[Albion] Brighton & Hove Albion vs AFC Ajax *** Official Match Thread ***

[West Upper Seagull]

Unbelievably brilliant and historic night, but have to say the biggest disappointment was the atmosphere. I sit in the West Upper with my son and we always join in the songs started by the North Stand and it’s soul destroying when so few people around you are getting involved - and don’t start me on how quickly the ground was emptying out from the 85th minute on such a historic night - this really does make us look tinpot. At least when I go to the Amsterdam and Athens games I know I’ll be surrounded by like minded people getting properly behind the team

 

[Colonel Mustard]

First clean sheet in 16 games. Ian Darke is a good commentator and knows his stuff. Even talking about some of the Brighton players that are injured currently.

Any half decent commentator will do his research before any game they’re working on. They’re journalists first and foremost. I’m sure Darke is knowledgeable but he will have genned up on the obvious stuff like injured players and have it all written down in front of him.

 

[Colonel Mustard]

Tourist

Atmosphere was great in the North tonight... loved it - wide variety of chants throughout too which spread right across

I'm sure the atmosphere was great in the NS but unfortunately it doesn’t really carry unless you sit close to the North. I sit one block to the left of the halfway line in East Upper and blimey, the Ajax fans were seriously loud when they got going.

 

[Bob!]

Just got in. My 80 mile drive went up to 90 due to random road closures.

Tell me about it!
Even worse this side of the river.

They're doing works on the A12 atm ( J28 off the M25), so I'd decided to come off at J30 for the A13.
Get to the tunnel, road signs say J30 closed.
OK, I'll use the A127 from J29, I get past J30 ( it is closed), road signs say J29 closed,
get past J29, road signs say A12 closed from A1023.
So, back roads it was!!

 

[seagullwedgee]

What a fantastic evening, we looked pretty comfortable for the entire 90 minutes and got our first clean sheet in god knows how long.

Personally the evening has lost a bit of its gloss due to the absolute shower that are Thameslink trains. Just as for the AEK game, 2 trains home from Brighton have been cancelled (due to no driver being available), meaning my next train home isn’t until midnight and I won’t get home til 3am. Oh well, at least I’m not as wet as last time.

I left on 87,,scrambled my way onto the 22.28 train, which got delayed outside St Albans, and got back to Bedford at 1.25am. It’s dreadful. Almost always dreadful.

 

[RoyBenji]

How come we have a better goal difference than AEK (and same points) but are still behind them on the table?

 

[lizard]

How come we have a better goal difference than AEK (and same points) but are still behind them on the table?

I think it's done on the head-to-head between the two teams when the points are level.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Unbelievably brilliant and historic night, but have to say the biggest disappointment was the atmosphere. I sit in the West Upper with my son and we always join in the songs started by the North Stand and it’s sole destroying when so few people around you are getting involved - and don’t start me on how quickly the ground was emptying out from the 85th minute on such a historic night - this really does make us look tinpot. At least when I go to the Amsterdam and Athens I know I’ll be surrounded by like minded people getting properly behind the team

Super fan alert!

 

[trueblue]

How come we have a better goal difference than AEK (and same points) but are still behind them on the table?

Head to head record counts first between any clubs tied on points. Which might explain Ajax’s reluctance to chase the game at 2-0. Suspect they felt the match was lost but wanted to retain some semblance of hope of a home win giving them the edge over us. Good clean sheet - sloppy goals conceded in otherwise good performances are not necessarily meaningless in European competitions.

 

[Colonel Mustard]

Unbelievably brilliant and historic night, but have to say the biggest disappointment was the atmosphere. I sit in the West Upper with my son and we always join in the songs started by the North Stand and it’s sole destroying when so few people around you are getting involved - and don’t start me on how quickly the ground was emptying out from the 85th minute on such a historic night - this really does make us look tinpot. At least when I go to the Amsterdam and Athens I know I’ll be surrounded by like minded people getting properly behind the team

The early departures have been discussed many times. Those 5 minutes make the difference between getting a train or P and R bus relatively quickly, or having to queue up for sometimes an hour or more. For night games, that’s even less fun than it is on rainy, wintry afternoons. It’s bad enough getting to Eastbourne but plenty of match-goers live in London or much further afield. You might want to think about the many additional hours these people spend on matchdays before smugly accusing them of being "tinpot". I admire anyone who travels these distances to attend the Amex, and frankly I wouldn’t do it myself. It's a great shame that people have to leave early but I don’t blame anyone for doing it.

 

[est.83]

Understand all that regarding benefits of leaving early BUT given there are just 3 Europa League matches (tbc hopefully) AND last night's result against the Champions of Europe (no, not Leeds) was one of the most spectacular wins for the club at the highest level - I was really disappointed to see stadium emptying after 85th minute. The players deserve better...
(yes, I know that I as a foreign gloryhunter from the lower league days have no say on this but still)

 

[Guinness Boy]

Super fan alert!

Atmosphere was ok. Not as good as AEK (and fewer fans out in town early on) but better than many league games.

What was rubbish was the scarf thing (sorry @ozzygull ) which just seemed to be for one go at Ring of Fire 10 mins before kick off.

I don’t do colours but whipped out an elderly scarf which, given the unseasonably warm evening, just made my neck sweat.

 

[Ooh it’s a corner]

The journey back(should be home at 2.30pm) is so much better when we’ve won - and a stress free win too! Spoke to an Ajax fan on the train from Falmer and he was dejected about how far his once-mighty club had fallen.
Back on Sunday - Fati improving all the time so hopefully another lovely goal to enjoy. UTA!

 

[BN41Albion]

I'm sure the atmosphere was great in the NS but unfortunately it doesn’t really carry unless you sit close to the North. I sit one block to the left of the halfway line in East Upper and blimey, the Ajax fans were seriously loud when they got going.

They didn't get going much though really- very surprised at how quiet.the Ajax fans were for most of the game! I know they're poor at the moment but still

 

[BN41Albion]

Unbelievably brilliant and historic night, but have to say the biggest disappointment was the atmosphere. I sit in the West Upper with my son and we always join in the songs started by the North Stand and it’s sole destroying when so few people around you are getting involved - and don’t start me on how quickly the ground was emptying out from the 85th minute on such a historic night - this really does make us look tinpot. At least when I go to the Amsterdam and Athens I know I’ll be surrounded by like minded people getting properly behind the team

That's a shame as in the North it was great. I was thinking before the game though while drinking outside the ground that there definitely seemed to be a lot more day-trippers than usual. I guess that then affected the atmosphere in areas like WU

 

[chickens]

Whisper it - Milner played well

Agreed. I was concerned before kickoff that Milner would prove a liability there, but he played really well. Which is handy, given that our first, second and third choice left-backs are out injured.

He looked like he’d done a tough paper round by the end of the night mind, but as someone who’s beginning to feel a bit wheezy after climbing two flights of stairs, I’m massively impressed by his fitness levels at 37yo.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Atmosphere was ok. Not as good as AEK (and fewer fans out in town early on) but better than many league games.

What was rubbish was the scarf thing (sorry @ozzygull ) which just seemed to be for one go at Ring of Fire 10 mins before kick off.

I don’t do colours but whipped out an elderly scarf which, given the unseasonably warm evening, just made my neck sweat.

The scarves were in evidence for Freed from Desire before that. I thought they looked better than tatty nylon flags.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Anyway, please allow me a proud grandma moment.
My grandson is at UEA in Norwich. He’s a particular fan of Pedro, so when he scored, I sent him a text asking if he was watching.
Yes, was the reply, in the pub, with his football team.
I sent later, I’m surprised they didn’t want to watch the Liverpool game.
His reply - I persuaded them Brighton would be a better game. :smug:

 

[scwiffy]

Ok we won but what a boring Game , a waste of two hours !

 

[Machiavelli]

Seriously where were you watching!? Was brilliant in the North. A mate sat in the East lower about half way (doesn't often go) text to say it sounded great too.

You're right. Atmosphere was great last night. WSU is having a good season, and had an even better night.