murraymints4brighton
Well-known member
His latest view/match report on the Albion i found was actually quite a good piece of writing. I am not Naylors biggest fan but for once i think he has got it right.
ALBION’S chances of avoiding relegation effectively evaporated not with this predictable defeat but on the Falmer training ground ten days ago.
Skipper and talisman Nicky Forster suffered what exploratory surgery threatens to reveal is a serious knee injury in totally innocuous fashion, with no team-mate near him.
Russell Slade has not had much luck since he took charge but that was the cruelest stroke of all.
It destroyed hopes of re-uniting 15-goal Forster with 12-goal Glenn Murray and, to make matters even worse, Murray was injured on his comeback from hernia surgery against Tranmere the following day.
He has a torn stomach muscle – whether or not it is related to the hernia has been a subject of debate inside the club – and, like Forster, is expected to miss the rest of the season.
It would have been tough to stay up, even if Albion were at full strength. Without Forster and Murray, and a crippling list of other casualties to boot, it looks impossible.
Their deputies, Lloyd Owusu and Craig Davies, were not up to the job against the play-off bound Dons. They certainly tried but between them wasted three golden opportunities at vital times.
Owusu must loathe Stadiummk. Sent-off there for Cheltenham earlier in the season, he had two stabs at getting Albion’s noses in front from point-blank range from a deflected Davies cross midway through the first half but could not beat keeper Willy Gueret.
MK took the lead seven minutes later and the gap between Owusu missing and them scoring was even shorter approaching half-time.
Owusu produced the tamest of attempts when left clean through by Miguel Llera’s mistake from a Davies flick-on. It was extremely costly, because the hosts went straight up the other end to double Albion’s deficit.
Davies followed suit eight minutes from time, toe-poking over from eight yards after Dean Cox set him up.
MK had been coasting on their two-goal cushion up to that point but Crewe came back from the same deficit to draw during the hosts’ run of only one win in seven in March, so it would have been squeaky bum time if that had gone in.
It was all too much for the Albion faithful. The latest in a succession of misses in recent matches by Davies was greeted with a chorus of “your not fit to wear the shirt”.
That will not do his already shattered confidence much good but the outpouring of frustration from the seats to the left of Gueret’s goal, and boos which greeted the players as they went over to applaud the fans at the final whistle, were understandable. It has been a wretched season to support the Seagulls.
Not so their opponents, who, like Albion at the turn of the century, could complete consecutive promotions.
Their third-choice striker, Ali Gerba, was contrastingly potent. The Cameroon-born Canadian international, only starting because of a back injury to Aaron Wilbraham, took his ninth goal in 21 league appearances with aplomb.
Gerba, a heavyweight replica of Northampton's Adebayo Akinfenwa, gave Michel Kuipers no chance with a shot into the far corner when Sean Baldock’s lay-off released him just before the half-hour.
He almost scored again deep into the second half with a spectacular overhead kick from eight yards which rattled the crossbar.
MK were cruising at that stage, thanks to Jason Puncheon’s far post header from a Mark Wright cross. It was a killer blow, so soon after Owusu’s second miss and with half-time looming.
The talented Puncheon, on loan from Plymouth, was substituted in the second half but still looked head and shoulders above the rest without playing particularly well. As Slade observed: “Puncheon is a matchwinner. Maybe we haven’t got those in our side unfortunately, due to injury, but we have to battle on with what we have got.
“I think over the entire game they probably had four chances and we had three really good chances to get on the score sheet.
“When you are flying at the top and you are doing as well as they have done for most of the season, you are able to finish teams when perhaps that might be slightly against the run of play.”
Slade referred in his post-match assessment to the mental side of things which Albion need to overcome.
It is difficult when you are down at the bottom of the table and down on luck but you sense the players do not believe they can get out of the mess they are in. Without that belief there is no hope.
The failure to score in the last four games is not just due to the front men. Further down the line, if he is given the chance, Slade must find a midfielder who can ghost into the box and be a goal threat. Dean Hammond has never been replaced in that respect.
Hammond’s Colchester could virtually seal Albion’s fate on Easter Monday if the next two matches do not go according to plan.
There is still a faint chink of light. Wins at Hereford tomorrow night and at home to Danny Wilson’s Swindon on Saturday would change the picture dramatically, not least because the next visitors to Withdean would only be three points better off having played a game more.
It is a very long shot but then, as Liam Treadwell will tell you, seemingly insurmountable odds are occasionally defied.
Albion (4-4-2): Kuipers; Whing, Virgo, Heath, El-Abd; Loft, Fraser, Dicker, Cox; Davies, Owusu. Subs: Carole for Loft (withdrawn 61), Jarrett for Fraser (withdrawn 61), Cook for Heath (injured 82), Birchall, McLeod.
Yellow cards: Loft (13) foul, Fraser (60) unsporting behaviour.
MK Dons (4-4-2): Gueret; Regan, Llera, O'Hanlon, Lewington; Wright, Gleeson, Leven, Puncheon; Gerba, Baldock. Subs: Howell for Puncheon (withdrawn 71), Stirling for Wright (withdrawn 81), Abbey, Johnson, Flo.
Goals: Gerba (29), Puncheon (40).
Yellow cards: Regan (23) foul, Baldock (60) unsporting behaviour, Gleeson (72) foul.
ALBION’S chances of avoiding relegation effectively evaporated not with this predictable defeat but on the Falmer training ground ten days ago.
Skipper and talisman Nicky Forster suffered what exploratory surgery threatens to reveal is a serious knee injury in totally innocuous fashion, with no team-mate near him.
Russell Slade has not had much luck since he took charge but that was the cruelest stroke of all.
It destroyed hopes of re-uniting 15-goal Forster with 12-goal Glenn Murray and, to make matters even worse, Murray was injured on his comeback from hernia surgery against Tranmere the following day.
He has a torn stomach muscle – whether or not it is related to the hernia has been a subject of debate inside the club – and, like Forster, is expected to miss the rest of the season.
It would have been tough to stay up, even if Albion were at full strength. Without Forster and Murray, and a crippling list of other casualties to boot, it looks impossible.
Their deputies, Lloyd Owusu and Craig Davies, were not up to the job against the play-off bound Dons. They certainly tried but between them wasted three golden opportunities at vital times.
Owusu must loathe Stadiummk. Sent-off there for Cheltenham earlier in the season, he had two stabs at getting Albion’s noses in front from point-blank range from a deflected Davies cross midway through the first half but could not beat keeper Willy Gueret.
MK took the lead seven minutes later and the gap between Owusu missing and them scoring was even shorter approaching half-time.
Owusu produced the tamest of attempts when left clean through by Miguel Llera’s mistake from a Davies flick-on. It was extremely costly, because the hosts went straight up the other end to double Albion’s deficit.
Davies followed suit eight minutes from time, toe-poking over from eight yards after Dean Cox set him up.
MK had been coasting on their two-goal cushion up to that point but Crewe came back from the same deficit to draw during the hosts’ run of only one win in seven in March, so it would have been squeaky bum time if that had gone in.
It was all too much for the Albion faithful. The latest in a succession of misses in recent matches by Davies was greeted with a chorus of “your not fit to wear the shirt”.
That will not do his already shattered confidence much good but the outpouring of frustration from the seats to the left of Gueret’s goal, and boos which greeted the players as they went over to applaud the fans at the final whistle, were understandable. It has been a wretched season to support the Seagulls.
Not so their opponents, who, like Albion at the turn of the century, could complete consecutive promotions.
Their third-choice striker, Ali Gerba, was contrastingly potent. The Cameroon-born Canadian international, only starting because of a back injury to Aaron Wilbraham, took his ninth goal in 21 league appearances with aplomb.
Gerba, a heavyweight replica of Northampton's Adebayo Akinfenwa, gave Michel Kuipers no chance with a shot into the far corner when Sean Baldock’s lay-off released him just before the half-hour.
He almost scored again deep into the second half with a spectacular overhead kick from eight yards which rattled the crossbar.
MK were cruising at that stage, thanks to Jason Puncheon’s far post header from a Mark Wright cross. It was a killer blow, so soon after Owusu’s second miss and with half-time looming.
The talented Puncheon, on loan from Plymouth, was substituted in the second half but still looked head and shoulders above the rest without playing particularly well. As Slade observed: “Puncheon is a matchwinner. Maybe we haven’t got those in our side unfortunately, due to injury, but we have to battle on with what we have got.
“I think over the entire game they probably had four chances and we had three really good chances to get on the score sheet.
“When you are flying at the top and you are doing as well as they have done for most of the season, you are able to finish teams when perhaps that might be slightly against the run of play.”
Slade referred in his post-match assessment to the mental side of things which Albion need to overcome.
It is difficult when you are down at the bottom of the table and down on luck but you sense the players do not believe they can get out of the mess they are in. Without that belief there is no hope.
The failure to score in the last four games is not just due to the front men. Further down the line, if he is given the chance, Slade must find a midfielder who can ghost into the box and be a goal threat. Dean Hammond has never been replaced in that respect.
Hammond’s Colchester could virtually seal Albion’s fate on Easter Monday if the next two matches do not go according to plan.
There is still a faint chink of light. Wins at Hereford tomorrow night and at home to Danny Wilson’s Swindon on Saturday would change the picture dramatically, not least because the next visitors to Withdean would only be three points better off having played a game more.
It is a very long shot but then, as Liam Treadwell will tell you, seemingly insurmountable odds are occasionally defied.
Albion (4-4-2): Kuipers; Whing, Virgo, Heath, El-Abd; Loft, Fraser, Dicker, Cox; Davies, Owusu. Subs: Carole for Loft (withdrawn 61), Jarrett for Fraser (withdrawn 61), Cook for Heath (injured 82), Birchall, McLeod.
Yellow cards: Loft (13) foul, Fraser (60) unsporting behaviour.
MK Dons (4-4-2): Gueret; Regan, Llera, O'Hanlon, Lewington; Wright, Gleeson, Leven, Puncheon; Gerba, Baldock. Subs: Howell for Puncheon (withdrawn 71), Stirling for Wright (withdrawn 81), Abbey, Johnson, Flo.
Goals: Gerba (29), Puncheon (40).
Yellow cards: Regan (23) foul, Baldock (60) unsporting behaviour, Gleeson (72) foul.
