Full time: Crystal Palace 2-1 Wolves
For the second home game in a row, Palace come from behind to win 2-1. Ebere Eze and Wilfried Zaha scored good goals after Adama Traore had given Wolves a half-time lead.
Palace move up to 10th, Wolves stay in 17th. And that’s the end of this blog. Goodnight!
Brighton 0-0 Nottm Forest Here’s Dean Henderson’s reaction after his seven saves helped Forest earn a point at Brighton.
"To get the clean sheet as well for the boys is a massive confidence." 🗣
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) October 18, 2022
Seven saves for Dean Henderson tonight as Forest move off the bottom of the table 👏#PLonPrime #BHANFO pic.twitter.com/JFWEXHvM7t
GOAL! Crystal Palace 2-1 Wolves (Zaha 71)
Palace have come from behind to lead. Eze swept an imaginative pass down the left for Edouard, who turned and threaded a low ball towards Zaha in the area. Kilman stretched and missed; Zaha controlled it on the run and cracked it past Jose Sa.
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Nick Ames was the Amex Stadium tonight. Here’s his report.
Full time: Brighton 0-0 Nottm Forest
Forest move off the bottom of the table with a very, very, very, very, very hard-fought draw at Brighton. They were outplayed but scrapped admirably, especially the defensive spine, and the last 20 minutes were probably their most comfortable of the game. Dean Henderson made a few decent saves and one excellent one.
There are a few boos from the Brighton fans at the end. I don’t think there’s anything to worry about. They played very well for most of the game, but Roberto De Zerbi will want his first victory as soon as possible. He’ll probably have to wait a bit longer, though: their next game is away to Manchester City.
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GOAL! Crystal Palace 1-1 Wolves (Eze 49)
Palace are level at Selhurst Park. Michael Olise swings a deep cross from the right that evades Nelson Semedo and is headed whence it came by Ebere Eze. A good finish from an exceedingly likeable player.
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90+2 min Trossard almost wriggles through four Forest defenders in the area, but one of them managers to nick the ball away.
90+1 min Biancone surges down the right and crosses low into the middle. Dunk stretches to clear but boots the ball straight at Awoniyi. Happily for Brighton, it ricochets well wide.
90+1 min Five minutes of added time.
90 min Mac Allister’s corner is cleared at the near post. Forest break, Lamptey takes out Awoniyi and is booked.
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89 min After another crisp passing move, Lamptey’s low cross is put behind for a corner.
89 min Brighton should trademark the dominant 0-0 draw.
87 min Dunk’s header, from Mac Allister’s free-kick, bounces harmlessly through to Henderson. Forest break and Biancone plays the worst pass of the season.
86 min: Triple substition for Forest Joe Worrall, Taiwo Awoniyi and Giulian Biancone replace Jesse Lingard, the limping Harry Toffolo and Brennan Johnson.
85 min: Brighton substitution Deniz Undav replaces Pascal Gross.
85 min Freuler is booked for a brazen foul on the jet-heeled Lamptey.
83 min Trossard’s shot from 20 yards is blocked by the indefatigable Yates.
81 min: Superb save by Henderson! Lamptey’s cross from the right is helped on by Welbeck towards Gross, 12 yards out. He doesn’t connect properly with a first-time shot but it kicks up off the turf and is pawed round the post by Henderson, diving to his right. That’s his best save of the night. Gross will feel he should have done better, though. I think he kicked it against his standing foot.
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81 min Brighton haven’t scored for around four and a half hours. You should see their xG though!
80 min A corner is returned to the original taker Gibbs-White. He hangs up a cross beyond the far post, where McKenna loops a header back across goal and wide. The angle was very tight.
Half time: Crystal Palace 0-1 Wolves
Wolves lead through Adama Traore’s excellent header, and they almost made it two when Ruben Neves slapped a terrific free-kick against the post in injury time.
78 min Yates, who was accidentally kicked in the face by Caicedo earlier, is now accidentally kicked in the personal space by Mac Allister. He’s okay, eventually.
78 min This would be an excellent result for Forest. They’ve been hopeless as an attacking force – no offence – but they have battled really hard defensively. They lack confidence, sure, but not spirit, certainly not in the centre of defence and midfield.
77 min “What a surreal situation this is,” says Harriet Osborn. “A US-based Everton supporter is emailing an MBM blog about Brighton and Nottingham Forest playing a dull match and discussing... Wrexham AFC playing what would appear to be an exciting match. What a world. What a game.”
75 min Freuler concedes a silly free-kick, manhandling March on the right wing. Gross’s delivery is nigh-on perfect, and Cook does brilliantly to head clear while being clattered by Webster.
74 min “Reading the article about Messi and the state-sponsored transfer I heard myself thinking ‘tax-wise it’s an interesting one’,” says Phil Podolsky. “Which is not the type of thought I, a man who still listens to the Smashing Pumpkins, tend to have. Where do I get my grownup sound bites from? Apparently Jeremy Irons.”
There are worse Jeremys, and not just in Pearl Jam songs.
73 min Lingard reminds everyone he’s on the field by elbowing Veltman in the head. I don’t think it was deliberate, and nor does the referee.
71 min “I’m glad Serge Aurier is back in the Premier League, it’s a more fun place having him around,” says Tom Atkins. “But I’m even more glad he’s not playing for my team.”
He was very restrained tonight actually. The game’s gone!
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70 min March’s cross on the turn is too close to Henderson. Brighton are starting to look a bit frustrated.
69 min “Just to pass the time between moments of no goals,” says Mary Waltz, “Wrexham is up 3-0 over Blyth entering half time.”
68 min Harry Toffolo replaces Serge Aurier for Forest, which means Neco Williams will move to right-back. After a tough start against Leandro Trossard, Aurier did pretty well.
67 min “Really lovely to see a professor (8.31pm) quoting lines from 10 Things I Hate About You on tonight’s MBM,” says Matt Hobbs. “Are there any other film lines out there that can aptly describe Brighton’s labours without a top-level goal scorer? I’ll throw Now, Voyager into the mix: ‘Oh Jerry, don’t let’s ask for the moon. We have the stars.’ Because, well, I support Everton and I can assure you that Brighton are a lot more fun to watch. And we paid £15m for Neil Maupay.”
I bloody knew I’d heard that whelmed line somewhere.
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66 min Forest are coming into this game ever so slightly. Kouyate forces a pass into Yates on the right side of the area. He wriggles away from Caicedo and drives a cross shot that evades Lingard at the far post.
64 min: Brighton substitution The effervescent Tariq Lamptey replaces Adam Lallana, who had an excellent game. I guess he can’t do 90 minutes any more, but he’s still a class act.
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63 min “Can’t help feeling,” says David C Hunter, “that Potter’s move up the M23/M25 means that Brighton has gone from overwhelming to whelming.”
Thing is, this is the kind of game we saw plenty of times under Potter – complete dominance, no goals.
62 min While Adama Traore was scoring for Wolves, Brighton had another opening when March’s low cross was booted clear inside in the six-yard box.
61 min: Forest substitution Cheikhou Kouyate replaces Orel Mangala in the Forest midfield.
GOAL! Crystal Palace 0-1 Wolves (A Traore 31)
Adama Traore has given Wolves an unlikely lead at Selhurst Park. It was beautifully worked by Wolves, from one end of the field to the other. Eventually Bueno curled a superb cross to the far post, wher Traore powered a header past Guaita. That’s an excellent goal.
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58 min They’ve had a few touches in the Brighton area now. Johnson charges down the right onto a long pass from Gibbs-White. He runs at the backpedalling Dunk, shifts the ball onto his left foot but then slices his shot out for a throw-in.
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56 min Trossard steals the ball off Cook and plays it through to Welbeck, whose first touch is too heavy. That Welbeck miscontrol was Brighton’s 25th touch in the opposition penalty area. Forest have had none.
53 min Yates ducks into a bouncing ball and is kicked in the face by Caicedo, who didn’t see him coming on the blind side. Yates is down, though he’s conscious and seems okay apart from a nose bleed. Caicedo is booked.
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51 min: Another chance for Brighton! Veltman moves forward and curves a lovely cross towards the far post. Welbeck gets above McKenna but mistimes a header that drifts a few yards wide.
49 min Gross’s outswinging corner is met on the volley by Welbeck, 12 yards out, and Henderson moves to his left to push it away. A comfortable save.
48 min March is fouled 30 yards from goal, slightly to the left of centre. He touches off the free-kick to Mac Allister, whose fierce shot hits the head of Gibbs-White and goes behind for a corner.
46 min Peep peep! By the way it’s Crystal Palace 0-0 Wolves after 17 minutes at Selhurst Park.
“Ryan Thomas’ use of the word ‘underwhelmed’ has reminded me of a quirk of language,” says Professor Matt Dony. “You can be underwhelmed, and you can be overwhelmed. But it’s very rare to be simply ‘whelmed’. I’d argue that Brighton’s attack has often whelmed opponents. Not underwhelmed, as they’re very good players and attack with technically proficient football, and not overwhelmed, as they hardly ever actually score. Just whelmed.”
An attack spearheaded by Danny Whelmbeck, honk honk.
“Evening Rob,” says Simon McMahon. “In the absence of any meaningful action in Brighton / Gillingham / Portsmouth, maybe your readers might like to know that Dundee United are currently level 1-1 at Kilmarnock in the Scottish League Cup quarter final. Or that Scotland will likely qualify for the Super 12s in the T20 World Cup should they beat Ireland tomorrow. All of which means I’m not going to sleep very well tonight. I can take the despair etc …”
Laura!
Half-time reading
Half time: Brighton 0-0 Nottm Forest
Brighton have slaughtered Forest at the Amex Stadium. It’s goalless.
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45 min: Webster misses an excellent chance! Brighton should be out of sight. March played a nice ball to the overlapping Gross near the byline on the right. His cutback was dummied by Lallana and ran to Webster, who launched it over the bar on the stretch.
43 min March’s scooped cross reaches his fellow wing-back Trossard beyond the far post. He chests it down and hits a volley that is well blocked by Aurier.
42 min Trossard is giving Aurier a difficult night. He runs him again but this time screws a cross behind for a goalkick.
41 min Johnson is going to try to continue.
40 min Johnson has gone down again with the same ankle problem. The referee stops play and gets an earful from half the Brighton team, presumably because it’s not a head injury. Brighton were in a very good position, having just won the ball high up the field.
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39 min “If my memory serves me well,” begins James Kydd, “the Albion’s first game back in Brighton/Hove after their hiatus in Gillingham was actually a friendly against Nottingham Forest. The match, which I attended, was played at (the) Withdean Stadium and finished 2-2. I’m watching this game from the comfort of my sofa in Warsaw and my daughter is there at the Amex. Football…”
The memory on you!
38 min Johnson goes down holding his ankle after a lunging tackle from Webster, who let the ball run past him and desperately tried to make amends. It might have been a yellow card, but the referee didn’t give a foul. Johnson is okay to continue.
36 min And another chance for Brighton. Lallana finds the overlapping Trossard, who carefully picks out Gross near the penalty spot. He whistles a first-time shot that is too close to Henderson, and a Forest defender beats Welbeck to the rebound.
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34 min It’s all Brighton now. March cuts inside from the right,beats Williams and drives a powerful low shot towards the near post. Henderson gets down smartly to push it behind for a corner. It might not have been going in anyway, but Henderson took no chances.
33 min: Chance for Lallana! Trossard spins a lovely cross with the outside of the left foot that is headed wide by Lallana. There was no pace on the ball, so it wasn’t an easy chance, but he should probably have worked Henderson.
31 min: Trossard hits the bar! Lovely play from Brighton, who snapped a series of one-touch passes to create a bit of space. Welbeck’s shot from the edge of the area was blocked and rebounded to Trossard. He cut across the bouncing ball and swished a first-time shot off the top of the bar.
31 min Brighton have had 70 per cent possession but only one shot on target. Forest are yet to have a shot off target.
29 min: Chance for Veltman! That’s the best opportunity of the match. Gross’s corner from the right ricocheted around the area before falling kindly for Veltman, 12 yards out. His eyes widened and he spanked it into orbit.
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28 min An outswinging free-kick from March on the left is put behind by Mangala.
25 min The last few minutes have been more even, though Forest still need more from their front three. I feel a bit sorry for Gibbs-White, who doesn’t look comfortable on the right-hand side.
23 min That’s a bit better from Forest, a move around 10-15 passes before Williams is well tackled by March.
21 min Before the game, Steve Cooper said he wanted Forest to take better care with the ball than they did in the first half at Wolves on Saturday. They haven’t. They look ominously low on confidence.
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20 min The only good thing for Forest is that, for all Brighton’s possession, Dean Henderson has only had one relatively comfortable save to make. It’s just like watching Brighton.
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18 min March scoops the ball neatly over Williams and moves into the area, but he gets caught in two minds and Forest are able to clear the danger.
17 min Freuler wins a couple of challenges in the Brighton half and reverses a pass towards the edge of the area. Dunk sticks out a toe and the ball runs through to Sanchez.
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13 min Trossard collects a loose ball on the edge of the area, shimmies infield and hits a rising drive that is pushed over by Henderson. Brighton are battering Forest here.
12 min “Re: why Brighton choose to play in Gillingham rather than Portsmouth,” begins Ryan Thomas. “They did actually announce Fratton as their temporary home ground but didn’t think to mention it to Portsmouth FC first, who were unsurprisingly underwhelmed.”
9 min Forest are struggling to get out of their third, never their half. Lallana works a short corner with Gross and crosses to the far post. A Forest defender can only head it square towards Webster (I think), who in turn screws a volley back across the penalty area. That was a chance.
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7 min Brighton have started very confidently, with Trossard especially lively on the left.
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4 min “It’s only 45-50 miles of hard driving from Brighton to Portsmouth,” writes David C Hunter. “Maybe the Brighton management thought the West Sussex countryside was too nice for the players!”
Are you saying Gillingham isn’t nice? Who do you think you are, Peter Crouch?
3 min Gross angles a clever corner to the unmarked Mac Allister on the edge of the area. His first-time shot is blocked.
2 min Leandro Trossard is playing as a left wing-back for Brighton. Forest’s front three looks pretty fluid – as I type it’s Lingard left, Johnson central and Gibbs-White on the right.
1 min Peep peep! Brighton get the game under way.
“Quadrophenia, eh?” muses Justin Kavanagh. “Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi looks a rocker at heart with that slicked back hair and air of insouciant cool. Meanwhile, Steve Cooper could only be a mod with his zip-up tops and his look of sleepless nights spent burning through too much nervous energy.”
“I almost spat out my coffee when I read that Brighton were playing their home games in Gillingham in the late 90s,” says Matt Burtz. “The same Gillingham that’s [checks Google Maps] roughly 63 miles from Brighton? Sure, I don’t think Selhurst Park was the best option, but was that really the closest they could play?”
I couldn’t even remember that it was called Division One rather than the Championship, so I’m not the best person to ask. There aren’t many league grounds in Kent and East Sussex though, so it’s probably not as weird as it sounds.
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Crystal Palace v Wolves team news
One change for Palace, with Michael Olise replacing Jordan Ayew. Wolves bring in Nelson Semedo, Nathan Collins, Hugo Bueno and Boubacar Traore for Jonny, Tito, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Joao Moutinho.
Crystal Palace (4-1-4-1) Guaita; Ward, Andersen, Guehi, Mitchell; Doucoure; Olise, Schlupp, Eze, Zaha; Edouard.
Substitutes: Goodman, Johnstone, Tomkins, Milivojevic, Ebiowei, Balmer, Riedewald, Ayew, Mateta.
Wolverhampton Wanderers (4-2-3-1) Sa; Semedo, Collins, Kilman, Bueno; Neves, B Traore; A Traore, Nunes, Podence; Costa.
Substitutes: Sarkic, Hwang, Moutinho, Mosquera, Guedes, Jonny, Ronan, Hodge, Campbell.
“What have Forest’s social media team been up to?” muses Matt Dony. “Did I miss the picture of Lingard keeping his chips away from some seagulls? Or was it something more esoterically ‘Brighton’? Squaring up to a donkey wearing a straw hat? Underpaying for some tat in The Lanes? Smashing The Levellers’ violins?”
Imagine if this, a-hem, culture had existed in the 1980s. “Brian, there’s no easy way of saying this: the social-media team are disappointed with your TikTok output.”
“We went to Brighton on bank holiday Monday but could not see any fights between mods and rockers, even after watching Quadrophenia the night before,” says Gordon Pittendrigh. “What is happening to the country?”
The game’s gone.
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Pre-match reading
Here’s Will Unwin on Steve Cooper’s search for the S-word.
Brighton v Nottm Forest team news
Adam Lallana replaces Pervis Estupinan in the Brighton side, which probably means a switch to a back three.
Forest manager Steve Cooper continues the titration of his new squad, with three changes from the 1-0 defeat at Wolves. Serge Aurier, Orel Mangala and Jesse Lingard replace Harry Toffolo, Cheikhou Kouyate and Emmanuel Dennis. Lingard might be playing as a false nine.
Brighton (possible 3-4-2-1) Sanchez; Veltman, Dunk, Webster; March, Mac Allister, Caicedo, Trossard; Gross, Lallana; Welbeck.
Substitutes: Steele, Lamptey, van Hecke, Estupinan, Turns, Gilmour, Undav, Sarmiento, Enciso.
Nottingham Forest (possible 4-3-3) Henderson; Aurier, McKenna, Cook, Williams; Yates, Freuler, Mangala; Johnson, Lingard, Gibbs-White.
Substitutes: Hennessey, Biancone, Worrall, Toffolo, Boly, Kouyate, Awoniyi, Surridge, Dennis.
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“Keep up, Rob,” says Adam Wilson. “Forest relegated Blackburn to the then (Endsleigh?) Division 1, not the Championship (rebranding happened in 2004-05).”
As always, I’m off to a flyer. Wait till you read my dissertation on the Coca-Cola Cup finals of the 1970s.
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Preamble
Good evening and welcome to the first part of your midweek treadmill session. It’s exhausting enough watching football these days, so relentless is the schedule, so spare a thought for the soft tissues of those who actually play it. There’s an almost full midweek programme in the Premier League, starting with two games tonight: Brighton v Nottingham Forest (7.30pm kick off), which we’ll be covering in full, and Crystal Palace v Wolves (8.15pm). We’ll have goal updates from that game at Selhurst Park, assuming there are any.
So, Brighton v Forest. It’s a could-do-with-winning fixture for both teams. Brighton are chasing their first win under Roberto De Zerbi, at the fourth attempt, though they have played pretty well in all three games so there’s no need for Frank de Boer to be trending. Forest would like their first away victory in the Premier League since 8 May 1999, when they went to Ewood Park and dragged Blackburn towards the Championship with them.
Brighton were homeless back then, playing their home games in Gillingham. They have become a model club, whose stability all promoted clubs would like to achieve. Forest are no exception.
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