Originally Gaz had offered to drive to and from Brighton on the same day. Though as we got closer to matchday, I felt it wouldn't be fair on Gaz to drive the best part of 10 hours so we ended up booking a hotel.

And so come Saturday morning Gaz rolled up at around 6am and we made good progress down the M6, taking the toll road of course, before finally stopping for a break and some breakfast somewhere near Oxford. The final leg of the journey from thereforth breezed by and we arrived in Brighton a touch before 11am.

Parking at the hotel was limited to residential street parking, and you had to buy a permit from them to do so and then try and find a place to park. The problem with that was, it wasn't easy to park up outside the hotel to run in and get a permit, so I jumped out while Gaz circled around the many one way streets. I got the permit, went outside and saw some spaces just outside the hotel. I called Gaz to tell him the street name and waited a good 15-20 minutes while he navigated around the one way system to get to me. Needless to say, he was not impressed when he frustratedly parked up, but we were then all set and took a walk around to stretch the legs.

Everton fans approaching the Amex Community Stadium

A mate Ian lives in Brighton and he was made up when, while we were on the way down to Brighton, a mate got in touch to say he had a spare ticket, which Ian delightedly utilized. He tipped us off about a good pub nearby called The King & Queen, which is a huge sports bar. He said he'd meet us there at around 1pm just after he finished work. And sure enough, just after 1pm Ian arrived, clearly straight from work. I say clearly, as Ian works in public services and arrived sporting unmissable illuminous orange overalls. As he hadn't factored in getting a ticket, he hadn't thought to bring a change of clothes, and so on he came to the match with his big orange outfit and an Everton cap.

At around 1.30pm we made our way towards the train station, during which Ian gave us as much of a tour of Brighton as he could in a 10 minute walk. A good job he did too. I had no idea Brighton was a place with so much character. It's quite arty and has a great Quadrophenia-influenced music scene. A great place, I'd love to go back.

Train travel is free also if you're going to the football. We got onto the train pretty quickly and after a short journey were in the stadium, even with time for a quick pint before kick off.

Having a pint before the game

The Evertonians were fantastic from start to finish. We backed our team to the hilt. Unsurprisingly we lined up with the same team as against Tottenham Hotspur. If the first half game plan was to stiffle Brighton, frustrate them and limit them, then it certainly worked as Brighton struggled to being any tempo into the game. And with not a lot happening at either end, Everton profiteered from a moment of madness from Joel Veltman when he handled our hopeful ball under pressure from substitute Beto. Dominic Calvert-Lewin had sadly departed with a worrying looking injury by this point.

Up stepped Illiman Ndiaye who cooly slotted in the penalty. As we were at the other end of the pitch we were unaware of his caution for his arm-flapping seagull celebration, though I did wonder why he had a yellow next to his name on the scoreboard as I had no idea what had happened.

We got to half time unscathed. Gaz went down to try and get a pint but we quickly abandoned that idea given how slow the queue was moving.

Brighton really upped the tempo at the beginning of the second half and built up significant early pressure, though Everton withstood well, and after thar dizzy flurry, Brighton seemed to lose heart and ran out of ideas, as Everton were not going to be undone. Resultantly, throughout the half it felt like Brighton skied shot after shot over or wide, leaving Jordan Pickford rather surplus to requirements throughout.

With all substitutes made, it was a worry when Orel Mangala went down, tried to get back up again though then went down again in a heap. He couldn't continue and Everton had to see out the rest of the game with 10 men. Such was the resilience, you wouldn't have known they had a man less. Everyone dug in and helped each other out. Kudos to the substitutes also who all came on and played key roles to help get Everton over the line. The Brighton players and supporters meanwhile really lost their heads, not least Jan Paul van Hecke who was bleating on at everyone and anyone throughout the game.

The best bit of all was after the game had finished. Tempers boiled over for Brighton and there was pushing and shoving down at the other end of the pitch, which resulted in Jake O'Brien being carded. Following this, the players celebrated wildly in front of us adoring Evertonians. We applauded them like they were heroes. It feels a long time since I've had the players come over and celebrate like that in front of away fans behind the goal. I saw us have a good win at Ipswich Town earlier in the season, but we were situated on the side of the pitch so you couldn't quite have that euphoria which being behind the goal in an away end brings. What a feeling. Great to see so many smiles. It's always nice to see a few people you know in times like this and share a smile and a fist clench.

A good thing about the AMEX Stadium, and something that will be replicated at Bramley Moore, is that you can have a drink after the game. Getting the train straight out of the stadium can take a while apparently, so we, along with several other Evertonians stayed around for a couple of beers afterwards. We ran into Chris and Mike also who are always good company and Ian, orange-suited and all, caught up with us too.

As the Manchester City vs Chelsea match approached half time we made our way back into Brighton and had a pint with Ian and his friend before we had to depart as we were still to check in to the hotel. Once we'd done that we grabbed sone dinner and then went around a few haunts that Ian had recommended for us. A great day. A great night. A great trip.

Everton fans salute the players after the 1-0 win over Brighton

Before departing home this morning I took a stroll around Brighton and checked out Quadrophenia Alley before we hit the road. Somehow, despite my bladder bulging, we made it all the way back without stopping and were home pretty handy. Great work by Gaz with the driving.

Leicester City winning today at Tottenham Hotspur wasn't ideal, but nevertheless we've given ourselves a bit of a cushion these last two games. Leicester City next Saturday feels a big game, though suddenly not as huge a game as it would have been if not for our two back to back wins. But win that, and we can really begin to look up rather than over our shoulders, and dare I say it, dream of a cup run.

We'll need reinforcements though. Injuries have been decimating. Over to you, Kevin Thelwell and co.

Player ratings:

Jordan Pickford: Really didn't have a lot to do. Claimed some big crosses late on which was great for relieving pressure. 6

Vitalii Mykolenko: Stuck at it and defended well. 6

Jarred Branthwaite: Defended his box well. 7

James Tarkowski: Similarly, got in the way of a lot and headed everything out. 7

Jake O'Brien: Did very well. I hadn't realised quite how pacy he is. 8

Idrissa Gueye: Absolutely superb. What an effort. My Man of the Match. 9

Orel Mangala: Was doing well until he had to come off. I'd be a bit concerned about losing him for a significant period of time as I think he's done very well. Hopefully the prognosis isn't too bad. 7

Illiman Ndiaye: A great effort and well taken penalty. 7

Jesper Lindstrom: Worked hard for the team. 7

Abdoulaye Doucoure: Can never fault him for effort, just so often the move breaks down when the ball comes to Abdoulaye and he lost posession what felt like countless times. 5

Dominic Calvert-Lewin: It's sad to see Dominic pull up with an injury, especially after a pretty clean bill of health for the last season and a half. It's tough on Dominic personally too, as if he was hoping for a move, be that in the next week or come the season end, that makes this more challenging. It also strengthen's Everton's hand with any contract negotiation. I'm interested to see what happens, though either way, assuming Dominic will now be out for a significant period of time, surely Everton have to strengthen before the transfer window closes. 6

Substitutes:

Beto (for Dominic Calvert-Lewin): I thought Beto did quite well. His pace was handy and he added plenty of hussle. He might have done better with his half chance but he'll get a run of games now. Let's see if he can make the most of the opportunity which for so long he's craved. 7

Nathan Patterson (for Jesper Lindstrom): He got involved and did pretty well. 6

Ashley Young (for Illiman Ndiaye): Ashley did really well. I think he's been excellent in both of the last two games coming on and using his experience to good effect. 7

James Garner (for Abdoulaye Doucoure): Great to see James back and he was straight back at it. He'll need to be ready to slot straight in presumably if Orel Mangala is out for a sustained period. 7


Reader Responses

Selected thoughts from readers

John Raftery
1 Posted 27/01/2025 at 22:15:31

Thanks for the report Paul. It sounds like you had a brilliant weekend topped off with a great result.

The Amex has been a happy hunting ground for us in the post-Covid era; three wins and a draw in four visits. Our approach to Saturday’s game was very much in the Sean Dyche mould, compact shape, solid defence and hoping to sneak a goal with a set piece or a lucky break. That was how we earned those draws last month against Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City. The difference on Saturday was we gained a lead which gave the team something to defend.

Few would argue with your man of the match. Gana was fantastic. I was really concerned when he went down injured and mightily relieved when he was able to carry on. In my view he would be well worth retaining for another season. He has been our most consistent, durable player in recent seasons.

The squad remains threadbare. The injuries on Saturday served to highlight the need for reinforcements in this window. Whether or not they can be recruited remains to be seen. Finding players who can hit the ground running at this stage of the season is enormously difficult.

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