Brighton and Hove Albion 2 v 0 Barnsley

Sunday 6^th November 2011

Football League Championship

Falmer Stadium, Brighton

Admission: £24.00

Programme : £3.00
Attendance : 19,841

A visit to Brighton and Hove Albion’s new stadium has been high on my hotlist ever since it opened for business at the start of this season. Availability of tickets – not that common, given the high percentage of season ticket holders and fans embracing their long-awaited new stadium with relish, together with this match being put back to the Sunday, meant that today would be the day.

 Brighton’s two previous football grounds could not have been more different - the wonderfully old-fashioned and atmospheric Goldstone Ground (to this day, feelings of disappointment bordering on anger swell up inside me when I pass the shopping complex which now stands where the ground used to be) and the Withdean Stadium (one of the most inappropriate grounds lacking atmosphere, however crucial the ground was to the club’s very existence).  

Falmer Stadium (or the American Express Community Stadium, to give it its current sponsored title), is very conveniently located next to Falmer Railway Station, meaning access is as straightforward as can be – although leaving the stadium would turn out to be a complete nightmare, with long queues for trains which were either cancelled or ridiculously short formed. The stadium is located next to the busy A27 dual carriageway – a typical location for a new stadium that would be described as bland, soulless and of the identikit variety. None of these would apply to this stadium though, which looks impressive as one approaches it and is attractively and uniquely designed on the inside and out, with a curved design which slopes downwards quite considerably from the large West Stand down to the East Stand. Thought has obviously been given to the stadium blending into the local South Downs.  Inside, the West Stand has three tiers of seating, whereas the East Stand has only one tier, and behind both goals is a small tier of seating. Curiously, the corners are not used for seating and the stands have a rather odd, unfinished look about it, as if the seating has been place there at the last minute without much thought towards incorporating it into the design of the stadium. The roofs of the stands, all joined together, allow light in, and the blue and white colours of the stadium give it a bright, airy feel, and cushioned seats together with plentiful legroom ensure a very comfortable arena to watch football in.

After a terrific start to the season since promotion from League 1, when they won six of their first seven games in all competitions, things have been rather trickier since, and have now won in their last ten games in all competitions. They found themselves in 13^th place going into today’s match. Barnsley have had a difficult start to their season, almost the opposite of Brighton’s, winning just once in their opening ten games, but then won three of their last six games, and found themselves in 17^th place. 

After a miserable last game at Watford in midweek, when they failed to even have a shot on target in a 0-1 defeat, Brighton needed a good start, which they had,  piling on early pressure in the opening minutes. They could not score an all important goal, and as the first half progressed, Brighton looked the better team, whilst Barnsley always looked capable of scoring on occasional breaks. Just as it looked like the scoreline would be goalless at half time, Brighton scored their first goal in five and a half hours of play, when defender and captain Gordon Greer scored his first goal for the club with a shot across the keeper after the ball spilled from a free-kick into the box.

Barnsley started the second half strongly and the game looked in the balance until the 56^th minute, when Ryan Harley fired home from a tight angle after Craig Mackail-Smith had hit a post. Brighton comfortably saw the game out to win 2-0, it wasn’t a vintage performance but the result was priceless in steadying the ship after their recent poor run. For Barnsley, it looks like being another season of struggle to avoid the drop

Charlton Athletic 1 v 2 Brighton and Hove Albion

Tuesday 23rd February 2010
Football League 1
The Valley, Charlton
Admission: £17.00 (North Stand Upper)
Programme: £3.00
Attendance: 17508
Match Rating: 2

It was the case of return of the prodigal son this evening…after being a season ticket holder at Charlton for many years and a few wretchedly dire performances too many from the Addicks, this was my first return to The Valley since allowing my season ticket to lapse at the end of last season. Some things never change…a dire midweek performance at home against a team, on paper at least, Charlton really should have beaten.

I purchased my ticket from the Charlton website – not particularly necessary these days with every game being well below capacity, but this does ensure that I could choose exactly where I wanted to sit – in the Upper North Stand, behind the goal, with an excellent view of the pitch, although as is common in the North Stand, the seating is cramped and uncomfortable. The Valley is an excellent facility these days, at least on three sides, which all have modern grandstands with excellent views and nothing to obscure the view of the pitch. However the fourth side, behind the goal which accommodates away supporters is certainly showing its age and looks somewhat out of place compared with the other stands.

Charlton would have had to be considered favourites going into this game, up in fourth place in the league and with Brighton struggling in the relegation zone. However that does not tell the true story about the current form of the two sides with Charlton having recorded just one win in their last six games, all against very average opposition, whereas Brighton were unlucky to lose to Norwich and even more unlucky to concede a last minute equaliser at Leeds, and are certainly a much improved outfit since Gus Poyet took over.

On a cold, wet and misty evening, which claimed most non-league games in the south-east this evening, the pitch was in, by modern standards, a poor condition, in places extremely muddy causing the ball to hold up markedly. The game started as might be expected, Charlton having most of the possession although Brighton always looked moderately threatening whenever they ventured forwards. On the half hour, shortly after Charlton had two shots blocked in quick succession, Brighton's Spanish full-back, Inigo Calderon stormed forward from inside his own half almost unopposed before unleashing a powerful low drive to the keeper's right from 20 yards out, helped by a sizeable deflection off of the Charlton defender, Miguel Llera. The second half followed a similar pattern to the first, Charlton having more possession and some good chances to score without ever really looking convincing, whilst Brighton sporadically looked dangerous on the break. On 78 minutes, Brighton seemingly put the game beyond doubt, when a poor clearance from the Charlton keeper, Rob Elliott, was seized upon and Elliot Bennett fired home a powerful drive into the bottom corner from 25 yards out. Charlton managed to pull a goal back through Akpo Sodje, when he latched on to a long ball and poked past the Brighton keeper. However, this was almost the last kick of the game and on the final whistle, the Charlton players were subjected to a chorus of loud boos, which seemed fair after a performance that seemed to lack passion, cohesion and concentration. As a result of this game, Charlton lost further ground on the automatic promotion places, whereas Brighton pulled out of the relegation zone.