Brighton 2 MK Dons 1
Brighton broke their own record of 17 games without defeat after this victory over lowly MK Dons. It was like every other win achieved by a margin of one goal. Hemed had two headed chances in the first half when it was seemingly easier to score after Solly March gave us this lead with a fine shot and Jamie Murphy increased the lead to two when he prodded home. Lewis Dunk was turned too easily and the MK Don forward then scored from distance.
Brighton”s success this season is primarily due to the endeavour of Kayal and Stephens in midfield. Kayal was acquired for £325,000 from Celtic. Originally from Maccabi Haifa, he is an Israeli Arab who prepares pre-match by reading the Koran. He did well at Celtic until he broke his foot after a tackle from Kaca of Milan and was bedevilled by injuries. Stephens from midfield also puts in a hard shift every game. As cover the Seagulls have Rohan Ince, Andrew Crofts, Danny Holla and Jake Forster Caskey. If midfield is our strength then up front is our weakness. As with last season we simply do not have a 20 goal, even possibly 10 goal, striker. If we had one we would be top but I still fancy us for the play-offs.
After the game I had a long chat with Alan Tanner. I wish we had Fulham’s strikers as the Cottagers have scored the most goals in the division but defensively they do seem incompetent. Alan reckon the Kit’s days are numbered as gaffer. Ramsay, ex-Brighton, and Powell got the chop last week at QPR and Huddersfield and the play-off target for Fulham seems unachievable. It’s ironic as Alan wanted Chris Hughton. Both he and Steve Clarke of Reading were in the short list but the momentum was with Kit, the popular choice. I doubt if Chris Hughton was given the play-offs as a target but now that we are going for them I do hope the board back him and he can sign a more prolific striker in January.
