Brighton v Nottingham Forest

Gone with the Wings Brighton & Hove Albion v Nottingham Forest WFC in the FA Cup 4th Round at The Peoples Pension Stadium

Where are we and What's going on?

We are back at the Broadfield Stadium after a long winter break. It was mild mid-winter day in Crawley. There has been a lot of rain but hopefully the pitch will be ok and it continues to stay dry. It’s the fourth round of the FA Cup so time for the WSL teams to enter. Brighton have drawn Nottingham Forest. Forest sit 7th in WSL2. Will they see this as an important challenge or be saving themselves for a playoff push. The Albion will be looking to get back to winning ways after losing away to Villa last weekend despite taking an early lead through Fuka. Will Dario field a changed line up with a scattering of youngster like in the League Cup. We’ll find out shortly.

Blue skies at the Broadfield

Teams are out. Chia is in goal but there is no sign of Baggers. Hope she is ok. A new face to us in defence alongside Moeka is Manuala Vanegas. She’s been here for a while but we've not seen her before. Carabali has left 😢, headed for the NWSL to play for Boston. Also absent is Fran. Rumours are that she is headed to Juventus 🛫. We hope that's not true but good for Fran if it is. The full backs are Marisa and Charlie. The 6,8, and 10 are Maisie, Fuka and Nadine. Up front are Rosa, Madie and Kiko.

There is a familiar face in the Forest line up. Deanne Rose was noted for her thuggery when she was a Leicester City player. We expect to see more of the same today.

We’ve had Pizza and swapped stickers. The Samba band have warmed out with their increasingly large collection of drums. They get things going with Sussex by the Sea (Samba remix). Let’s go Brighton, Let’s go.

Samba band drummer Auntie Helen

Off we go..

The Albion kick off and are straight on the attack. Rosa’s early shot is saved. Brighton are able to keep the ball but not doing much with it.

Forest are a determined bunch and win a corner on 7. They get first contact but the header misses the goal.

Rosa is booked for a professional foul. The Albion are pressing high and willing to take one for the team to keep Forest pinned in their own half.

Play stops on 29 as Aimee Claypole goes down injured. There are an increasing number of medics on the pitch and she is eventually stretched off 🚑. She is replaced on the pitch by Charlie Wellings. Hope that’s not as bad as it looked. Never nice to see.

It’s typical Brighton with lots of safe possession but no real risk taking in front of goal. Nadine gets a shot off but it’s off target.

Into 8 minutes of added time and Kiko is fouled in the box. It’s a penalty to Brighton. Maisie hangs on to the ball while the fuss dies down. She hands over to Madie who takes it and scores for the Albion on 45+3.

Maisie comes close to scoring herself on 45+8 and it takes a good save to deny her. Rosa’s shot is blocked on 45+10 so it’s a narrow lead for Brighton at the break.

Forest kick off but the Albion are soon back in charge. Madie hits over, Maisie forces a save and Manuela heads over from a corner. Somehow it’s still just 1-0 after a bit of an onslaught from Brighton.

Dario makes his first change on 57 as Jelena comes on to replace Fuka who has had a good game.

Maisie is down injured and it doesn’t look good but she eventually get to her feet to be reminded 🎵she’s one of our own🎵.

There are chance both ways with Nadine forcing a save on 65 shortly followed by a Forest corner that is thankfully cleared. It might start to get a bit nervy if we can’t increase the lead.

There is another change on 72. Carla Camacho replaces Rosa. Carla goes central and Madie moves to the left.

Deanne Rose is replaced on 78 just after a bad foul on Manuela. Coming on in her place appears to be Vivienne Leigh. It’s actually Lia but it fooled us for a minute.

Chiamaka is forced to make a good save from Rachel Rowe. Chia goes down injured a couple of minutes later. We’re all a bit worried as we don’t have Baggers as backup and it’s still too close for comfort. She is soon back out and ready for action. Phew!

Dario uses his last windows to make a 3rd sub. It’s Rachel McLauchlan coming on for Charlie Rule who gets a quick rendition of her song.

Rachel makes an instant impact on the attacking nature of the team. Maisie gets a chance but puts her shot wide.

Brighton get a corner as the 4th official announces 5 extra minutes.

One corner turns into a whole flurry of corners. The 1st is blocked, The following one is blocked initially but drops to Cankovic who taps it home from close range on 90+2 ⚽. A big relief. Double phew!

It finishes on 90+5 with a win for the Albion who progress to the 5th round draw on Monday. An interesting draw please.

We think it’s all over..

That was a good result without being the best game. It was a bit dull and a triumph of possession over aggression. Perhaps missing Frans competitive edge but it did come to life for the last 5 or so minutes. It was the high tempo attacking football that we know the Seagulls are capable of. It was a bit nervy at 1-0. Forest never really threatened but a goal back was always a possibility. The Seagulls chose to wait into injury time to settle our nerves. And the first goal was in injury time too. Not sure if that means anything? Maybe there is something in that, related to mentality. Feeling the pressure of the clock ⏰ and doing something about it.

The changes were positive which is something we have an issue with under Dario. Using Madie to wear them down and then bringing on Carla to run at them is the sort of change we like. We would like to see Madie playing as the 10, holding the ball up and feeding Carla in the 9. We are big fans of Nadine but she has had better games with her first touch letting her down too many times in the Forest box.

The crowd was a bit disappointing considering it’s the first home game since mid December but that’s how it is with cup games sometimes. The draw is on Monday where we will find out our opponents for the 5th round. Do we have a preference? Not really, just not West Ham or Villa again as we are always playing them in one cup or another. It’s cup action for Newhaven up next as we make the trip to Godalming in Scary Surrey.

The other bits

POTM: Today's award goes to Fuka Tsunoda for her best performance we have seen in a Brighton shirt. She has great feet and used them to great effect today to keep Forest pinned in with a high press.

The officials get no complaints from us so well done and thanks.

There is no printed programme to peruse so again it’s a 0/10 (should be -10).

The Scran’O’meter scored the Margarita Pizza the usual 10/10, Thanks Doughshack. The lattes were a steaming hot 8/10.

Love Tranmerekat 🐾

Newhaven Little v Common

Win, Ouse or Draw Newhaven FC host to Little Common FC in the SCFL Premier Division at Fort Road

Where are we and What’s going on?

The Dockers host the Common on a freezing afternoon by the Ouse. It’s about 2℃ but the wind is bringing it back well below zero 🥶. There are a number of games frozen off today so we might pick up a few fans from elsewhere. The Dockers need to bring a reaction today after the awful display last Saturday at the Tye. The away leg was played on a breezy but warm August evening. The Dockers won 3-1 that night. A result that would go down very nicely today. An early goal to set the scene and warm us up would do nicely. Please🙏.

Fort Road sunshine

The lineup is largely unchanged except at the back where Oesi and Harry Hammond are back in defence. Shay Tobin and Dan Allen making way. Shay is on the bench. Tarun stays in the 11 but moves up to midfield.

The Common look a little less physical than some so hopefully some good football will be served up for us today.

Today's Teams

The Ultra’s of both teams are behind their goals. Flags are out and drums are ready to cheer on their teams. We’re ready to go too. We’re in the stand keeping out of the wind. There may be a rattle nearby. 🎵Come on you Dockers by the Sea🎵.

Come on you Dockers

Off we go..

The Dockers are straight on the offensive. It’s a good quick start but Blunt’s shot is just wide. Promising. The Dockers are keeping the ball well and attacking the Common’s final ⅓.

It’s not all one way though as the Common are quick on the break and force Roman into a save.

There is a good period of possession again. Blunt hits wide in another chance. Tom gets a booking to go with his one from last week. There is some trading of chances with Tarum, wide, and Teddy, saved, coming close either side of a good save from Roman.

The Dockers Ultra’s are quiet but the Common kids haven’t stopped. A bit of Posnan going on at one point. And more player songs than some EFL clubs.

The Dockers get a couple of free kicks that are too close to go over the wall. Tom takes them and both do go over the wall and the bar. Are you Alfie in disguise?

There is one more chance with the Common forcing another save and Ezra putting his shot wide.

It’s been a good half from the Dockers but they have been inefficient in front of goal. Need to push on or that could come back to bite them.

Sunset watching

The second half starts like the first except it has got colder and thicker gloves are required. The Dockers come close, first through Roobo who forces a save from a Blunty corner. The keeper needs to make another save before Blunt hits just wide again.

The Dockers are getting good possession and Ezra and Harry are working really well together to get forward down the left. They are probably exploiting the rotational inertia of the no. 4. He could easily be a Tuck relative.

The Docker’s Ultras have changed ends so both groups are now in the Surf’n’Skate stand. Or should that be the North Stand.

Fort Road sunset

The moon is coming up over Firle Beacon. It’s a stunning huge Wolf Moon. It's a bit distracting, big and gold in front of us. Wow!

Teddy is bundled over in a crowd of bodies in the box. The ref points straight to the spot. After a lengthy conversation with the lino, he overrules himself and it’s a drop ball for the Common. It looked like a good initial decision to us. There is a continuing discussion around the ref and Robbo is booked for telling him something he didn’t want to hear. The assistant is the recipient of some feedback as he reaches the home dugout 😶.

Robbo breaks clear and gets 1 on 1 with the keeper who manages to block the shot. He creates another chance for Teddy. It’s not going in is it.

Little Common are awarded a penalty on 63 after a handball on 65. It comes off Oesi’s chest on to his hand. It’s in the grey areas of the hand ball rules as it comes off another part of him first but his hand is raised. It doesn’t matter in the end because Roman makes a great low save to tip it round the post. Get in and ha ha.

It’s not long before Newhaven get another penalty after a clear but soft trip on Tarun. Ezra steps up and makes it count. on 72 ⚽. Finally a goal after all that teasing.

The changes start on 74 as Tom Howard-Bold is replaced by Shay Tobin. It’s uneventful until 83 when Teddy Woods is replaced by Dexter Lambert. Fingers crossed that some fresh legs can help us extend the lead.

In a great move down the left, Ezra squares to Robbo who passes to Blunty. It’s a fantastic chance but he skies it from inside the box 👀.

The Common have looked threatening on the break all game and finally get their reward with an equaliser on 85 after a great run down the right by the speedy No. 3. Can’t say it wasn’t on the cards. Bum!

It’s nearly the winner for Ezra as we reach 90 minutes. He gets his head to a corner but can’t control it and it goes way over.

The Dockers have really upped the tempo now. The frustration shows as Tarun is booked for a dreadful tackle. The ref is finding time from somewhere as it goes on and on. The quality fades as the clock winds down and the Dockers can’t find a late winner. It’s still level on 90+6. Two points capitulated more than lost for the Dockers this afternoon 🤷.

We think it’s all over..

It’s hard to believe that this is the same team that played so badly against Peacehaven a week ago. There were limited changes but they have been worked hard in training 😅. What was needed was more efficiency up front. There were so many chances but they need to make a couple more of them count. If they scored that chance in the first minute, it would have been a very different game. There was always a chance that the visitors would sneak a goal and that was exactly what they did. The timing of the equaliser was awful for the Dockers. They stepped up the pace to try to get it back but became increasingly desperate.

There were positives. The confidence is back, despite the 2 point dropped. The Dockers are still 4th in the league. They have moved above Peacehaven who didn’t play but have been leap frogged by Guernsey. It’s going to be a good scrap from here to the end of the season for the playoff places.

Also positive is that we scored a penalty. That does make a change. It’s a shame that the first one was overturned for whatever reason. And their penalty could have gone either way. It was accidental and hit his chest first.

It was one of the coldest games we have been to while and it got colder as it went on. It needed some more goals to keep us warm. It must have kept the crowd down as there were only 149 through the gates despite the lack of football elsewhere.

The Common Ultra’s did their team proud today. And they stayed long enough to see their team score this time. 10/10 for the repertoire of songs including the Posnan and 🎵one-nil and you effed it up🎵. Fair enough. Their songs didn’t always match the context but you can’t fault their passion and energy.despite the cold. They didn’t change ends as they seemed settled in the stand.

The Dockers Ultras with their new flag and their drums were less numerous and less noisy. They did migrate down to the other half at the break leaving both sets at the same end. Unusual.

The other bits..

POTM: There were a number of good performances today. The award was going to Blunty but it slipped away with that miss near the end. So today’s winner is Ezra, some great attacking runs and scoring the penalty. Well done Ez 🏅.

Officially Opinionated: They seemed to do OK most of the time but with a few odd calls. The ref had no doubts about the penalty but used his assistant as he should. I wouldn’t have wanted to be that assistant when he had to walk past the home dugout. There may have been a little feedback provided by some on the bench.

The Common pen was hard to take but we can see why it was given. The third penalty was soft and may not have been given had the first not been cancelled. And what’s with all the dropped balls. There must have been 4 or 5. He seems to love them. We loved the extra time but it seemed a bit excessive for the game that didn’t stop much.

Ferry Watch: The Cộte D’Albâtre was docked when we arrived and remained there all game.

The Scram’O’meter loves the hot chocolate ☕ here and it’s got a 7/10 today. We needed that to keep the cold out.

Programme perusal: We are very disappointed to report that there was no programme today as it’s been a holiday and no-one was at work to make one. Poor excuse, the slackers 😡.

Love Tranmerekat 🐾