The fantastic Amex Stadium plays host to this match, down on the South coast giving travelling Wednesday fans a day at the beach before what was to be a tough test in the evening.
At the time of the first whistle, the Owls were sitting in 6th place and the first thing that I notice is the incredible noise being generated by both sets of fans.
The match itself gets off to a cautious start, no team really holding on to the ball or making definitive moves. Suddenly with only 2 minutes on the watch, the Manchester City loanee, Wayne Bridge sprints down the left past Antonio and the attack only fizzles out as Martin Taylor clears his cross. As the early minutes pass, Jose Semedo is doing a good job in midfield, breaking up Brighton advances and closing down well. It's out on Brightons left where they seem to betting most joy, Bridge especially. When Buckleys over hit pass is watched out by Jermaine Johnson, the Jamaican is given possession back and goes on a trademark run after dropping his shoulder to leave his marker, only a save from Brighton GK Kuszczak prevents the Owls taking the lead. Just under 10mins in and Antonio forces a corner and SWFC are applying the pressure well, but this corner is easily cleared by Mackail-Smith. Brighton are dangerous on the counter and have the ball in the back of the net after only 10 mins, fortunately the linesmans flag saves Wednesday this time. Brighton are now in the driving seat, closing down every ball, forcing mistakes out of the Wednesday players. After a wasted Owls free kick, Brighton hit Wednesday on the counter and only a terrific save from Chris Kirkland stops Buckley giving Brighton the lead. The mounting pressure is relieved on Wednesday as Brightons centre back (*edit: right back), Bruno, skies a good chance from a free kick, after Semedo commits the foul. Rodri is up front for Wednesday but not having much to do, the times he does get the ball sees at least 2 defenders close him down immediately. The chant of 'Dirty Northern B******s!' rings out from the home crowd as yet another free kick is awarded just outside the box. The next noise of the crowd is a roar as Bridge fires the free kick past Kirkland aided by a huge deflection, 1-0 to Brighton after 24 mins. Immediately after the goal the Seagulls press for a second and only a Martin Taylor clearance prevents them scoring a decisive 2nd. A rare Bothroyd left footed shot gets easily saved after good work by Mattock instigating an attack showing Wednesday still might have a say in the game. Miguel Llera plays a short ball to McCabe who in turn feeds JJ, his snapshot however goes wide...very wide, for a Brighton throw-in! At the other end, Kirkland has to be quick off his line to halt Buckley scoring after running free on a counter attack. A Mark Beevers clearance goes to JJ who has a bit of space to start a searing run deep into Brightons half, he passes to Semedo who slides it to Antonio, his ball in sees Rodris header saved and McCabes follow up shot blocked and cleared. With 38 mins on the clock, Beevers is left embarrassed by Buckley as the Brighton man turns the defender inside out - twice, only for Kirkland to collect the deflected floating ball. The last 5mins of the first half sees Brighton dominate and they could score a 2nd with any attack.
Phew! The HT whistle! SWFC really aren't at the races today, Brighton dominant throughout. A quick snack of some Walkers Ridges and Cadburys Chocolate Fingers and I'm ready for the 2nd half. We really need to get Antonio into the game, he's gone missing so far. A quick Twitter check brings up the free kick that the Seagulls scored from, some saying the kick shouldn't have been awarded.
A half time substitution sees Rodri replaced by the debutant Barkley, leaving Jay Bothroyd as the lone striker. Wednesday start brightly and go on the offensive, a foul on Antonio on the edge of the box gets waved away and Brighton hit another counter attack. It only comes to an end with a foul by Llera on the edge of Kirklands box, which is easily cleared. Bothroyd and Barkley seem to be on the toes of Brightons two forward roaming centre backs, a tactic to defend from the front. A promising SWFC attack ends when Bothroyd plays the ball behind the supporting Antonio and allows Brighton to play the ball at ease to safety. A debut goal for Barkley is prevented after a JJ run supplies the Everton youngster who in turn rifles a shot straight at Kuszczak. The Seagulls second goal comes after 54mins when the lively Mackail-Smith scores his fifth goal in 5 appearances, latching on to a Bruno low cross through the 6 yard box. A small patch of Wednesday pressure follows, seeing a free kick awarded for a tug by Bruno on JJ. The shot by McCabe gets cleared for a corner. The ball in gets cleared by Barnes and lands at JJ's feet and his shot flies just wide. A quick ball over the top by the influential Bruno sees Buckley chase through on goal and with a fantastic first touch, he controls the ball with his left foot and finishes with the right, 58 mins in and Brighton lead 3-0. If you was to think that score line was enough, you'd be wrong. A promising chance for Wednesday, when Antonio fires a shot in, is quickly cleared and finely passed for yet another counter attack - only halted with Kirkland blocking Mackail-Smiths effort. Surprisingly, Dave Jones subs' JJ - our best outlet, for Nejc Pecnik, back from international duty with Slovenia. The brilliant Brighton now command the pitch, if nothing is on a pass back to the keeper to start again occurs. Wednesday attacks are few and far between, only a spate of home substitutions slows the game down and allows the beleaguered away side some respite. A belief-lacking attack from Wednesday sees Semedo cross to Bothroyd who tamely heads down to the goalkeeper. With 15mins left to play, Bothroyd tries to make amends with a fantastic driven shot provided by an Antonio cross after beating Bridge - saved again by Kuszczak. The linesman's flag again come to the Owls aid in the 78th minute as the ball finds a way past Kirkland again. Even the giant figure of 'Tiny' (Martin Taylor) can't latch on to a poor Antonio cross (and he's 6ft 4) after a good pass from Pecnik and the ball rolls out for a goal kick. Brightons closing down is fantastic, 3 men to every Wednesday player, their fitness playing key to their style of play. As Jay Bothroyd makes way for Gary Madine boo's can be heard and a quick Twitter check says they came from away fans, I'm not so sure. As the final whistle approaches, 'olé - olé' showers from the stands as the home side play possession football. The travelling Owls sing back with a rendition of 'Hark Now Hear' as the referee brings this one sided game to an end.
FT. Lacklustre Wednesday totally outplayed by a brilliant Brighton side who sit atop the Championship table after that match.
Attendance: 26,594
Owls MoM: Rhys McCabe
Just need to know the difference between full-back and centre-back and you might be ok.
ReplyDeleteGood spot, apologies! Now amended.
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