Albion 2, Nottingham Forest 3
It would be a cruel irony if results at the stadium Albion longed for, and waited so long for, end up costing them their Championship status.
That danger is alarmingly real unless they start getting their act together at the Amex.
Chris Hughton has a reputation for producing teams that are resilient, well-organised and hard to beat. That has been the case under his command so far away from home.
Clean sheets were kept at Brentford in the FA Cup and at Charlton. A free-kick which David Stockdale should have kept out defeated them on an awful pitch at bottom side Blackpool.
Brentford took revenge, winning by the only goal in Hughton's first home game. Since then Albion have been involved in a hat-trick of 3-2 outcomes at the Amex.
They managed to outscore Ipswich and eventually gave Arsenal a fright. Conceding three against the Gunners was understandable, against Nottingham Forest unforgiveable.
The Amex rot set in under Sami Hyypia, who must have shifted uncomfortably in his seat as Albion slipped to a fifth home defeat out of eight in all competitions.
Hyypia's predecessor, Oscar Garcia, was also in the crowd. What Albion fans - and Hughton - would give now for the ten home clean sheets, including four 1-0 wins from January onwards, under the supposedly boring Spaniard.
The Seagulls have managed only two shut-outs all season at the Amex, against the bottom two Blackpool and Wigan, a shocking statistic. So why such a dramatic decline?
Hyypia's curious tactics did not help, especially his insistence on using full-backs like wingers, during the first half of his abbreviated tenure.
The dominant factor, however, is an inferior squad capable of showing defiance on the road where adventure is not demanded but consistently incapable of breaking teams down and being ruthless in both boxes in front of big and expectant home audiences.
One transfer window is nowhere near enough for Hughton to be able to repair that damage.
He has some big calls to make now at Cardiff tomorrow night as a hectic February gathers pace, with another away game to follow at Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.
Albion creaked defensively against Forest. Stockdale, much-improved for a period prior to that Blackpool blip, was at fault for the rapid first half equaliser so crucial in the context of the contest.
Captain Gordon Greer has not been at his best since returning from a long-standing knee injury.
Beram Kayal, nearly a ten-minute man-of-the-match from the bench after giving Albion renewed hope with a debut goal and then almost equalising, is likely to start against Cardiff.
Whether Kazenga LuaLua is in the condition for another prolonged outing must be doubtful. Sidelined since November by a knee problem, the explosive left-winger was pressed into service for more than 70 minutes, much longer than Hughton wished, following a calf injury sustained by Solly March in a poor challenge by Forest's American right-back Eric Lichaj.
Albion need their generally efficient away form to continue in Wales and Yorkshire. They are a comfortable 13th in the away-only table, 21st in the home only rankings.
That remains their position overall after six of the bottom seven were beaten, which emphasises the extent to which the shortcomings at the Amex are to blame for being in such a perilous spot.
They should never have suffered a sixth home league defeat. They gave away three bad goals and hit the woodwork three times as Dougie Freedman, Forest's new manager, got off to a lucky winning start in a match dominated by set pieces.
Freedman set Forest up in a compact 4-1-4-1 formation but a radically revised rearguard reacted like strangers defending corners and free-kicks.
Greer should have scored with an early header wide from five yards, Lewis Dunk had another blocked by recalled keeper Karl Darlow.
Danny Holla hit the upright with a free-kick from 20 yards before another dead ball delivery from the Dutchman broke the deadlock, via a slight deflection off the back of ex-Albion loanee Gary Gardner.
Forest had created nothing and seemed destined for their first half-time team talk by Freedman nursing a deficit. Instead, two minutes after breaking the deadlock and a minute from the interval, Stockdale initially came for and then retreated from a harmless free-kick by Ben Osborn.
Danny Collins, restored by Freedman for his first appearance of the season, levelled with a soft header in off a post.
The second half was also a mish-mash of missed opportunities, misfortune and questionable defending by Albion.
Henri Lansbury drilled Forest ahead with a low, angled free-kick through a congested penalty area. As the Seagulls pursued parity Osborn was not tracked when he slotted in Chris Burke's pass.
The well-again Joao Teixeira, Albion's most creative threat, had wasted a couple of early second half chances before almost levelling at 2-2 with some wizardy and a deflected shot against a post.
The woodwork came to Forest's rescue for the final time in stoppage time after Kayal hinted at salvation by guiding in a fine header from LuaLua's corner.
The Israeli midfielder lifted the ball over Darlow but Jamaal Lascelles, just brought on by Freedman, was back on the line to head against his own bar.
Greer also scuffed wide a great chance in the frenzied finale, enabling Forest to cling on for only their second win since November.
Hughton said: "The margins at the moment are not going our way. Forest came with a game plan, I thought they were fortunate to go away with a win, but we need to turn those margins around.
"After taking the lead the last thing we needed was to concede a goal when we did, just before half-time, which gives Forest the lift they wanted and needed.
"We conceded poor goals, two from set plays at vital parts of the game.
"The third was disappointing. At that stage we were pushing to get back in the game. It was from a simple throw-in down the line. At 2-1 you are always in the game."
Albion have eight of them left at home, beginning with Hughton's old club Birmingham, and season ticket renewals are coming soon. It will be a hard sell if supporters, by then, still have serious concerns they will be watching Rochdale and Fleetwood rather than Reading and Fulham.
Original article
It would be a cruel irony if results at the stadium Albion longed for, and waited so long for, end up costing them their Championship status.
That danger is alarmingly real unless they start getting their act together at the Amex.
Chris Hughton has a reputation for producing teams that are resilient, well-organised and hard to beat. That has been the case under his command so far away from home.
Clean sheets were kept at Brentford in the FA Cup and at Charlton. A free-kick which David Stockdale should have kept out defeated them on an awful pitch at bottom side Blackpool.
Brentford took revenge, winning by the only goal in Hughton's first home game. Since then Albion have been involved in a hat-trick of 3-2 outcomes at the Amex.
They managed to outscore Ipswich and eventually gave Arsenal a fright. Conceding three against the Gunners was understandable, against Nottingham Forest unforgiveable.
The Amex rot set in under Sami Hyypia, who must have shifted uncomfortably in his seat as Albion slipped to a fifth home defeat out of eight in all competitions.
Hyypia's predecessor, Oscar Garcia, was also in the crowd. What Albion fans - and Hughton - would give now for the ten home clean sheets, including four 1-0 wins from January onwards, under the supposedly boring Spaniard.
The Seagulls have managed only two shut-outs all season at the Amex, against the bottom two Blackpool and Wigan, a shocking statistic. So why such a dramatic decline?
Hyypia's curious tactics did not help, especially his insistence on using full-backs like wingers, during the first half of his abbreviated tenure.
The dominant factor, however, is an inferior squad capable of showing defiance on the road where adventure is not demanded but consistently incapable of breaking teams down and being ruthless in both boxes in front of big and expectant home audiences.
One transfer window is nowhere near enough for Hughton to be able to repair that damage.
He has some big calls to make now at Cardiff tomorrow night as a hectic February gathers pace, with another away game to follow at Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.
Albion creaked defensively against Forest. Stockdale, much-improved for a period prior to that Blackpool blip, was at fault for the rapid first half equaliser so crucial in the context of the contest.
Captain Gordon Greer has not been at his best since returning from a long-standing knee injury.
Beram Kayal, nearly a ten-minute man-of-the-match from the bench after giving Albion renewed hope with a debut goal and then almost equalising, is likely to start against Cardiff.
Whether Kazenga LuaLua is in the condition for another prolonged outing must be doubtful. Sidelined since November by a knee problem, the explosive left-winger was pressed into service for more than 70 minutes, much longer than Hughton wished, following a calf injury sustained by Solly March in a poor challenge by Forest's American right-back Eric Lichaj.
Albion need their generally efficient away form to continue in Wales and Yorkshire. They are a comfortable 13th in the away-only table, 21st in the home only rankings.
That remains their position overall after six of the bottom seven were beaten, which emphasises the extent to which the shortcomings at the Amex are to blame for being in such a perilous spot.
They should never have suffered a sixth home league defeat. They gave away three bad goals and hit the woodwork three times as Dougie Freedman, Forest's new manager, got off to a lucky winning start in a match dominated by set pieces.
Freedman set Forest up in a compact 4-1-4-1 formation but a radically revised rearguard reacted like strangers defending corners and free-kicks.
Greer should have scored with an early header wide from five yards, Lewis Dunk had another blocked by recalled keeper Karl Darlow.
Danny Holla hit the upright with a free-kick from 20 yards before another dead ball delivery from the Dutchman broke the deadlock, via a slight deflection off the back of ex-Albion loanee Gary Gardner.
Forest had created nothing and seemed destined for their first half-time team talk by Freedman nursing a deficit. Instead, two minutes after breaking the deadlock and a minute from the interval, Stockdale initially came for and then retreated from a harmless free-kick by Ben Osborn.
Danny Collins, restored by Freedman for his first appearance of the season, levelled with a soft header in off a post.
The second half was also a mish-mash of missed opportunities, misfortune and questionable defending by Albion.
Henri Lansbury drilled Forest ahead with a low, angled free-kick through a congested penalty area. As the Seagulls pursued parity Osborn was not tracked when he slotted in Chris Burke's pass.
The well-again Joao Teixeira, Albion's most creative threat, had wasted a couple of early second half chances before almost levelling at 2-2 with some wizardy and a deflected shot against a post.
The woodwork came to Forest's rescue for the final time in stoppage time after Kayal hinted at salvation by guiding in a fine header from LuaLua's corner.
The Israeli midfielder lifted the ball over Darlow but Jamaal Lascelles, just brought on by Freedman, was back on the line to head against his own bar.
Greer also scuffed wide a great chance in the frenzied finale, enabling Forest to cling on for only their second win since November.
Hughton said: "The margins at the moment are not going our way. Forest came with a game plan, I thought they were fortunate to go away with a win, but we need to turn those margins around.
"After taking the lead the last thing we needed was to concede a goal when we did, just before half-time, which gives Forest the lift they wanted and needed.
"We conceded poor goals, two from set plays at vital parts of the game.
"The third was disappointing. At that stage we were pushing to get back in the game. It was from a simple throw-in down the line. At 2-1 you are always in the game."
Albion have eight of them left at home, beginning with Hughton's old club Birmingham, and season ticket renewals are coming soon. It will be a hard sell if supporters, by then, still have serious concerns they will be watching Rochdale and Fleetwood rather than Reading and Fulham.
Original article