The first 20 minutes

[Curious Orange]

Football equivalent of rope-a-dope I thought!

 

[BUTTERBALL]

Fulham were reduced to shots mainly off target from range in the first 20 and burnt themselves out early. It's a marathon not a sprint.

 

[perseus]

Those around me were swearing and getting very agitated that Brighton weren't scoring many goals. To me and [MENTION=1320]Notters[/MENTION] it seemed that Hughton had a game plan and was sticking to it, I.e wear Fulham out and punish them, given their record. Anyone else think Brighton played badly in the first 20 Mins until we scored?

Don't know. I wasn't even on the train. Stilll waiting at Brighton station.

 

[Davemania]

Those around me were swearing and getting very agitated that Brighton weren't scoring many goals. To me and [MENTION=1320]Notters[/MENTION] it seemed that Hughton had a game plan and was sticking to it, I.e wear Fulham out and punish them, given their record. Anyone else think Brighton played badly in the first 20 Mins until we scored?

We were too pedestrian for the first 20 mins, not at the races at all. Kayal started to buzz around a bit more, we got the pen and it kicked us into life. The second half we just tore them to shreds. It was joyous to watch.
After the game I gave a lift home to a Fulham fan. Somehow he reckons he's seen some good teams this season but we werent all that. Eh? Maybe not the first 29/25 mins but after that we absolutely crucified them. How many shots in the second half? Absolutely tormented them

 

[BensGrandad]

Penalty decision changed the game

Correct and up until that moment the game had been dominated by O Hara and Parker with out Stephen and Kayal getting a look in. The next defining moment was the double save and punch by Stockdale which could have let them in but it wasnt to be.

 

[Triggaaar]

I tune into BBC Sussex and NSC. The doom and gloom emanating from this board was seriously depressing. We were third in the table for God sake and at 0-0, Fulham were having a passage, so what?

It didn't feel like that where I sit, although I'm sure plenty in the crowd were sharpening their knives.

I could feel an under belly of 'fans' just coiling up and ready to say how sh!t we were on this forum.

I can picture a couple of long rants being put on hold when the penalty was given.

 

[pasty]

Genuinely was not worried. Fulham may have had lots of possession in first 20 mins, but to be honest, did **** all with it. Was quitely confident they would run out of steam and we would take over.

 

[Captain Sensible]

Fulham started well but didn't do anything with their possession. The 2nd break we had resulted in a pen, then we took full advantage.

 

[edna krabappel]

Fulham. Lots of early possession, but little end product. No real threat to our goal (I thought the defence held up rather well for that period, to be fair, denying them a couple of chances when they really should have done better, given the numbers available).

Hughton must have told the players about Fulham's dire defensive record, and the fact that they're liable to concede one, then fold. So it was all about getting the early goal. In all honesty, we'd put together a couple of decent attacks just before the penalty incident, and looked like we were going to come back.

I was really pleased with the defence tonight. Fulham may have flirted with relegation this season, but their squad has decent players when they're in the mood, and McCormack & Dembele will test other defences a lot more than they did Dunk & Goldson tonight.

 

[Aveacarlin']

Fulham played us off the park for the first 20 minutes, apart from having no end product. Then the penalty knocked the wind out of their sails and their heads went down.

That's how I saw it too. Quick passing and first to the ball. Closed us down very quickly. Penalty kick and it all changed.

 

[Greg Bobkin]

When Fulham had possession in the second half they didn't do much with it either. From memory the passage of play where the 'Ole's were going on ended when when of their players kicked the ball out for a goal kick.

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

When Fulham had possession in the second half they didn't do much with it either. From memory the passage of play where the 'Ole's were going on ended when when of their players kicked the ball out for a goal kick.

That was comedy gold, especially as it was our fans who were doing the Ole-ing for them

 

[DavidinSouthampton]

I'm not sure any sensible manager would have a tactical game plan conceding possession and letting your opponents settle into the game building confidence especially if you are at home pushing for promotion. More likely Fulham just played quite well in the first 20 which they did.

Indeed, Mr Hughton was quoted in the Argus as saying we didn't deserve to be 2-0 up at half-time, so don't think it was planned at all. I for one was mightily relieved when we got the penalty, and even more relieved when it was coolly slotted home.

But then in the last 10 to 15 minutes, I thought we were going to score every time we went forward.

 

[One Teddy Maybank]

I'm nearly gutted, if it weren't for those first 20 mins I'd have nothing to moan about

Quite.

But I like a moan, so we were shocking up until the penalty for me. We looked poor and made Fulham look very good, however the important thing is that despite seeing little of the ball, I can't recall one chance that was created.

 

[stugbhafc1]

Fulham had a lot of possession but didnt really do anything with it and we got the ball they press us really high up and we couldnt deal with that till we found bit of space got the pen and the game changed from there

 

[goldstone]

Those around me were swearing and getting very agitated that Brighton weren't scoring many goals. To me and [MENTION=1320]Notters[/MENTION] it seemed that Hughton had a game plan and was sticking to it, I.e wear Fulham out and punish them, given their record. Anyone else think Brighton played badly in the first 20 Mins until we scored?

So he had a plan which was based on the Brighton players passing directly to a yellow shirt whenever possible, hoofing the ball aimlessly upfield, strolling around the pitch with no sense of urgency, and generally playing like a pub team? No, I don't think that was part of Hughton's plan. The players were just playing like idiots and Hemed's penalty to give us a totally undeserved lead seemed to put a rocket up their collective arses.

 

[Blatter]

Fulham played us off the park for the first 20 minutes, apart from having no end product. Then the penalty knocked the wind out of their sails and their heads went down.

This.

But to be fair, when we didn't have possession our guys were pushing hard upfield, preventing Fulham moving forward. Our lads were well drilled, kept their shape and were chasing hard. The penalty was definitely the game changer, but by then we had started to push forward a bit more, finding ways through, so it may not have been too long before the first goal came, anyway.

The second half was an exercise in how to capitalise on the opposition's lack of fire. The run that Rosenior made down the left about half way through the second half was just superb. He must have taken a leaf out of Knocky's book because he just ran straight through Fulham as if they weren't there and it was only his final pass that (I think it was) Wilson couldn't get onto that let the move down.

A superb result last night and the confidence levels in the dressing room must be sky high!

UTA