And here’s Paul MacInnes’s report from the Amex.
Graham Potter speaks, through a crossed line with Jonathan Pearce counting from one to ten.
It was great strike but I thought we pushed and pushed and I was really delighted with the spirit we showed. I thought we did really well in the game. We look to our next game, Sheffield United and we have a break now. I will have a little break, spend some time away with the family and recharge.
Shane Duffy has been speaking to Brighton’s media team.
💬 “I’m really proud of the character we showed today and it’ll be important between now and the end of the season.
— Brighton & Hove Albion ⚽️ (@OfficialBHAFC) February 8, 2020
“We kept fighting like last weekend and I thought those that came on had a good impact.” #BHAFC 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/ImFA7PqUxG
A telling stat here.
6 - Since the start of last season, Watford have conceded six own goals in the Premier League, more than any other side. Nervy. #BHAWAT
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 8, 2020
Abdoulaye Doucouré speaks
In the first game of the season I scored an own-goal and I wanted to score. We are a little disappointed and we carry on and we fight until the end. I score more goals and it helps the team. The team is the most important. We were unlucky to concede a goal, it’s happened a lot this season. The lads did a good job and it was unlucky in the end.
Ben Foster speaks. Watford’s next matches are Manchester United and Liverpool.
The way the goal went in was very disappointing. He isn’t trying to score an own-goal, that’s football sometimes. They threw it all at us, the back eight, if you like, and they stood strong through it. We dropped, and that’s a symptom of where we are in the league. It’s human nature, we have a massive scrap on our hands. We have already beaten Manchester United and we did well at Liverpool; we have no fear whatsoever.
Full-time: Brighton 1-1 Watford
Brighton should be the happier after their second-half improvement. Watford will think they chucked this one away, but they tired and Adrian Mariappa’s own-goal came as they were put under serious pressure.
90+4 min: March gets a yellow card for some petulance after being penalised for fouling a defender holding the ball in the corner. Ben Foster takes his time over the goal kick, plenty of time.
90+2 min: Mooy in the corner, and Trossard, try their best to force a chance but Watford are back in numbers.
90+1 min: Five minutes added, with some questions to be asked where they came from.
90 min: There are still three points up for grabs, but only one team looks to be chasing them, and that’s Brighton. Mooy and Trossard try to link up but Watford sit back in numbers. Jahanbakhsh plays in Trossard but the Belgian’s touch is loose and he balloons over.
87 min: Watford look tired, and to be hanging on for a draw that is useful but not what they wanted. Capoue’s shot shows off their fatigue.
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86 min: Mat Ryan’s long pass finds Trossard and the Belgian almost conjures a chance. It’s last-ditch stuff to get it clear. Welbeck is on, with Deulofeu making way. Welbeck is not yet 30, it might be mentioned.
85 min: Danny Welbeck, a player of genuine quality, is an imminent sub. Watford are far more in need of a winner than Brighton, remember.
83 min: More Deeney rage as Deulofeu fails to read his flick-on. Watford a little ragged but still possess some danger.
82 min: First Watford change. Nigel Pearson and Craig Shakespeare swap Pereyra for Pussetto, their recent signing.
81 min: Watford rested on their laurels, and paid the price. Troy Deeney set to be even more angrier than he was before.
80 min: That Watford margin for error proved far too narrow, and now it’s Brighton who fancy the win.
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Goal! Brighton 1-1 Watford (Mariappa, 78 og)
Jahanbakhsh lashes a ball across goal and the Watford defender lashes it into his own net. He feared Glenn Murray behind him and fell into a moment of madness.
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77 min: Big chance for Brighton! Trossard lays the ball off to Mooy, whose shot is true but Ben Foster makes a fine save with his left leg.
76 min: It’s Watford with the impetus now, with Brighton a little shapeless with all those attacking players on the field. Doucoure takes on a chance to score from distance but lightning will not strike twice for him.
74 min: A break in play as Adam Masina has a shoulder problem but he looks as if he might be alright to play on. Watford have taken their time over it.
73 min: Off goes Schelotto, and on comes Jahanbakhsh the Iranian winger. Graham Potter is going for broke.
72 min: Brighton’s flurry after all those subs seems to have abated. This a big last 20 minutes for both teams here.
70 min: Watford, rather uncharacteristically, play the ball too much - do an Arsenal walking of the ball into the net - and make a mess of a good chance. Then, the ball fails to get to Deeney, whose anger is audible when Masina does not find him with a pass. The pass looked difficult, and that seemed a little harsh from the captain.
69 min: Nice move from Brighton. Flick from Trossard finds Mooy and his cross is a diagonal that Murray fails to get to. They are getting closer.
68 min: Watford have been solid but their margin for error is small. Nigel Pearson is in arm-folding mode, and is prowling the touchline.
66 min: Mariappa booked now, and for a late tackle on Solly March by the touchline. Trossard’s free-kick is blasted across rather than placed and then cleared.
64 min: Watford now looking harried and pressured. It’s Brighton who are doing the unsettling. Hughes fouls Maupay and is booked for a tactical foul. A free-kick is launched from the left-hand side, with Trossard chipping forward. Watford are solid under that and the ball is cleared. It keeps, though, coming back at Watford.
62 min: Second Brighton sub: Alzate on for the somewhat negligible Gross.
61 min: There is a hint that Brighton have finally found some flow, though the fans in the stand sound restless. Watford are sitting back on this, and with quite a long time to go that’s a risky strategy.
60 min: Mooy and Trossard link up play, which hasn’t happened enough, but it’s too far out of goal. Watford are compressing the play at both ends.
58 min: Deulofeu is given far too much space, and shoots wide. Pascal Gross had offered him the freedom of Falmer.
57 min: And that sub is made, with Maupay making it two up front. Solly March will now play at left-back. Potter is an adept manager when it comes to in-game alterations. Chelsea were on the end of that on New Year’s Day.
56 min: More Brighton pressure with not much threat involved, and Neal Maupay is coming on, with Dan Burn to be relieved of his touchline-hugging duties.
54 min: Brighton weave some pretty patterns, and struggle to find a space. Graham Potter is in deep discussion with his bench. They agonise as Schelotto fires across goal and Murray cannot reach the ball.
53 min: Burn, in his role as a Brighton’s answer to Roberto Carlos, pings in a cross that Cathcart deals with and with some ease.
51 min: Brighton again pushed back by Watford’s pressing game. Their best hope is that Watford tire later on as they have a manacle on the match at present.
49 min: Etienne Capoue goes down, looks in pain and then stages a miraculous recovery.
48 min: JR in Illinois has a pertinent question. “I’m no tactical soccer expert but is the best use of Dan Burn really to have him glued to the left touchline sending in crosses?”
To be fair, until his recent injury, he had done well in that position, but he is also the man who headed away 900 Manchester United crosses when a Fulham player in 2014 and David Moyes was melting down.
47 min: Stats corner. Doucoure has become an important player in Nige’s Red Adair act.
3/6 - Abdoulaye Doucouré has scored three goals in his last six Premier League games for Watford, as many as in his previous 34 appearances in the competition. Thunderbolt. #BHAWAT pic.twitter.com/8CwObwpqQ8
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 8, 2020
46 min: Ok, we are back underway and Brighton have plenty to do. They have never won a Premier League home game when 1-0 down at half-time in the Premier League.
Half-time: Brighton 0-1 Watford
Poor from Brighton, far better from Watford, who took their chance well through Doucoure. Their pressing game drove Graham Potter’s team to distraction and stopped their passing game working. Plenty of work to be done at half-time.
44 min: More Brighton wobbles as Watford push up on them. This time it’s Dan Burn who look panicked. Up the other end, March makes a mess of pass and when it eventually gets to Trossard he hoofs the ball into the stands to deserved jeers.
42 min: Penalty shout? Schelotto goes down from a challenge from Deulofeu that was barely a challenge. VAR gets its job done quickly and there will be no penalty. There is insurrection in the Sussex air but the truth is that the Brighton defender made a meal of it.
40 min: More panic from Brighton as Deeney almost whips the ball off the feet of Duffy. And the fans getting restless when a ball hit forward doesn’t have a single home player chasing it. Glenn Murray’s lack of speed and numbers around him mean Brighton are not presenting much of a threat.
38 min: A rare touch for Trossard on the left flank, and he almost makes a chance for Murray but Cathcart is excellent again in clearing the danger.
37 min: Shane Duffy dithers and Deeney is all over him, the Watford press causing real problems. Brighton get the ball clear, but they have been unnerved.
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36 min: First booking of the match goes to Schelotto, for a foul on Deulofeu. It’s a soft one, and puts pressure on the full-back.
35 min: Peter Oh writes in: “Strong suckerpunch quality to Docoure’s goal. Brighton had strung together a sequence of combinations under pressure to neatly play out of their defensive third, but Mooy’s attempt to split two opponents and get the ball into the final third was blocked and Watford stormed the other way.”
Exactly right.
33 min: Solly March is the man most likely to make something happen for Brighton but this time the move comes from the other side of the field. It requires Cathcart, a free transfer who has provided great service to Watford, to nod calmly back to his keeper to avert the danger.
31 min: March scampers to the byline, and Schelotto swings his leg at the ball. That’s better from Brighton.
30 min: Close again from Watford. Deulofeu gets down the left, and sets up Hughes, whose shot is deflected behind the goal. Dunk heads away the corner but he has to deal with another. Deeney gets a snap-shot of a chance but can’t trouble Ryan with his shot.
29 min: A waste from Schelotto, as he wellies a cross straight into the hands of Ben Foster.
28 min: Watford look good for the win here, and not like a team second-bottom of the league. Nothing really coming off for Brighton.
26 min: Brighton carve a half-chance. Mooy smashes over, and looks as disappointed as he might. He was culpable in that Doucoure goal, too.
25 min: Schelotto’s dart down the flank is stopped by a rampaging Capoue challenge. Watford now baring their teeth in the style of their manager, who was actually quite a decent, classy player under all the brawn.
24 min: Watford’s fans really enjoying themselves here, and why not? A fun night in Brighton and a Thameslink home await, National Rail permitting.
22 min: So, what can Brighton find? They had been the better team, and more likely to score. They will persevere with their passing game but it will be a worry for Graham Potter that they were picked off so easily.
20 min: Doucoure’s goal reminded of a Yaya Toure stride through midfield and finish. Powerful, skilful and a precise and powerful finish.
Updated
Goal! Brighton 0-1 Watford (Doucoure, 19)
It came from nothing, a charging run and he surges on and then wallops it past Ryan. A fine goal, completely unbefitting of what came before.
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17 min: The excellent Ian Darke, commentating on BT, reminds that Graham Potter played in the Southampton 6-3 Manchester United game from 1996, as mentioned in number 5 here. That also means that Potter must have been at The Dell when Ali Dia, the king of all listicles, was there.
16 min: Solly March looks to be the player most likely to, and he sets up a move which allows Mooy to try and send Glenn Murray on at goal, only for the veteran striker to be stopped in his tracks.
14 min: This has few signs of being a relegation six-point classic. Both teams look to be yearning for their week off in Dubai, the Maldives or Skegness.
12 min: Will Hughes stops Trossard sending Gross away. But then March, given time, zings in an angled ball, which Murray climbs towards though Kabasele’s intervention prevents him getting a true contact on the ball.
10 min: Propper caught in possession but Deulofeu cannot get away without committing a foul. Neither side showing much confidence in possession, which suggests nerves.
9 min: Both Capoue and Murray down after an accidental clash between them but they are ok to carry on.
7 min: Mat Ryan launches the ball long and Watford can deal with that kind of stuff all day. The early flashes petering out already? Not a good sign. Nigel looks pensive.
6 min: Watford look a little sluggish, not what we have come to expect from a team coached by Nigel Pearson, who seemed relaxed in the preliminaries, in that rather wry fashion of his.
4 min: Brighton with all the vigour and rigour so far. Watford having to get through some heavy defensive work, though they have dealt well with set pieces so far.
3 min: March’s corner causes trouble and Troy Deeney has to head behind. The second loops over, and Propper attempts a volley that comes off Hughes midriff, but not the hand that Watford were claiming. VAR says no.
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1 min: It starts with some rather loose stuff from both teams before Mooy and Trossard link up, Dan Burn, er, burns down the left before the ball comes across to March and his shot is blocked for a corner.
Ok, we are go...no sign of the storm that has hit the Scotland v England Six Nations game as yet. That comes tomorrow.
The teams are out and the music is playing. This Is the Day...This Is the Hour...This Is This!
Nigel Pearson speaks
I think it’s really about trying to refocus on what has got us some success. The most important thing is that we function as well as we can, we work hard and on top of that we need to be expressive when he have the ball.
Graham Potter speaks
It was really important point; we played well in the second half versus West Ham. It doesn’t count for anything now, we start again. [On Nigel Pearson] He’s done really well, it’s a team with a lot of talent that’s not had the best of seasons so far. There’s been a couple of managerial changes which can happen.
Big game for Mat Ryan, who has been raising cash, along with Aaron Mooy, old pal and teammate for the Australian bushfires fund.
👏 That means it's 💯 Albion appearances for @MatyRyan!#BHAFC 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/WCcpNDuRSd
— Brighton & Hove Albion ⚽️ (@OfficialBHAFC) February 8, 2020
Four places but just three points between Watford and Brighton. This is a must-win game for Mad King Nigel.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 25 | 45 | 73 |
| 2 | Man City | 25 | 36 | 51 |
| 3 | Leicester | 25 | 28 | 49 |
| 4 | Chelsea | 25 | 9 | 41 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 25 | 8 | 37 |
| 6 | Sheff Utd | 25 | 3 | 36 |
| 7 | Everton | 26 | -4 | 36 |
| 8 | Man Utd | 25 | 7 | 35 |
| 9 | Wolverhampton | 25 | 3 | 35 |
| 10 | Arsenal | 25 | -2 | 31 |
| 11 | Burnley | 25 | -10 | 31 |
| 12 | Newcastle | 25 | -12 | 31 |
| 13 | Southampton | 25 | -15 | 31 |
| 14 | Crystal Palace | 26 | -9 | 30 |
| 15 | Brighton | 25 | -7 | 26 |
| 16 | AFC Bournemouth | 25 | -13 | 26 |
| 17 | Aston Villa | 25 | -15 | 25 |
| 18 | West Ham | 25 | -13 | 24 |
| 19 | Watford | 25 | -16 | 23 |
| 20 | Norwich | 25 | -23 | 18 |
Troy Deeney is a real football man.
Troy Deeney, man of the people 💛#BHAWAT pic.twitter.com/OYmZjXzHCq
— Watford Football Club (@WatfordFC) February 8, 2020
What does those teams signify? For Brighton, Shane Duffy and Big Dan Burn return from injury to start in two of four changes from the side that drew 3-3 with West Ham. Ezequiel Schelotto comes in as full-back as the long-serving Solly March returns as Martin Montoya, Adam Webster, Bernardo and Dale Stephens drop out.
Watford have made just one change from the team beaten 3-2 by Everton. Nathaniel Chalobah drops to the bench with Will Hughes replacing him.
Simon Burnton spoke to a Watford player with a real - and harrowing - tale to tell.
Paul Doyle wrote this week about the new Brighton - not New Brighton, which is an entirely different matter.
Here are the teams
Brighton: Ryan, Duffy, Dunk, Burn, Schelotto, Propper, Mooy, March, Gross, Murray, Trossard.
Subs: Maupay, Webster, Jahanbakhsh, Button, Bernardo, Connolly, Alzate.
Watford: Foster, Mariappa, Kabasele, Cathcart, Masina, Doucoure, Capoue, Pereyra, Hughes, Deulofeu, Deeney.
Subs: Gomes, Dawson, Welbeck, Chalobah, Gray, Holebas, Pussetto.
Referee: Kevin Friend (Leicestershire)
Preamble
While much of the rest of the Premier League is sunning itself in Dubai, here’s a relegation six-pointer for you. Nigel Pearson’s new manager bounce has slowed a little and his team are second-bottom after two defeats. If he is to enjoy his solo walks up Snowdonia and Scafell Pike during his own winter break next week, he will want a win here and three points to pull Graham Potter’s Brighton back into the mire.
Brighton have rather quietly slipped back into trouble by not having won any of their last five matches, and they are in a worse position than they were this time last year under Chris Hughton, two points off the bottom three. There does, though, seem to be faith in the able and very likeable Potter and his Britpop tonsorial style. It will take time to change a team’s outlook and if Albion can survive, then the future may be bright beyond that.
Kick-off is 5.30pm, UK time. Join me.
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