Derren Howard is joined by Crawley Town expert Mark Dunford, and Sam Morton, who covers both the Seagulls and the Reds.
Brighton were back to winning ways with a 1-0 win over Aston Villa and are preparing for a trip to Newcastle United
We’ll look at those games, and there’s more excellent news from Crawley Tow as they win their play-off semi-final first against MK Dons.
Brighton were back to winning ways with a 1-0 win over Aston Villa and are preparing for a trip to Newcastle United
We’ll look at those games, and there’s more excellent news from Crawley Tow as they win their play-off semi-final first against MK Dons.
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SportsTranscript
00:00Hi and welcome to another episode of Goal Malfaction podcast where we look at all the
00:05latest goings on at Brighton, Hove Albion and Crawley Town. I'm Deren Howard and this
00:09week I'm joined by Crawley Town expert Mark Dunford and Sam Morton who covers both the
00:13Seagulls and the Reds. Brighton got back to winning ways with a 1-0 win over Aston Villa
00:19and are preparing for a trip to Newcastle United. We'll look at those games and there's
00:23more excellent news from Crawley Town as well. You can read all the stories we're talking
00:28about with videos and pictures online at sussexworld.co.uk forward slash sport and
00:33you can check out other great videos on shotstv.com and Freeview channel 276. You may also be
00:40watching on Latest TV so thank you for tuning in. But as last week we'll start with Crawley
00:46Town and what a night it was at Broadfield Stadium on Tuesday Mark. Talk us through what
00:52happened there at the game.
00:54Yeah, well it was amazing really. It was obviously the first leg of the League 2 semi-final against
01:00NK Dons and Crawley were absolutely magnificent. They absolutely battered NK Dons. 3-0 they
01:07were and NK Dons just weren't at the races. It could have been also different. The first
01:19couple of minutes Max Dean got through for NK Dons, rounded Corey O'Day. He looked like
01:25he just had the easiest job slotting home. He's getting the best shot. Will Wright came
01:29from nowhere and cleared off the line. It was absolutely magnificent win at the semi.
01:33It was just incredible clearance and yeah and then Crawley pretty much went straight
01:38up the other end. Liam Kelly scored a goal, played a 1-2 around Campbell. Brilliant finish
01:44from the edge of the area. Then just before the break Will Wright's free kick found Jay
01:49Williams and he poked home to make it 2-0. And then the second half it was all Crawley.
01:55I mean they could have got more but they got the one goal. Ronan Darcy came on, his sort
02:00of deflected cross come shot, looped over the Kelly and the NK Dons goal and it was
02:07a brilliant, brilliant win. But the atmosphere was just sensational. There was 5,500 people
02:14there and yet they got one foot at Wembley. But yeah it was crazy. But one of the big
02:22highlights was Corey O'Day the keeper. I mean it went a little bit viral I think. Liam Kelly
02:27who was man of the match, he was absolutely outstanding most of the game. He made just
02:31one inexplicable error really. It was a huge back pass. He was from the halfway line pretty
02:37much and passed it back to Corey O'Day but it went high in the air. And as it landed
02:42towards the goal, Corey O'Day pulled off a brilliant touch. It was almost like a Croyce
02:46turn. And then it went a little bit away from him. A attacker came forward and he just touched
02:52it past the defender, skipped past him, ran up the pitch. It was wonderful, wasn't it
02:56Sam?
02:57Yeah it was brilliant. I mean there's a heat map actually showing Corey O'Day's starting
03:00position and where he was playing for most of the first half and he was right back.
03:03Yeah it was crazy wasn't it?
03:04Yeah and you think maybe when the cameras are there he might be a little bit more reserved
03:09and play a bit safe but he went completely the opposite and wanted to really make a
03:13show in front of the cameras and really show what he's all about and the real modern day
03:18keeper that he is. It was great to watch and the fact that he kept a clean sheet while
03:21doing it, no one can complain. So yeah, I echo what Mark said really. It was just an
03:27absolutely amazing night at the Broadfield Stadium. Definitely one of the best in history
03:32I think and it surprised everyone just how good they were. Obviously this season they
03:36have been brilliant in big moments but there have been times when the crowd's been full.
03:43Obviously in those recent couple of games where they made the tickets cheaper and had
03:46lots of fans and it didn't actually help and they lost both of those games. So there was
03:49a little bit of wondering how they're going to deal with the expectation and the pressure
03:54that that brings but they completely lived up to that and were just phenomenal really
04:00and really made it look easy on the night.
04:03Yeah, just highlights what a great job Scott Lindsay's done really, doesn't it?
04:06But what was it on a Tuesday? Wasn't the first leg supposed to be on the Monday?
04:12It was, yes. So it was all set to be played on the bank holiday Monday. All the fans were
04:19excited obviously for that and to obviously go through a sell-out crowd and obviously
04:24there was a huge demand for tickets and everything. So it was all set to be on the Monday afternoon
04:29but we had an incredible amount of rain in Crawley and West Sussex on Monday and it
04:35was inevitable that it would be called off. I think what the fans were really frustrated
04:42at was there was no kind of updates on pitch inflections and everything. It was just pre-albert
04:46football. There was a lot of unwarranted criticism given to the club and to some people involved
04:55even though they had absolutely no control over the situation and it was an unprecedented amount
04:59of rain really on the day and no surprise at all that the game couldn't go ahead.
05:04And actually it probably benefited Crawley. I think Scott Lindsay said himself that the
05:08game was on the Tuesday night. He had a little bit more time to prepare, another extra day
05:12rest for the second leg which is on Saturday and it really didn't help MK Don to obviously travel
05:18back to Crawley or the fans. I think we were impacted by a train strike on Monday as well,
05:22Tuesday sorry. So it really wasn't ideal at all for MK Don but probably worked out better for
05:29Crawley in a roundabout way. Obviously it was not ideal at the time but obviously probably
05:35winning 3-0 I don't think they're going to be complaining in hindsight.
05:39No and a second leg on Saturday did you say?
05:41A second leg on Saturday yes and an extra day's rest because it was initially going to be on the
05:45Thursday night and tonight obviously going to MK. So yeah a couple of extra days to wait for that
05:51one. So yeah we'll see how that one pans out but yeah obviously a big uphill task now for MK Don
05:58to turn it around.
06:00Big, big task yeah. And you were saying Mark, do you think the rearrangement has worked in
06:06Crawley's favour and have they done enough to get to Wembley and what was the mood in the
06:11camp like after Tuesday?
06:14Yeah it's funny when I spoke to Scott Lindsay it was Tuesday morning actually before the game he
06:19said it could actually work in their favour but he says it worked the same for MK Don. He said the
06:24only thing was MK Don's obviously had to have an extra night in the hotel so that worked against
06:28them a little bit. But the gap between the two games, yeah it suits both teams really with the
06:35extra day's recovery. But in regards to them doing enough I think they have. Scott Lindsay
06:43afterwards it was very telling actually straight away. He normally does the celebration in front
06:48of the fans when they win at home. He goes up and does sort of a bit of a Jürgen Klopp type thing
06:53with the fans. But straight away he walked over and you could see him just going not today,
06:58not today kind of thing. It's only half time in the fixture. So I mean yeah it will be yeah.
07:06I mean we saw last year with Peter Brewer and Sheffield Wednesday in their incredible playoff
07:11when Peter Brewer 4-0 up in the first leg and then lost 5-1 in the second leg and then on penalties
07:16kind of thing. So there's always plays in the back of your mind but MK Don's just look absolutely,
07:23I don't know, I spoke to the MK Don's reporter and he said they just look like they were a bit
07:30stage fright. I think it's now this is their fifth or sixth playoff campaign
07:37and they've never got to Wembley and you've got to think that's got to be playing on their
07:41minds a little bit. They've got this mental block in the playoffs. So I think Crawley have done
07:48enough and I think they'll do enough on the day as well. I mean they might not win at MK Don's.
07:52The only thing they've got to do is make sure MK Don's don't score early because if MK Don's score
07:57in the first 10 minutes then the pressure's on kind of thing and it starts playing in your mind
08:03as a player like that. Oh God, we can't let in another one now and then you start getting more
08:07defensive and then invite more pressure. So Crawley have just got to go and play their
08:11natural game and I'm sure they will. Scott Lindsay said afterwards that they've got to
08:15remain professional and humble now and I'm sure they will. He does describe me as the kind of
08:20manager that would ever let his team get complacent. So yeah, it's kind of getting
08:26exciting. I want to say that yeah they're there already but I'm not going to. I don't want to
08:30fake it. I did see a tweet yesterday of someone cancelled, cutting their holiday to Greece I think
08:37it was, short. So he's paid £400 so he can come home from his holiday early for Wembley.
08:44And he said I can't believe my little old Crawley are going to Wembley kind of thing.
08:48And I think the comments are saying this is the type of tweet that's going to get us beat 4-0
08:52What did you think of MK Dons?
09:09They were obviously really poor at the Broadfield Stadium and I think they
09:14surprised the fans. I think their own fans because they weren't playing how they've been playing the
09:19season. I think they were kicking the ball long from the goalkeeper because they actually are
09:22known to play a similar brand of football to Crawley, keeping it on the floor and playing
09:26attractive football. But we really didn't see that and it could be as a result of the level
09:29of pressure that Crawley were putting on. Their relentless really with their pressing from the
09:33front and everyone really just put in an incredible shift for Crawley that it probably made life
09:38really difficult for MK Dons to do what they do best. And obviously the home support as well
09:44probably sucked that ball kind of towards the MK Dons end more than the other way around
09:49kind of thing. But they were poor really and I think they can only improve in the second leg
09:54and they've obviously got to. And as Mark said if they do get that early goal you just never know
09:58what can happen for them. And there's a reason why they were so high up in the table and finished
10:04obviously in the fourth place. So you never know what can happen in football as we saw
10:11with Peterborough last year. So we'll hope that they don't but obviously just be wary of the
10:16threat they do pose. And I think it's important that Crawley score first in the second leg
10:22and make sure they don't allow any kind of comeback.
10:25Yeah, yeah. It's difficult but fingers crossed Crawley will get the job done. But we're going
10:33to take a break for now and then when we come back we'll talk about all things Brighton and
10:38Hove Albion as they head to Newcastle this weekend.
11:09Perfect. Quite off the pace and they needed a positive reaction. They needed to show
11:16that they're going to finish the season hopefully on a positive note and that was a big step
11:21towards that at Aston Villa. I thought they looked so much better. They had an experienced
11:28defence out there. Joel Beltman right back, Lewis Dunk, Adam Webster was back in the team as well
11:34and then Igor Julio on the left as well. And I was quite pleased for Adam Webster. He's had a tough
11:41season. Jean-Paul van Gekker, he's sort of moved above him in the pecking order of late.
11:48And then when Webster has come in and had his chance to play, he hasn't always been that good.
11:54I remember looking back to the Aston Villa in the reverse fixture. Ollie Watkins ran him ragged
11:59at Villa Park that time. And he's been in and out of the team against Fulham. I think he came back
12:05as well and struggled. And I was pleased for him against Aston Villa. He looked really good. He
12:11looked back to his best alongside Lewis Dunk. And when he's fit and physically fit and ready to go,
12:19he's a really good Premier League defender and I think that could be a good sign for him next
12:24season if they can keep him at this level. Then that gives Brighton another option as well at the
12:31back there. So, good for Adam Webster. I thought Billy Gilmore as well. He was excellent back in
12:37alongside Pascal Gross. Remember, he's been out with a knee injury for a while.
12:41Back in that midfield, added a lot more control and he looked very good as well.
12:50Obviously, Simon Odinga, he was probably just about man of the match. He was a real threat
12:56down the left-hand side. It was his trickery at the end that won the penalty when he was brought
13:03down by Esri Konsa, who he gave Torrid time to throughout really. So, yeah, lots of positives
13:10for Brighton. I was sure they're back to a level where they can compete against the better teams.
13:19Yeah, they needed to get there, didn't they? They were struggling. But, yeah, it's just three
13:23matches remaining this season now, starting with Newcastle this Saturday. What are your thoughts
13:27ahead of this trip to St James' Park, Sam? Yeah, tough game. Tough game for Brighton,
13:31this one. Obviously, Newcastle are still in with a chance of getting into the Europa League.
13:36They're just four points below Spurs, actually, at the moment, with three games remaining. So,
13:41they could even get into fifth position. So, yeah, again, Newcastle will be really wanting
13:47to win, really. I think they've had a decent record against Brighton at home. They've won
13:51the last two games at St James' Park against Brighton. They're obviously coming into the
13:55game on the back of a 4-1 win away at Burnley. Before that, they won 5-1 against Sheffield
14:01United. Obviously, two teams that are likely to be going down to the Championship. But I think
14:09you can just show Newcastle can score goals and Brighton really need to put in a good performance
14:14to prevent a defeat, really. Because, obviously, as you know, the atmosphere can be quite
14:20intimidating at St James' Park. They've got good crowd support there. So, yeah, just fingers
14:27crossed Brighton can pick up where they left off against Aston Villa, because it was a surprise
14:31result, really. I think everyone was expecting Aston Villa to win that one, being, obviously,
14:35fourth in the league and trying to solidify their place in the Champions League. But they
14:38really did look off it on the day and Brighton took advantage and definitely deserved that late
14:43goal. So, hopefully, that's got the confidence back, because there's been a real lack of
14:46confidence in Brighton's team for quite a few weeks now. So, hopefully, there's a bit of an
14:51injection of energy back and they can continue that and get a really positive result and end
14:55the season strongly.
14:58Yeah, definitely. Off the pitch, the German midfielder, Pascal Gross, was named both Men's
15:03Player of the Year and Player of the Year. He's made 46 appearances so far and contributed four
15:08goals and 10 assists in the Premier League. Well-deserved, isn't it, Darren?
15:12Yeah, you couldn't argue with that. There are a few good candidates for the Player of the Year,
15:18but I think Pascal Gross would have got my vote. I just think he's been excellent all season.
15:27And you sort of wonder where Brighton would be in the table without him, really. He's just been
15:35such a consistent player for all season. And as you say, with the goals and assists that he pops
15:42up with as well, he's just a real class act. And what's pleased me the most this season as well is
15:49that he's also been recognised by Germany at last. The last couple of seasons you think he should
15:59have been in and around the team, especially Germany, they weren't doing so well. And not
16:03to even sort of select him for a squad and have a look. So yeah, hopefully he'll be at the Euros
16:09this summer as well with Germany. But yeah, I think for Brighton, I just hope that he stays
16:16for another season as well because it has been thought that he may go back to the Bundesliga
16:21next season. He'll have one year left on his contract this summer. So it'll be interesting
16:26to see. He's sort of said he likes the Bundesliga and for family reasons he may look to go back.
16:33He said that earlier in the season. But I'm sure Deserby will be pestering him from now until the
16:40end of the season to try and keep him there because I think he's such a vital player for them,
16:45especially as Caicedo and McAllister, they left last season and there was a big hole in that midfield.
16:51And I think his performances and how he controls his game, he's always available to receive the
16:57ball as well. And I just think for the younger players to have someone like himself is so
17:02valuable and hopefully he'll stay for another season. But also, I think Billy Gilmore's had
17:08a great season, Van Hecker as well. He's had a really good season. I think he could have made
17:13a case for perhaps Jack Ingelwood as well if he hadn't got injured in the last few
17:21years. It's been a breakthrough season for him, isn't it?
17:23Really good. I think Ingelwood has been great. Three goals he got as well from full-backs.
17:29So yeah, he'll have a big role to play next season.
17:35One player, Antu Fati's name has cropped up a few times this week. He continued to
17:39remain on the bench for Brighton and he looks uncertain for next season. He will return to
17:44Barcelona at the end of the season with transfer expert Fabrizio Romano claiming the Catalan
17:48Giants will look to offload him this summer. It looks unlikely. But is there a scenario where
17:53he's at Brighton next season, Sam? I think it's very unlikely. I think the
17:58question has been asked of De Serbi a few times and he's said the discussions will be had with
18:04the owners to see whether that's something which they would like to do. But from the pure fact that
18:09as his loan is coming to an end and he can't even get onto the pitch, I think that's a bad sign for
18:15him. I can't imagine that Brighton would be in any rush to bring him back. It's a shame really
18:20because he has been a disappointment really. I think when they signed him on loan, it obviously
18:27shocked the world of football really. No one could really believe that Brighton had pulled off such a
18:33star signing like that. He was obviously the heir to Messi's throne, taking the number 10
18:38shirt at Barcelona and then a couple of years later and he's playing for Brighton. So it was
18:43a big shot and I think a lot was expected of him to really show what he's all about and show why
18:49he's built to be the next big star of Barcelona. But unfortunately it hasn't worked out like that
18:54at all. He did have some promise and started to show signs of his best form in those games at
19:00home and away at Ajax. He really started to show limps of quality with the goal and an assist
19:06in those games. But he then picked up an injury and he was out for a few months and since then
19:12he's not really been able to find any form at all. He's had quite a lot of stick from the fans.
19:20Yeah, it's a shame. It's a shame he's not been able to rediscover that form and to really show
19:24what he's all about. It doesn't look like he's going to get that opportunity before he departs.
19:28There has been talk from Fabrizio Romano who say that Barcelona are likely to sell him. So
19:33time will tell where he ends up but I definitely can't see it being Brighton.
19:38Yeah, it's such a shame there. I think I've said it before,
19:41you were so excited when he arrived Sam, weren't you?
19:45Yeah, I remember being at home and seeing it all up on Twitter that he'd gone through and
19:51you saw how on earth that happened. Just really looking forward to watching him play and seeing
19:56how he gets on. So it is a shame it hasn't really worked out for him and I'm sure the
20:00fans are disappointed as well. Yeah, before we get on to score predictions,
20:05we'll give a quick congratulations to Horsham. They won the Sussex Senior Cup last night at
20:10the Amex. They beat Hastings United 3-0 in completely dominant performance. There's
20:16lots of video reaction, stories, pictures, specials, etc. on sussexworld.co.uk.
20:24So, score predictions. We'll start off with Crawley. They're away at MK Don Saturday night,
20:297.45 kick-off. I'm going for a 1-1 draw. I think Crawley will do the job
20:36and they'll go through and we'll have a day out at Wembley. Sam?
20:41I was going to say the exact same thing, Mark. I was going to say 1-1. I think Crawley will
20:46take the lead and then MK Don's will equalise. It just won't be enough for them on the day.
20:53Yeah, Darren?
20:55I'm going to go for a 2-1 to Crawley. I think MK Don's will
21:00push. I think they'll take the lead but then I think Crawley will come back
21:04and then finish the job strongly and go to Wembley. Will it be their first time at Wembley?
21:10Yeah, first time ever. I think it's just them and Atkinson's family who've never played at
21:15Wembley, old or new. So, it will be their first ever time. So, incredible achievement.
21:21I mean, it's an incredible achievement what they've done so far but to get to Wembley.
21:25It will be amazing. Yeah, absolutely.
21:27No, I think 2-1. I think they'll get the job done.
21:30Yeah.
21:31Well, I'm sure Scott Lindsay appreciates your prediction more than ours.
21:36And we go to Newcastle versus Brighton. That's three o'clock Saturday, I believe. Sam,
21:42what's your prediction there?
21:44I'm going to go for a draw for this one. I think obviously the reverse fixture was a
21:47win for Brighton when they were in great form because of the season. It's obviously a bit
21:51of a different story now. I think it will be a two-all draw. Both teams have been in and out
21:58of form. So, I think, yeah, I'll go for a draw. Darren?
22:02Yeah, it's a tricky one. I remember last in the reverse fixture, it was Evan Ferguson,
22:07wasn't it? Got the hat-trick against Newcastle. But I can't see Brighton. I think 2-0 Newcastle.
22:14I think Newcastle are just hitting a good run of form at the moment and Isak and Anthony Gordon,
22:20they look really good up front. So, yeah, I'm going to go for a 2-0 Newcastle, unfortunately.
22:26Yeah, I'm going to go for the same difference, but I'm going to go 3-1. I think Brighton will
22:30score. But like you say, Newcastle just looking very good. But I predicted, I think, Villa to
22:34win 3-1 on Sunday. So, what do I know? What do I know?
22:38You never know.
22:40Right, cheers, guys. You can catch up with all the latest sports news covering everything we have
22:45talked about today at Sussexworld.co.uk. And you can watch more excellent videos at shotstv.com
22:51on Freeview channel 276. Thanks, guys. Have a safe trip to Newcastle, Sam. And,
22:56yeah, watch all the coverage there.