Nick Ames was our man at the Amex. His report has landed. Thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night!
Ralph Hasenhuttl’s turn. “I think the penalty was inside, it was a penalty. The line is also in, and it was also a little bit inside the line, so it was clear the contact was inside the box and it was a penalty, and that’s why we have VAR.”
Sky aren’t letting this drop, and press Graham Potter on the matter ... only for the Brighton manager to respond in a measured and dignified fashion. “I’m not sure. I haven’t seen it back. It looks like the first challenge is outside, I don’t know whether there’s a second challenge. That’s what the referee seemed to think, and if that’s the case, that’s how it is. From our perspective we’re disappointed with our second-half performance, but having said that it was quite an even game. Disappointed with the result.” Sky don’t let it lie, and bring the subject back round to the penalty. “If the offence is deemed to be inside, and they prove that’s the case, that’s what we’re using it for and it’s just one of those things you have to accept.” A long pause as the interviewer realises Potter isn’t biting. Finally he asks some questions about the football, but you can tell his heart isn’t in any of those.
Sky badger Danny Ings about the penalty decision. “To be honest, I didn’t see it clear enough to know. I thought their players were very unhappy, but sometimes decisions go for you, sometimes they don’t.” Sky press further, testing Ings’ patience. “I don’t know what you want me to say. I was just stood there waiting to see either way. Even if it was a free kick, Prowsey has fantastic delivery and who knows, we could have scored from that anyway.”
Brighton remain in 16th spot, with 10 points, four above the drop zone. They surround David Coote, who is at the centre of yet another VAR controversy. On Sky, Jamie Carragher and Freddie Ljungberg both say Southampton’s winning penalty shouldn’t have been given. If pushed, I might argue the other way, but y’know. Opinions will be shared with good grace on social media. Anyway, never mind that: this win means Southampton become only the 11th side in Premier League history to reach 1,000 points.
FULL TIME: Brighton 1-2 Southampton
Danny Ings returns; Southampton are immediately back on track. Saints win on a Monday for the first time in 18 years. More pertinently, they go fifth. Brighton are now ten games without a win at home. The only team they’ve beaten at the Amex in 2020 is Arsenal.
90 min +3: Some scrappy scrapping in the midfield. The clock is very much Southampton’s friend now.
90 min +2: March curls in from the left. Trossard attempts to eyebrow a header across McCarthy but it’s too close to the keeper, who claims.
90 min +1: Veltman is caught dawdling and Armstrong is sent into the box on the right. He’s one on one with Ryan, who does well to usher him away from goal and force him to turn tail. A crucial intervention that keeps Brighton hoping.
90 min: There will be four bonus minutes.
89 min: Bissouma goes in the book for his overly animated reaction to being penalised for a garden-variety foul.
87 min: McCarthy is booked for taking his sweet time over a goal kick.
85 min: Brighton come again and win a corner down the right. McCarthy claims confidently. The hosts are fuelled by a sense of injustice, incensed that David Coote didn’t at least go over to check the monitor.
84 min: Brighton come at Saints with feeling. Maupay spins and shoots from the edge of the box but his effort sails wide of the bottom left.
82 min: Brighton respond by making a double change, sending on Trossard and Jahanbakhsh in place of White and Welbeck.
GOAL! Brighton 1-2 Southampton (Ings 81 pen)
Ings whips the penalty into the left-hand side of the net, sending Ryan the wrong way. Textbook!
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80 min: March goes in the book for his challenge.
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Penalty for Saints!
79 min: David Coote does the telly-box mime, and points straight at the spot! No checking the monitor.
78 min: VAR is taking a long time over this. It’s very close.
77 min: Walker-Peters gets ahead of March down the right, chasing a long Vestergaard pass, and threatens to break into the box. March barges him over from behind. A free kick is awarded, though that looked inside the box. VAR will check.
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76 min: March advances down the left and slips a neat diagonal pass infield to release Maupay into space. Maupay’s not so clever, running slap-bang into the nearest defender.
75 min: Saints are threatening to take control the game for the first time this evening. Brighton are finding it difficult to work their way out of their own half.
73 min: Redmond advances down the inside left and slips inside for Ings, who has his back to goal, juggles the ball twice, and spins. He’s trying to work space for himself, but the ball drops closer to Redmond, who had kept going. Redmond creams a volley over the bar. What a goal that would have been! The best accidental assist of the season.
71 min: More of that high-paced scrappy stuff. But no complaints. On the whole, this game has made for good viewing, barring the odd lull.
69 min: A second change for the Saints, as Redmond comes on for Walcott.
68 min: March does something down the inside left. Was it a shot? An attempt at a cross? Not sure, but he falls over and shanks the ball out of play. Brighton are looking lively again.
66 min: A glorious pass down the right by Gross for Lamptey, who scampers upfield, enters the box, and tries to tee up Maupay. No good. He gets the ball back and tees up Gross, arriving late, instead. Gross leans back and his effort is nominative determinism at its very best.
64 min: Graham Potter has seen enough, and replaces the very quiet Connolly with their leading scorer Neal Maupay.
63 min: Walcott plays a clever ball down the inside-left channel. Ings is uncharacteristically on the back foot, and can’t get there before Ryan smothers. Saints are coming back into this now, finally getting a few things going up front.
62 min: Corner for Saints out on the left, Romeu orchestrating a period of pressure. Ryan flaps at Ward-Prowse’s delivery. Armstrong sends it back in from the right. Ryan claims well this time.
61 min: There’s not a whole load going on right now. Saints will be slightly happier, you’d have thought, having dampened Brighton’s early second-half fire.
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59 min: Armstrong bursts down the right, sent away by Ings. He sprays wide left for Walcott, who takes a touch inside, reaches the edge of the D, and curls powerfully towards the top right. It would have been a picture-book goal ... but it’s a few inches wide. Not sure whether Ryan would have got to that.
58 min: Some high-paced nonsense. Sequences of more than two passes are at a premium right now. Both teams battling hard.
56 min: Dunk goes in the book for sliding in late on Adams. Over-zealous would be the best way to describe it. Happily not much in the way of contact. He can have no complaints.
55 min: It’s been all Brighton since the restart. Saints haven’t got Ings into the game yet.
53 min: March crosses from the left. Saints half clear. Bissouma takes a speculative shot. It’s heading wide left, but Welbeck tries to deflect it goalwards. It loops up instead. He’d have been able to take a second poke at the ball had the offside Connolly not got in his way, and McCarthy comes out to claim.
52 min: A worrying moment for Welbeck who is down clutching his shoulder in a lot of pain. He took a hefty - but fair - whack in a 50-50 with Bednarek. Happily he’s up again soon enough, albeit with a grimace creasing his brow.
51 min: Gross latches onto a ball down the inside-left channel and hooks towards the right for Lamptey, who tries to round an over-excited McCarthy, rushing from his line. Lamptey runs the ball out of play, much to the keeper’s relief.
50 min: Vestergaard summons his inner Beckenbauer, dribbling past a couple of challenges down the left and slipping the ball on for Walcott, whose cross is no good and easily claimed by Ryan. Lovely run by the Saints central defender.
48 min: Gross swings the free kick in from the right. Ings gets in ahead of Webster, heading over the bar. No corner, though, because Webster is adjudged, somewhat harshly, to have bowled Ings to the ground as the pair tussled in the air.
47 min: A poor touch in the midfield from Romeu allows Connolly, Gross and March to stream forward. Romeu tries to make amends, chasing back, but clips Gross on the ankle, conceding a free kick 25 yards out, and going into the book.
Brighton get the second half underway. A couple of strange sequences could end tonight. The hosts haven’t won a game in front of their own fans since last December, when they beat Bournemouth 2-0. Saints meanwhile haven’t won on a Monday night since 2002. If this ends in a draw, forget I said anything. But Saints are looking for the win: they’ve sent on Ings in place of Djenepo.
Half-time entertainment.
HALF TIME: Brighton 1-1 Southampton
Brighton were the better team in the first 45, but they failed to challenge Vestergaard at the corner and have paid the price. Nicely set up for the second half!
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GOAL! Brighton 1-1 Southampton (Vestergaard 45)
Saints haven’t shown in attack all evening, but they’ll go in level! Armstrong wins a corner out on the right. The set piece is swung in and met by a towering header from Vestergaard, who slams the ball into the top left, giving Ryan no chance.
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43 min: Welbeck wins a ball that was never his and sends Connolly whistling down the left. Welbeck keeps going, reaches the area, and cocks his leg back with a view to meeting Connolly’s cross and slamming home from six yards ... but Vestergaard hoicks clear just in time.
42 min: A lovely spin on the right touchline by Armstrong. He tippy-toes along the tightrope, exchanging a crisp one-two with Walcott, but then tries one trick too many and runs into trouble. Shame, because that was delightful skill.
40 min: Having said all that, Saints are improving a little, albeit from a low base. Walcott dribbles down the inside-right channel and drags a weak shot across the face of goal. On the touchline, Graham Potter performs the internationally recognised mime for Put Some Bloody Effort Into It.
39 min: Djenepo clips Gross on the heel. It’s a free kick and nothing more ... but he’s on a booking, and needs to take care. Another clumsy challenge and he could be in big bother.
37 min: Saints ping it around, but not with any great urgency. They look as though they need to hear the half-time whistle and have a rethink. They look as though they need Danny Ings.
35 min: Saints have achieved next to nothing going forward. Bertrand bucks that trend by forcing a corner down the left, but the set piece is a total non-event.
33 min: Dunk has a full and frank exchange of views with the referee, after receiving a ticking-off for kicking a dead ball into the Saints goal. For a second, it looks like he’s talked himself into the book, but common sense prevails.
32 min: Bissouma curls in from the left. Welbeck chests down for Gross, who attempts a volley from the penalty spot. He snatches at it and sends the ball miles over the bar.
31 min: Saints make a meal of clearing the corner, but the flag eventually goes up for offside. And relax.
30 min: Ward-Prowse’s delivery is no good. Brighton break quickly. Lamptey zips down the right and looks for Welbeck in the centre. Ward-Prowse blocks - legally this time, with his chest - but at the expense of a corner.
29 min: Free kick for Saints out on the left. Can they bounce back immediately? Can the dead-ball wizard Ward-Prowse conjure something up? For some reason, he leaves it to Bertrand, whose delivery is no good. But soon enough there’s another set-piece opportunity on the other flank, and he’ll take this one.
27 min: Ward-Prowse wasn’t happy with the award of the penalty, and he continues to chunter on at the referee. He’s not got much of a case. His arm was in a wholly unnatural position as he tussled with Welbeck, and the current rule is what it is.
GOAL! Brighton 1-0 Southampton (Gross 26 pen)
Gross whips the ball into the top-right corner, McCarthy diving the other way. The hosts lead, and 2,000 fans give it plenty!
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Penalty for Brighton!
25 min: March hooks in from the left. Welbeck goes up to contest. Behind him is Ward-Prowse, who has his arm stuck high in the air. The ball bounces off Welbeck’s chest and onto the Saints skipper’s hand. A no-brainer for the ref, who points to the spot.
23 min: There’s been a pleasant snappy pace to the game from the get-go, though passes aren’t quite sticking at the minute.
21 min: Djenepo makes good down the left and nearly slithers his way between Veltman and Dunk, but the Brighton door shuts just in the nick of time.
20 min: One corner leads to another. The second leads to nothing.
19 min: Bissouma is a marvellously assured player. From the middle of a hubbub, he calmly strides forward into space and picks out Welbeck down the left with a glorious slide-rule pass. Welbeck crosses for Connolly. Bertrand is forced to head behind for a corner.
17 min: Adams has taken a sore whack. Nothing too serious by the looks of it - just a grimace - but Ings is sent out to warm up, just in case.
15 min: Ward-Prowse blocks White illegally and it’s another free kick for Brighton in Saints territory. This one’s sent wide left for March, who whistles low into a crowded box. It’s easily hacked clear by Romeu.
13 min: Lamptey is beginning to influence this game. A third determined run in almost as many minutes, and this time he’s clumsily brought to ground by Djenepo. The Saints winger goes in the book.
11 min: Lamptey is brought down on his next sortie. Free kick. Gross swings it in from the right. Dunk barrels in from a deep position to burst through the Saints back line and meet the cross, ten yards out. He’s unchallenged, but sends a poor header high and wide.
9 min: The first sighting today of Lamptey, who is surely going to be a superstar. He tears off down the right at lightning speed, and for a second it looks like he’s going to break into a world of space, but he slightly overruns the ball and is forced to check back. Not this time, but notice has been served.
7 min: Saints respond, Walcott slicing a snapshot over the bar, Djenepo dribbling into the box from the left only to run the ball out of play. A lovely free-flowing feel to this one.
6 min: Bissouma pearls a lovely ball down the middle to release Gross down the inside-right channel. He’s got Connolly in the middle, thinks about taking a shot himself, then has his cross cut out by Vestergaard. Big chance, though there was a suspicion of offside and the flag may well have gone up.
4 min: March is sent scampering down the left wing by Welbeck. March returns the ball when he reaches the edge of the area. Welbeck opens his body and tries to guide a first-time sidefoot into the bottom right. He doesn’t quite get the angle right, and it’s an easy smother for McCarthy.
2 min: Bissouma plays a cute pass down the middle that nearly finds Gross. Walker-Peters swings one in from the right for Adams; not quite. Djenepo skedaddles down the inside-left channel and drags a shot-cum-cross harmlessly wide right. A nice open start to the game.
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Saints get the ball rolling ... but only after the players take a knee of love and solidarity. There’s no room for racism. The gesture is met with the warmest applause on a chilly night by the sea.
The teams are out! Brighton play in their retro 80s all-blue shirts, while Saints wear third-choice white with red sash. The visitors are given the pantomime bird by the 2,000-strong Brighton bunch - “Boo! Who are ya?!” - and yet it’ll be sweet music to the ears of everyone involved. The fans are back! They’re making some racket, one hell of an atmosphere, a beautiful noise. We’ll be off in a minute!
A word with Graham Potter. “It’s great news for football that fans are back ... hopefully they can help us ... it’ll be nice for us to get their support and get a good performance and a good result.”
Then a chat with Ralph Hasenhuttl: “Everyone is happy that fans are back in the stadium ... this time we play away but next week we are at home and also have them in our ground so we are looking forward to it ... hopefully we can go back there with a success from today.”
In other hot breaking news, we can report that Potter and Hasenhuttl are both happy that Lamptey and Ings are back. Pulitzer, please!
One change to the Brighton team that battled for a deserved draw against Liverpool. Tariq Lamptey is back from suspension; Neal Maupay drops to the bench.
Southampton are unchanged from their eventful defeat to Manchester United. Star striker Danny Ings returns from injury, but only as an insurance policy on the bench.
However, here’s the biggest and most welcome team news: 2,000 lucky Brighton fans return to the Amex for the first time since the March lockdown.
The teams
Brighton & Hove Albion: Ryan, Veltman, Dunk, Webster, Lamptey, White, Bissouma, March, Gross, Connolly, Welbeck.
Subs: Maupay, Trossard, Jahanbakhsh, Alzate, Steele, Bernardo, Burn.
Southampton: McCarthy, Walker-Peters, Bednarek, Vestergaard, Bertrand, Armstrong, Ward-Prowse, Romeu, Djenepo, Walcott, Adams.
Subs: Stephens, Long, Ings, Redmond, Salisu, Diallo, Forster.
Referee: David Coote (Nottinghamshire)
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Preamble
It’s not the south-coast derby ... but it’s a south-coast derby, and that’s good enough for us. Brighton & Hove Albion welcome Southampton, hoping for their first victory over their near-neighbours in the Premier League era, and three points that would ease them further away from the relegation zone.
Graham Potter’s side are better than their current total of ten points from ten matches suggest. After a sluggish but not always fortunate start to the season - think that game against Manchester United - they’re beginning to get it together. They’ve only lost one of their last six, and that narrowly to leaders Tottenham; their last two matches have seen them go toe-to-toe with champions Liverpool and win impressively at Aston Villa. They look a cut above the other early-season strugglers.
Southampton are also a team on an upward trajectory. Admittedly they’re currently eighth in the table having briefly been top, but you’ve tracked the general trend, you get the gist. Ralph Hasenhuttl’s entertaining team has been involved in some humdingers this season - a 4-3 win at Aston Villa, a 3-3 draw at Chelsea, 5-2 and 3-2 losses at home to Spurs and Manchester United respectively - as well as efficient dispatches of Everton and Newcastle, and a fine point at Wolves. They’re usually worth watching, one way or another.
All of which raises hope of a fine derby this evening at the Amex. Kick off is at 8pm GMT. It’s on!
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