Latest TV: Brighton and Hove Albion travel to Fulham ... and then Roma in huge Europa League tie
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 [Music]
00:02 [Music]
00:32 Hello and welcome to Latest TV News. I'm Sam Morton and today I'm going to speak
00:36 to fellow Sussex World reporter Henry Bryant about the latest goings on at Brighton and
00:41 Hove Albion. First, here are the top stories from across the county.
00:45 Stay tuned for the latest developments at Brighton and Hove Albion.
00:49 The Body Shop's joint administrators have confirmed a store in Sussex will close but
00:53 the majority will remain open. As restructuring of the UK business progresses, the stores
00:58 remaining open in Sussex are Chichester, Worthing, Crawley, Eastbourne and Brighton.
01:04 However, the Hastings shop is set to close. A spokesperson for the administrators said
01:08 116 stores across the country remain open but 75 stores will close in a phased period
01:14 over the next four to six weeks. This action will provide the best opportunity for a long-term
01:19 sustainable future for the iconic brand, according to the administrators.
01:23 The joint administrator, Tony Wright, said the UK business continues to trade in an administration
01:28 so they remain fully focused on exploring all options to take the business forward.
01:32 Eastbourne Borough Council has declared a housing emergency. The declaration follows
01:37 a campaign led by the council that highlights the social and financial crisis caused by
01:42 rising levels of homelessness and the soaring costs associated with temporary accommodation
01:47 placements. The motion, submitted by Councillor Peter Diplook, Cabinet Member for Housing,
01:52 reaffirms the council's work to press the government for additional resources to help
01:56 local housing authorities and councils worst affected, such as Eastbourne, including raising
02:01 the current 2011 cap on housing benefits subsidy for local authority housing placements.
02:06 The most recently available figures show that rough sleeping in England has increased by
02:11 26% and a record 280,000 households are in temporary accommodation.
02:16 Meanwhile, a truck was seen on fire on the A27 after a collision in Hove. A vehicle was
02:22 seen fully alight on a grass bank around 3pm on Wednesday. There was another vehicle that
02:27 looked to be part of the collision, which was stopped in the middle of the King George
02:30 V Avenue turn off into Goldstone Crescent. A spokesperson for East Sussex Fire and Rescue
02:35 said "We got the notification at 6 minutes past 3, one van and one heavy goods vehicle
02:39 crashed, no people were trapped." The Fire and Rescue Service used a hose-wheeled jet
02:44 and used breathing apparatus and a thermal imaging camera. They used environmental packs
02:48 to clear up some diesel that spilt. Police and the ambulance service were also in attendance.
02:53 The fire had been put out by at least 3.45pm. Police were asked to avoid the area while
02:57 the incident was ongoing. An Eastbourne organisation has said the removal
03:01 of parking meters will have a detrimental effect on people wanting to visit the town.
03:06 Organisation Friends of Eastbourne Seafront said it is "very concerned" following the
03:10 news that East Sussex County Council intends to remove several parking meters in the town.
03:15 Out of 141 machines in Eastbourne, 71 are set to be removed, according to Gainor Sedgwick,
03:21 chair of the non-profit group. The machines identified for removal have had purple signs
03:26 placed on them in the past few weeks. These signs state that machines are no longer in
03:30 use and request that motorists use app Ringo, which charges a small convenience fee to pay
03:36 for their parking, or use another machine, indicated on a map.
03:40 Mr Sedgwick said this will make it "very difficult" for those with mobility issues
03:43 and means leaving children and vulnerable people in the car to go and search for a parking
03:47 meter. He said this is a cost-cutting exercise which will have a detrimental effect on people
03:51 wanting to visit Eastbourne. He said we should be making it easy to park, not difficult for
03:56 local people and visitors. The county council said the decision comes
03:59 following a decline in use of machines across Eastbourne. The spokesperson added, "We
04:03 appreciate that removing machines will have an impact on some motorists, but we need to
04:07 balance this against the cost of maintaining the current number of machines."
04:12 Finally, a walker discovered a set of dinosaur footprints recently uncovered on the beach
04:16 in Bexhill. Vicky Bellinger was out with her children this week when they made the stunning
04:21 discovery. She said she had found a total of eight footprints which she said had been
04:25 exposed due to high tides and heavy rain. She took footage of the prints and uploaded
04:29 the video to YouTube. Vicky said, "It's actually quite beautiful to see these amazing dinosaur
04:33 footprints that my children and I found when we came on the walk. The tide and the heavy
04:37 rain have washed a lot of sand away recently. I'm 37 years old and I grew up in Bexhill
04:42 and I've never seen these ones before."
04:44 I've come down this morning on this grey, miserable day. It's actually still quite beautiful
04:49 to see these amazing dinosaur footprints that my children and I found last night when we
04:56 came on a walk. The tide and the heavy rains have washed a lot of sand away recently. There
05:02 are some dinosaur footprints that way as well that we knew were there, but I've never seen
05:07 these. I am 37 years old and I grew up in Bexhill and I've never seen these ones before.
05:14 I think there are sauropods, iguanodon and t-rex footprints on the beach here. So let
05:21 me know in the comments what you think these ones might be. And there is a whole set. One,
05:28 I think this might be one here as well. Not too sure, but definitely. One, two, three.
05:37 There's one here I can't see very well. Four, five, six, seven, eight. I think that is the
05:51 end of the set there.
05:53 Henry, so attention has now turned to Fulham and Craven Cottage. They beat Manchester United
06:00 last time out and Albi were unable to beat Marco Silva's side in either game last season.
06:05 How do you see this one going on Saturday?
06:07 Well, I think the strain in the amount of injuries that we've got on that long injury
06:12 list is going to really do us some disservice to be honest. Fulham are looking very strong,
06:17 as you mentioned, that they beat Man United last time out for them. So it seems like a
06:23 fixture that we're going to really struggle with. I think it's a big test for us really,
06:27 away at Craven Cottage, to see if we've got the legs for the end of the season because
06:32 it really does all count on this, with our position in the Premier League and the chance
06:36 for us to hopefully push for Europe in some way. I think with the injuries, it's looking
06:42 more likely that a realistic target for the Albion is going to be the Conference League.
06:47 But even then, that would be a massive achievement for Brighton because that would be two years
06:52 qualifying for some competition in Europe and that would be quality for us. So hopefully,
06:59 fingers crossed, we'll be able to bounce back after a few disappointing results, even
07:05 with that 1-1 draw with Everton. I feel like at home, in front of the fans, a 1-1 draw,
07:10 although it was a nice last gasp winner for supporters, it was something that was not
07:17 expected and it'd be nice for us to go back to winning ways now.
07:22 Absolutely. Who needs to step up for Brighton? You were just talking a little bit about Antsy
07:26 Fati before and how he needs to really prove why he was such an exciting talent at Barcelona
07:33 and really live up to the hype that he had when he was signed. So apart from him, is
07:37 there anyone else that really needs to step up in the absence of some key players?
07:41 I think that although he's already been stepping up to the plate massively, I think players
07:46 like Pascal Gross are going to be really important to the Albion, being that engine to push defence
07:51 into attack. With the likes of Matoma out for the rest of the season, it looks like
07:57 according to De Zerbi, saying about two to three months that he'll be out, I feel like
08:01 we need a Dhingra, who's just come back from the African Cup of Nations, to make a big
08:07 splash and come back and be really strong for us because he has been quality for his
08:13 country. So we need to make sure that we're getting the most out of him and I think we're
08:19 going to need that magic up the wings from him to be honest. So stepping up to the plate,
08:23 definitely those sort of players and I know you were saying previously about Ansi Fati,
08:28 but I think if he's ever going to have a future at Brighton, and not just at Brighton, but
08:33 in a quality squad, then it needs to be a big turnaround for the end of the season for
08:39 Ansi Fati.
08:40 Absolutely. I mean, after Fulham is a European tie to savour in the Europa League round
08:44 of 16, supporters will be eagerly anticipating the last 16 trip to Italian heavyweight Roma
08:49 on Thursday. How big of a pinching moment must this be for Brighton fans, Henry, taking
08:53 on a European club of this stature?
08:55 I think it's insane really to think about Brighton playing Roma when just a few years
09:00 ago we were playing in the Championship and I still remember quality games such as Brighton
09:05 versus Sheffield Wednesday when Brighton had an absolute result and came back at the end.
09:12 So for now, for us to be playing teams like Roma and competing and getting out of the
09:20 group that was known as the group of death is quite surreal and definitely a pinch me
09:25 moment as a Brighton and Hove Albion fan. I think a lot of fans will agree this isn't
09:29 the best sort of form we've been in, but we've been able to make it out of the group. So
09:35 let's hope there's still a little bit of magic in us to go through it and try and advance
09:40 even further in the competition.
09:42 And does this tie take greater significance after Albion's FA Cup exit? Because I know
09:46 obviously as you mentioned there is still a chance they might finish in a European place
09:50 in the Premier League, but really this Roma two-legged tie is the biggest of the season
09:54 so far.
09:55 I think it could be the two biggest games in the club's history to be honest. If you
09:59 look at the stature of this club, the history of this club that we're facing, we've got
10:04 some quality opposition against us. Totti, the Roma manager, was mentioning that he didn't
10:10 want Brighton and Hove Albion in particular because of the fact they're a difficult team
10:15 to play. So they're already wary of Brighton, so hopefully that can be dictated in the way
10:22 that we play and having an air of confidence knowing that the opposition have already kept
10:26 tabs on us and known that we are a threat in this competition and we can still go all
10:33 the way in the Europa League. It really is a massive couple of games for Brighton, Brighton
10:40 fans and anyone closely related to Brighton in general. This is going to be a real blockbuster
10:45 of a few legs, so let's hope that Brighton come out on top.
10:49 [Music]
11:00 [Music]
11:30 So Henry, Albion enjoyed a week of ups and downs in both the Premier League and the FA
11:35 Cup this week. Let's start with a 1-1 draw against Everton in the Premier League. Albion
11:40 looked destined to lose after Jarrod Brantway's brilliant strike opened the scoring at the
11:44 Amex after 73 minutes. Billy Gilmore then saw red for a dangerous tackle on Amadou Onana
11:49 just eight minutes later. No one expected 10-man Albion to salvage a point, but they
11:53 did when captain Lewis Dunk powered in a header. It was obviously a brilliant Pascal Gros cross
11:58 that set the goal up. So Henry, that must feel like a win in the circumstances.
12:03 I think that in terms of the way we played, we didn't have our best game and I was there
12:09 with my brother and a friend thinking to myself, 'Oh, we're just not looking like Brighton
12:14 at the moment. We're not going to be able to get ourselves in a position to score here.'
12:20 And then when I saw that we were able to get that goal right at the death in the plus five
12:26 minute, the plus five of the added time was great and it really did show that we were
12:32 able to come back. Especially with the Billy Gilmore red card, I felt like the game was
12:37 almost done and dusted at this point. They'd won and their strike was brilliant, but it
12:42 was a very lucky strike in my opinion and it was a turn of the tide in the game for
12:49 them because we did dominate in possession especially and also the amount of shots that
12:53 we got. So for them to have got that goal and also for the red card, it looked like
12:58 we were down and out, but luckily we were able to come back and Pascal Gros again just
13:05 driving the play forward and turning defence into attack for us and faking out the bloke
13:10 twice to get the cross in for Dunk to Hedder, it was sensational.
13:16 Obviously it was a game that Brighton would have wanted to win going into it, but with
13:22 everything going against them in the game and also the injuries that they had going
13:26 into the game, I suppose with everything like that it was a point gained rather than two
13:31 drops.
13:32 I agree. I think that the way that we started the game, the way that we had history with
13:39 Everton and they'd defeated us embarrassingly last season, especially when we needed those
13:46 points because we were looking for a charge into Europe, which we got, but there was a
13:50 point where we were looking to get points at the end of the season last season and they
13:54 were able to embarrass us scoring so many goals. So for us to get the draw against them,
13:59 especially against a rowdy bunch of fans that they brought into the Amex, was something
14:04 that we can look into and think, 'Yeah, we've done well to gain a point there and we move on.'
14:11 And obviously Billy Gilmore's three-match suspension is a huge blow. He was one of nine
14:16 players missing at Wolves in the FA Cup on Wednesday night, which we'll be talking about
14:20 a bit later. Some of the other players out are Karim Matoma, who's expected to be out
14:24 for the season with a back injury, Tarek Lamptey was out for against Wolves, Evan Ferguson,
14:29 Joel Veltman, Gael Pedro, James Milner, Jack Hinchlewood and Solly March. Bryson have had
14:35 experience in coping with injuries this season, but these are particularly bad, aren't they, Henry?
14:39 It's like a squad and some, almost, the amount of injuries we've got. We've got more of a
14:43 list of injuries than players that we've got available, almost. I think that really has
14:49 showed in recent games. Obviously, we'll talk about Wolves in a minute, but the fact that
14:54 we have done well to an extent and we're still in a good place in the Premier League, seventh
15:02 currently, shows that we're fighting through the current of injuries and suspensions. We
15:10 really didn't need that for Billy Gilmore, to be honest with you. I think it was a silly
15:13 challenge. When I was at the stadium, it looked like it wasn't a red card in my opinion, but
15:19 once I looked at it back, it was dangerous play. It seemed just a bit silly, a little
15:26 bit careless and not really thinking in the long term for the players that we need. We
15:33 did need him on the Wednesday night when Bryson played Wolves.
15:37 There you go, you've set me up perfectly there, Henry. It was obviously a disappointing result,
15:42 wasn't it, in the FA Cup against Wolves. It was a really massive opportunity for Bryson
15:46 to progress in the competition, but they lost 1-0 with a Mario Lamina strike in just the
15:51 third minute proving to be the decisive goal. Sum that one up for us.
15:55 I think at the very start of the game, Jason Steele's error, which resulted in that goal,
16:01 fuelled them with so much confidence. You could tell instantly that they had this sort
16:05 of swagger and this dominant style of play, especially playing at home after having one
16:11 goal literally in the first few seconds it felt like in the game. Bryson, although they
16:17 weren't able to carve out a chance, I thought that there were some promising moves at times,
16:22 but players like Ansu Fati, that you'd expect to make a big difference in this sort of game
16:27 and starting as well, to have a massive part of the game, just was very quiet again. It
16:35 shows that although he's got all this hype, he's not really living up to it at the moment
16:40 at the Albion. When you need star players with what is supposedly meant to be star quality
16:47 to change a game, you're not seeing that with Ansu Fati right now. A very frustrating watch
16:56 and just quite a poor performance overall. Jason Steele right at the end of extra time
17:03 coming up for that corner and almost redeeming himself by scoring that goal. He literally
17:08 touched off his foot and went wide, but that looked to be, could have been, or maybe should
17:13 have been, an FA Cup legendary moment for the Albion.
17:17 Does the defeat feel like a missed opportunity for Albion? We found out during the match
17:22 they would be facing Coventry City in the quarter-final if they were to have progressed,
17:26 which obviously would have been a huge opportunity to get back to the semi-final where they lost
17:31 out to Manchester United on penalties last season. So does it really feel like a missed
17:35 opportunity in that sense to get to the final? Massively, massively. And as an Albion supporter,
17:41 I think the heartbreak of the semi-final last season with Soli March missing that penalty
17:46 and us being so close to a final just shows that it meant a lot for us this season to
17:55 do well and the fact that we weren't able to deliver against a Wolves side that don't
18:02 have as many injuries as us whatsoever, but not as strong, it just seemed like we weren't
18:09 on our day. I think although De Zerbis said he's not frustrated with the amount of injuries
18:15 in recent press conferences, it does look like the team is frustrated. It's a very strained
18:20 team right now and I've even heard fans saying this isn't Arbrighton or no Albion squad
18:25 right now.
18:26 What are your score predictions for Fulham?
18:30 If I'm completely honest as a realist, I think we might lose 2-0 against Fulham because of
18:35 the form they've been in. Brighton with loads of injuries again and struggling at goal at
18:42 the moment with the likes of João Pedro not being available. So we'll see.
18:47 What about Roma? As you mentioned, Pedro not being there, a top scorer in the Europa League.
18:50 Will they cope without him and get a win in Rome?
18:53 When in Rome, I feel like we're going to have to pull something out of the hat. I think
19:02 it will be a 1-1 draw away to Roma. I really do think it will be a 1-1 draw. We need players
19:10 to really step up at this point. I'm just hoping the fans can get behind them. I think
19:16 the match at home to Roma will be a 1-0 victory for the Albion.
19:22 How do you see the game going?
19:30 Lastly and finally, at Score Prediction, starting with you Darren, we start with Fulham against
19:35 Brighton in the Premier League on Saturday. How do you see that one going? It's another
19:38 tough game to call.
19:40 I'm a bit worried for Brighton for that one actually because Fulham did well at Man United.
19:44 I'm going to go 1-0 Fulham unfortunately.
19:47 Sam, how do you see that going?
19:49 I'm also a bit concerned about how it's going to go. I'm going to go for a draw. I'll say
19:54 1-1 draw.
19:55 Finally, Mark, do you see Brighton getting anything out of that trip to West London?
19:59 I think they will but I think they'll only get the best they can hope for as a draw.
20:03 I think I'm going to go for 2-2 to make it a bit more exciting. But am I thinking right
20:07 that Brighton haven't got a great record against Fulham in the Premier League or am I?
20:11 They have struggled against Fulham in recent seasons.
20:16 I remember going to cover Fulham Brighton many moons ago when Fulham had Andre Schurrle
20:22 and for the first 45 minutes this 70-year-old woman gave him nothing but grief and he was
20:27 hauled off at half-time and she got up and punched the air when his name came up and
20:30 he was substituted. That's my interesting anecdote about Roma v Brighton.
20:34 Moving on to Thursday night, I think we'll say this is the big one, Roma v Brighton.
20:41 Sam, I'm more optimistic about Brighton getting something out of this one than I am against Fulham.
20:46 Do you agree with that?
20:48 Yes, I can see the argument really. I think it's just the massive nature of the game.
20:55 It's really going to have the fans up, the players up, we're going to be really up for it of course.
21:00 I think that can just naturally lead to a result. Playing in a stadium like the Stadio Olimpico
21:05 is just going to be brilliant for the players. Now they've got some experience in their
21:08 belt as well playing in these huge arenas. I can definitely agree with that.
21:14 I think there's going to be more riding on it. Probably the players will really be focusing on that.
21:20 I don't think they'll go to Fulham. They're probably going to be thinking about Roma when they're at Fulham.
21:26 They're just going to be focusing on the task at hand. I don't think they can be blamed for
21:30 really trying to make sure they're fully firing and fit for that one.
21:34 I think it's going to be a really exciting game. So I think, yeah, score prediction I think...
21:38 I'll go with a two-all draw.
21:42 Thank you for watching NacesTV News. For more stories from across the county, please visit sussexworld.co.uk
21:49 [Music]
21:59 [MUSIC]