Mark Dunford is joined by Brighton writers Derren Howard, Sam Morton and Henry Bryant.
After eight games without a victory, Albion got back to winning ways in style at Norwich City in the FA Cup.
We look back at that excellent result, plus we’ll bring you the latest injury and transfer news as Brighton prepare for two away trips in the Premier League to Ipswich and Manchester United.
After eight games without a victory, Albion got back to winning ways in style at Norwich City in the FA Cup.
We look back at that excellent result, plus we’ll bring you the latest injury and transfer news as Brighton prepare for two away trips in the Premier League to Ipswich and Manchester United.
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SportsTranscript
00:00Welcome to another episode of the Goal Malfaction podcast, where we take a look at all the latest
00:06goings on at Brighton and Hove Albion. I'm Mark Dunford and this week I'm joined by Brighton
00:10writers Derren Howard, Sam Morton and Henry Bryan. After eight games without a victory,
00:15Albion got back to winning ways in style at Norwich City in the FA Cup. We'll look back
00:19at the excellent result, plus we'll bring you the latest injury and transfer news as
00:22Brighton prepare for two away trips in the Premier League to Ipswich and Manchester United.
00:27You can read all the stories we're talking about with the videos and pictures online
00:31at sussexworld.co.uk forward slash sport, and you can check out other great videos at
00:36Shots TV and on Freeview channel 262. You may also be watching on Latest TV, so thank
00:42you for tuning in.
00:43But we'll start that game at Norwich, a Jorginho-Rutter brace followed by goals from Giulio Anciso
00:50and Solly March, and Seagulls a comfortable 4-0 win in the third round of the FA Cup.
00:55You were at Carrow Road, Derren, sum that game up for us, please.
00:58Yeah, it was all fairly comfortable, really, for Brighton in the end, and Norwich started
01:04off fairly well. They played some decent football to start with and hit the post, and Jason
01:10Steele was quite relieved to see that one come back off the post. But that was about
01:18as good as it got for Norwich in the match. And afterwards, Brighton, you know, they were
01:23a bit more dominant. They started to control the midfield and for a change, they were ruthless
01:29when their chances came. They took their chances well. Jorginho-Rutter, as you mentioned, scored
01:35a brace, which was great for his confidence. He hasn't scored since that comeback against
01:42Tottenham back in October. So that was his first goal since then. So that was a big boost
01:50for him.
01:52But the main story really was Soli March. It was a great moment for him, coming off
01:57the bench, replaced Janku Biminte. And we just, as he has done over the years, cut in
02:03from the right and just curled this shot with the left foot into the top corner. Really
02:09lovely goal and just a reminder of his talents, really. It's his first goal since 2023, you
02:17know, since before this really bad ACL injury. And Fabian Hersele spoke afterwards as well
02:24about him, about his character and about how he's, you know, how his comeback has been.
02:29And it was just a really nice story from the day. And hopefully he can kick on now and,
02:35you know, make further contributions throughout the season. So I think Brighton are going
02:39to need him. So as they go on, just he adds that experience, he adds that class. He may
02:44not be able to start, you know, each games in the near future, but he can certainly come
02:50on and make a difference from the bench. But yeah, all in all, a really comfortable day
02:55at Carrow Road. They progressed to the fourth round where they replaced Chelsea, Chelsea
03:01in the next round. So they've got Chelsea in the league and then in the cup in quick
03:05succession coming up later next month. So yeah, one to look forward to there.
03:11Absolutely. Gael Pedro was missing due to an injury picked up in training. It seemed
03:15Brighton cope without their talisman, Sam. But will we see the Brazilian star back in
03:19action soon?
03:20Yeah, it actually seems like an ankle injury that was picked up in training is not as bad
03:26as first feared, because it did seem really bad when we heard the news he had to have
03:29an MRI scan. And it was a real concern, obviously, with how important player he is. He's already
03:36missed a number of games because of injury this season. And he's just started to get
03:40running games together and starting to show glimpses of his best. He's not obviously been
03:44in the best form, but he's still showing bits and pieces of his best form. And then he picked
03:49up this injury in training and you kind of fear the worst, that he might be out for a
03:52prolonged period of time. But it does seem like he may be back sooner than anticipated.
03:57Hertzberg provided an update this week and he said he will make a calculated decision
04:01this weekend, or sorry, against Ipswich on Thursday before the game against Man United
04:05this weekend. He said we'll have to see today if Pedro will train with the team, then we
04:10will decide. We won't take any risks, only if it's a calculated risk and he feels well.
04:14That's the most important thing, that the player feels confident with his body. We won't
04:18do any stupid things, but we have to wait for the training today and maybe also tomorrow.
04:22He said it's been a frustrating season so far for Pedro. He hasn't quite got into his
04:26rhythm, but he talked to him yesterday for a long time and he's good. He's quite in a
04:30comfortable place. Pedro also put a post on Twitter after that Norwich game and he was
04:35particularly pleased with that solid March goal and he also confirmed the scan went well.
04:40Positive signs from what we've been hearing and it could seem like he potentially won't
04:44start against Ipswich. He may potentially be involved from the bench, but if not,
04:48I'm sure he will be involved at the weekend at Old Trafford.
04:54As Darren said, Henry, solid March was back in the goals in a real heartwarming moment
04:59after his long-term injury. How pleasing was it to see this?
05:02Yeah, it was a big moment for him and a big moment for Albion fans for his long-awaited
05:09few returns. I mean, that was his second appearance off the bench and it was, yeah,
05:13as Darren mentioned back in October of 2023, solid March suffered with the meniscus damage
05:19and a ruptured cruciate ligament after a game against Man City out for a year and two months
05:24and having two operations in that time. That's a lot for a player and he was always a fan's
05:30favourite. He's been at the club for such a long time and during the pre-match press
05:35conference before the Ipswich game, Fabian Herzog was saying about how pleased he was and
05:40how it's taught him a lot about solid March as a player because of the fact that he didn't give up
05:46and he's worked really hard during this recovery period. He did also say that, as Darren mentioned,
05:52he won't be available as much sort of as a starting XI option just yet. He doesn't want
05:57to take any risks. He doesn't want to work on emotion, although he did say that he felt all
06:03of those emotions and even goosebumps seeing him score and watching all the fans cheer his name.
06:12It's just a case of him improving and maybe getting a little bit more game time off the bench
06:17as each game comes. With injuries, you never know and he might be called upon a little bit more.
06:22I'd be very surprised if Brighton were to have him included in a starting line-up soon,
06:28although there is two games in one week for this game week. There's a lot to look forward
06:35to with solid March. He's such a quality player to have. There's a lot of midfield options that
06:42Brighton have, but he is looking to become a regular starter back in the squad. Fabian Herzog
06:48did reiterate that when I asked him. He said that he does want him as a regular starter,
06:53but he just doesn't want to take any risks at this time.
06:58Yeah, you'd rather have someone coming in and being useful rather than risking them and then
07:02losing them for even longer, wouldn't you? So, yeah, absolutely. Who else stood out in the match,
07:08Deren? Great to see Russer amongst the goals and again, finally a shot resulted in a goal for
07:12Nceso and what a finish it was as well, wouldn't it? Yeah, he did well actually, Julio Nceso. It's
07:18probably one of the best games he's had in a Brighton shirt. Against Norwich, yeah.
07:23Against Norwich, yeah. But the fundamentals of his play were very good. He was pressing well,
07:31he was working hard and for once his work rate sort of off the ball matched sort of what he
07:36can bring with the ball as well. He's obviously got all this skill, this guile and he can change
07:41games in a moment, but it's this work rate off the ball which is, you don't get into Fabian
07:47Hazela's team unless you are putting in all that effort and yeah, and he did that against Norwich,
07:54to be fair to him. There's still a lot of transfer speculation surrounding him this window.
08:02He hasn't ruled out the fact that he could go out on loan as well this January, but yeah,
08:10it was good to see him get his goal. It was a nice finish as well. He sort of stole back possession,
08:14he was pressing well, stole back possession and then finished well from an acute angle. So it's
08:19all his own work which was good, but he's taken 17 shots this season from 11 matches. He's known
08:28for always shooting basically. As soon as there's a chance he will have a shot which can frustrate
08:34some of his teammates, but it's become quite a sort of a fun sort of thing for the fans as well.
08:41Didn't he score that pinger against Man City?
08:51One goal of the season and I think since then he's always fancied his chances from
08:57any position within the opposition's heart. He does like having a shot, but this time he did
09:06get on the score sheet and I think he could be in contention for the game against Ipswich. He
09:10could be a starter there, especially with the injuries that they have at the moment. So yeah,
09:16good for Ince, so a real positive from the game against Norwich and also for Eugenio Rutta as
09:21well that we mentioned. Although he did, he felt the back of his thigh in the second half,
09:27he was substituted and he'll be assessed this week ahead of the Ipswich and Manchester United
09:32matches. Both him and Jankuva Minta as well will be assessed. Is the back of your thigh your
09:38hamstring or does he mean the back of his thigh muscle? Yeah, that was an interesting one because
09:44usually they say, oh he felt his hamstring, but he didn't want to. I think they've just had so
09:49many hamstring injuries this season. I don't want to say that. So he just said, oh he just felt the
09:54back of his thigh, which probably meant, as you say, a hamstring issue. But yeah, so he's going
10:02to be monitored closely this week and see. But yeah, good for those two at Norwich, yeah.
10:09Absolutely. And Albion fielded quite a strong tie on the side, didn't they, Sam? Does that show
10:14how seriously they're taking the FA Cup and can, is Chelsea come a little bit early in the run for
10:19them or would they rather have a slightly easier tie in round four? Yeah, it's a tricky one,
10:24isn't it? Because I think, yeah, as you say, the team was very strong against Norwich. So they
10:29clearly are taking it seriously. I think some fans were saying that it took them by surprise
10:33quite how strong Hurtzler went. It did seem like he played the strongest possible 11, obviously
10:38apart from Jason Steele, who's obviously the Cup goalkeeper this season. And he came in for some
10:43high praise from Hurtzler this week as well and how highly he rates him and just how important
10:48he is to the squad. But I feel like, yeah, really, really strong team that really repaid that
10:55decision, obviously, with the result, which is exactly what Brighton and Hurtzler wanted.
11:00So, yeah, I think coming up against Chelsea in the next round could potentially be
11:04a frustrating one. But Chelsea have actually hit a bit of a slump in form.
11:07They have, haven't they, yeah?
11:09They have. They were a really good run and suddenly it's all seemed to fall by the wayside a
11:12little bit. I know, obviously, they struck late to rescue a draw against Bournemouth in the 95th
11:17minute, which is still not the result they were after and they're struggling to get wins at the
11:23moment. So, yeah, an interesting one, obviously, as Derek mentioned earlier, Brighton will be
11:27playing Chelsea at home twice in the space of a few days, which I don't think I've seen before,
11:32and at least in a long time, two home matches against the same opposition in
11:38all consecutive games. But I feel like, yeah, that would be a real test. I can imagine there'll be
11:43different Chelsea sides being played on each game. I can imagine Chelsea would want to
11:47rest some players because I presume they would want to focus on the league and potentially get
11:51into those Champions League places. But obviously, the FA Cup is still important for any club, really,
11:56and I think with Brighton, where they are on the table, I think the FA Cup could be a really good
12:00opportunity to get some silverware this season. And I think it hurts the season that way. I think
12:04that would be a really amazing way for his first year at the club to pick up a trophy. Brighton
12:10have got really close in recent years. We know how close they've got to the final, obviously losing
12:14out penalties to Man Utd in the semi-final recently. So, they'll be looking to go one step further and
12:20I think they have the players and the squad depth to do it, as long as they don't pick up too many
12:24injuries in the running. Yeah, absolutely. Right, we're going to take a short break now and stay
12:29tuned as we'll discuss some Brighton injury and transfer news and look ahead to Ipswich and Man
12:33Utd matches. Welcome back. In sour news, defender Igor looks set to miss the rest of the season.
12:40Tell us more, Henry, and are there other injuries that we should be aware of? How much of a miss
12:44will Igor be? Well, I think having one less defender, especially with sort of the way that
12:50Brighton have been playing, will always sort of ring alarm bells. And not to be repetitive, but
12:56it has been seen to be a hamstring injury that needed surgery and Herzer described it as a really
13:04big thing. So, that's not good for Albion fans to hear. I mean, he has made a few individual mistakes
13:11as a lot of Albion defenders have made in a few games, especially when we've been 2-0 up in a few
13:17occasions, where he was unable to sort of carry the ball forward and also lost his call a little
13:24bit in terms of keeping sort of game management. So, although he's a big loss for the Albion and
13:31he's made 48 appearances so far since his arrival in 2023, I think that it will be interesting to
13:38see if having one less defender will actually allow maybe a more consistent back line. Because
13:46you've still got Jean-Paul van Geck, Lewis Dunks available, Adam Webster is also available and he
13:51could be a big sort of part of this season really, Adam Webster. I mean, he's been out of favour
13:56from a few mistakes sort of near the first half of the season. But with him coming back, I think
14:02that it's a big pledge for him to come back into the side. Jorginho Ruta is a little bit of a doubt
14:08at the moment because he hurt his right leg. He's expected to miss the trip to Ipswich.
14:15Yancuber Mente is also struggling and they haven't really sort of said about what this
14:20injury is. I'm hoping it's not a hamstring injury again. I've heard it's the front of the hamstring.
14:27The front of the hamstring. Yeah. And then Jean-Pedro and it was sort of seen as a we'll see.
14:38And that was yesterday at the press conference that was on on Tuesday the 14th. Danny Welbeck,
14:44he's an option and he's been described as a role model by Herzer in the last press conference. And
14:50it'd be interesting to see how Brighton fare without Igor because he is a solid defender,
14:54he's quite an imposing figure at the back. And yeah, it will be a big miss,
14:59but it could turn out well for the likes of Adam Webster. That's sort of coming back.
15:04Yeah, absolutely. And how are things looking on the transfer front, Darren?
15:08Any incomes or outgoings we should expect? Sounds like Manchester City
15:11pit them to one target, doesn't it? They did. They did. Yes. Yeah. Brighton
15:16are really keen on this Vitor Vitoris. He's 18 year old Brazilian defender from Palmeiras.
15:22And they made three bids for him. I think that the final bid was around about 25 million
15:29that Brighton made made for Reece. They were really pushing hard to bring him in. But
15:35unfortunately, if Manchester City come come calling, it's tough to, you know, tough to say
15:44no to them in favour of Brighton. And they offered a bit more money. They offered 30
15:4930 million. It looks like it's a done deal as well. It's just the final details now. So Vitor
15:54Reece is on his way to Manchester City rather than rather than Brighton, which is which is a
15:59blow for them, really. They really worked hard on that deal. So so they'll have to have to go back
16:05to the drawing board and look at look at perhaps a new defender coming in this window, because as
16:11Henry mentioned that the injury to Igor leaves him a little bit short in defensive areas. I don't
16:17envisage too much more in terms of income in the squad is quite big as it is. They obviously spent
16:24the 200 million last summer, which many of those players haven't featured due to injuries as well.
16:29So we haven't seen the best of what they've bought last summer's yet. So so I don't expect
16:34there to be too much more in terms of income and outgoings. Evan Ferguson continues to be linked
16:39with a loan move away again. Hersele yesterday refused to rule out him going out on loan as
16:44well, which is a change of stance from from Hersele. Previously, he said, I love him. I
16:48want him in the squad, but he hasn't been playing him. So so, yeah, but yesterday his stance seemed
16:54to soften a bit and he seemed a bit more open to a move for Ferguson and then Sisso. West Ham have
17:00been the most the club linked the most recently with obviously Graham Potter's link to Evan
17:08Ferguson as well. So West Ham badly need a striker with Antonio injured and then Nicholas Fulcrum.
17:13He's not too injured his hamstring as well. Another hamstring.
17:19Jakob Moda and Tarek Lamptey, both of those are out of contract in the summer. So worth keeping
17:25an eye on those two between here and between now and the end of the transfer window as well. This
17:30will be the last opportunity that Brighton will have of receiving a transfer fee for either of
17:34those two. I think Moda will probably go Lamptey. I think he will stay. And then it's a decision to
17:41see whether they offer him a new contract in the summer. Cool. Excellent. Right. We've got speed
17:47things up a little bit running out of time. Danny Welbeck was back in the squad at Norwich.
17:51Could we see him start against Ipswich or Manchester United, Sam? And how much has he been
17:55missed? Yeah, he's been a huge miss. He's obviously been such an important player for Brighton this
18:00season, obviously playing some of his best football in his career. His injury came at a really bad
18:06time. He's missed a chunk of the season. And it's kind of coincided with this poor run of form
18:11for Brighton. They've struggled to get any points, any wins in the league, I should say. Lots of
18:16draws, obviously eight without a win. So I feel like they'll be really, really keen to get him
18:21back into the team. Obviously, he came on as a sub at Norwich, which is really great that he can
18:27be back in the fold. And obviously, as Derek's mentioned, with Rutter potentially not being fit,
18:32I wouldn't be surprised to see Welbeck start, because obviously, I don't think Pedro will.
18:36So I think maybe they might start Welbeck. I think in an ideal world, they'd probably want to
18:40keep him on the bench for one more game and manage his minutes as he obviously recovers.
18:45And I think he would be desperate to play against Man United, his former team, at the weekend,
18:50because we know he loves a goal against Man United. And he still remains the top scorer for
18:57Brighton with six goals. Pedro's just behind on five. And then after that, it's Matoma on three.
19:03So I think you can see how important Welbeck is, even after the number of games he's missed,
19:07he still remains the top scorer. So I feel like hopefully he can hit the ground running
19:11as he returns to the team, whether that be against Ipswich or Man United.
19:17Yeah. And Diego Gomez could be involved, Henry. How excited are you to see him in action?
19:22Well, I think for Albion fans, it could be a breath of fresh air, because there have been
19:26some issues at the back. And I mean, when you sell your most experienced midfielder in the
19:31likes of Pascal Grosz to Borussia Dortmund, although they were knocking and other teams
19:36were knocking, and you probably did want to return to Germany, it leaves a lot of issues.
19:42Brighton are known for selling their midfielders. I mean, McAllister, Kai Saeedo, for example.
19:48But at the moment, I think they have really struggled, not just defensively,
19:51but also in the midfield, just keeping the ball and maintaining it. And I think that Diego
19:56Gomez could be the sort of player that Brighton need at this time. He's a young player, he's 21
20:02years old, and he's not got loads of experience behind his belt in terms of first-team football,
20:09in terms of the amount of clubs he's played for. So he's got Libertad in Paraguay and into Miami
20:14that everyone knows in the USA. And he's played alongside Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez. He's had 24
20:20appearances there, scoring four goals. But I think if Hasler is backing him and thinks that
20:26he's going to be starting and making a big impact from the off, then clearly this young talent might
20:32be what Brighton need. So it's going to be really interesting to see what he's like. And yeah, if
20:38he's sort of sure of himself and confident and make sure that he sort of hits the ground running
20:43in the right way in the Premier League, then he might be a regular starter for the Albion
20:47and keep it consistent in the field.
21:17In the last seconds at Fulham for a draw, they got a win against Chelsea at home.
21:24So it won't be an easy place to go. Calvin Phillips is just starting to pick up a bit of
21:29form for Ipswich as well. And obviously they've got the Liam De Lappe up front who's been excellent
21:36and Herzl has singled him out for some special praise in a press conference yesterday as well.
21:41So it won't be an easy place to go for Brighton.
21:47I think maybe it depends on what team Brighton can put out with the injuries,
21:54but yeah, they're going to be up against it. I think that's for sure.
21:58Absolutely. And you're off to Old Trafford on Sunday, Sam. I listened to another football
22:03podcast and I think Brighton have missed their opportunity to cash in their Man United voucher
22:07because Man United seem quite a tough team to beat now based on their last two games
22:12against Liverpool and Arsenal. How do you see it sort of going there?
22:15Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I think Brighton will be a bit wary of the upturn in form. I think
22:20Man United suddenly become really organised defensively. They look, obviously Ruben
22:25Annarine's come in and had some, well, terrible results to start off his time as manager.
22:31And he's now started to get his ideas across to the players and they've now started to
22:37grind out some really hard-working performances. We saw against Liverpool where they probably
22:42should have won with the big chance they had at the end. They did really well there. And then
22:46obviously against Arsenal in the FA Cup, they played with 10 men for just over an hour and
22:49they still managed to hold out for penalties and get the win there. So there's definitely been some
22:54signs of improvement, some signs of life for the first time in a long time from those Man United
22:59players. And Brighton will be wary of that. But I still think it's a game they should be
23:04targeting because Man United are still well, well down there on table 14th,
23:11just seven points above the relegation zone as things stand. So when you look at that,
23:17Brighton will be looking at this game as an opportunity to finally pick up some points and
23:22win the Premier League. And they know they have a brilliant record against Man United.
23:27I'm well bet coming back who's almost guaranteed a goal, Old Trafford,
23:30then they always stand a good chance.
23:33Wonderful. Right, we'll quickly do the score predictions. So Ipswich tomorrow night,
23:38Deron, who are you going for?
23:41I'm going to go for a 2-2 for that. For that one, I'm going to sit on the fence and say a 2-2. Yeah,
23:47I think Liam Dillard will be on target for Ipswich as well.
23:51Yeah, I was going to go 1-1 actually. So I'll go with you there, Sam.
23:55Tough game. Ipswich need the points to get out of the relegation zone.
23:58And I'm going to go with a 2-2 draw as well.
24:00Yeah, Henry?
24:02You know, I'm going to say 2-1. Danny Welbeck with 2 to break the Trax boys' hearts.
24:09And then Man United on Sunday. This is the Sam Morton derby. Sam, how do you think this is going?
24:15It's a really tough one. I just think in Brighton's form, they're going to go and win 2-1.
24:21I say, sorry, form against Man United, I should say, with the way they obviously do love a win
24:25against Man United. I think they'll go, yeah, get a 2-1 win there.
24:28Excellent. Henry?
24:30I think this one will be 2-0. And I'm going to say Danny Welbeck to get 1, not 2.
24:34Four goals in one week would be crazy.
24:39Yeah. And Darren?
24:41Yeah, Man United are a bit better these days, but I'm still not convinced by Man United.
24:45So I think Brighton are going to go there and win 2-0.
24:48I'm going to go Man United 1-0. A really boring game.
24:52Right, thank you very much, Straps. You can catch up with all the latest sports coverage,
24:56news covering everything we talked about today at sussexworld.co.uk. And you can watch more
25:02excellent videos on shotstv.com and Freeview channel 262. We'll see you next week.
25:08Cheers.