Torquay Reserves 1 - 3 Brighton Reserves - Football Combination Final

[Exiled in Exeter]

By Will Jago

Albion reserves beat Torquay United 3-1 with an impressive display at Plainmoor tonight, to win the League Champions Final.

Full report to follow...

Brighton and Hove Albion | News | Latest News | Latest News | Reserves Pass Gulls Test

 

[Exiled in Exeter]

Gulls 1
Thompson 17

Brighton 3
Baker 41, Simmonds 51, Agdestein 56

UNITED were defeated in the Football Combination Final by a top-class Brighton side on Tuesday evening.

The Seagulls played some wonderful football in securing the trophy, carried over from last season, when both sides finished top of their respective sections in reserve-team football.

Niall Thompson did give the Gulls a surprise lead on 17 minutes but Brighton deservedly hit back before the break, and notched a quickfire double after the interval to secure an impressive 3-1 victory.

Martin Rice adorned the goalkeeping shirt behind a back four of Mark Ellis and Lathaniel Rowe-Turner in the centre. They were flanked by James Quinn and Daniel Leadbitter, finally recovered from a troublesome hamstring.

Thompson and Aaron Kudi took up engine-room duty with Danny Stevens and Saul Halpin providing width. Ray Spear started upfront alongside Ashley Yeoman.

Brighton, adorned in their shocking green and black strip, won the first meaningful set-piece of the evening, but Baker could only thunder his 25-yarder into the Yellow wall.

The next chance was gilt-edged, with Jake Forster-Caskey surging through the middle to latch on to a Calum Sherriff pass. Rice narrowed the angle quickly but the finish was still very disappointing, with the shot squirming well wide in the swirling rain.

The porous nature of United's defence was again horribly exposed a minute later. This time, Agdestein hit the target and the Gulls were grateful to Rice for an excellent low save down to his right.

Brighton's incredibly fluid formation prompted an understandably defensive response from United, with the initial 4-4-2 formation reverting to a more protective 4-5-1 in an attempt to weather the early storm.

From nowhere, the men in Yellow were in front, although the goal stemmed from an ugly mix-up in the visiting defence. Brighton 'keeper Mitch Walker suffered a nightmare, as the ball plopped out of his hands on the greasy surface and Thompson was neatly placed to dispossess and slot home the opener.

The Seagull response was immediate and Rice's crossbar was left rattling in the wind after a pile-driver from Anton Rodgers, and the same man then forced a parried save, but Agdestein somehow screwed the rebound wide.

Despite the Yellow lead, Brighton's passing football was a joy to behold and a terrific lesson for the young Gulls, who, unbelievably, almost added a second when Yeoman fired just over following a twisting run.

Yeoman was involved again after superbly trapping a Leadbitter and feeding Halpin for a rasping drive that had Walker stretching as the ball seared over.

Brighton soon returned to their mesmerising best and finally notched the goal their performance deserved, when Baker accepted a Simmonds pass in the box and cracked a sweet finish low past the stranded Rice.

The Seagulls took the lead just five minutes into the second-half, and it was a bewildering goal. Starting on the edge of their own penalty area, a wonderful passing move ended with Baker racing into the right channel and squaring for Simmonds to slide home.

Brighton were suddenly coasting and they made it 3-1 when Agdestein notched the goal his display warranted, ghosting in behind a bamboozled United defence to poke the ball under the despairing dive of Rice.

There was a danger of the Gulls being run ragged and reserve-team boss Shaun Taylor responded by adding the crisp tackling of young Jack May on the hour-mark.

The men in Yellow gradually regained their defensive poise to stifle the Brighton threat but the secondary problem was penetration at the other end.

United did finally breach the Brighton backline on 77 minutes, with the lively Yeoman exchanging passes with Thompson before steering a skidding drive across the face of Walker's goal and beyond the far post.

It was, however, a brief foray, and credit must go to Brighton for an excellent display.

Gulls (4-4-2): 13 Martin Rice; 12 Daniel Leadbitter (22 Robert Nardiello H-T), 5 Mark Ellis (capt) (6 James Washburn 88), 2 Lathaniel Rowe-Turner, 3 James Quinn; 19 Danny Stevens (11 Jack May 63), 8 Aaron Kudi, 9 Niall Thompson, 17 Saul Halpin; 10 Ray Spear, 24 Ashley Yeoman. Substitutes (not used): 14 Rob Wearne, 15 Jordan Kewell.

Brighton (4-3-3): 1 Mitch Walker; 2 Jamie Strong (12 Leon Redwood 58), 5 Calum Sherriff, 6 Grant Hall (capt), 3 Ben Sampayo; 7 Anton Rodgers, 4 Yaser Kasim, 8 Jake Forster-Caskey; 10 George Baker (14 Jamie Smith 75), 11 Ryan Simmonds (15 Jordan Woodley 75), 9 Torbjorn Agdestein. Substitutes (not used): 13 Daniel East, 17 Tom Vickers.

Referee: Chris Powell

Torquay United | Team | Reserves | Reserves | UNITED RESERVES 1 BRIGHTON RESERVES 3

 

[mona]

Thanks.
Very positive report. Assume Baker is George Barker.

 

[severnside gull]

Hmm. Bet our OS report will be neither as full nor as effusive. Shame really as the lads are doing well and remain unbeaten.

 

[philsussex]

Brighton, adorned in their shocking green and black strip

I rather like it!

 

[Uncle C]

How strange that Mitch Walker was in goal.

 

[Jimmy Grimble]

While there is a lot of detail in that report, there is something not quite right about the way it reads.

 

[severnside gull]

How strange that Mitch Walker was in goal.

there was a tweet from Daniel East last night saying he wouldn't mind a game some time soon
Maybe Walker gifting them a start will give him a chance but up til now you would imagine Mitch has had the gloves on merit

 

[SULLY COULDNT SHOOT]

Toby seems to have had another good game. You have to wonder whats going on with him. Another striker will pretty much put paid to any first team chances so surely a loan would be a good idea.

 

[Uncle C]

there was a tweet from Daniel East last night saying he wouldn't mind a game some time soon
Maybe Walker gifting them a start will give him a chance but up til now you would imagine Mitch has had the gloves on merit

Unless I read it wrong, we have released Mitch Walker and he will leave if he gets another club.

This is a Reserves game so the goaly would normally come from anyone not actually playing in the 1st team.

ie Bezovan, Poke, East, Walker in that order

Like I say, strange that Walker played.

 

[Kubes]

Like I say, strange that Walker played.

I think I read somewhere that it was the final of the reserves competition and that they wanted to keep to the players that had featured in the other games.

 

[Gazwag]

The future certainly looks bright

 

[Rookie]

Our reserves/development squad are quality, shame we can't enter them in the conference south or something to give some structured game time rather than the hit and miss reserve schedule.

 

[Munkfish]

As well as that, the youth team are going great guns as well, they seem to have won four in a row and beat Orient 5-1 at the weekend.

Looks like the first team is having a positive effect on the whole club. brilliant news.

 

[severnside gull]

They only have 10 official reserve league games all season but seem to have many more games organised as a DS this year than last so it looks like the plan is for them to get match, if not competitive, experience on pretty much a weekly basis. A lot of the games, last night aside, do appear to be last minute and behind closed doors arrangements and are often almost "secretive". I wonder how many people knew about last night's game for example ( which was competitive) other than those who heard about it via Twitter?

From the bits of news that do leak out Simmonds and Rodgers especially look to be in fine form - unfortunately they, like Forster-Caskey, are competing in areas where we are strongest at first team level too.

I know a lot of fans are very interested in how the youngsters are doing and it does seem a shame that we are not as communicative as some other clubs in this respect. I can't help but feel that the club are missing a trick because they could probably generate a bit of a following in their own right.

 

[HastingsSeagull]

Is great news and a very in depth report

 

[Uncle C]

I think I read somewhere that it was the final of the reserves competition and that they wanted to keep to the players that had featured in the other games.

That would do it.

Thanks

 

[beardy gull]

Brighton and Hove Albion | News | Latest News | Latest News | Reserves Pass Gulls Test


By Will Jago

Albion reserves beat Torquay United 3-1 with an impressive display at Plainmoor tonight, to win the League Champions Final.

The Seagulls - last season's Central champions - produced their best performance of the season, if not of Charlie Oatway and Luke Williams's reign in charge of the young professionals, against the West division champions.

However, it did not all go Albion's way as, against the run of play, they fell behind inside the opening half-hour. They did react fine form though.

The Seagulls moved the ball around brilliantly and created many chances on goal, then sure enough it was George Barker who levelled the scores.

One goal apiece at half-time but then Albion's quality and possession told when Ryan Simmonds put Albion in front on the hour.

Indeed, Norwegian striker Torbjorn Agdestein sealed the win when he fired the ball home from close range.

Development Squad coach Williams told seagulls.co.uk, "We were great tonight. It's probably the best that I have seen the boys play and I'd say that we created more chances tonight than we did in the last four games. We were that good.

"We kept possession well, our movement was very good and we didn't batter an eyelid when we fell behind, which is very pleasing as a coach."

Albion: (4-4-2) Walker; Strong, Sherriff, Hall, Sampayo; Simmonds, Kasim, Forster-Caskey, Rodgers; Barker, Agdestein.

Good to see they don't resort to roughhousing when going a goal down.

 

[severnside gull]

Who is Will Jago? Semi-literate reporting with little actual reference to the match. Can we swop him for the Torquay reporter?

 

[Silent Bob]

Unless I read it wrong, we have released Mitch Walker and he will leave if he gets another club.

This is a Reserves game so the goaly would normally come from anyone not actually playing in the 1st team.

ie Bezovan, Poke, East, Walker in that order

Like I say, strange that Walker played.

It was said Walker was free to leave, but not that he'd been released. Obviously he hasn't left the club yet, I think he's played other development squad games since then as well.
I liked the look of him when he played in that one game, the implication was that he wasn't what Gus required in terms of distribution so maybe this will be a bit of a wake up call to improve that part of his game?