows?
22:03 Finally, Steve, very quickly before we close, are you going for a win for the Reds?
22:08 The only thing I know about Morecambe is they've got the best pies in the football league,
22:12 but that's at home, so they're away.
22:14 So, I don't know anything about it.
22:15 I'm going to go for Crawley to win 4-1.
22:17 Brilliant.
22:19 Scott, do you believe that I am?
22:21 Brilliant.
22:22 Thank you very much for your time, chaps, as ever.
22:24 You can catch up with all the latest sports news, covering everything we've talked about today,
22:27 at sussexworld.co.uk/sports.
22:30 Sorry, I've got my teeth in.
22:31 And you can watch more excellent videos on shottstv.com and Freeview Channel 276.
22:35 Thank you very much for listening, and we'll see you all next week.
22:38 Thanks, guys.
22:39 Cheers.
22:40 [BLANK_AUDIO]