Brighton & Hove Albion 1 Bolton Wanderers 1
By Tim Hodges from The Amex
The Albion inexplicably failed to beat Bolton Wanderers at the Amex on Saturday afternoon.
Not only did Ashley Barnes miss a first half penalty and a simple looking rebound, but the Seagulls also hit the bar on no less than three times in the first half, at one point twice in two minutes.
Bolton stunned the Amex when David Ngog scored off the inside of the post with the very last kick off the game to cancel out Bruno’s 55th minute 20 yard half volley.
Albion dominated this match almost from starts to finish, both Andrea Orlandi and Dean Hammond were in sensational form and the central midfield pairing ran the show causing Bolton massive problems.
The Seagulls didn’t really have a clear cut chance until Zat Knight was adjudged to have handled in the penalty area.
Ashley Barnes grabbed the ball and hit a rather tame spot kick at Bolton keeper, Adam Bogdan. Bogdan could only parry straight back to Barnes, who chose to place his rebound instead blasting it, and Bogdan saved again, then Craig Mackail-Smith dragged the still loose ball,wide of post.
Bolton escaped three shots from 12 yards or less in the space of ten seconds.
Albion appeared a little rocked, then minutes later Andrea Orlandi picked up a loose ball and powered a shot that has Bogdan clutching at fresh air, sadly for Albion this ricochet off the cross bar and to safety.
Bolton were still reeling, when , Dean Hammond running at Mills, shaped his body for what looked like a cross and then unleashed a sensational dipping 25 yard curler , which Bogdan appeared to tip onto the cross bar.
The Amex was buzzing by now and Bolton looked to have almost nothing but gung ho defending to offer.
Will Buckley was tormenting Stephen Warnock at every opportunity time and again Buckley got past his man and delivered a cross, on one occasion it was Barnes again who headed wide when, well placed.
Just past the half hour Buckley whipped in a cross that Mackail- Smith, headed against the top off the cross bar from just a few yards out.
There was then just enough time for Orlandi to whip in a free kick, which Barnes headed wide from just outside the six yard box.
After the Robert Eaton Memorial Fund donated AITC a mini bus at half time, the Albion kept plugging away at Bolton.
A wonderful sweeping move started by Bruno , who hit an exquisite pass to Buckley who in turn found Orlandi , ended with Ashley Barnes completely miss hitting the Spaniards pass, on the edge of the six yard box.
Bolton tried to sustain Albion as best they could, but the Seagulls were dominant in all areas.
Buckley and Bruno link up brilliantly, Bruno’s precision passes down the by-line set Buckley off time and time again, scampering down the line and almost always getting his cross in.
But it was Bruno who made the first incisive move in the match. As the ball was headed out from an Albion free kick, the Spanish full back chested it down and struck a sweet, dipping half volley that was well out of the reach of Adam Bogdan, to put the Seagulls in front.
The Seagulls had many chances to double their lead. Orlandi waltzed through the Bolton defence and hit a shot which skimmed the post and hit the stantion behind the goal.
Dean Hammond then saw an effort sail over the bar, just before Chris Eagles, who scored for Watford at Withdean in 2006 from 45 yards, tried his luck, but his effort sailed over Tomasz Kuszczak’s goal.
Bolton brought on ex England man Kevin Davies and Jacob Butterfield, and Andrew Crofts replaced Ashley Barnes for the Albion.
Butterfield had Bolton’s first shot on target soon after but , but it was still Albion who looked more likely to score the next goal.
The back in favour Will Hoskins replaced Mackail-Smith, and it was he, who had Albion’s best chance to double their lead, Buckley wrapped his foot around the ball and delivered a great cross, but Hoskins half volley was excellently saved by Bogdan.
Some crowd trouble saw a small army of Stewards wade in to the Bolton fans behind the goal ,a first on such a scale at the Amex.
Towards the end Zat Knight went up front for Bolton, but Albion appeared to be soaking up the pressure , Bolton were more dominant in the last two minutes of normal time than at any period during the match.
Five minutes were added on, most of which saw Bolton drill balls into the area and the Albion defence spit them back out.
But with seconds left and after good work from Davies, the ball fell to Ngog, who’s shot deflected off the inside of the post and into the back of Tomasz Kuszczak ‘s goal for 1-1
The Amex was stunned and with barely time to re-start, the Albion had been well and truly mugged.
Albion: (4-3-3) Kuszczak; Bruno, Greer, Dunk, Painter (Calderon 81); Bridcutt, Hammond, Orlandi; Buckley, Mackail-Smith (Hoskins 87), Barnes (Crofts 77). Subs Not Used: Brezovan (GK), Dicker, Lopez, Dobbie, .
Bolton Wanderers: (5-3-2) Bogdan; Mears, Mills, Knight, Ream (Spearing 78), Warnock; Eagles, M Davies, Pratley (K Davies 60); Ngog, Afobe (Butterfield 60). Subs Not Used: Lynch (GK), Andrews, Ricketts, Yong Lee.
Referee: Mark Haywood
5-3-2? It was 4-2-3-1! Shows the difference in class when Bolton can play absolute turd and still get a point!
It wasn’t you guys playing good it was Bolton playing bad!
An interesting match report with several inaccuracies.
The penalty was awarded against Darren Pratley for handball. This was contentious when he was on the floor. Three misses from the penalty chance tells its own story.
Whilst Brighton completely dominated the first half I think that they were unlikely to score from 25 to 30 yards against an international keeper. The closer chances in the area went wide or were off target as the framework of the goal is not on target!
A second clearer penalty in the second half for a Bolton handball when the outfield player did a star jump and handled was not seen by the ref. Perhaps justice was done when the Brighton goal involved a handball in the build up. That was perhaps the best of the chances.
I think the game turned in the 87th minutes when Brighton suddenly took off the industrious Mackail-Smith for Hoskins and blatantly attempted to time waste. The Goalie was taking about a minute per goal kick with his slow motion falling to the floor and long walkabouts to cause delay. This suggested that Brighton were not confident of winning and the psychology of the game changed.
Brighton were the better team but only one goal in 96 minutes means that you cannot get carried away with how good things were. You should have won but you were not good enough to finish the game off or even keep the ball in the corners at the end.