Brighton 3 : 3 Leeds United

BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION

3 : 3

LEEDS UNITED

Next stop on the FuzzyDuck football tour - Brighton to watch the Seagulls take on Leeds United.  Mrs. Duck and I got down to Brighton in time to have a good look around and its a nice part of the world - apart from the effect those 70's and 80's town-planners have had on your seafront (bad architecture really should be a capital offence).

On the Wednesday evening we enjoyed a great atmosphere in the King and Queen watching brighton's giant-killing attempt in the League Cup.  As Leeds had done the night before, they were unsuccessful but without disgracing themselves.  1 : 2 v Liverpool - Not bad.  But if the game and performance weren't bad, it was the atmosphere in the pub that I noted.  Very noisy - I liked it.

Anyway, back to Leeds.  We again met up with the #twitterwhites in the Queens Arms (does every pub in Brighton have a Queen in its name?).  This was much better than the Man Utd. game.  Opposing fans (the Leeds fans in some very fetching pink cowboy hats - you did look nice boys) drinking in the same pub with nothing more than a bit of banter exchanged between them.  Exactly the way it should be!  Happily we also travelled too and from the game together without incident.  I didn't expect anything  and just wish it could be like that whoever the opponents are.

The Amex Community Stadium - Up to its Billing

Bit of a queue for the train but nothing too drastic and we were at the Amex and it did live up to its billing.   

Firstly, it doesn't look like a flatpack, assemble yourself stadium, its got some nice sweeping lines making you feel you are visiting something a bit better than the average.  Then there's the nice comfy, padded seats.  At least they look comfy, the Leeds fans did very little sitting on the night.  All in all one of the best stadiums I've visited (you get beaten my Wembley and St. Jakobs Park in Basel).

Now the thing that you can't pay enough for in a new stadium is ATMOSPHERE.  Now I knew the Leeds fans would be noisy.  I've seen a few Leeds games in my time so know what to expect but the home fans exceeded the high expectations I had from what I had heard in the pub the previous evening.  That's how I like my football!

Oh yeah - there was a match and what a good one for a neutral like me.

Leeds were first out of the blocks.  A run from Snodgrass made the Brighton defence look half asleep and he ended it with a curled effort that was just over the bar.  White then fired one wide and on 20 minutes, Leeds got the goal they deserved.  Hard to see from my end but a shot was blocked and it fell nicely for Andy Keogh to have an easy finish into a practically unguarded net.

Soon, the scrappy first was eclipsed by a brilliant second.  Brighton's defence gave Ross McCormack far too much space and he used it; turning and firing a great drive from outside the area into the bottom corner.  2:0 and game over. Well you would have thought so, but at the end of the half there was a slight indication of things to come with MacKail-Smith finding himself in a lot of space from a corner but he couldn't stretch enough to make a decent enough contact.

Still, Leeds had played a very impressive 45 minutes of football.  Take heed of the warning and they'd be fine.

Straight after half-time and the warning wasn't heeded.  A fleet bit of footwork from Craig Mackail-Smith allowed him to turn and get away from his marker.  He then slotted past Lonergan.  Brighton fans who had had the stuffing knocked out of them a little, were now getting really noisy.

The equalizer was to come from the penalty spot.  The incident was the opposite end from me so at the time, no comment.  They don't show penalty incidents on the big-screens and when you see the replay of this one, you see why!  Bromby timed his lunge for the ball incorrectly as it was played in to McKail-Smith.  He didn't touch the Brighton striker but McKail-Smith went to ground.  Poor for me from MacKail-Smith, and more grounds to have 4th officials reviewing match videos.  A review of this one should rescind Bromby's card and award it to McKail-Smith.

In any case, Ashley Barnes penalty sent Lonergran the wrong-way, an incidental point as the way he placed it, the Leeds 'Keeper would have had little chance.

Leeds rallied and a free-kick from Snodgrass flashed across the box.  It just needed a touch, McCormack was closest but no cigar.

Then Brighton took the lead and this time it was bad for the Leeds defence.  MacKail-Smith's run was hardly noticed at all.  That was bad enough.  What was worse was how when he realized that the cross wasn't going to get to him, he moved in front of the Leeds defender who was about to clear to tap in.  

Ross McCormack - 8 in 6 Games

Now the away fans had gone quiet.  It was like, well, the Keepmoat.  The "ALBION" resonated all around.  The guy next to me had been pleading with Simon Grayson to "change it" for the entire half.  He'd got Grayson just about fired when Leeds grabbed a deserved equalizer at the death.  

It was route one stuff but the knock-down allowed Howson to beat his man and pull back for Ross McCormack to hit his eighth goal in six games and send the Leeds fans wild (shame they had to stand on those nice seats though).  McCormack was once on loan at Donny you know - we taught him everything he knows!

Final whistle and 3:3.  Great game not such a great journey back to Brighton city centre.  About an hour waiting for a train?  That's something that needs sorting out at the Amex.  Still, it did bring out the best chant of the evening "YOU'VE ONLY GOT ONE TRAIN!"