Brighton and Hove Albion (A) 10/03/24

Brighton and Hove Albion 1-0 Nottingham Forest

Omobamidele (OG) 29'

 

With just 11 games left to battle it out for Premier League survival, the Reds travelled down to a Brighton side who had lost their 3 previous fixtures. Another goalkeeper mistake, more decisions going against Forest and a lack of fight will show everyone at the club the run-in will be a rollercoaster.

 

On Sunday, Nuno’s side played out a 1-0 loss at the AMEX against the Seagulls. The two sides last meeting resulted in a 2-3 win for Brighton at the City Ground back in November. Despite taking the lead in the 3^rd minute through Antony Elanga and a second half red card, the Reds fell to a defeat. Both teams were coming off the back of a defeat; Forest lost 1-0 to Liverpool last Saturday and Brighton lost 4-0 at Roma in the first leg of their Europa League game on Thursday. However, the Seagulls are on an 11 match unbeaten streak at home with 5 draws and 6 wins with Forest only having won twice away from home this season. Brighton’s last top flight double against the Reds came in the 1979/80 season so they were looking to recreate this. Forest’s last win at the AMEX was back in 2015 in a 2-3 win in the EFL Championship through goals from Danny Collins, Henry Lansbury and Ben Osborn.

 

As for injuries, Brighton’s most recognisable absentees are Kaoru Mitoma and Joao Pedro who are out with back and thigh injuries. Chris Wood was a surprise inclusion in Forest’s starting 11 after he came back from injury which has kept him out since the end of January. Gonzalo Montiel, Nuno Tavares and Ola Aina still remain sidelined.

 

The first big chance of the game came after 11^th minutes. Brighton found themselves up the pitch through Carlos Baleba. He cut in from the right-hand side and looked to play a pass back out wide but the space opened up for him and he tried to curl a left footed strike beyond Matz Sels into the bottom left corner. The shot fired just wide of the post as the Forest ‘keeper was at full stretch.  Just 4 minutes later, the hosts found themselves with a free kick on the edge of the box from the right following a challenge from Nicolas Dominguez which saw the midfielder gain himself a booking. Pascal Gross whipped the ball in and an unchallenged Jakub Moder headed powerfully towards goal at the near post. Sels was reactive and managed to parry the ball away before the Reds could clear for a Brighton corner.

 

Brighton were dominating the game now, maintaining good possession and having the other 2 biggest chances of the half. The Seagulls found themselves with another free kick on the right which was whipped in by Gross. Neco Williams got a vital touch to send it behind but following the resulting corner, the ball broke to Baleba whose powerful strike hit the stands. The hosts were continuing to break forward and did so again through a ball in behind the Reds’ defence. Simon Adingra chased after the ball and managed to keep the ball in on the byline before crossing it to Evan Ferguson at the near post. His shot was well blocked by Sels before being cleared by Murillo after a scramble.

 

The deadlock was finally broken in the 29^th minute. Brighton managed to win a free kick near the byline after Andrew Omobamidele was deemed to have fouled Fati. Gross crossed the ball in from the left and Sels came out to catch at the near post but missed. Unluckily for Omobamidele, the final touch came off the back of his head and he clipped it into the net. Forest claimed for a foul on the ‘keeper but after a VAR check, the goal was awarded.

 

Forest looked for an immediate response through Divock Origi. Morgan Gibbs-White played a lovely ball for Origi down the right who broke into the box before shooting from a tight angle. Goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen rushed out and blocked the shot with his feet before his defence could clear. Forest fans may be frustrated the striker didn’t get his head up and cross the ball to Wood for a tap-in.

 

Halftime, 1-0.

 

To start the second half, Origi found himself in a very similar position to his previous chance but had less composure this time and blazed over. Half-chances continued for both teams through free-kicks and lazy shots but in a poor performance from both sides no team produced anything big.

 

The away side will yet again feel let down by officials’ decisions. After a tackle from Moder on Gibbs-White, the ball was loose so the midfielder and Williams both chased after it. The Forest defender was getting to the ball first but ended up in pain on the floor after a tackle from Moder in what seemed a blatant red card. Moder was off the floor before he lunged in studs up and his right leg went into the Welshman’s ankle. Following a VAR check, the on-field decision of a yellow card stood to Forest’s anger.

 

Chris Wood found himself with his first chance of the game following a perfectly lofted pass from Morgan Gibbs-White. The New Zealand international drove into the box before looking to hit a first time finish past Verbruggen into the far post. The ‘keeper got down smartly producing a finger-tip save to send it for a corner.

 

Brighton ended the game the much stronger side, playing all around the visitors and having a chance through Julio Enciso.  He unleashed a powerful strike towards the top left corner but his finish fired just over. Forest had a chance of their own after a header from Cheikhou Kouyate following a flighted free-kick. His chance was also just a little too high and settled on the roof of the net. As the game headed into injury time, Brighton were frustrating the Reds, taking the ball into the corner and winning free-kick after free-kick. Forest never got a chance to break forward and the hosts held onto the win.

 

In my opinion, both teams were very poor and neither of us deserved to win or even score. Brighton were probably the better side, having the much better chances and being able to play all through our team. We kept giving the ball away and giving away silly free kicks which needs to be improved as we enter a key point in the season. We did have quite a few opportunities through free kicks which came to nothing but we need to make these chances count and make them come to something. Our finishing also needs to improve and we need to take chances. No one really stood out to me as the whole team were pretty poor but Woody definitely looked strong up front. I disagree with Nuno’s changes and feel he should’ve played Callum and Anthony from the start as they are our biggest strength.

 

As for the red card decision, I don’t think it can get any more obvious. Moder is off the floor and goes studs up into Neco’s ankle. He is definitely out of control and endangering an opponent so I don’t understand how the officials have missed that. Luton next week is a must win game and if we lose that we will be in serious trouble especially with a points deduction potentially looming. We need more fight, passion and desire if we want a chance. We also need more composure and to play our absolute best on Saturday.

 

Brighton and Hove Albion: Verbruggen; Veltman, Van Hecke, Dunk, Estupinian (Igor 76'); Baleba, Moder (Enciso 76'); Adingra (Lallana 80'), Gross, Fati (Lamptey 60'); Ferguson (Welbeck 60')

          

Forest: Sels; Williams, Omobamidele, Murillo, Toffolo; Yates (Awoniyi 72'), Danilo (Sangare 61'), Dominguez (Hudson-Odoi 72'); Origi (Elanga 61'), Wood, Gibbs-White (Kouyate 87')