|
|
Played
July 30, 2011 3:00 PM BST
July 30, 2011 3:00 PM BST
Brighton 2-3 Tottenham: Spurs dampen Albion’s stadium celebrations
Jake Livermore hits the winner as Spurs win five goal thriller to ensure the new Amex Stadium is opened in style ahead of the new season
By Gill Clark
Brighton and Hove Albion celebrated the opening of their new Amex Community Stadium with a pre-season friendly against Tottenham Hotspur who proved too strong for Gus Poyet’s men, running out 3-2 in an entertaining encounter.
Spurs boss Harry Redknapp named a strong team for the game with Gareth Bale, Rafael van der Vaart and Roman Pavlyuchenko all starting while the hosts handed a debut to club record signing Craig Mackail-Smith.
Brighton began the game brightly with Matt Sparrow volleying just wide after nine minutes and it was a warning Spurs failed to heed as minutes later they were behind.
Mackail-Smith was the creator, haring down the left before crossing for Ashley Barnes to tap home past Brad Friedel in the visitors’ goal.
The visitors were quick to respond, however, Aaron Lennon showed good pace down the right before exchanging with Pavlyuchenko and firing wide.
Five minutes later, and only the woodwork, denied Spurs; Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Pavlyuchenko teeing up Jake Livermore who saw a fierce shot cannon back off the crossbar.
With a little under five minutes to go before the break, Gareth Bale showed great skill, to beat two men down the right before cutting the ball back to Kaboul, who beat Casper Ankergren to level the scores.
Yet parity lasted just minutes and seconds before half-time Spurs were ahead. Vedran Corluka was the unlikely goalscorer, bursting into the box before firing a shot which flew under the goalkeeper and in off the post for a half-time lead.
Spurs started the second half confidently and had a claim for a penalty in the opening 10 minutes. Lennon found Corluka in the box and the Croatian went down under the challenge of Marcos Painter, only for the referee to award a corner.
The chances continued to come for the visitors with Pavlyuchenko heading an Assou-Ekotto cross wide but Brighton were not to be cowed by their more illustrious visitors.
Indeed, just after the hour mark they forced themselves back onto level terms. Newcastle United loanee Kazenga LuaLua cutting inside and firing home a decent finish from fully 20 yards.
Yet less than five minutes later and Redknapp’s men had established their superiority once more. Substitute goalkeeper Peter Brezovan unfortunately caught in possession by Livermore, who then had the simple task of slotting home and sealing victory.
|
Sign up with 188BET for a FREE bet up to £25 – Great Prices, Every Game |
|
Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £50 in free bets! |
|
Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
|
Sign up with Paddy Power - Bet £10, Get £20! |
Spurs boss Harry Redknapp named a strong team for the game with Gareth Bale, Rafael van der Vaart and Roman Pavlyuchenko all starting while the hosts handed a debut to club record signing Craig Mackail-Smith.
Brighton began the game brightly with Matt Sparrow volleying just wide after nine minutes and it was a warning Spurs failed to heed as minutes later they were behind.
Mackail-Smith was the creator, haring down the left before crossing for Ashley Barnes to tap home past Brad Friedel in the visitors’ goal.
The visitors were quick to respond, however, Aaron Lennon showed good pace down the right before exchanging with Pavlyuchenko and firing wide.
Five minutes later, and only the woodwork, denied Spurs; Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Pavlyuchenko teeing up Jake Livermore who saw a fierce shot cannon back off the crossbar.
With a little under five minutes to go before the break, Gareth Bale showed great skill, to beat two men down the right before cutting the ball back to Kaboul, who beat Casper Ankergren to level the scores.
Yet parity lasted just minutes and seconds before half-time Spurs were ahead. Vedran Corluka was the unlikely goalscorer, bursting into the box before firing a shot which flew under the goalkeeper and in off the post for a half-time lead.
Spurs started the second half confidently and had a claim for a penalty in the opening 10 minutes. Lennon found Corluka in the box and the Croatian went down under the challenge of Marcos Painter, only for the referee to award a corner.
The chances continued to come for the visitors with Pavlyuchenko heading an Assou-Ekotto cross wide but Brighton were not to be cowed by their more illustrious visitors.
Indeed, just after the hour mark they forced themselves back onto level terms. Newcastle United loanee Kazenga LuaLua cutting inside and firing home a decent finish from fully 20 yards.
Yet less than five minutes later and Redknapp’s men had established their superiority once more. Substitute goalkeeper Peter Brezovan unfortunately caught in possession by Livermore, who then had the simple task of slotting home and sealing victory.
Win 4 tickets to the opening weekend Premier League game of your choice with Unibet
Click here for details
Click here for details
| Sign up with 188BET for a FREE bet up to £25 – Great Prices, Every Game |
|
| Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £50 in free bets! |
|
| Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
|
| Sign up with Paddy Power - Bet £10, Get £20! |
|
Goal
Own Goal
Penalty
Penalty Missed
Yellow Card
Assist
Penalty Save
Penalty Shootout Goal
Penalty Shootout Miss
Yellow Card / Red Card
Red Card
Substitution IN
Substitution OUT
Injury
Goal.com Rating
Goal.com Man of the Match
Goal.com Flop of the Match
Top & Flop Global Ranking
Fans' Man of the Match
Fans' Flop of the Match
Results
Times In BST
Top Scorers
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Cristiano Ronaldo
Striker Real Madrid |
5 | 1 |
|
Karim Benzema
Striker Real Madrid |
5 | 0 |
|
Heiðar Helguson
Striker QPR |
5 | 0 |
|
Jason Roberts
Striker Blackburn |
4 | 1 |
|
Wayne Rooney
Striker Manchester United |
4 | 0 |
