Brighton continued their longest unbeaten run since 2014/15, in an entertaining 2-2 draw at home to Nottingham Forest this weekend.
Brighton 2-2 Nottingham Forest: A short review…
Albion fans have largely taken an overall feeling of disappointment from the game. Both sides were strong from the beginning, but it was the Seagulls who had the large share of opportunities.
(Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
Forest took the lead against the run of play in a controversial manner. Chris Wood scored the penalty, and Albion fans felt hard done by in the circumstances. Jeers of ‘1-0 to the referee’ took the overriding emotion, as they pushed to turn the game around. 50/50 decisions felt like they were going against them in the first half, particularly after the goal. Forest players were ‘clever’ in the management of the game, at least for a short period. Time-wasting tactics began around 18 minutes in, and the mood was already set up for another ‘one of those days’ at the Amex.
Amidst the outrage towards the officials, the players fed off the crowd. A powerful, inswinging cross from Jan Paul van Hecke fell perfectly on the forehead of local boyhood fan, Jack Hinshelwood. The 18-year-old powered home an emphatic header to draw level. Albion’s tails were up, and just a couple of minutes later, they had a freekick to the attacker’s left-hand side of the penalty area.
Brighton hadn’t scored a direct free-kick since Alexis Mac Allister’s beautiful strike against Leicester in 2022, and so very little expectation was at the feet of Danny Welbeck. Welbeck stepped up, you know the rest. An unstoppable curled effort low into the bottom corner was enough to pull Brighton in front heading into half-time.
Albion should’ve scored more and killed the game in the second half, but it wasn’t to be. The high line was exploited well by Forest, and they equalised in doing exactly that. They’d looked dangerous on the counter several times, and Ramon Sosa simply was not going to miss the resulting ball across goal.
Somewhat of a pattern forming at the back for Fabian Hürzeler to ponder.
It all kicked off on the near side next to the West Stand touchline. Morgan Gibbs-White was controversially sent off for a second yellow card offence, as he lunged into Joāo Pedro. A lot of stern words later, and his manager, Nuno, along with Hürzeler joined him; in a firey five minutes late into the game.
With all said and done, what did we learn? Throughout the majority of the game, interplay was very kind to the eye. The likes of Georginio Rutter, Danny Welbeck, and Kaoru Mitoma were at the heart of most positive strides going forward.
1) First and foremost, Brighton are still quite good at football.
Record £40m signing Georginio was handed a tough time on social media after making his first few appearances for the club. Talk of him ‘not being a £4m signing, let alone £40m’ was questionably shared, with some agreeing towards that notion.
(Photo by Jon Hobley | MI News)
His chance creation and ability in tight spaces were two characteristics worth keeping an eye on for the rest of the season. At the end of the day, Georginio was not brought in to be a goalscorer, but someone to create chances and make the football link up well. Hürzeler’s pressing style will fit his profile very well, as the Frenchman leads stats in various duals, as well as going forward. On top of this, his way of manoeuvring through small spaces was very impressive. To be able to find a pass in the modern game through a crowd of players isn’t straightforward. An astute ability to be so close to losing the ball, but still hold onto it, is one that I remember a certain Moisés Caicedo being superb at.
This only benefits the rest of the attackers, enabling players like Mitoma and Welbeck to make runs that he otherwise wouldn’t, as we saw on many occasions throughout the infamous injury-ridden period of last season.
2) Secondly, Jack Hinshelwood.
Our local teenager has gone from being an academy graduate to one of the first names on the teamsheet very quickly. For the first time in a very long while, we saw him start alongside Carlos Baleba and Georginio in midfield. He was, for me at least, the absolute standout of the match. Covered the pitch very well, was tireless on the ball, took his goal superbly, and was excellent in his passing for the most part. When you have a player who cares about the club like the fans do, it is almost impossible not to like them. Hinshelwood was first called up to the first team by Roberto De Zerbi last season. Everyone supported him, although never truly saw his main strengths.
(Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
He started predominantly as a full-back to cover for injuries, and only truly played in midfield in a humbling 6-1 defeat at Aston Villa. An exciting prospect with Yasin Ayari’s illness, and Matt O’Riley’s absence. Hinshelwood has made a strong name for himself in the past couple of games, not without mentioning his mind-blowing goalline clearance in the cup!
Three of Hinshelwood’s four goals have been headers – and very good ones at that. Probably not something you’d associate with him unless you truly saw his game. Three headers that have been perfectly guided with a great deal of power. Hinshelwood has a great ability to jump strongly and convincingly get a header on target. This is not a very common trait for all players!
3) Finally, Fabian Hürzeler.
He gets it, doesn’t he? A sending off on the line, we were warned! His style is different to the previous, with a new emphasis on pressing play and taking advantage of teams. The mentality to turn the game around in the first half was a contrast to Brighton teams of old. Many times you’d see the same game play out, with a time-wasting tactic from the opposition and the standard struggle against a low block. While Forest defended very well in the last 15 minutes of the game, there are promising signs that this could be the end of an old trait.
(Photo by David Horton - CameraSport via Getty Images)
However, with that being said though, there is a lot to learn. I like it, but the questions over defence are still ongoing. Without seeing a true reflection of Ferdi Kadıoğlu’s ability in the starting 11, the counter-attacks and beating the high-line troubles are there. Counterattacks were a big problem for Brighton last season but for different reasons. Midfield was less effective, and defensive errors occurred from playing out from the back. This has changed, but instead, there is a new trend. High lines have been widely disregarded at the top level in recent years, particularly with Ange Postecoglu at Tottenham.
Question marks will remain, as Albion, despite having some great individual defenders, seriously lacks pace in a transition in the back line.
Hürzeler’s football is remarkably encouraging. The results are going the right way, despite perhaps not reaching the best gear yet. It very much feels like the start of something new, as alluded to previously.
This will change, and the style will evolve, it is exciting to see where this very, very young manager can take this group of very, very young players.
