Brighton & Hove Albion 2 v 2 Leicester City
Post Match Analysis by Stuart Dawkins
The views expressed in this report are the opinions of the Trust member nominated to file the report only and do not represent the views of the Foxes Trust organisation.
I always look forward to a trip to Brighton. I lived in the town for a few years, got married there, my first child was born there, even the first match report I ever wrote was written there – covering City’s game at the Goldstone Ground for the short-lived, cartoon-heavy For Fox Sake fanzine in the late 1980s.
I expected to enjoy the trip, but not the match itself. This mood was not helped by noticing an anniversary. As it was a lovely summer-like day on the coast, I had taken my ‘summer weight’ City scarf to wear for the match. This was the one given to City fans who attended the first leg of the Champions League Quarter Final at Atletico Madrid. The date of that match is printed on the scarf – 12 April 2017 – eight years ago to the day. Quite a lot has changed over those eight years.
Van Nistelrooy had said he would urge his players to play with more freedom. He had picked a team that gave at least a hint of that – with Mavididi and McAteer as proper wingers. Okoli was in for Faes. There was even a hint of Maresca-ball in the way City played for phases of the match, with Justin adopting an inverted full-back role from time to time.
Brighton had much of the game to begin with, but a decent move led to a Mavididi shot being saved, giving City fans the chance to make the now-expected “we’ve had a shot” chant after only seven minutes. City were playing some decent football in spurts, with El Khannouss and Mavididi linking up well.
It was a lively game, made livelier by City continuing to give too much of the ball and too much space to their opponents, but for once their opponents did not have their shooting boots on, so chance after chance for Brighton were missed or blocked.
After one such blocked shot, the dreaded “VAR check in progress” graphic appeared on the big screens. This was followed by the referee going to check his own, smaller, screen … and after what felt like an age, signalling a penalty. One notable thing was that the big screens, shortly afterwards, showed a paragraph explaining the decision (the one that the Premier League now put out on social media as part of making VAR more communicative).
Despite Hermansen attempting sufficient mind-games with penalty-taker João Pedro to get himself booked, the striker calmly scored to give Brighton the lead after 31 minutes.
City reacted well, within seven minutes El Khannouss was gifted the ball in midfield, passed the ball to Mavididi whose first shot was blocked, but who managed to fire a shot under the Brighton keeper from the rebound to score City’s first goal since January. The City fans were jubilant.
Brighton then hit the post, adding to umpteen chances missed, but the half ended with a McAteer header being well saved. City had not only scored, but they had reached half-time in a match with plenty still to play for!
The match continued in a similar way after the break. After 57-minutes City, as they so often do, got themselves into difficulties by trying to play the ball out from defence when it was not warranted, a cross came over from the left and Thomas rather clumsily dealt with O’Riley’s challenge. The ref waved play on, but there was an inevitability when the VAR graphic appeared again and in due course João Pedro scored his second penalty of the day to leave City behind again.
Van Nistelrooy took off Vardy, Thomas and Ndidi to be replaced by Daka, Pereira and Skipp, with Justin switching to left back. Apparently Vardy had just seven touches of the ball – watching it live I think I remember two of them. Whether, sadly, Vardy’s magic has passed, or whether the way this team plays simply does not work for him, I do not know, but for a few recent matches the team have looked better with Daka playing.
There was a remarkable transformation. Whether it was the substitutions themselves, or whether the Brighton players assumed their job was already done and eased up, I’m not sure, but for the rest of the match City were indubitably the better team. It was probably Skipp’s best performance so far in a City shirt.
The Away fans sensed this and roared encouragement. The fact that in any competitive sense this was a ‘meaningless’ match did not matter, they could see their team trying and were vocal in supporting them to do so.
Daka had a decent shot well saved. Then El Khannouss played a free kick perfectly, a fast, looping cross just beyond the far post which Okoli stooped, unmarked, to head home. The absolute joy on Okoli’s face on scoring brought home how young these players are, and how it must have felt simply not to be scoring, not to have anything to celebrate for so long.
Then, oh no, the VAR graphic appeared again. In theory, I am a fan of VAR (hey, had there been VAR on 12 April 2017, Albrighton’s cynical trip against Madrid – well outside the box – would not have produced a penalty and who knows what might have happened!) But in the minute or so waiting for the brand-new semi-automated offside system to confirm that the goal stood, I was thinking “I’ve come all the way to the South coast to watch something … and the outcome of what I am seeing is being dictated by Stockley Park, not by the twenty-two players or three officials I can actually see by being here”. As far as we understand we will not be seeing VAR in the Championship next season, so at least my philosophical musings will not be needed then.
Thankfully, the goal stood. City were in the game until the final whistle. Both teams had chances, it was all a bit chaotic, but City looked the likelier to break the deadlock.
There were boos from the City fans after the second of seven added minutes, when Mavididi was replaced by de Cordova Reid. I suspect the reason for the change was that Mavididi’s final act was to chase a through ball which completely split the Brighton defence. It should have been a one-on-one chance against the keeper, but the Brighton backs managed to catch and contain the attack. Even Mavididi, in a match when he was a stand-out player, runs out of fast legs eventually.
With just a minute to play, Luke Evans got his first taste of Premier League football, replacing McAteer. He didn’t get the chance to touch a ball, but it is still a milestone in a young player’s career, and another reminder – after Monga on Monday – that City has some decent prospects in its younger ranks.
In the end, the team had to settle for a point. Yes, on another day they could easily have been two or three down by half-time, but this time they were not and this time they finished a game the better team. At the final whistle the whole team came to the fans and there was mutual applause. It was not the astonishing emotional event when the players and fans applauded each other at the Cardiff Away match immediately after the helicopter tragedy – I don’t think anything could quite match that. But at least here was a team and a set of fans having something – however small – to celebrate together at last.
I enjoyed the match. I enjoyed being reminded how it feels to be emotionally, gutturally engaged with a game of football. That does not negate all the many things that have been so wrong this dismal season, but it gives me hope that I will enjoy next season. Maybe the team could even put together a string of performances to finish this season with some momentum? We’ll see.
Cup draws aside, I’m unlikely to be watching football at Brighton next season, but there will be something to look forward to.
Leicester City
Hermansen, Thomas, Coady, Okoli, Justin, Soumaré, Ndidi, Mavididi, El Khannouss, McAteer, Vardy
Substitutes
Aluko, Ayew, Ricardo Pereira, Coulibaly, Daka, De Cordova-Reid, Evans, Skipp, Stolarczyk
Brighton & Hove Albion
Verbruggen, Estupiñán, Baleba, Dunk, Hinshelwood, Ayari, Adingra, João Pedro, O’Riley, Minteh, Welbeck
Substitutes
Cashin, Gruda, Gómez, Howell, March, Rushworth, Simmonds, Tasker, Wieffer
