Matt Poleis joined by Crawley Town expert Mark Dunford, Sam Morton, who covers both Brighton and the Reds, as well as Albion fan and writer Henry Bryant.
Brighton endured a miserable week as they were knocked out of the FA Cup by Nottingham Forest, before falling to a comprehensive Premier League loss to fellow European contenders Aston Villa.
We look back at those two defeats, plus we’ll bring you all the latest team news ahead of Albion’s trip to old foes Crystal Palace, as well as all the latest from a rollercoaster week at Crawley Town.
Brighton endured a miserable week as they were knocked out of the FA Cup by Nottingham Forest, before falling to a comprehensive Premier League loss to fellow European contenders Aston Villa.
We look back at those two defeats, plus we’ll bring you all the latest team news ahead of Albion’s trip to old foes Crystal Palace, as well as all the latest from a rollercoaster week at Crawley Town.
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SportsTranscript
00:00Welcome to another episode of the Goldmouth Action Podcast, where we take a look at all
00:05the latest goings-on at Brighton, Hove Albion and Crawley Town. I'm Matt Palt, and this
00:09week I'm joined by Crawley Town expert Mark Dunford, Sam Morton, who covers both Brighton
00:13and the Reds, as well as Albion fan and writer Henry Bryan. Brighton endured a miserable
00:18week to say the least, as they were knocked out of the FA Cup by Nottingham Forest before
00:22falling to a comprehensive Premier League loss to fellow European contenders Aston Villa.
00:27We'll look back at those two defeats, plus we'll bring you all the latest team news
00:30ahead of Albion's trip to Old Foe's Crystal Palace, as well as all the latest from a roller-coaster
00:34week as ever at Crawley Town. You can read all the stories we are talking about in videos
00:39and pictures online at sussexworld.co.uk forward slash bork, and you can check out other great
00:43videos on shotstv.com and Freeview channel 262. You may also be watching on latest TV,
00:48so thank you very much for tuning in. But we will start on Saturday, where Nottingham
00:52Forest won a third straight FA Cup penalty shootout to beat Brighton and reach the semi-finals
00:57for the first time in 34 years. Matt Sales was a hero for the visitors, saving Jack Kinshaward
01:02and Diogo Gomes, but kicks as Forest won the shootout 4-3 after the match had finished
01:06goalless. It wasn't a great game, Sam, was it? I think if we're being polite. But did
01:12the right team advance to the final four on reflection?
01:15Well, I certainly agree that it was not a good game of football. It was 120 minutes
01:20of very lacklustre football, to be honest. I think both teams didn't impress in the game.
01:26I don't think either team probably deserved to win during the course of the match. And
01:33I think penalty shootout obviously ended up deciding it. And at that point, it's a 50-50.
01:37But I just felt Brighton, it was such a massive missed opportunity. Obviously, they were going
01:42into the game in great form, and Forest rested some really key players. Chris Wood was now
01:47and everything was pointing towards a Brighton win. And they were just really rusty from
01:52the get-go, really. They never looked like they were going to score in normal time. I
01:56think the only time they really got close to scoring was in the second half of extra
01:59time when they had a goal disallowed for offside. And then Diogo Gomes had a point-blank header
02:06saved really well by Matt Sales. So those were the two kind of moments where you thought
02:11that Brighton were going to win it, right deep into extra time. But it was too little
02:16too late, really. They really didn't do enough during the game. And Forest probably looked
02:21more dangerous when they were going forward during the game. And I know there's been people
02:25saying that Forest probably edged it. And I suppose so. But I think even they weren't
02:29great. And this is why it's so disappointing for Brighton. They just didn't take advantage
02:32of the situations. And even when they brought on Elanga and Kanhut and Doyin, obviously
02:36the key players that had been rested, Forest didn't really do much then either. And the
02:41game was very much there for the taking for Brighton. And not to mention, obviously, the
02:45fact that it was a very open quarterfinal to get that chance to go to Wembley again.
02:51And it really, really is a shame that they missed out on the opportunity. And obviously
02:56going down to penalties, there were some question marks over who was taking them. I think
03:01Esther Pina wasn't on the list of takers, even though he takes them regularly for Ecuador,
03:05which is a bizarre one. And obviously, Jack Inchwood and Diogo Gomes were to miss,
03:11unfortunately. And it can happen to anyone. Don't blame them at all. But yeah, a real
03:16shame that Brighton had to go out in this way. And it really was a morale-sapping result,
03:21really.
03:22Yes, we'll come on to that in a minute. But Henry, Sam's mentioned the fact that it has
03:26been a bit of a missed opportunity. Forest joined Palace, Man City and Villa in the semifinals
03:31of this season's FA Cup. And considering the calibre of teams left in the competition,
03:36it does seem like a huge missed opportunity to lift some silverware for Brighton. I don't
03:40know if you agree necessarily?
03:43Well, I think on first glance, you look at it and you think, yeah, this is a big missed
03:48opportunity. And in a different world, I think it would be. But looking from a realistic
03:54point of view, Brighton lost heavily to Nottingham Forest this season. They lost against Palace
03:59in December 3-1. They've just lost out to Aston Villa at the time of recording, just
04:04in their recent game. So when you look at those sort of things, you realise that actually,
04:10although Brighton have had some real magic spells this season, they have lacked something.
04:16They've lacked that killer instinct that I think we did see with Roberto Deserbi, if
04:22I'm honest.
04:23And I do think Man City are going to win this one. I mean, they've had a rough season for
04:29their standards, but this is pretty much one of their only focuses now. And I do think
04:35that they'll want this as a consolation to what's been a rather disappointing season
04:41for them.
04:42Yeah, absolutely. And I'm sure Brighton fans will be cheering on their near neighbours
04:46Palace to make the final and eventually win the thing. Wednesday night saw the Seagulls
04:50suffer a 3-0 home defeat to Villa, as Henry mentioned. It was a result that hurt Brighton's
04:54European ambitions and saw Villa leap from Albion into seventh place. Some Brighton performance
05:01up for us, Henry. How damaging is this defeat to the Seagulls' European hopes as things stand?
05:07Well, yeah, that's what we were saying. Yeah, really damaging. The scoreline was a rough
05:12one, considering how Brighton started this game. It was a solid first-half performance,
05:17believe it or not. And Fabian Hösler actually said at the end of that game that he felt
05:22like his side had done enough in that half to win the game. I disagree. And Yesen Ayari
05:27also hit the post, save for Martinez, that tipped onto the post. And yeah, it seemed
05:34like there were some promising signs in that first half. We were thinking, OK, confidence
05:38did seem a little low, but Albion are getting themselves into this one. Let's see what they
05:43can do in the second half. But then Albion heads dropped so badly in that second half.
05:49From their own corner. Saved, sorry, by Martinez. He passes it on. Then the balls floated in
05:56to Rashford. Fully stumped every Brighton player. Lewis Dunk out of position. Verbruggen
06:02in no-man's land. And it was so, so sloppy. Rashford was able to dink the keeper. Bang,
06:081-0. Then you had Albion thinking they were back in the game after Idinga scored to make
06:12it 1-1 a few minutes after. But Matoma was deemed to be... Sorry, I can't speak. Matoma
06:19was deemed to have handballed it in the build-up. And then Cashin, who made his debut off the
06:25bench as centre-back, misjudged a run on the wing. Let Villa run through and it was squared
06:30to Watkins. And it was the killer instinct of Aston Villa that was the difference in
06:36this game. That was 2-0. And in that 10th minute of added time, Marlon sealed the deal
06:413-0. I think, to be honest, if Brighton do lose to Palace on the weekend, they're in
06:48real trouble. It's really tight up there in those European spots. There's a lot to be
06:53contested. But they're at danger of losing the pack if they're not careful in this one.
06:58I think this is a real defining moment in the season. I know you can say that for the
07:03quarter-finals and whatnot. But considering what Brighton are looking for, it does seem
07:08like they're not able to do this against Crystal Palace. And if Crystal Palace are able to
07:15do the double over them, then it's going to be an interesting one.
07:20Brighton's fans delivered a smattering of boos when the final whistle sounded at the
07:25Amex. Sam, do you think it's more an expression of frustration than fury, considering this
07:30disappointing result came hot on the heels of that FA Cup quarter-final debacle against
07:34Forest?
07:35I think so. I think it's definitely probably more frustration in that sense. But we do
07:40know that football fans are fickle. And there were shouts for Hertzler to lose his job,
07:50obviously, after the 7-0 against Forest. So you feel like there's definitely a feeling
07:58when some sections of the Brighton fans that there's something not quite right with some
08:02of the tactics and some of the decisions that are made. And it certainly was a questionable
08:07decision to leave out Carlos Baleba against Aston Villa as well. Obviously, we know it
08:13backfired at the City ground during the 7-0. And Brighton have been in much better form
08:18ever since Carlos Baleba has been back in the side. So you kind of felt that Brighton
08:25obviously going into the game against Aston Villa without one of their key players was
08:28always going to spell disaster. And I know there was some confusion over that. And obviously
08:33there were five changes from the Forest game. And yeah, it's a difficult one. I think the
08:38fans are going to be frustrated. Everything was looking really good. And then there's
08:41been two kind of damaging defeats in the space of a few days. But football changes quickly
08:45and they can easily get back into their running form that they were in before. And you just
08:49kind of need to find a bit of cutting edge again, because I feel like in the last couple
08:52of games watching Brighton, they just haven't looked their free-flowing best. Matomas looks
08:56a little bit off it. Pedro has looked off the pace as well. And obviously, we've had
09:01Minta play against Forest and then Odinga come in against Aston Villa. And yeah, I think
09:07there's a little bit of uncertainty about kind of who's in the best form and who's going
09:10to play where at the moment. Obviously, Jorginho versus injury doesn't help. And he was definitely
09:14missed against Aston Villa. So there's lots of kind of reasons for what's going on. But
09:19I feel like Hirstler knows kind of what he's doing. He's proved he knows what to do in
09:24these big games, going into the game against Palace. They're going to want revenge for
09:28what happened earlier in the season. And I feel like that's the perfect game now, really.
09:31If they were to win this game, it would all be forgotten about. And obviously, they'll
09:36be back on track once again. And when you look at the table, they're still well in the
09:40mix for obviously the European hunt and everything like that. So I feel like beat Palace and
09:48everything's rosy again. But if they don't, obviously, there's going to be problems after
09:52that. But I think just, yeah, just try and go into that game with as much confidence
09:56as you can. Because obviously, Palace didn't have a great result against Southampton either.
09:59No, they didn't. We mentioned it there, Sam. They were lucky to escape with a one-all draw
10:05at the bottom of the table Southampton on Wednesday night. But they did advance to the
10:09FA Cup semi-finals with a brilliant 3-0 win at Fulham on Saturday. Henry, how do you see
10:14this one going? And what's the latest team news from the Albion camp?
10:17Well, in terms of this one, a little fact. Following their 3-1 win at the Amex Stadium
10:23in December, Crystal Palace are looking to complete their first league double over Brighton
10:28since the 1932-33 season, which was the third division South and for the first time in the
10:35top flight. So although that, in terms of history, will be quite monumental, I think
10:41like we were mentioning, it could be either Rosie or a rogue sort of position for Brighton
10:47to be in, you know, at the end of the weekend. Will they be, you know, coming up or will
10:51they be crashing down even more after a few defeats that have knocked some confidence
10:57out of the Brighton side? In terms of injuries, Rutters was a big miss and he'll still be
11:03unavailable. We mentioned that Boliva was benched against Aston Villa, which raised
11:08a few questions to his conditions. He did get a few minutes and I think when he did
11:12come on, he looked quite positive. He wasn't able to make a massive mark in the game, but
11:17then again, no one really did. It was one of those sort of games for the Albion.
11:22In the 3-0 defeat as well, Herzl made four changes in one go in the 72nd minute.
11:28Jack Kinchelwood, Lewis Dunk, Gilles Pedro and Diego Gomez came off and in the post-match
11:34press conference, although Herzl didn't say loads, he did say some of those were due to
11:39fatigue and potentially injury and said, we will see. And that's at the time of recording.
11:43He didn't really elaborate after that. Obviously, Adam Webster, there's question marks over
11:49Solly March. Herzl did say that he was going to be fit to play Nottingham Forest and then
11:55he didn't make the squad, which was weird. He later confirmed to us that he was injured,
12:00but we'll see. It's going to be a struggle. Albion have struggled with injuries this season,
12:06but this is a must-win game, in my opinion, as a fan. I think that it is at that time
12:13of the season now where there needs to be some consistency. At the start, when Fabian
12:18came in, there were a lot of questions raised about having a perfect 90 minutes. And although
12:24that does sound like something no team can have, there does seem to be a lack of guile
12:31and a lack of instinct. It seems like when it comes to the end of games, Albion are very
12:36easy to fatigue and tire at times. And we've seen that when Albion have been leading in
12:42certain games. And even in this game, although the writing was sort of on the wall in that
12:47second half, sort of near the end of the game, Brighton weren't able to push through.
12:52So, yeah, we'll see. It's an interesting one.
12:56Yeah, it'll be a close game. We will take a short break now, but stay tuned as we were
13:00discussing all things Crawley Town.
13:03Welcome back to part two. And Crawley Town have had a week of thrills and spills, to
13:07say the least, in League One. Two goals from teenage starlet Kamari Doyle helped the Reds
13:11to a stunning 4-0 win at Rotherham on Saturday. The Brighton lonely struck in each half before
13:15Gavin Hollihan and Panucci Kamara made the scoreline even more emphatic in the last six
13:19minutes. I think a few weeks ago, Mark, Crawley fans could only dream of a result and a performance
13:24like that. What did you make of that? It was quite simply a superb Crawley display.
13:29Yeah, I can't believe we spent so long talking about Brighton who haven't scored in whatever
13:32180, 200 minutes or whatever. They were magnificent. And it reminded me back at the second leg
13:41of the playoffs last year at Stadium MK when Crawley absolutely battered MK Don's 5-1.
13:47It was a performance like that. Rotherham weren't very good. We'll put that out there.
13:52But they weren't allowed to be good because Scott Lindsay set his team up perfectly.
13:56He said after the game that he sort of expected to win. I know Sam's going to talk about that
14:02more. But he just set the team up. They were on the attack from the start. And it was
14:06proper, like, proper tick attacker, one-touch kind of football. Rushan Hepburn-Murphy was
14:12unbelievable. Just how he didn't score, I don't know. But he contributed so much.
14:17And as you mentioned, Kamari Doyle, his finish for the first goal was fantastic.
14:21The second goal was good as well. And I was pleased. I've been quite critical of
14:27Panucci Camara this year. But he came on as a sub quite late on in the first half
14:32after Louis Watson got injured. And he was brilliant. And he was really good.
14:35And I think he got on the EFL Team of the Week. And he scored. And I was really pleased
14:38for him. And Gavin Hollihan as well, getting his first goal for the Reds.
14:42It was just the perfect performance. And I think me and Sam both predicted a win.
14:47But I don't think we ever saw it was going to be a 4-0 absolute hammering.
14:51It was just unreal. Really good football. And just after the Bristol Rovers win,
14:56it was just confidence so high. Just fantastic to watch.
15:00And I think I'm just glad to have Scott Lindsay back because he's just put so much
15:05belief in this team.
15:07Yeah. A result that cost Steve Evans his job as well, didn't it, Mark?
15:10It was. Yes, absolutely.
15:11Yeah. Well, despite Crawley's wonderful performance, as Mark alluded to,
15:16Scott Lindsay admitted the Reds' rampant display didn't exceed his expectations.
15:20Why was that, Sam? And what else did the Crawley boss say after the win at New York Stadium?
15:24Yeah. So Lindsay was speaking to Gary Smith from the BBC after that Rotherham game.
15:30And he said the result didn't exceed his wildest expectations because he's seen
15:35that performance against Bristol Rovers that gave him encouragement, really.
15:38And he's seen the players train all week that really encouraged him going into the game
15:43and he fully expected to win. But, of course, 4-0 probably took him by surprise,
15:48I'm sure, a little bit. I'm sure he wasn't expecting that, just as we weren't.
15:52But in terms of performance, he thought they were absolutely outstanding.
15:55And in terms of possession, final third actions, obviously coming out of the game
16:00with a second clean sheet in two games, it couldn't really have gone any better.
16:04And so it really was a perfect start for Scott. And it's also impressive
16:09because he had less than 48 hours to prepare for the Bristol Rovers game.
16:13Obviously, after coming in, he obviously had a clear run without any midweek games
16:17leading up to the trip to the New York Stadium. He thought that was probably the catalyst
16:21for why they won so comfortably. He had a good week on the training ground,
16:24put in real detail into the game plan. And he was able to analyse Rotherham
16:29and the threats they could pose. And, yeah, the fruits of all that preparation
16:34certainly paid off, obviously, with a perfect afternoon.
16:38And, yeah, a great way for the morale to get lifted again, obviously,
16:44after what has been a real depressing few months at Crawley.
16:48So it was a perfect, perfect start to Scott Lindsay's return to Crawley.
16:53Well, Tuesday night saw the Reds suffer an agonising home defeat to Peterborough
16:57in a barnstormer. Ricky Jade-Jones scored a stoppage time penalty
17:01as the posh clinched a thrilling 4-3 victory.
17:04Jones kept his cool to settle the issue after substitute Addy Adeyemo
17:07had floored Abraham Odo, who had earlier hit a 21-minute first-half hat-trick.
17:12Junior quaternary Jeremy Kelly and Russian Murphy netted for the Reds.
17:16It wasn't the result they wanted, Mark, but, again, it sounded like some performance
17:20from the Reds. How did you see this one?
17:23Oh, it was incredible. What a game of football. Sam was there with me
17:27and we were just... We couldn't keep up, I don't think.
17:30It was just... It was absolutely crazy. I mean, Crawley started so well.
17:34Actually, Crawley played well the whole game and it was just one clumsy challenge
17:39right at the end by Addy Adeyemo that gave the penalty away
17:43for the injury time winner. But they were brilliant.
17:46I mean, Jeremy Kelly was outstanding in the first half.
17:49I think he got subbed in the middle of the second half.
17:52But his assist for the goal was fantastic, for Quaterna's goal, the opener.
17:57But it was defensively... It was just sort of like it was a little bit
18:01under Rob Elliott. There was a couple of times where it was just a bit too easy
18:05for Peterborough to get crosses in. And Odo... I was talking to the
18:10Peterborough Telegraph guy and he said you'd never put money on him
18:13scoring a hat-trick. He's a good player. But, yeah, he just found room
18:17and too much room and too much space for all three of his goals, really.
18:21But it was a performance where I just think it still gives Crawley fans
18:27so much hope that they can do that. Because Peterborough are a good side.
18:31I know they've been in a bit of trouble, but they're a really good side.
18:34And on the attack, every time they went forward, you thought,
18:37oh God, they're going to score here, kind of thing.
18:39But it was the same with Crawley. You thought Crawley were going to score.
18:42And they hit the post, hit the bar. Both Kamari Doyle, he could have added
18:46two more goals to his thing. It was just a magnificent performance.
18:50But, yeah, defensively, just a little bit of frailty and, yeah,
18:54it was a shame they couldn't quite get that point. Because a point,
18:57as I'm going to come on to later, could be absolutely vital going in
19:01to this run-in, which is going to be so exciting.
19:05But you've got to have hope for Crawley Town after a performance like that.
19:09Yeah, they have been great. And Scott Lindsay and Crawley captain Charlie Barker
19:13seemed to have the same view, didn't they, Sam?
19:15What did the pair have to say in their post-match interviews?
19:17Yeah, they absolutely agreed, really. Lindsay actually came into his press
19:21conference with a smile on his face and just said,
19:23what a game of football.
19:25Yeah, he just said, what a game, what a game of football.
19:28And I think that's really a lot of what Crawley fans can ask for
19:31after such kind of some poor performances and just real lacklustre displays.
19:36Just to have some exciting football, attacking football,
19:38is just a complete breath of fresh air.
19:41And, obviously, to lose in the way they did was devastating
19:44because of the context of it.
19:46And you think, obviously, that they are fighting for every point
19:48and every point is crucial.
19:50To lose after playing so well was absolutely gutting.
19:54Because, obviously, we did feel like they needed to win
19:57and they looked like the team that were going to win.
20:00Obviously, they had the chances to go 4-3 up, as Mark mentioned.
20:04And, obviously, just a clumsy moment at the end.
20:06But Lindsay, as I say, was upbeat and was really encouraged
20:09by the performance. He said he's really disappointed for the lads.
20:12He thought they were outstanding.
20:13He thought, actually, they were worthy winners.
20:15Not even a draw would have been a reflection on the game for him.
20:18He thought Crawley were the better team, created the better chances,
20:20hit the bar, hit the post.
20:22But what a game of football.
20:23It was great to get in to watch.
20:24I thought we were outstanding.
20:25Football is a cruel game.
20:26You can kick you in the teeth and things are positive
20:28and you're playing well.
20:30And that was pretty much...
20:32The sentiments were shared by Charlie Barker as well,
20:34who said that it does feel like a kick in the teeth.
20:37But, obviously, they went into the game knowing that
20:38Petersburg games are always high scoring.
20:40It was actually the third consecutive 4-3 defeat
20:43against Petersburg that stretches back to 2015,
20:46which is incredible.
20:47Yeah.
20:48So there's a bit of Juju Dark Arts going on there.
20:51But, yeah, there's plenty of reasons to be positive.
20:55Charlie Barker echoed as well.
20:58And he said that Crawley were a lot more compact
21:01and tougher to beat.
21:02I mean, obviously, I know they conceded four goals,
21:04but especially in that second half, they really did kind of
21:07nullify Petersburg's threat.
21:08Because it was a real struggle in that first half,
21:10where Crawley took an early lead and you thought
21:12things were great.
21:13But every time Petersburg were going forward,
21:14they were really kind of causing problems.
21:16And I think Crawley went in at half-time
21:18and really dealt with that.
21:19They kind of knew what to do to stop it.
21:21And they came back for the second half,
21:23obviously managed to get that equaliser for 3-0.
21:26And then they didn't really look like conceding
21:29right up until the end,
21:30when there was a bit of a goal-match scramble,
21:31which they cleared,
21:32and then also gave away the penalty.
21:34So a real shame.
21:35But I think, as I mentioned,
21:36so many reasons to be positive,
21:37that Barker and Lindsay both mentioned as well.
21:40And if they play like, I think Barker said,
21:42if they play like that every game for the rest of the season,
21:45they'll be fine.
21:47Well, the PETA result keeps Crawley 22nd, League 1,
21:50but they remain six points from safety as Bristol Rovers
21:53lost at home against Champions League Birmingham
21:55on the same night.
21:56But unfortunately for the Reds,
21:57Burton put themselves in pole position to overtake Rovers
22:00with a 2-1 win over Leighton Orient.
22:02I asked you this last week, Mark,
22:04but can Crawley Town pull off the great escape?
22:07I've heard that you've done some maths,
22:09which might be interesting.
22:13Yeah, I thought I'd better look at all the remaining fixtures
22:17for the sort of five teams that could drop,
22:19because I think Cambridge and Shrewsbury are already down,
22:22you have to say,
22:23unless they pull off some kind of miracle.
22:25But I've looked at Burton, Crawley,
22:27Bristol Rovers, Northampton and Wigan's last five games.
22:30And I've done whether I think they'll win or lose them
22:35or draw them, etc.
22:36So I've got Burton winning 10 points,
22:38Crawley winning 13 points, Bristol Rovers seven points,
22:41Peterborough, not Peterborough, sorry,
22:43Northampton nine points and Wigan eight points
22:46from their last six games.
22:48A couple of them got seven,
22:49Burton and Wigan have got seven games left.
22:53And I did that without looking at the league table.
22:55And if that comes off,
22:57Burton, Crawley and Bristol Rovers
22:59will all finish on 49 points.
23:02So, which is absolutely crazy.
23:05So, like I said,
23:06that point could be vital against Peterborough
23:09if that's the case.
23:11I mean, it never works out as simple as like you'd say.
23:15But the only problem Crawley have got
23:18is only one of those three teams will stay up
23:22or one of those five teams, sorry.
23:24And Crawley have got by far the worst goal difference.
23:28Actually, I say by far the worst.
23:30They've only got a four goal swing on Bristol Rovers,
23:33which if they win two more games than them,
23:35they can easily swing that round.
23:37And what we've seen,
23:38Crawley haven't got a problem scoring goals
23:40at the other end conceding,
23:41although they keep two clean sheets
23:43against Rovers and Rotherham.
23:45So it is.
23:47So to answer your question,
23:49can they stay up?
23:50Yes, they can.
23:52Yes, they can.
23:53But it is going to be very, very tough.
23:55Losing that game on Tuesday night
23:57was just such a big blow.
23:58I think you could feel just the guttedness.
24:03Is that a word?
24:05It is now.
24:06You just felt everybody just go,
24:08oh, no.
24:09Like as soon as the penalty,
24:10nobody had any qualms with the penalty.
24:12It was definitely a penalty.
24:15And you're just saying,
24:16oh God, if they just got that point,
24:18it would have just given so much
24:19and my maths would have been so much more
24:21or made better reading.
24:22But I just,
24:23yeah, you just think,
24:24but you hope when they go to Birmingham
24:26is the only game I've got Crawley losing
24:28in the last six.
24:29And you just hope.
24:30I was going to ask you,
24:31out of interest,
24:32they've got Stevenage on Saturday,
24:34which we'll come on to in a minute.
24:35But what results have you gone for?
24:37And have you got scorelines for any of them?
24:39I haven't got scorelines.
24:40I just simply did win,
24:41lose or draw.
24:42So I've got them winning on Saturday.
24:44I've got them drawn against Leighton-Orion
24:46because Leighton-Orion,
24:47what I was very impressed with.
24:49But then,
24:50yeah,
24:51they're looking for playoffs
24:52and that possibly.
24:53I've got them losing at Birmingham,
24:54but then I've got them winning
24:55the last three games,
24:56which is Northampton,
24:58Exeter at home,
25:00and then Shrewsbury away.
25:02So that's what I've gone for.
25:04And I think I've only got Bristol Rovers
25:06possibly winning two games,
25:07but Bristol Rovers don't look like
25:08they can buy a win anywhere.
25:10So maybe I'm over-egging Bristol Rovers there.
25:13But their problem is Burton
25:14who have got 14 goal differential
25:17and goal difference with them.
25:18So that's where their problem is,
25:20cruelly,
25:21Burton.
25:22And they look like they're picking up
25:23a bit of form at the moment as well,
25:24Burton.
25:25So that's the hindrance.
25:27That's why I'm still erring on the side
25:29of I don't think they're quite going to do it.
25:31But all it does is give them optimism
25:33for next season
25:34because they're playing so well.
25:35I mean,
25:36if they win four of those last six games,
25:38there's still going to be such a good vibe
25:41going into the summer
25:42and going from there.
25:43But yeah,
25:44it's going to be tight.
25:45I think,
25:46yeah,
25:47it's going to get,
25:48they only need two,
25:49a couple of wins each
25:50to get them out of it,
25:51kind of thing.
25:52So I think they might have done too much already.
25:54But,
25:55but,
25:56sorry,
25:57Northampton and Wigan.
25:58But,
25:59yeah,
26:00I don't know.
26:01I just,
26:02I want,
26:03yeah,
26:04I,
26:05they can do it,
26:06but whether they will,
26:07I just don't know.
26:08It all makes for a nerve-shredding
26:09end of the season,
26:10doesn't it?
26:11It does.
26:12It really does.
26:13As we've mentioned,
26:14the Reds continue their fight
26:15for survival at Stevenage on Saturday.
26:16They've not won a league game
26:17since the 4th of March
26:18and they've lost three
26:19of their last four league games.
26:20Plenty there to give Crawley confidence,
26:22Sam Morton.
26:23How do you see this one going?
26:25Yeah,
26:26this is an absolute must-win
26:28for Crawley
26:29because,
26:30as you mentioned,
26:31Stevenage are not in the best run of form.
26:33Their win on the 4th of March
26:34was the last one,
26:35as you mentioned,
26:36and that was at Cambridge
26:37who obviously,
26:38it looked like they're definitely
26:39going to go down.
26:40And they've only had two wins
26:41since the start of February.
26:42So it's been a real
26:43tough couple of months
26:45for Stevenage
26:46that had started the year
26:47really well in January
26:48with quite a few good results,
26:50including a win at Wrexham.
26:51So it really has fallen off the cliff
26:53a little bit for them
26:54in recent weeks.
26:55We know the quality they have.
26:56They're not in any danger
26:57of going down.
26:58So it's a game that Crawley
27:01should be going into.
27:02They're the team
27:03that have to win for the points.
27:04They've still got momentum
27:06behind them,
27:07even though they've obviously
27:08lost that game.
27:09I feel like there is still
27:10positivity.
27:11And when we heard from Lindsay,
27:12we heard from Barker,
27:13I feel like
27:15that positivity
27:16will resonate
27:17across the team, really.
27:18They kind of know
27:19there's no reason
27:20to go into the game
27:21with any negativity
27:22after the result.
27:23Obviously, it is a shame
27:24the way they lost,
27:25but the way they played,
27:26there's more than enough reason
27:27to keep optimistic.
27:28So I'm confident.
27:29I think Crawley
27:30will go to Stevenage
27:31and win.
27:32And as I say,
27:33they absolutely have to.
27:34Yes, they do indeed.
27:35And very, very quickly,
27:36we're going to whiz around
27:37doing score predictions,
27:38starting with Brighton
27:39against Palace on Saturday.
27:40Sam, how do you see this one going?
27:43Two-all.
27:44I think it will be a draw.
27:45I think Palace have been
27:46in a good run of form.
27:47Obviously, a poor result
27:48at Southampton,
27:49but we've got lots of players
27:50that Brighton have to
27:51be really wary of.
27:52Brighton aren't firing
27:53on all cylinders.
27:54But after two games
27:55without a goal,
27:56I think Brighton
27:57are due a couple.
27:58I think two-all.
27:59Yes, I'm inclined
28:00to agree with you there, Sam.
28:01What do you think,
28:02Henry?
28:03How do you reckon
28:04it will pan out?
28:05Yes, Crystal Palace
28:06have been in some
28:07pretty decent form.
28:08They've done well.
28:09I thought,
28:10one of the things
28:11they've done well
28:12I thought,
28:13when they played
28:14against Fulham,
28:15they played immaculately.
28:16I do think
28:17it will be one-all.
28:18I do think it will be one-all.
28:19I don't think
28:20we'll have the thrill
28:21of those extra two goals.
28:22I think it will be one-all.
28:23It will be quite
28:24a nervy-type game.
28:25Are we going
28:26for a full house
28:27of draws, Mark?
28:28No.
28:29Palace win.
28:30Two-nil.
28:31Straight to the point.
28:32That's what we like.
28:33I was so impressed
28:34with them against Fulham.
28:35I was really impressed
28:36with them against Fulham.
28:37No, they were very,
28:38very good.
28:39Yes, no,
28:40they were very good
28:41against Stevenage Crawley.
28:42So, Mark,
28:43Great Escapers
28:44are back on.
28:45Yes, yes,
28:46this is going to be
28:47two or three-nil,
28:48I think.
28:49I think it's going
28:50to be a comfortable win.
28:51I think they're going
28:52to go there.
28:53They're so much
28:54buoyed by Tuesday night's
28:55performance,
28:56despite the result.
28:57I think Lindsay
28:58will be expecting
28:59to win this game
29:00quite easily.
29:01Yes, how do you see it, Sam?
29:02Do you think Crawley
29:03are expecting to win
29:04this one as well?
29:05Yes, three-one.
29:06Three-one Crawley.
29:07I think, yes,
29:08they've got to go in and win
29:09and get an early goal.
29:10Yes, he's been brilliant
29:11lately.
29:12So, yes,
29:13three-one.
29:14And finally, Henry,
29:15what do you reckon?
29:16I'm going to be devil's
29:17advocate and just say
29:18two-all,
29:19another tricky one.
29:20Crawley concede
29:21at the end.
29:22It's not enough.
29:23It's not enough, Henry.
29:24We needed your vote.
29:25We needed your vote.
29:26I mean,
29:27if Crawley do go on
29:28to win it,
29:29you kind of feel
29:30that they should have
29:31got rid of Rob Elliott
29:32earlier.
29:33Not that you want to
29:34wish ill on him,
29:35but you wonder what
29:36would have happened
29:37if you had proper
29:38six months of Scott Lindsay,
29:39I don't think any of
29:40this would have happened.
29:41I mean,
29:42what would have happened
29:43if you had proper six months
29:44of Scott Lindsay,
29:45I don't think any of this
29:46would have happened.
29:47So, anyway.
29:48Three-one.
29:49So, anyway.
29:50Yes,
29:51Well,
29:52thank you so much.
29:53We're going to have to
29:54wrap this up for the
29:55weekend.
29:56And we will see you
29:57all next week.
29:58We're going to
29:59wrap this up for the
30:00weekend.
30:01And we will see you
30:02all next week.
30:03Thank you so much
30:04for watching.
30:05We're going to have
30:06to wrap this up for
30:07the weekend.