A second half double from in-form striker Nicky Forster grabbed Brighton a deserved point at home to then league leaders Carlisle United in a heated encounter at Withdean this afternoon – which saw on loan Ipswich midfielder George O’Callaghan sent off for us.
The only change made by Dean Wilkins to the starting XI was replacing Guy Butters with Joel Lynch in central defence. Elsehwere it was the exact same side that progressed to the next round in the FA Cup on Tuesday night.
The game itself was a tough one. Albion spent most of the first half trying desperately to find a gap in the Carlisle defence which stood firm for large periods of the game much to their credit. When they did attack, our opponents looked strong and threatening, with their closest chance earlier on falling to Marc Bridge-Wilkinson whos header was acrobatically tipped over by Michel Kuipers. The closest we came was through set pieces which were well taken by Matt Richards, but none of our forwards in the box were unable to make any solid contact with them.
But with 10 minutes before half time a quick counter attack from Carlisle saw winger Simon Hackney played through on goal and his shot was parried into the net by Michel Kuipers. The lead was a little harsh on us but we were undone by an efficient piece of attacking play.
As expected Albion came out in the second half with a slightly different system and it worked to our advantage as just minutes into the restart, a good ball by Richards found Forster on the edge of the box and he just managed to hold onto the ball before drilling the ball into the top corner from just inside the box.
Our joy wasn’t to last long though, as 6 minutes later when Danny Carlton’s poor shot found Joe Garner in the 6 yard box who couldn’t miss as he turned in the shot past Kuipers – although there was a hint of offside.
Brighton’s day looked to be ending on an even sour note when George O’Callaghan lashed out at Joe Garner, Carlisle’s outspoken striker. Understandably George was shown the red card but the referee who had a crap game overall failed to show Garner even a yellow card despite his reaction being far from friendly. Without wanting to complain too much, the man in charge was far too leanient on some of their players including letting off one of their players who made the most blatant dive I have seen in years which is just unrpofessional.
Despite a goal and a man down, Brighton battled on and there still was a real sense of belief that we could still find an equaliser from somewhere although chances would be few and far between.
But when Bas Savage broke on the right hand side, his cross missed both Dean Hammond and his marker, and fell to arguably the best finisher in the side, Nicky Forster, who driled his half volley past Keiren Westwood in the Cumbrians goal and give us a well earned share of the spoils.
Player Ratings
Michel Kuipers 6
Some good saves but maybe could have done better with their first goal. Not bad though.
Andrew Whing 6
Didn’t mark his man tightly enough for the first goal but other than that mistake he did ok.
Matt Richards 7
Looked very competant when defending even though the right midfielder for them was powerful and quick, Richards didn’t put a foot wrong.
Adam El-Abd 6
Worked hard and played well, but tarnishes his performances with the odd silly error which puts us under unnecessary pressure.
Joel Lynch 7
Good in the air and made some good tackles.
Jake Robinson 6
Not his best game in right midfield but still caused problems at times.
Dean Hammond 7
Commanding and rose to the challenge when George O’Callaghan was sent off. A competant display.
George O’Callaghan 5
Poor by his standards and this probably had a bit to with him being sent off.
Dean Cox 6
Lively but didn’t produce a great deal.
Bas Savage 6
Looked a bit hesitant on the ball and not quite his usual standard for large parts of the game. A good cross for the second goal though.
Nicky Forster 8
Quiet in the first half, a completely different player in the second. Everytime he came near the goal you sensed a goal and at this point now, his 7 league goals has already beaten last seasons top league goalscorer Dean Hammond who had 6!! Shows how badly we’ve needed a player like him for a long time.
Sub 1: David Martot 5
Barely touched the ball in his 20 minutes on the pitch.
Sub 2: Tommy Fraser
Not on for very long so no rating given.
