- 1 year ago
Matt Pole is joined by Brighton writer Derren Howard, Crawley Town expert Mark Dunford, and Sam Morton, who covers both the Seagulls and the Reds.
It was a tale of contrasting weekends for our professional sides as Brighton were beaten 2-1 at Bournemouth in the Premier League, while Crawley recorded their first home League Two win of the season with 2-0 victory over Cheltenham.
This week, we look back at Albion’s defeat in Dorset, the Reds’ excellent win over the Robins, plus bring you all the team news ahead of this weekend’s fixtures..
It was a tale of contrasting weekends for our professional sides as Brighton were beaten 2-1 at Bournemouth in the Premier League, while Crawley recorded their first home League Two win of the season with 2-0 victory over Cheltenham.
This week, we look back at Albion’s defeat in Dorset, the Reds’ excellent win over the Robins, plus bring you all the team news ahead of this weekend’s fixtures..
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SportsTranscript
00:00Welcome to another episode of the Goal Math Action Podcast, where we take a look at all
00:15the latest goings-on at Brighton, Hove, Abbott and Crawley Town. I'm Matt Poulton, and this
00:18week I'm joined by Brighton writer Darren Howard, Crawley Town expert Mark Dunford and
00:22Sam Morton, who covers both the Seagulls and the Reds. It was a tale of contrasting weekends
00:27for our professional sides as Brighton were beating 2-1 at Bournemouth in the Premier League
00:30while Crawley recorded their first home league two win of the season with a 2-0 victory over
00:35Cheltenham. This week we'll look back at Albion's defeat in Dorset, the Reds' excellent win over
00:39the Robins, plus we'll bring you all the team news ahead of this weekend's fixtures. You
00:43can read all the stories we are talking about with videos and pictures online at successworld.co.uk
00:47forward slash sport. And we will start at the Vitality Stadium where Bournemouth ground out
00:52a hard-fought Premier League win against Brighton. The hosts took the lead through a wonderful
00:56Alex Scott strike in the first half, but Caro Mitoma levelled the score three minutes into
01:00the second half. But Albion was soon behind again when Antoine Semenyo slotted in for the
01:04penalty spot after Evan Nilsen was brought down by Jan-Paul Van Hecker. The defeat sees the
01:09Seagulls up to 13th in the table. By all accounts, Darren, it doesn't sound like it was a game
01:14for the purists. What do you make of Albion's performance? And from what I've read, it sounds
01:18like sloppiness has cost them again.
01:22Yeah, I think you've hit the nail on the head there, Matt. It's hard to know really
01:26where to start when you're summing this one up. It was one of these games, we spoke about
01:30it before on a podcast. We knew it was going to be a tough, intense match, and it comes
01:34directly on the back of Brighton's international, you know, the international break where Brighton
01:39had players, sort of key players like Harold Mitoma, Yankouba Minte, Carlos Belieber, Diego
01:45Gomez, who wasn't fit enough to play, all coming back from, you know, busy long-haul trips.
01:51And then to throw them in to the Vitality Stadium, it's done. You never quite know how it's going
01:58to work out. But in the very first minute, Jack Incherwood, he turned his ankle after sort
02:06of tangling with Eva Nilsson. And that sort of set the tone, really. Then he had to go
02:12off, Yasin Ayari came on. About 15 minutes later, Maxine de Kuiper, who's been brilliant
02:19for Brighton this season, on the left back. He was then shoved into the advertising hoardings
02:24by Semenyo. And yeah, he then had to go off as well. So he had to make two substitutions.
02:31And while he was off the pitch, Brighton were down to 10 men. Bournemouth went up the other
02:36end of the pitch and scored through Alex Scott. And it was, yeah, it was just one of those
02:42first halves where the Brighton weren't quite at it. What could go wrong did go wrong. And
02:48they reset and they were much better in the second half. They looked, they came at it,
02:52looked much more lively. Karen Mitoma pulled one back with a header, his first of the season.
02:58So hopefully that's a boost for him. But then again, like you say, it was sloppiness again.
03:05Lewis Dunk gave the ball away. Jan-Paul Van Hecker then dangled a leg. And penalty, penalty 2-1
03:14to Bournemouth. And Brighton never really sort of looked like causing enough trouble to then,
03:21you know, get another equaliser. Bournemouth are very, very good. They're a tough day's work for
03:26any team these days. And yeah, one of those really frustrating days. And it was Fabian Herzella's
03:3450th match in charge since joining Brighton. And I'd imagine it's not one he would look back on
03:41too fondly, unfortunately. But yeah, it's a frustrating result. Frustrating result.
03:50Yeah, well, speaking of Herzella, I have read some talk of the German potentially being under pressure
03:55after the defeat of the Cherries. And where has this talk come from, Sam? And from my point of view,
04:00it seems a little bit silly to even entertain the thought of dismissing him after only four games.
04:04What's the view of Herzella amongst Albion fans? And in a way, do you think he could be a victim
04:09of last season's success in the Premier League? Because I don't think many expected us for Albion
04:13to finish that high last season.
04:15No, it's a strange one to me. I was discussing this with Darren the other day as well, obviously
04:21after the Bournemouth game. And I don't really understand why people would want Herzella out,
04:26to be honest. Especially when you consider the fact that you literally just had a win over
04:32Man City just before the international break. And then Man City have come back and obviously
04:36thrashed Man United and really kind of shown how brilliant the team City still are. So for Brighton
04:41to secure back-to-back home wins against them as well. They beat them last season. It was
04:46another late goal obviously on that day. So Herzella clearly knows what he's doing to beat
04:50the best teams in the league. And I know obviously Man City are perhaps not what they once were
04:54in the sense that Liverpool and Arsenal seem to be a bit of a step ahead these days. But
04:58Man City is still of such incredible quality throughout the team. And for, yeah, for Brighton
05:03to beat them in the way they did, obviously with a really composed performance. At the end of
05:07the day, losing to Bournemouth is no shame, really. Bournemouth have been one of the form
05:12teams in the season, in the league so far this season. We'll talk about Semenya being
05:17one of the form players as well and just how much of a strong and well-coached team they
05:21are at Bournemouth. And I know Mark obviously predicted a Bournemouth win before it as well.
05:26So it wasn't too much of a shock in all honesty for Brighton to go and lose at Bournemouth.
05:30So for a few people to be saying this is enough for Herzella to lose his job is a bit baffling
05:34to me. And it's still so early on in the season. Obviously, Brighton have already suffered
05:40with injuries. I know they obviously had some problems in that front last season where
05:43a lot of the new signings came in and weren't really able to get settled in because they
05:47were obviously picking up Knox. And I think of Caddy Oglu, who we've barely seen in a Brighton
05:51shirt yet. So there's still obviously plenty of players to come back and just hopefully
05:55De Kuiper and Hinshawood are not out for too long after picking up Knox against Bournemouth as
06:00well. But I thought there's plenty of reasons still to be optimistic from a Brighton point
06:04of view, really. And obviously it was a bit of a rubbish game against Bournemouth where
06:08it just didn't go right in any sense in the injuries or obviously the result. But I still
06:12see plenty of reason to believe that Brighton can have a strong season. And obviously a lot
06:17will depend on obviously they can get the strikers firing. Because so far they've not been
06:22able to do that and they've missed a lot of chances. But yeah, I think there's a few people
06:27on kind of social media saying, oh yeah, maybe he's not the right man for the job. But I don't
06:32agree at this stage. I think things would have to go drastically wrong for me to say that
06:36I think there needs to be a change at the manager.
06:38Off the pitch, Brighton have confirmed the appointment of a new sporting director after
06:42the shock departure of David Weir. Weir joined the club as pathway development manager in
06:462018 and went on to succeed. Dan Ashworth is technical director in May 2022. It's safe to
06:52say not many saw this exit coming, Darren. What did the former Everton and Rangers
06:58Spender have to say about his departure? And who have they brought in to replace him?
07:02Yeah, he kind of said it was the right time. I don't think it was his decision by any means.
07:07It was a decision made by the club. But he accepted it. He sort of said it's the right
07:13time for him to go and maybe look for a new challenge. And I don't think he'll be out of
07:17work for long. I think there'll be plenty of offers for him. He's very well respected in
07:23the game. He did a really solid job at Brighton. As you say, he took over on an interim basis
07:29when Dan Ashworth left and then took the job full time. And the club have always been really
07:36complimentary about him. Fabian Herzella has spoke to him in the past how much he appreciates
07:41all the work that he does in terms of off the pitch, in terms of player transfers and
07:46the general running of the club as well. So I think he would go knowing that he's done
07:53a really good job. And I did read earlier that perhaps Everton Rangers and Sheffield United
08:00are interested in perhaps seeing if he'd be available for a position there. So I think
08:07there will be opportunities for him elsewhere. But it's all part of Brighton's, Paul Barber
08:13and Tony Bloom, which has been ratified by the board, they've got this 2030 vision where
08:19they want to sort of develop the club over the next five years. Paul Barber has signed
08:24a long-term contract with the club only last summer. And this is part of a reshuffle and
08:31a part of an overview of what they want to achieve in the next five years. And they believe
08:37that Jason Ato is, you know, is the man that can help, help them to do that. It sounds quite
08:42ruthless. But again, I think David Weir knows, you know, he's been in football long enough
08:47to know that these situations can happen. And Ato, he was previously with Norwich. He was
08:54one of their talent spotters with Norwich. He then moved to Arsenal and spent more than a
08:59decade with the Gunners. And his career really progressed with them under their former director,
09:07Adu, who's now at Nottingham Forest. And he just progressed with Arsenal, progressed with
09:12Arsenal under Adu. And he took over that, when Adu left, he took over on an interim basis,
09:19but didn't get the job on a permanent level. He spoke to Newcastle about a position there
09:25of a similar role, and then moved to, and now seems to have sealed a move to Brighton.
09:31And Brighton are very pleased to have him. He's going to oversee transfers in future. It's
09:37going to be part of Brighton's data-driven model, which he's really excited with and familiar
09:44with to work with. And yeah, it's a significant change. There's a guy called Mike Cave, who's
09:52also been working behind the scenes. He's just been promoted as well. And he will work
09:56alongside Jason Ato, all still while reporting to Paul Barber and Tony Bloom. So yeah, quite
10:03a big, quite a significant change off the pitch. And it's going to shape, especially the player
10:11recruitment over the next five years. I'm just doing a piece at the moment for Sussex World,
10:16sort of looking at his priorities and, you know, his sort of main priorities over the
10:21next few weeks and months. And you're looking at Carlos Belieber's situation with Manchester
10:28United. You're looking at new contracts for Jean-Paul Van Hecker as well, and any new players
10:32that can come in. So he's got a lot. He's got a lot to get his teeth into. But it's, yeah,
10:38a significant change.
10:39Yeah, to say the least. This Saturday sees the Seagulls entertain Tottenham Hotspur in
10:46the Premier League. Spurs under new manager Thomas Frank sit third in the table after
10:49four games, having won three and lost once. They don't seem to be getting easier, these
10:55games, do they, Sam? What's the latest injury news for Brian Kemp and how do you see this
10:58one going?
11:00Yeah, really tough game. Spurs have been really strong so far this season. Thomas Frank has
11:04come in and really hit the ground running, to be honest. And I'm not surprised. I think
11:08he was a great manager at Brentford. He really got the best out of that team. Obviously
11:14he has some great players, but yeah, he really kind of overachieved. I think Spurs did a
11:19good job to get him in and he's already proven his worth. I think obviously they're really
11:24getting the best out of players that perhaps didn't perform last season. And Brighton did
11:28actually beat Spurs on both occasions in the league last term, which is the first time
11:33they'd ever done that. But it's going to be tough to do the same thing again.
11:38I think. But in terms of injury news for Brian, obviously we've discussed, obviously
11:43Maxime de Kuyper, who injured his knee after he shoved into the advertising boards at Bournemouth.
11:49He's forced off after 26 minutes, but Scads reportedly revealed no serious damage. But he
11:54does remain in doubt for Spurs this weekend.
11:58Hinchwood, again, obviously went off after a couple of minutes against Bournemouth and he's
12:01set for a period on the sidelines, unfortunately. We understand more details will be given in the
12:06press conference on Friday, but he does seem highly unlikely to be ready for this weekend.
12:11And we obviously know about Adam Webster. He's going to be out for most of the season
12:14with a serious ACL injury. Soddy March doesn't look closer to playing. He seems to be far away
12:21from being match fit at the moment.
12:24Max Veefer injured his knee against Everton and missed a Man City in Bournemouth matches.
12:29He will be assessed closely this week. Hirster will hope to have him available for Spurs.
12:33Diego Gomez, we hope should be available. He was not fit to face Bournemouth after his long
12:39haul journey in the international break. But yeah, he should be fit and firing for this
12:44one. And Costoulas, again, hasn't featured in Premier League yet this season. He builds
12:49up his fitness. And Tottenham does look unlikely at this stage. So time will tell on the injury
12:56front. And as I say, it's going to be a tough game either way for Brighton. But they obviously
13:01have that recent record against Spurs, which they'll hopefully fall back on. And yeah,
13:06I think it should be a good game either way with two teams that will be desperate for a win.
13:11Yeah, absolutely. Tuesday evening sees the Seagulls venture to Barnsley in the Carabao Cup
13:16third round. The Tikes are so far enjoying a storming season in League One. They sit third,
13:21having won five of their opening seven games. Despite all this, Darren, I think we do expect
13:26Albion to win this one. Do you think he'll make wholesale changes as well, like he did
13:30against, was it Oxford, I think, in the previous round?
13:34Yeah, it was against Oxford. They beat them 6-0 in the previous round, quite convincingly,
13:39really. And I expect them to do a number of changes again this week for next week as well.
13:48So it would be the chance for the likes of Jason Steele, who some say there's a good argument
13:54that he should be playing in the Premier League at the moment. Bart Verbruggen's been a little
13:57bit shaky, his form at the start of the season. But Jason Steele will likely be in goal for
14:02that one. And then you'll see perhaps the likes of Oliver Buscagli, Diego Coppola come in
14:09for that one as well. And then just sort of players that need some minutes, need some extra
14:14fitness. So you could see Matt Swiffer have some time as well as he sort of eases his way
14:19back to full fitness. Diego Gomez as well could likely play in midfield. Tommy Watson,
14:27Tissimass as well, and Cheryl Lampos-Gostoulas. So the likes of these players who haven't always
14:33had the minutes that they want in the Premier League will likely play against Barnsley. And
14:38it's a really good chance for progress. You saw how it boosted Brighton's morale in the
14:43previous round on the build-up to the Manchester City game. So although they are only Carabao
14:49Cup matches or perceived to be lesser at this stage of the competition, but it can really
14:54sort of galvanise the club and improve morale at the club as well if they get some convincing
15:00performances in there. But it's a long trip for the fans though. So it's going to be another
15:05long midweeker up there. But hopefully they can progress and maybe get the mighty Grimsby in
15:13the next round.
15:15I think they'd be one to avoid, wouldn't they, Darren, after their ace points?
15:18They probably would, wouldn't they? Yeah, who would want to face Grimsby at the moment?
15:23Tank City any day of the week over Grimsby. Best of luck to Brighton this weekend and this
15:29coming week. Now we will turn our attention to Crawley Town, who recorded a second successive
15:33League 2 win and clean sheet at home to Cheltenham on Saturday. Harry McCurdy scored twice in
15:38the second half as the Reds recorded their first home League win of the season, as we said
15:42at the top of the podcast, with Victor Robbins dropping them to bottom of the table. We'll
15:48probably develop this more in a minute, Mark, but it does sound like Crawley are getting
15:52back to their best, doesn't it? Some of that particular Reds performance up for us, please.
15:57Yeah, they were really good. I mean, I should caveat it with Cheltenham are one of the worst
16:01teams I've ever seen play for professional football. But you can only beat what's in front
16:07of you. They were pretty poor, but Crawley were really good and probably, I mean, it wouldn't
16:12have been a disgrace for Cheltenham if they'd lost 5-6-0. Crawley were really good. I mean,
16:18you look at the stats. I mean, Crawley had an XG of 2.17. Still don't fully understand what
16:24that means, but it sounded pretty good. 58% possession, 17 total shots, 6 on target, 7
16:32corners, 387 passes. So all the stats sort of show that Crawley, they were the sort of
16:37stats Crawley were getting in their promotion winning season. But they were really good.
16:42Yeah, first half, there was quite a few chances. But second half, there was a moment where Harry
16:48McCurdy had this, I know we're going to get on to him in a minute, but he had this chance,
16:52I think it was Dixon, went down the right and crossed it across goal. And I think the
16:56keeper might have got the slightest touch on it to put it away from him, but he had the
16:59goal glaring at him. The ball just seemed to go between his legs as he went to try and
17:03shoot. And you thought, God, is this one of these days where it's not going to go in
17:07and they're going to regret not getting three points? And I've seen Crawley do that against
17:13teams before, even go on to lose when they've been completely on top. But it was great.
17:18It was a wonderful goal. Harry McCurdy's first goal, great ball from Dion Pereira, great first
17:23touch and then really good finish. And then it was arguably a soft penalty at EMO, showed
17:28a brilliant bit of skill and he went down quite easily. But you've seen those given. And
17:34the guy pushed him over when he didn't get the ball. So get a penalty and scored it. But
17:38yeah, it was just a really good performance. Solid. And yeah, and I know we're going to go
17:45on to Tuesday night, but there was two wins on the trot. Now three wins on the trot,
17:49four games unbeaten. And I think it's only one defeat in six now as well. So you look
17:55at it like that, they've got some momentum going after that really difficult start they
17:58had. And yeah, you sort of hope they don't look back now. Injuries seem to, people seem
18:04to be coming back from injury as well. So yeah, really, yeah, really promising stuff.
18:08Yeah, sounds like they've really turned the corner. With four goals in eight league games,
18:14McCurdy has already scored more goals this campaign than he had in the previous three
18:19seasons. You spoke to the former hip striker post-match, Sam. Sounds like he's quite keen
18:24to repay Scott Lindsay's faith in him after a somewhat difficult start to the season, shall
18:29we say?
18:29Can I say no swearing at this point as well, Sam? Yeah. Like Harry McCurdy.
18:33Yeah, there was a funny moment in the interview afterwards when McCurdy let out an F-bomb.
18:41It was just like a collective, but kind of silent sigh of knowing he has to edit the video
18:45afterwards, which was quite funny. But yeah, as you point out, he scored four goals in
18:52eight league games, two braces, obviously. The latest one coming against Cheltenham. And
18:56as you mentioned, there's already more goals this campaign than he had in the previous
18:59three seasons. And it's no coincidence, therefore, that he's back working with Scott Lindsay,
19:03who was in charge of Swindon Town when he scored 23 goals in 42 games. So clearly,
19:10Lindsay and McCurdy have a good relationship. He knows how to get the best out of the striker
19:15because he did struggle to rediscover the form in the following three years that he wasn't
19:19working under Lindsay. But it's worth noting that he did have a health scare whilst at
19:23Scottish Premiership side, Hibernian. Thankfully, he had a full recovery and his bats playing
19:27his best football at Crawley. And he was asked how Lindsay helped him turn a corner and he
19:32said, he lets me be me. As simple as that sounds, there's not many people that have let me be
19:37me in football. He said, he's not one of those players that needs 50, 60 touches and tries
19:42to do tricks and stuff. He just wants to score goals. I'm lively and just love playing football.
19:46I want to score goals and repay him. He's been brilliant for me. I'm glad that he trusted
19:49me and brought me back in. I think he knows what I can do at this level. So hopefully I can
19:53repay him.
19:53And in an interview with BBC Sussex, he also addressed the boos he received from Crawley
19:58fans earlier in the season, which were baffling at the time. And it did seem like he was a
20:02little bit confused by it as well. To be honest, it obviously happened at the game against Swansea
20:07City in the Carabao Cup, which followed Port League defeats to Grimsby and Newport.
20:12McCurdy said he didn't take the negative feedback to heart, but called on fans to support the players
20:16through thick and thin. He made quite clear that he's a fan of Chelsea and he said that he goes
20:21to match his home and away. And he's never booed anyone. So I think he was quite upset
20:24to get those boos and Corley fans. And he's just called on fans not to do that in future
20:29and to support the team through thick and thin, which is a good message, I think.
20:33Yeah, absolutely. Hopefully he continues to make those boo boys look silly by scoring
20:37a hat full of goals this season. Meanwhile, a much-changed red side got there. Is it virtue
20:42or virtue trophy, Mark? How would you say it? We probably should have asked you this before
20:45I think it's virtue. It's a good question. I don't know. I've been saying virtue.
20:49So let's go with that. Yeah, or we could just say the EFL Trophy. Let's start that again.
20:54Let's do that. Meanwhile, a much-changed red side got there.
20:57EFL Trophy campaign off to a winning start with a 4-2 home success over Astonville under-21s
21:01on Tuesday evening. Ben Radcliffe bagged a brace while Kahim Dixon and Ryan Loft also netted,
21:07who is becoming a bit of a prolific striker, old Ryan Loft. You were at this one, Mark.
21:11Sounds like an excellent quality performance. Who stood out for the Reds and what were the
21:15main takeaways from this game? I'll start with the main takeaways.
21:18The fact that there were 10 changes to the side. The only player that's kept his place
21:24was selected was Reece Brown, and he went off after 10 minutes. So it was pretty much
21:31a whole new team. They were played, and you wouldn't have noticed any. If you were at
21:38Saturday's game and on Tuesday night's game, there was no difference in style.
21:43Everybody knew what their role was. Everybody knew how to play the Scott Lindsay way,
21:49as it were. And I think that's what Scott was really pleased with, that it just looked like
21:55a normal Crawley Townside. Because you make that many changes, there were players. You had Jude
21:58Robinson come on. Robertson, sorry. He just turned 17 the other day. He played a few games in
22:03pre-season. Scored a couple of goals. But this was his first professional appearance.
22:09You had the, like, Anthony Papadopoulos came on late on. But Ben Radcliffe, that was his first game
22:15of the season. Scott Malone played about 80 minutes, I think it was. He was captain.
22:21Joy McCainer played. He hasn't played a lot of minutes. And none of them looked out of place.
22:26None of them looked like, oh God, what do I do? I can't remember what to do, kind of thing.
22:29You can tell it's such a well-coached squad. Everybody knows their role when they're picked
22:35to play. But Caheen Dixon was outstanding. He was just... And I said to a friend at a pod,
22:43Ron Alderman, during the game, I suddenly clicked that Caheen Dixon, because he looked like a cut
22:50above all the Aston Villa players. But all the Aston Villa players are pretty much at the same level,
22:55or even a higher level, should be. Caheen Dixon at that stage, because Caheen Dixon's
23:00Charlton. Charlton youngster. They're all Premier League youngsters. And you would have thought
23:04they should be able to... But he dominated everything. And I think it's just having that experience
23:09playing men's football against those academy sides. He looked like... He looked older.
23:14He looked stronger. He looked quicker. He looked more skillful. And you think, well, this boy's
23:18going to go far. But he was outstanding. Ben Radcliffe, really good in defence. Like I said,
23:23Scott Malone led the team really well. Ryan Loft, yeah, ran his socks off. And he... I didn't see
23:29him against Harrogate on his debut. But he... He looks like he is going to be a handful for a lot
23:35of defences. And I mean, like I say, this was an academy team that they were playing effectively
23:39under-21s. Coming up against someone like Ryan Loft, 6'4", whatever he is, very quick. Good with his
23:46feet as well, but really good in the air. And he scored a really good header. Had a EMO when he... No, sorry.
23:51He had... No, not had a EMO. He didn't play. Harry Forster was really good. He's another
23:57player we haven't seen. He's had a couple of bit of injuries. But just everybody was really
24:01impressive. But Jojo Wallachuk, if it wasn't for him, we could have probably gone into penalties
24:06or even Crawley lose that game in the last 10 minutes. There were three or four saves in
24:11the last 10 minutes when Crawley were 4-2 up that were amazing. They were properly... There
24:16was like a couple of one-on-ones which he spread himself really well. There was a save that I
24:20don't know how he made. Ball was played across goal and the player, Brannigan, I think it
24:25was, Aston Villa, they're like he had all the time in the world just to cipher it at home
24:28and then suddenly Wallachuk appeared from nowhere and saved it. And yeah, and there was one he
24:33tipped over the bar as well, which looked like it was going in the top corner. It was really
24:38impressive. And I asked Scott afterwards about Wallachuk and the goalkeeper situation because
24:42Crawley hadn't been naming a goalkeeper on the bench in league games. And I said, oh, has it been...
24:48Has Jojo been injured and that? He said no. He said he's just gambling on the keeper not
24:54getting injured because he can only... He can name... What was it? You can name six substitutes.
25:01You can only use five of them, but one of them has to be a homegrown player. And Crawley
25:06at the moment haven't got any homegrown players to name on the bench or something, something
25:12like that. So, and he doesn't want to have to risk lose an outfield player for a goalkeeper
25:19when it's less likely that you're going to have to replace the goalkeeper for getting injured.
25:23He said he touched wood and he was like, I know that's going to come back to bite me in
25:27the arse at some point or whatever. But it was really interesting. But it's reassuring that
25:33if for any reason Davis gets called up for an England under-21s or recalled by Liverpool,
25:39that Wallachot, he looked so much more comfortable on the ball because that's what Crawley do.
25:45They play around the back. And that was his issue last year, Wallachot.
25:49He was... His distribution and his... When he was... All his footwork wasn't quite up to
25:54what you'd expect for a Crawley town team under Scott Lindsay and then Rob Elliott.
25:58But now you feel confident... If I was a Crawley fan watching that and thinking, oh, if Davis
26:07gets injured, I'd feel confident. I mean, I'll touch wood and that'll come back to bite me
26:12on the backside now I've said that. But he was really, really impressive. And some of those
26:18saves at the end, I'd think... Yeah, I think Lindsay called them phenomenal or incredible
26:22saves. Yeah. So... No, but just a really good performance. And yeah, carries on that momentum
26:28of winning, which is what Lindsay wants. Yeah, absolutely. As you mentioned earlier,
26:32victory over Villa made it three consecutive wins and four unbeaten for the Reds. But in
26:36his post-match interview, he said... Scott Lindsay said the win was not the most important thing.
26:41What was the most important thing for Lindsay Salmon? What else did he have to say about
26:45Tuesday night's display?
26:48He said the most important thing was the performance. He did say the win was second place to that.
26:54He said he wanted the team to look like Crawley, basically look like us. And we saw that.
27:00And the second most important thing was to win because of two reasons. The main thing being
27:03that we want to breed a winning culture. He thinks that's important. It goes throughout
27:08the building, not just the boys who play in competitive league two games on a Saturday,
27:11but also the boys who play in cup matches. We have to have that winning mentality. I think
27:15that's vital that we keep that going. And the second reason is because we want to remain
27:19in this competition. We've got 31 professional footballers here at the club. So it's important
27:23that we continue through this tournament. It gives us plenty of games to play. But he
27:27said the winning mentality is massive. Four now unbeaten. So he's really pleased with
27:31that. And Crawley will also be looking to extend that unbeaten run on the road in Notts
27:36County.
27:38Yeah, absolutely. As you said, Sam, this Saturday sees the Reds travel to Notts County in League
27:42Two, who sit slap bang in mid-table, occupying 12th place after eight games. I think we've
27:48always said it's a difficult place to go in Meadow Lane, Mark. How do you see this one
27:51going? And what's the latest injury news from the Crawley camp at present?
27:56Yeah, it is always a difficult place to go, certainly for Crawley. I remember in the promotion
28:00winning season, they went there twice, once in the FA Cup and one in the league, and they
28:03lost both games. And they've actually only beaten Notts County four times in 17 attempts.
28:10So generally, but what they did the last time they played them, they beat them 2-1 at the
28:14Broadfield Stadium. And it was one of my favourite nights at Crawley because Adie Yemo came on
28:18and scored the winner, just remembering the noise and the atmosphere because Notts County
28:22brought loads of fans that night. It was a really good, really good atmosphere. But
28:26yeah, Notts County, they're sort of middling at the moment, but they did lose to
28:30Gillingham, but Gillingham are on fire at the moment, aren't they? So they did lose to
28:35them at the weekend, but the previous two games they've won. So it is going to be a really
28:39difficult place. But with Crawley, the way they're playing, you feel they're going to,
28:45they should go up there and get something out of this game, whether it be a win or a
28:49draw. Chownton came to Crawley and sat back from the off. And Lindsay said afterwards that
28:58it was, in fact, they found it difficult because most teams now do the high press. If the ball
29:04goes back to the keeper, the forward is sprinting towards and Crawley do it to other teams.
29:09But Chownton didn't do that. So I think sometimes like Harvey Davis and the defence were a little
29:15bit confused because nobody was putting them under any kind of pressure. And Scott said
29:20they found that a little bit difficult at first, because normally if you've got the high press,
29:25you can pick, you can go around those players, whereas they couldn't go around those players
29:29on Saturday. And that's why it took them such a long time to break them down on Saturday.
29:32But I think with a team like Knox County, Knox County are going to be putting Crawley
29:36under pressure. And I think that will suit Crawley more. So hopefully that will play into
29:42Crawley's hands and they can get something up there. Injury wise, there was a, I mean,
29:48we know Jay Williams is out, but we saw him last night hobbling along on a crutch and in
29:53a huge brace on it. I think he had an operation on his knee. He's going to be out for another
29:57eight or 10 weeks. So we're not going to see Jay Williams for a while. Danny Cashman was
30:02there last night talking to Ricky McFarlane, the physio on the sidelines and that. So I
30:08think he's still out. But generally, Rhys Brown, who went off injured after 10 minutes last
30:14night, Lindsay's got no concerns about him because it was a migraine, apparently, is why
30:18he had to go on. So Rhys Brown hopefully will be fit. From last week, I imagine Ryan Loft and
30:27Caheen Dixon will come back into the starting lineup because they played so well last night
30:32and they played so well leading up to the international break and the suspension, respectively.
30:37So I think, yeah, Lindsay's getting more and more players back. So it's just Cashman and
30:42Williams are the obvious will be the ones that will definitely be missing, I think. But the
30:46rest of it, he's got, he's got, he said he hasn't got any selection problems. He was asked
30:51that last night. Does this result on performance give you selection headache? He said, absolutely
30:56not. I know my team for Saturday. I knew my team for this Tuesday. And barring any injuries,
31:02nothing will change kind of thing. So you'd imagine he'll stick mainly to the side that
31:05beat Chowndon last week. But with Loft and Dixon, possibly the ones coming in.
31:11Interesting stuff. The best look to Crawley at Knox County this weekend. And as ever, we
31:16will finish with score predictions. We will start with Brighton v Spurs in the Premier League
31:20on Saturday. Darren, what do you reckon?
31:24Yeah, it's going to be a tough one. Thomas Frank to Tottenham are a sort of different
31:27proposition these days. They win against Villarreal as their fourth clean sheet in their, you
31:32know, first five matches. So it's going to be tough to break them down. I'm going to
31:36go, I'm going to go 1-1.
31:401-1. What do you reckon, Sam? I mean, I watched a bit of that Spurs-Villa-Real
31:44game last night and they weren't electric, to say the least.
31:47No, it's a really tough one to call, isn't it? I think a draw is a safe one. I'll go
31:53for a couple of goals, I'll say 2-2.
31:56Mark, what do you reckon for this Spurs-Brighton? And would draw ease the pressure on, or so-called
32:02pressure on Herzella a bit, do you think?
32:05I think so. I think it would. But because my wife and son both support Spurs, I'm going
32:10for a Spurs win. And I think they'll keep another clean sheet. I think I'm going to go,
32:15I'm going to go for a 2-0 Tottenham win. And I think I listened to, saw Jamie O'Hara
32:26saying that he thinks Van Der Ven and Romero are the best centre-back pairing in the world
32:30at the moment. I don't think they're quite bad. But I think they are. They're certainly
32:36possibly, arguably, the best in the Premier League. And obviously the stats prove that
32:39at the moment, along with Talibah and Arsenal. So I think I can see another clean sheet.
32:45I think, yeah, Brighton just don't seem to be on it at the moment. So, Burs to win.
32:51Hmm, interesting stuff. Brighton-Barnsey then in the Carabao Cup. I think we will be predicting
32:56a win there, Darren. I'd be surprised if it was anything else.
33:00Yeah, I should think so. I'm going to go with a 2-0. I don't think they're quite the heights
33:06of the Oxford game. But, yeah, they should have enough to progress.
33:11Yeah, hard to argue with that, Sam. What do you think?
33:16Yeah, no, it should be a pretty comfortable win for Brighton on, say, yeah, 3-0.
33:22Yeah, Mark, I mean, I can't really disagree with that.
33:26No, I'm going to go 3-1. I'll say they can see the goal, but I can't see them, Luke.
33:30I mean, it's a good opportunity for them to get a win and have an interest in a competition,
33:34isn't it, and a good route to Europe if it's not going to come any other way.
33:37Yes. Yeah, absolutely. And finally, Notts County v. Crawley in League 2.
33:43Going back to you, Mark, yeah, Crawley will be buoyant, to say the least.
33:48I think they will, and I think they will win. I think they'll go there with the confidence.
33:54They'll hit Notts County early, and I think they'll win 2-1.
33:59They'll go 2-0 up, and then in the second half, we'll be a little bit back to the wall,
34:03Notts County going for them, and they'll get an early goal, and it'll be tense.
34:06But that's what I'm going for.
34:08Sounds exactly like the Harrogate game. Sam, what do you reckon?
34:14Crawley, you're on a good run of form. I'll back them to continue it. 2-1 win.
34:19We're going for a clean sweep of wins, Darren.
34:22I am, yes. Yeah, I think Scott Lindsay's got them firing again,
34:25so I'm going to go... I'll probably agree with Mark, I think. 2-1, I think, for that one.
34:29Excellent stuff. Well, if Scott Malone starts with Crawley,
34:33it's a guarantee three points anyway, so fingers crossed he starts.
34:36Excellent stuff.
34:37Thank you very much for all your contribution this week.
34:40Chat, Brian, as ever, and don't forget,
34:41you can catch up with all the latest sports news
34:43covering everything we've talked about today
34:44at sussexworld.co.uk forward slash sport.
34:47Thank you very much for listening and for watching,
34:49and we will see you all next week.