Daylight robbery

Photo: Pictures by ALAN HOWARTH

CELEBRATION . . . Lewis Alessandra is buried beneath a sea of Athletic bodies after opening the scoring.

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Brighton 2, Athletic 1

FOOTBALL can be a cruel game.

For periods of their visit to Brighton and Hove Albion, Athletic bossed proceedings with a brand of attacking play fans simply love to watch.

But injury-time goals at the end of both halves left the visitors empty-handed and at the wrong end of a 2-1 result which sent their opponents to the top of the npower League One table.

Lewis Alessandra, who twisted and turned in fine style on his return from injury, capped a delightful counter attack led by Chris Taylor by firing home from 20 yards after half an hour.

One wonders how different the final outcome would have been had Paul Dickov's men held their lead until the interval.

Assistant manager Gerry Taggart recently said he takes it personally when Athletic concede sloppy goals, particularly from set plays – so he must have been highly offended by both Brighton strikes.

Ashley Barnes rose to easily head Elliot Bennett's right-wing corner in to the net from eight yards just before the half-time whistle.

And six minutes into injury time – a minimum of five additional minutes had been given – another Bennett delivery was bundled in by substitute Francisco Sandaza.

In a topsy-turvy affair, Athletic had to do their fair share of defending, especially against the constant threat of left-wing livewire Kazenga LuaLua, but a draw would have been the fairest outcome.

Both sides came out all guns blazing and Taylor, switched to a roaming role behind lone striker Oumare Tounkara in the absence of the injured Warren Feeney, saw his close-range effort well held by goalkeeper Casper Ankergren following Dean Furman's low delivery from the left.

The Seagulls responded positively when former Stockport County midfielder Gary Dicker produced a clever backheel to pick out thorn-in-the-side Barnes, whose shot was parried away by Dean Brill. LuaLua's follow-up shot went high and wide.

Two minutes later, Barnes latched on to Elliot's curling cross into the six-yard box, but was again thwarted by Brill, who tipped the ball around the post at the expense of a wasted corner.

Athletic gradually gained a foothold in the contest.

Dale Stephens picked out Taylor with a marvellous left-foot pass from the centre circle, but Tommy Elphick and Adam El-Abd combined to shuffle the ball to safety.

Richie Jones mustered a clever angled delivery to Tounkara from the right-hand side, but Elphick intervened with a crunching challenge just when the on-loan Sunderland man was preparing to pull the trigger. There was a hint of a tug on Tounkara.

Alessandra turned captain Inigo Calderon inside out down the left after 28 minutes and Elphick did well to get his head to the ball before Taylor.

But two minutes later, the 152 travelling fans were jubilant. Taylor raced over the halfway line before picking out Alessandra, who showed composure to take aim and smash the ball into the bottom left-hand corner.

Albion rallied and finished the half strongly.

Jean Yves Mvoto pushed Barnes on the edge of the penalty box and, after Taylor was booked for dissent, he joined the wall which managed to block LuaLua's vicious attempt on goal.

Bennett’s ball down the left picked out Barnes, whose shot came back off the post.

Barnes' persistence finally paid off with an equaliser which handed his side a psychological advantage seconds before the break.

The second half was pretty stormy stuff. Paul Black, Kieran Lee and Dean Furman were all booked for fouls, while Mvoto was cautioned for locking horns with Barnes.

LuaLua didn't stop all afternoon and though his powerful drive 60 seconds after the restart flew wide, it was a statement of intent.

At the other end, Tounkara held off several challenges to release Lee inside the box, but his drive across the area missed everyone.

Lee was caught by Marcos Painter, but stayed on his feet. Had he gone to ground, the referee would have had a big decision to make.

An Alessandra shot at Ankergren after an hour and a Stephens volley which fizzed wide sandwiched Barnes' deflected strike, which finished inches wide of the post.

LuaLua's trademark cut-in from the left and blast with his right foot looked the biggest danger and he repeated the routine as the ball whistled past the post.

With 20 minutes left, Bennett’s teasing free-kick ffound Barnes, whose looping header was destined for the gaping goal until Furman smashed the ball away.

It set up a breathless climax to the game.

Tireless Tounkara ran at the defence and used his strength to hold off the challenge of three defenders.

The target man tried to clip the ball over the advancing Ankergren, but the Dane got a hand to it.

That man LuaLua got the better of Black seconds later, but blasted a powerful drive straight at Brill.

Mvoto was afforded the opportunity of a rare free header from Stephens' corner and should have at least hit the target.

After LuaLua had yet another effort palmed away, Dickov decided to freshen things up with 12 minutes to go.

Alessandra put in a fantastic shift, but was tiring on his return and made way for striker Dean Kelly.

It allowed the visitors to switch to a 4-4-2 formation, with Taylor returning to his more familiar role on the wing and Kelly supporting Tounkara down the middle.

The Irishman made an instant impact in a style his manager could relate to.

Kelly had been on the pitch a matter of seconds when he chased down the dithering Elphick in front of the dug-outs and released Taylor, whose ambitious long-range shot went wide.

Taylor threw his body in the way of LuaLua's latest lash at goal and Reuben Hazell halted the winger, who tried his luck on both flanks, after he twice beat Lee.

Tounkara could have won the contest in the first minute of injury time when Elphick's high back pass bounced in his path. Sadly, it also bounced on to his hand and the referee blew for a free-kick.

Athletic seemed to have sealed a well-earned point until Sandaza, who was otherwise quiet during his 20-minute cameo, converted Bennett's seventh corner of an absorbing match.




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