Ian Hart takes in three matches in four days - including Brighton’s trip to the Arctic Circle
Quite perceptive is Mrs Hart It was at the beginning of last week that she pointed out that between Thursday and Sunday, I was going to attend three football matches in four days.
First up was the visit across the North Sea to watch the Albion in European Conference League Qualifying action against Tromso.
Then after returning home Friday, on Saturday it was Worthing’s second National League home game against Wealdstone, sadly minus ‘The Raider’, before finishing up on Sunday with Aston Villa’s visit to the Amex.
I did quickly point out, what about all the games I miss when I take her on holiday?
Three games, 270 minutes, and frankly three more different games than I could have imagined.
First to Norway, perhaps one of the nicest places I’ve ever watched the Albion play. Lovely people, great bars and restaurants, just shame about the 90 minutes.
Whilst I’m confident that the Albion will qualify for the Conference League format, there were more questions than answers at the end of truly forgettable goalless draw.
That said, with two gilt edge opportunities for the home team in the latter stages it could have been far, far worse for the Albion.
Worthing down Wealdstone
But another day, another footballing dollar, and on to Woodside Road, were Worthing worked hard to overcome a very dogged Wealdstone.
A well taken goal from Ramell Carter just before the break was enough for the Rebels to get another important three points on the board, although once the visitors were reduced to 10 men the result was effectively a formality.
One blip, and I do hope it is a blip, was the drop in the crowd at the Sussex Transport stadium in the course of seven days.
With roughly the same number of visiting fans from Forest Green and Wealdstone respectively, Worthing’s crowd dropped nearly 800 in a week, and I’m still struggling to work out why?
The Rebels National League honeymoon is still very much a thing. So was it the early kick off? Or the beginning of the last full week of the summer holidays?
Don’t know, but I hope after a good showing at Tamworth this Friday night, the attendance will be back over the 3,000 mark on Bank Holiday Monday for the 3pm visit of Boreham Wood.
Brighton vs Aston Villa
And so on to the final match of my footballing trilogy, the Albion kicked off their EPL campaign against the Villa.
After an early scare, the Albion then raced to a 4-0 lead within 30 minutes, and to be honest, as we walked into Tromso Town Centre on Thursday night, if someone had said to me the Albion would be home and hosed to that level within half an hour, I would have taken them to the nearest First Aider.
To be fair Villa are in apparent freefall, with notable high profile exits from the squad in the summer, and now another two huge stars, Martinez and Ollie Watkins, effectively on strike, holding out for big money moves to Italy and Saudi respectively.
The current Europa League Champions look like they are in for a long hard winter.
So perhaps a false dawn for the Albion? Not really, I was disappointed we didn’t get six or seven, but a win is a win.
The next 180 minutes, Tromso tonight ( Thursday) and Chelsea on Sunday will hopefully tell us a bit more.
Where is Promise?
On the subject of disappointment, I had hoped newly acquired Canadian centre forward, Promise David, would get some minutes Sunday he didn’t.
But maybe Fab is saving him to upset the apple cart at the Bridge?
PA blunder?
But perhaps the biggest disappointment of the weekend, was my old mate from my days on the wireless, Richie Reynolds, who’s clearly acting under orders from someone’s who’s only worked at the Albion for a couple of weeks, to embark on a totally embarrassing PA ‘announcement’. Well two actually.
When Jack Hinshelwood bagged an impressive brace, it not only smacked of something they’d do at Selhurst Park, it was actually something they do at the Palace, and for Albion fans of a certain age it triggered horrendous memories from an afternoon in South London in October 2002! (If you know, you know)
We don’t need it, we’re better than that, It’s Brighton and Hove Albion not the WWE, so let the mob up the M23 feel free to do it, but not us. So please Richie no more!