Gull-Mouth Action podcast - episode 88 | Estupinan exits Albion, Crawley look forward to season opener after Crystal Palace test

Name: Gull-Mouth Action podcast - episode 88 | Estupinan exits Albion, Crawley look forward to season opener after Crystal Palace test
Uploaded: 2025-07-30T10:51:01+00:00
Duration: 25 min
Channel: SussexWorld

00:00Welcome to another episode of the Goldmouth Action Podcast, where we take a look at all

00:15the latest goings on at Brighton, Hove Abbey and Crawley Town. I'm Matt Poul, and this

00:18week I'm joined by Brighton writers Darren Howard and Henry Bryan, as well as first-time

00:22guest Ron Alderman, who's been keeping an eye on all things Crawley Town in Mark Dunford's

00:26absence. There have been a number of departures of Brighton this week, including a popular

00:29player who featured heavily in Albion's fairytale Europa League campaign, where Crawley Town

00:34have been busy gearing up for their first competitive game in League Two. This week, we'll look at

00:38who has bid their farewell to Albion since the last pod, bring you news of a major injury

00:42blow to a Brighton defender, and bring you all the latest from Crawley Town ahead of their

00:46season opener at Grimsby Town on Saturday. You can read all the stories we are talking

00:50about in videos and pictures online at sussexworld.co.uk forward slash sport. And we will start as

00:56ever at Brighton and Hove Abbey, where full-back purposes Dupinian has completed a £17 million

01:00move to Italian giants AC Milan. The 27-year-old defender joined the Seagulls in July 2022, making

01:06104 appearances and scoring five goals. We've seemed to have been talking about Dupinian's

01:12departure a lot this summer, Darren, so I can't imagine there's been much of a surprise to

01:16his departure. But what has the reaction been amongst the Abbey supporters, and what do you

01:21make of the transfer in general? Yeah, I think the supporters appreciated that he was a very

01:28good player for the club. He joined, as you say, in 2022. He came in as a replacement for

01:34Mark Cucurea when he made his, you know, he was about 10 months of Brighton and then made

01:40a £60 million move to Chelsea. And Dupinian came in for £15 million from Villarreal. And the

01:47first thoughts were, you know, he's actually, he might even be better than Cucurea. We've got a

01:53really good deal here. And especially when Cucurea was struggling in his initial period at Chelsea,

01:59Dupinian was performing consistently well for Brighton as well. And it was like, blimey,

02:04here we go again. Brighton have, you know, have done it again. But obviously Cucurea came good for

02:12Chelsea. He's performed, you know, at a very high level for them for the past season or so.

02:18And as Dupinian has as well, to be honest. So I think overall, he's been a really good signing

02:24for Brighton. And what I enjoyed most of all watching him for the past seasons was his link

02:28up with Matoma down that left-hand side. I thought it's Dupinian and Matoma. It's a real

02:34high-quality, you know, combination between the two of them. And they really helped each other well,

02:41both in terms of defence and attack. And I think that's what they've got to now rebuild.

02:46They've got De Kuyper coming in, who's a Belgium international. They signed from Club Bruges for

02:50about 16 million. And that's the combination now that they need to get working on. It looks

02:55as like Matoma will stay this summer, I say tentatively. I think he'll probably stay. I hope

03:02he stays. And then if he does, he'll hope to build that similar relationship with De Kuyper

03:07that he had with Dupinian. But I think he gave a nice message on social media to the fans. It was

03:13quite a heartfelt message that he posted on Instagram saying that, you know, Brighton will,

03:19you know, like the players do. And I think he'll be quite popular, always be quite popular with the

03:26fans. He gave his all for the club during his time there. And a good transfer for him, decent fee for

03:33Brighton. And hopefully the replacement, De Kuyper, will do just as well. Although they have Jack

03:38Inshilwood and Ferdi Cadioglu, who can also have very strong options at left back as well.

03:44Yeah, absolutely. And quickly talking about Matoma, do you think the Luis Diaz to Bayern

03:48deals kind of killed any notion that Matoma might leave this summer?

03:51Yeah, yeah. That was always the link, wasn't it? That Bayern were, they had a few players on their

03:57radar and perhaps Matoma was just sort of a run down from, so Diaz was perhaps one of their

04:01main targets and Matoma may have been underneath that. So Brighton fans will be keeping everything

04:08crossed that, yes, that is the case, yeah. Yeah, fingers crossed. We're sticking with

04:13departures and as we mentioned last week, forward Edward Ferguson has left the Seagull to join Roma

04:17on a season-long loan. And it looks like he's having an absolutely fantastic time already.

04:22How has Ferguson been getting on at Roma since his move, Henry? He's a man on fire by the looks of

04:26things. Yeah, well, he hit the ground running, didn't he, with his new club scoring four times

04:32in a training ground success over a Serie D opposition. And then most recently, he marked

04:37his first proper appearance for his new club Roma by scoring the only goal of the game in a pre-season

04:42friendly, and I'm going to definitely butcher this name, over Kaiser Slautern in Germany.

04:47Yeah, it's looking really good. It's looking really good for him. He's scoring in packed

04:53out stadiums, and he's clearly been given a lot of time and is respected with the new Roma manager

05:01as well. He's loving it so far, and it's great to see the confidence he's regaining, and long may that

05:07continue. And only time will tell, I guess, if he'll be able to make it in Serie A. It's definitely a

05:12different game. And as we mentioned sort of last week, maybe the fact that he's got more of a

05:16physical presence, he can hold the ball up, might help him out in the Italian league. But yeah, only

05:23time will tell. The fans seen behind him, I mean, when he first even just got through the airport at

05:29Roma, all of the fans singing his name, celebrating. And even their, I think it's their third kit,

05:35quite Irish-inspired. So he's welcome, hasn't he? I mean, I've not seen anyone have that much of a

05:42welcome in terms of being a young Irish prospect. And yeah, time will tell if Brighton are going to

05:49be, you know, regretting that $40 million buyout clause. That might be too generous. We'll see,

05:54we'll find out. But it's great to see that he's enjoying his football, and we'll see how he gets on.

06:00Yeah, couldn't agree more. Continuing with the theme, Darren, Brighton's seen a number of fringe

06:04players exit the club on permanent and loan deals since last podcast. Who has left the club

06:08permanently and who has made loan deals? And are there any players you're sad or surprised to see

06:13leave?

06:14Um, yeah, yeah, it's been a busy, busy summer. It's probably worth doing a sort of a brief recap,

06:20really, on everyone who's left. So we've got Jao Pedro, obviously the main one to Chelsea,

06:24£60 million. Simon Odinger at Sunderland, he went for 2021. Pervis de Sibignan, who we talked about,

06:32AC Milan. Valentin Barco, he went to Strasbourg for around about £10 million. He was on loan

06:38there last season and made that permanent. They, they are the permanent outs at the moment. And

06:43then we have obviously Evan Ferguson, um, who went to, to Roma. Oh, sorry. Um, Kel Sherpin,

06:49he was a permanent out as well. He went to Union SG and, uh, O'Fire as well, who went to Preston.

06:56Um, the rest of them alone. So Evan Ferguson, Ibrahim Osman, he went to Auxair. Uh,

07:02Erin Kasheen to Birmingham, James Beadle, uh, also to Birmingham as well. Uh, Carl Rushworth,

07:08to Coventry. Um, Amara Coza Dubri to Bolton and Duyung Huynh, who went to Excelsior, um, in Rotterdam,

07:17Excelsior. So they, they've conducted quite a bit of business, um, already. Um, and then pending,

07:25you've probably got Igor Julio. He's supposed to be going to Real Sociedad, although that's, uh,

07:30reports from Spanish media are saying that interest has cooled slightly on, on that one. Uh, Julio and

07:35Ciso is expected to leave, but he's struggling with a knee injury at the moment. So any transfer,

07:40this window may have been scuppered because of that. He's expected to be back in two or three months,

07:45maybe. Uh, Jeremy Sarmiento, he'll likely leave as, uh, as well. And also for Kondo Bognotti,

07:53um, he, he's probably the one, I'm a bit torn on that one as, as, as, yeah, it's,

07:59for me, it's between him and, and Brian Gruder. Um, and they play in similar positions, both

08:05playmakers and it's, it's who they see has got the most potential on those. Bognotti has been linked

08:11with a move to Borussia Dortmund for, um, for 20 million. Um, but yeah, I'm, I'm, I'm sort of keen to,

08:19to see what, what Brighton do, do on that one. Nothing's been confirmed, but in terms of sort

08:24of sad to see leave, um, not really. Um, it's, uh, Evan Ferguson, maybe he's the one I was a bit torn

08:33on, but I guess, I guess it sort of shows the faith that they still have him well back and the

08:37two new, uh, Greek lads as, as well, who came in. But, um, uh, yeah, time will tell if that decision

08:43is, is right or not really. Absolutely. And it just goes to show how cold hired you are,

08:48Darren, I think. Yeah. Cynical journal. Cynical journal. Uh, meanwhile, um, Brighton defender

08:56Adam Webster is set to miss a large part of the season, sorry, and will undergo knee surgery.

09:00Uh, that's according to Brighton boss Fabian Hatzella. The 30-year-old picked up the knee

09:05ligament injury during the Seagulls' pre-season training camp in Marbella. Um, it's absolutely

09:09gutting for Webster, isn't it, Henry? Um, doesn't seem to have much luck at the moment, does he?

09:13How big of a blow will his absence be for the team? Or do you think that they're well

09:16stacked at the moment in terms of central defenders? Well, it's a gutter from an Albions fan's

09:22point of view. He was quite key last season, sort of stepping in when there's been injuries

09:27in the back line. He's been quite versatile. Uh, he made 14 appearances for Brighton, 11 starts,

09:33three sub appearances. And, uh, yeah, his last appearance was that final game against Tottenham

09:39Hotspur. And then when we got that news on Instagram, he said that he's absolutely

09:43devastated to be posted, but unfortunately he's going to be out of action for quite some time.

09:48And he can't explain how incredible and unbelievable the group of players at Brighton and the staff

09:54have been since it happened. So it makes you think that maybe this happened right at the start

09:58of the pre-season goings on there. Uh, he said he'll be back stronger, but he knows that he's, um,

10:04got a long road ahead and he'll be behind the boys as much as he can, which is, which will be

10:10hopefully a successful season. So yeah, we wish him a speedy recovery there, but in, in terms of

10:16new recruits and maybe not trying to be as cynical as Derren there, but Diego Coppola might be pushed

10:23into that first team mix fully a little sooner than planned. Maybe he would have come on as a

10:28substitute maybe in the first few games, but he's been really solid in pre-season Coppola. And I think

10:35he's basically a like for like replacement. The key issue is that Webster has been very, very key in

10:43terms of Premier League experience. And I know that he might still be in the dressing room while he's

10:47recovering, but having that solid bit of backup there, I think is important, especially when you see

10:53I like to feel the other defenders sort of leaving the club. Lewis Dunk as well is not getting any

10:59younger and his form has dipped recently. I feel like Webster had a better season than Dunk last

11:04season. So it'll be a, be a big blow, but hopefully he comes back stronger than ever and Coppola is able

11:11to perform and get straight into it. But it is that risk, isn't it? As we saw with new recruits last

11:17season, it's very hard to tell whether they'll be able to adjust to the Premier League straight away.

11:21Yeah, absolutely. We'll watch that space. Albion made it four wins from four pre-season

11:27friendlies. They beat Coventry City 2-0 in Lansing on Saturday afternoon. Darren, there's another

11:33behind-closed-doors friendly. Who grabbed the goals for the Seagulls and what were the main takeaways

11:36from that one? Yeah, it was another victory for Brighton. They've won all of their pre-season games

11:43games so far. So Yasin Ayari, he got his second goal of pre-season, linked well with Matt O'Reilly

11:51again, who's looked pretty bright in pre-season. He played very well against Las Palmas and he was,

11:57from what I saw, he was very lively against Coventry as well. So yeah, Ayari opened the

12:03scoring and then Sima scored Abdullah Sima, who's linked to Norwich this week actually,

12:10linked to a move to Norwich City. He got the second goal. But it was a solid performance

12:16again and you never quite know how they're going to go. Obviously, the championship sides

12:20start a couple of weeks or a week before the Premier League team. So they might be a little

12:26bit further along in their preparations and they'll be keen to beat a Premier League team,

12:31albeit in pre-season. So I think a decent performance from Brighton. The concerns were

12:38there were a few people watching from the sidelines. There was no Carlos Belieber. Danny Welbeck was also

12:44watching from the sidelines and Olivier Boscagli as well, who's another centre-back that joined

12:52in the summer. They were all described as having minor injuries and are hoping to be back in a couple

12:58of weeks. So yeah, obviously, without Webster there as well. So that's maybe a concern in the centre-back

13:05areas, particularly as they let Erin Cashin go away on loan to Birmingham. And whether that has an impact

13:11on Igor Julio's situation as well with Webster's injury is one to keep an eye on. But in terms of

13:20pre-season, all good for Brighton in terms of results, they've got Southampton this weekend at

13:26St Mary's. They've got their final tune-up game against Wolfsburg at the Amex on August the 9th.

13:32And then a serious action gets underway August the 16th against Fulham.

13:36Yes, it does indeed. And you've mentioned that pre-season game against Southampton there,

13:41Derren. The Seagulls travelled to Southampton for their penultimate pre-season friendly this Saturday.

13:46How strong do you think Albion are going to go, Henry? And I think, do you reckon this is going

13:50to be their toughest pre-season game so far? Yeah, I think so. They've got a point to prove,

13:56and they've also got that new manager, Will Still. He's an interesting one. The same age as Fabian

14:01Herzler, 32 years old. And there was a lot of sort of news around him, a bit of virality around him,

14:08because he has been inspired by football manager at the age of 17 to go from playing to coaching.

14:17And that was sort of the real factor, playing those sort of football manager games. So he's

14:20a really interesting manager and he's got a lot to prove. They haven't had the best pre-season so

14:26far, Southampton. They had a narrow 2-1 win over Eastleigh where they used some of their younger players.

14:31A draw to Castellon who played in La Liga 2 and then a 2-1 loss to La Liga outfit Espanyol.

14:38But as we were mentioning, I think, yeah, these last two games are going to be the biggest tests

14:44for Albion. Southampton are going to be looking to bounce back straight into the Premier League

14:49and they've done a bit of spending. They've done a bit of spending as we've seen.

14:53So we'll see. And I wonder if Adingra will get a chance at all in terms of...

14:59Oh no, sorry, that's Sunderland, my fault there.

15:01Yeah, my fault. I've got that confused.

15:06Yeah, forget that bit, forget that bit. But no, it'll be interesting to see how they do.

15:10I think, yeah, these last two games will be the strongest Albion sides we've seen and

15:16hopefully Carlos Beliba will be making an appearance in that one. I would like to see

15:22Karim Mitoma as well in that and see how he's performing. And it's a very good sign for Brighton

15:29having won all of their pre-season games and along. Hopefully that can continue into these last two

15:34and they can have a good start to the Premier League campaign.

15:37Yes, absolutely. Did you say both managers were 32, Henry?

15:41Yes.

15:42What's the point?

15:45No, it's ridiculous.

15:46Yes, it is ridiculous. Right, before things get too maudlin, we're going to take a look at

15:50the latest goings on at Crawley Town, who wrapped up their pre-season friendly itinerary last week.

15:54A star-studded Crystal Palace side made the trip to Broadfield Stadium on Friday evening with

15:59Eberechi Eza, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Daniel Munoz, named for the Eagles in a 3-0 win.

16:04Ron, firstly, thank you for joining us. It sounded like a great occasion at the Broadfield.

16:09What did you make of the Reds performance against the FA Cup holders and which Crawley players stood out to you?

16:15Yeah, I thought it was a really good game, despite going behind after 90 seconds to Mateta after a defensive mistake.

16:24But, you know, once they found their feet a little bit, they played really well. I know they lost 3-0,

16:30but there was passages in the game where they had good possession, kept hold of the ball well.

16:37Carl Scott looks a really good player for Crawley this season. I think he'll be a big positive for the team.

16:44Harvey Davis as well looked quite good in goal, although there were three goals. There's nothing he could do with any of the goals, really.

16:53But he looked good with the ball at his feet as part of the back three. You know, gives them that extra option to play the ball out of.

16:58And I just think that, you know, Charlie Barker come on quite well after that defensive mistake to let the goal in.

17:04He took over quite well when Dion came off early in the second half.

17:07What was Reds boss Scott Lindsay's assessment of that game, Ron?

17:11Reading the post-match interview, did he seem like there were quite a few positives he took from that one?

17:15Yeah, I mean, there's quite a few positives from that game. Seven players got a full 90 minutes, which he was looking forward to, looking to get in.

17:24And one of those seven was Jay Williams, who hadn't actually had a full 90 minutes since February.

17:29So it was about six months he hadn't played a full 90 minute game.

17:32So that gives them a bit of confidence going into the season that he can last 90.

17:38Also playing in front of a crowd. They hadn't done that much this season.

17:41Although they played Free Bridges and East Winstead with a slight crowd, there was over 5,000 fans there on Friday night to watch the game.

17:50So it gives them a proper league game feel, which is something they've not had so far this season.

17:55Obviously, disappointing reports of being cancelled due to the weather.

17:59But that would have been a similar sort of thing for them.

18:01So they've only had one game in front of fans, really.

18:04Absolutely. Croytown also donned their new third kit against Palace.

18:07And it's safe to say the kit is split opinion somewhat.

18:10The new shirt has a predominantly black design with a red and white trim and features an alternative crest to the usual club's emblem.

18:17Inspired by the club's nickname, the new one-off crest features a devil's pitchfork with the abbreviation CTFC underneath.

18:23I've seen the kit, Ron, and I actually think it looks quite nice.

18:27But what do you make of the kit and what's the fan reaction been on social media?

18:31I've seen lots of, shall we say, strong opinions about the third kit.

18:36Yeah, there has been. I actually quite like it. I think it's really nice.

18:39I don't normally buy football kits, but that would be one that I'll be looking to get hold of.

18:45But I can see why people don't like it.

18:47The badge doesn't fit with the other two strips.

18:52It's just, like you say, it's just a pitchfork.

18:54It doesn't match the actual logo of the club.

18:57But some of the comments are saying they like the black kit, but the badge is awful.

19:01I've had people see it looks cheap. It's absolutely atrocious, someone.

19:06I mean, I don't quite get that. I quite like the idea of it.

19:11I think it's obviously something different.

19:13I mean, I think the club have said that they're looking to possibly use that as a branding tool.

19:17All right.

19:18So they're looking to go down that route at some point.

19:20But I don't think they'll change the badge just yet.

19:22People don't like change, do they?

19:25No, no, they don't.

19:26Meanwhile, it was announced last week that Liam Fraser was signed for Reading

19:29following his contract expiration at Crawley Town.

19:31The 26-year-old Canadian international moved to the Broadfield Stadium in January

19:35and quickly became a fan's favourite with some impressive performances.

19:38But the Reds failed to negotiate a new contract with Fraser,

19:41and he has now signed for the Royals.

19:43What do you make of his departure on?

19:44I guess it wasn't too much of a surprise, considering his contract was up in the air.

19:48Are you sad to see him go?

19:49And how big of a miss do you think he'll be?

19:51They've recruited quite well in midfield, haven't they?

19:54So maybe he won't be too much of a miss?

19:57Yeah, I mean, it could be a big miss.

20:00But as you say, Carl Scott looks pretty good

20:02and looks a similar sort of player to that anyway.

20:05Yeah, sad to see him go.

20:07But as you say, with Jeremy Kelly going as well in the summer,

20:10his contract was up.

20:12So perhaps I expected Liam Fraser to go back home.

20:15Yeah.

20:16But it's a sign for Reading.

20:17I think he's definitely a League One player, without a doubt.

20:21So it's a good move for him.

20:22I wish him all the best.

20:24Yeah.

20:24But certainly, from what I saw on Friday, the first time we saw Carl Scott,

20:28he can certainly fill that gap that we're missing.

20:30Yeah, absolutely.

20:31Carl Scott does look like a very exciting player.

20:33And as we've mentioned at the top of the podcast,

20:35this Saturday brings the moment all Reds fans have been waiting for.

20:38The first game of the 2025-26 League Two campaign.

20:41Crawley opened their new season at Grimsby,

20:43who finished ninth last season in League Two.

20:45First, Ron, how excited are you to get the new season underway?

20:48And second, how do you think the Reds will get on at Blundale Park?

20:51And who are the Grimsby danger men we should all be looking out for?

20:55I'm really looking forward to the start of the season, to be honest.

21:00Yeah, it should be quite a good season for me.

21:03They've got a tough start with Grimsby away.

21:06As you said, they finished ninth, two spots outside the playoffs.

21:09But they lost in their last five games last season.

21:13So that's why they missed out on the playoffs at that point.

21:16Players to watch at Grimsby.

21:18I mean, they've got the former Chelsea player, George McCarron.

21:20Yeah.

21:22He looks quite a good player.

21:23He's the former Chelsea's England Under-17 World Cup winner as well.

21:28Zach Gillison, six years at Blackburn.

21:31Also signed for players at Barca, Youth and Liverpool.

21:36So he looks quite a handy little player they've got there.

21:38But they've got two and three.

21:41Jamie Walker, their forward, he played at Hearts.

21:43240 games, two spells at Hearts with 54 goals.

21:48So yeah, they've certainly got a lot of firepower and decent players.

21:53There's Jason Daddy Van Thorsen, Barcelona League International as well, plays for them.

21:59So they've got quite a few good players.

22:01It'll be certainly a tough start with Crawley.

22:05They've got three away games this season as well as the start of the season.

22:10Absolutely.

22:10And we'll get your score prediction later on.

22:12But finally, Ron, how do you think Crawley will get on in League Two this season?

22:15I know that we've spoken to Scott Lindsay before and he's sort of downplayed the idea of an instant return.

22:20But looking at the squad, do you think playoffs might be a realistic aim?

22:23Or do you think that they will return to League One at the first time of asking?

22:29Absolutely, playoffs are there for them.

22:31The squad we've got, I think Scott knows how to get the best out of players.

22:35I don't quite know how he does it, but he does.

22:41A lot of people have had us struggling.

22:45I mean, I saw one earlier today that had us being relegated.

22:48No, no chance.

22:48I don't think that's going to, there's no chance of that happening.

22:5328-1 to win the league.

22:54I think that's a bit out of the question.

22:56I don't think we're going to win it.

22:57Promotion, maybe.

22:58I mean, I've seen six to one on us being promoted.

23:01So I quite like that idea.

23:02So, yeah, I certainly think playoffs should be the minimum that Crawley fans will probably expect this year.

23:09Yeah, absolutely.

23:09It's all shaping up for an exciting season.

23:12And for the first time this season, we will do our score predictions,

23:14where we predict just the one game this week.

23:17It's Crimsby against Crawley, as we've mentioned.

23:20Starting with you, Ron.

23:21How do you reckon it's going to pan out at Blundell Park?

23:23A good start to the season for the Reds?

23:25Yeah, I think we'll probably snick a 1-0 win.

23:31It's going to be a very tough game.

23:33Grimsby, as I said, Grimsby do have players that are very good.

23:38Just finishing that side of the pass, so they'll win a good start.

23:40So I think it'll be a close, tight game.

23:41I think we'll win 1-0.

23:42Yeah, absolutely.

23:43Darren, how do you reckon things will pan out at Grimsby?

23:46I'm going to go with a 2-2, I think.

23:48I didn't realise, just going back from what Ron was saying about the Grimsby players,

23:52they look a strong outfit, but yeah, I think Crawley would be keen to get a good start

23:59under Scott Lindsay again, and yeah, I'll go for an entertaining 2-2.

24:04And finally, Henry, what do you reckon?

24:06How do you reckon Crawley are going to get on?

24:08Yeah, I think that they'll have a good show in.

24:11They'll be playing their same football that we're used to under Scott Lindsay

24:15that got them into the playoffs in the first place a few seasons ago.

24:19I think that it will be a 1-0 draw, though.

24:22Crawley to get the first goal, play well, and then maybe come unstuck a little bit

24:27in those last few minutes of the game.

24:29But I think it'll be a good performance for Crawley and a good start to the season.

24:35We can only hope.

24:36Well, brilliant.

24:36Thank you very much for joining us this week, chaps,

24:38and thank you very much for joining us this week, Ron.

24:40I think it's safe to say that Mark Dunford's place might be under threat

24:43after your show today.

24:45Thank you very much for joining us.

24:46You can catch up with all the latest sports news covering everything

24:49we have talked about today at sussexworld.co.uk forward slash draw.

24:52Thank you very much for listening and or watching,

24:54and we will see you all very, very soon.

24:56We'll see you all next week.

Gull-Mouth Action podcast - episode 88 | Estupinan exits Albion, Crawley look forward to season opener after Crystal Palace test

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