NO LONGER 5 & 9 BUT ALL'S FINE

ON THE BRIGHTON LINE

Championship at The Nou Camp Withdean Stadium

BRIGHTON (1) 1 McShane 61
CARDIFF CITY (1) 2 Koumas 12, Lee 74

Attendance: 6,485
City support: 700
Weather: Dry and calm, sunny after lunchtime and day before heavy rain
Atmosphere: Fun in the sun and a seaside party

The Bluebirds keep on flying, the Seagulls lie low. Cardiff City showed their battling qualities under Dave Jones by bouncing back in fine style from losing for the first time in 9 games and an enforced fortnight's domestic break with an accomplished and thoroughly convincing 2-1 victory at sun-kissed Brighton, a result that rocketed the club into the Championship's Top 10.

The only question just how did they manage to make hard work out of something they should have won with considerable ease?

City should have been three ahead by half-time but only had Jason Koumas' splendid 12th minute opener to show for a totally one-sided half. Second half, they got lazy and sloppy but missed more chances before allowing Brighton to equalise with their only meaningful goal effort of the day. Thankfully, City responded well to that wake up call but it needed an unlikely hero to bring home the points. Supersub Alan Lee Lee Lee finally scored a goal for me! The £850,000 striker netted his first league goal in almost a year and 33 appearences just 45 seconds after getting on the pitch.

A day trip to the seaside is usually miserable with City. The myth is, and it's not quite true, that whenever we go to Withdean, you can almost guarantee it will pee down soaking us rotten in the open end and City will lose. Twelve of us from The Lansdowne decided to have a change of scenery and take to the trains instead of a coach. As something different, I have to say it was thoroughly enjoyable.

There were subtle differences between train and coach. Price was the biggest downside, the train cost £38, a RAMS awayday is top value at £15. We had no dvd or video but, there again, I can't remember the last time we had a coach with one that worked! No Smoking made a hell of a change to the array of smells we get on the battlebus. Nobody organised a scratchcard or collected tips for the driver. Huge novelty, train toilets actually work and flush and the lights work inside them. If you've been by bus, you'll know the difference with that.

The trip was good too. 7:25am out of Cardiff to Paddington by brekky time, met a couple more City fans, a tube to Victoria and a train that got us into Brighton at 10:58am. Yates doors opened followed by us falling inside. The weather was gorgeous, the ales flowed, I remain unbeaten at pool. A few more hostelries were visited, the beach was packed, the chippies were tested and it was back to another hostelry.

We almost forget why we were there but then headed to watch City. Withdean is a couple of miles from the centre but Brighton's match tickets include free train or bus rides from the centre, an excellent idea. We had some good banter with Brighton fans who were all very welcoming and got to the less than impressive Withdean with temperatures just over 70 degrees in mid-October, incredible.

Brighton have a landmark announcement due before month end on whether they have got their stadium, something the club and fans have fought tremendously hard for over 6 years. They deserve a break and I hope they're successful, good luck to them. Until then, Withdean it is. It's not their fault but it is embarrassing for this level of football. It's a provincial athletics stadium with only one small shallow permanent stand, only those fans are undercover.

Behind one goal is open land, the bulk of Brighton's fans are along one side in a not-so-temporary scaffolding stand and Cardiff are the same, the away erection being behind the steeplechase water jump. Next to us is a players tunnel ... or a pointless canopy which leads to a set of steps that the players and officials have to use. At the top of that, they appear to be mingling with home fans in the permanent stand before reaching the changing rooms ... or portakabin ... or whatever they use there. It's strangely satisfying to jump up and down in unison and feel the ground move underneath you, it probably does too! All in all, it means when the further goal is being attacked, it's hard to work out what's going on or who is involved since it's 150 yards or more away from us.

As Withdean can hold little more than 6,000 fans, it is severely holding back the club. They did very well to survive at the last minute last term, they seemed to have an uncanny knack to grind out wins, much as City have been doing this term. However, they are currently struggling to do that and went into the game with just 1 win all season, that was against Plymouth 6 weeks ago.

The Seagulls had taken just 5 points from 6 previous home games, their last game against Norwich a fortnight earlier saw them crash 3-1 with some saying it could have been double-figures against them and some players getting booed, most notably their captain and ex-City player Charlie Oatway. The jailbird was dropped to the bench time, replaced by another fondly remembered ex-City midfielder, Richard 'Chippy' Carpenter.

Mark McGhee's blue and white striped side (a much lighter blue stripe these days) were Henderson, Hart-McShane-Butters-Reid, Carole-Carpenter-Hammond-Jarrett, Robinson-Knight. Nobody of any particular note or pedigree. Pint-sized striker Leon Knight is perhaps best known who has struggled for goals at Championship level after being free-scoring in the lower divisions but has scored three this term. The rest are either home-grown, a keeper on loan from Aston Villa, a couple of foreign imports and a couple of football jouneymen.

Although City fans who don't get too excited at watching Wales hated the fortnight's break, Dave Jones was glad of it as a few players carrying knocks had time to be treated and recover. He was therefore able to name the same starting eleven for the 6th time in 7 Championship games, the only break being Jeff Whitley's one match suspension last game. It was therefore Alexander, Weston-Purse-Loovens-Barker, Cooper-Ledley-Whitley-Koumas, Ricketts-Jerome. The bench were Margetson-Ardley-Cox-Lee-Parry. A few players were away on international duty but aside from Cameron Jerome getting 5 minutes for England U-21's, nobody had any game time so City were fresh.

With the sun beating down, some of the terrace boys went topless with their non-stop standing and singing. It wasn't pretty. However, on the pitch, it was beautiful. After Brighton had an early flurry, a shot wide and a corner in the opening minute, but that was all they mustered for the entire half as City took complete control of proceedings. It was a one-way stream of attacks towards the goal in front of us ... but about 40 yards away!

The opener was excellent work by the game's two most impressive players by a country mile. Cameron Jerome's hard running and strength was more than Brighton's rearguard could handle. He showed great intelligence to drift wide and needed no invite to chase a Jason Koumas ball. Taking control, he got into the area and rolled the ball away from defenders and Ricketts near post to return the favour to KOUMAS whose finishing was quality, placing the ball high into the net, the keeper's touch having no chance of stopping it.

It was a late summer party in the City end. I can't work out how we only celebrated the one goal in the first 45.

Koumas, within a couple of minutes of scoring, took on and beat the entire Brighton defence who stood off him, their fear evident, his effort was a fraction wide. Jerome got behind them with brilliant skill but having done the hardest bit, his shot across the keeper rolled inches wide. Ledley made Henderson save. Kevin Cooper who came in central to help attacks was another to waltz unchecked through the Brighton defence, his shot was touched wide as was a later attempt. Jerome was close with a muted penalty shout, Ricketts was quiet but headed over.

City had few problems taking charge of midfield and Brighton's forwards were clueless of how to get past or through City's back line. Purse and Loovens had to adapt their normal games with deal with the pacy and midget like threat of Brighton's twin forwards who were each about 5'6" but did it with ease and style. Brighton won a couple of corners, Knight took them all, City won them all. It was all good, Brighton were very poor but give credit to City for that too. It was admirable how they went about their work.

All the players had to pass us through the 'what's the point of it?' player's tunnel and up the park stairs, City's and DJ warmly applauded, Brighton's jeered and we could reflect on a job very well done as we made our way to the away end chip van. The only complaint was that it was only 1-0 rather than two or three with the game already won.

H/T: BRIGHTON 0 CITY 1

Brighton were always likely to have a fightback at some stage as they signalled some intent immediately after the restart. Knight played in Robinson behind City's defence with a clever flick, only Alexander's alertness which saw him race out and smother the ball before Robinson fired his shot saved the day. A minute after that, Robinson fired well wide. It got the afternoon's first cheers from the home fans suddenly waking up, ironic cheers from City after hearing them for the first time.

Back came City, a couple of corners scrambled away, a Ricketts piledriver went straight at keeper Henderson, either side and it would have flown in. The game really should have been put beyond any doubt just before the hour as Jerome again slaughtered Brighton's defence by drifting wide and powering past them. He looked set to score for himself but laid the ball back to Ledley looking odds on to convert but he was somehow closed down.

Just after that came the game's first yellow card, a harsh free kick against Barker, the decision to card him even harsher but from it came Brighton's equaliser. The free kick was sent away by Darren Purse but held by Brighton's midfield who knocked the ball over our defence, Robinson pounced but completely mishit his shot but that was enough to 'trick' Alexander and as the ball rolled past him, McSHANE turned it in from 2 yards, just evading Barker's challenge. 1-1, a ridiculous scoreline given the balance of play.

It restarted City who got back into the gear that had slipped out of. Whitley was block, Henderson made a good stop from a Koumas free-kick, Cooper fired over and there was a flashpoint as Ricketts and a Brighton player became tangled as far away from us as possible so don't ask me what went on as the home fans chanted 'off,off,off" Mind you, even yards away, they weren't sure what went on. On the train back into town, one said Ricketts kicked their man, another that he punched their player in the stomach and the third that Ricketts used his head on their man. Both players got yellow carded for whatever it was.

Shortly after that, Ricketts came off for Alan Lee and talk about magic decisions, within a minute Lee and his girly hairband had restrored City's lead with a fine goal, I really don't think it has been praised enough.

Starting in City's own half, City put together five touch passes, Purse to Whitley, who pushed it ahead to Jerome, he touched it back to Koumas who pushed it out to Ledley and it was his though pass which dissected Brighton's hesitant central defenders, LEE and Cooper nipped between them but ti was Lee who got there first and joyfully fired home as Henderson charged out, A fantastic well worked goal, it went suitably mental in our end.

The was Lee's 50th league goal, the wait for it almost longer than the wait for England to win the Ashes, his 49th came in the glorious 4-1 pasting of West Ham on November 2, 2004. It's not gone well for Lee but he has gone himself fitter this term and is trying hard, he deserves the plaudits and the goal for that effort.

After that, City held on with great comfort, they weren't going to throw it away a second time. Knight had one half chance but blazed over, Cooper and Koumas did likewise for City who kept possession and territory well, Neil Alexander having very little to do.

Final whistle brought out a rousing celebration, Darren Purse so pleased and happy that he ran to the City fans to celebrate with us. Every player got a deserved ovation, every Brighton player was playfully mocked.

This time last season, Lennie Lawrence could be judged after 12 games, something he asked us to do. We were dire, the signs all too obvious we were in for an all season long relegation battle even though he had resources like McAnuff, Kav, Gabbs and Ginge amongst others. Only those who wanted to remind us that he brought us up hankered for him to stay on.

Twelve months later, I wonder if those people can see the difference? Dave Jones, with lesser resources and without the depth of quality, has guided City to 9th spot. Incredibly, we're only one point from the play-offs and with a game in hand too. We're 7 points ahead of the relegation zone.

City have the opportunity to stabilise that position or go even higher with winnable home games against Preston (Tuesday) and Crewe (Saturday). If we do that, could the away visit to Sheffield United in a fortnight be a Championship decider??? OK, maybe not but let's enjoy this as, seriously, nobody really expected us to be doing this well in August. Dave Jones and his team deserve all recognition for a great start to the campaign after the year City have had.

The journey home was joyful. We were so happy with life that we stayed a couple of hours in Brighton, it was still so warm that we were sat outside a bar on tables much to the amusement/annoyance of local yokels. The train journey home was a little quieter, Tim the Yeovil fan from Port Talbot, was good entertainment though. We even lost half our number as they decided to party on in London and get the latest train home. These are good times indeed.


The Cost of Being A City Fan:
Bad one today as I took the other'arf

Train Tickets x 2 : £76
Match Tickets x 2: £45
Programme: £ 2.50 which I lost before reading any of it
Food/drink etc: £60
Taxi Home on return: £ 5
Total Cost: £188.50

Cost for season to date: £1,002