Before the Cardiff game I was calling for calm telling Albion fans to not get carried away. So following our trip to Wales we can now draw one of two conclusions. Either Cardiff City are overrated or maybe just maybe we are a bit special.
In the 3 previous games the Albion achieved maximum points without really playing to their full potential against arguably three poor sides. Cardiff on the other hand have been tipped by many to be amongst the Championship front runners and had started this season impressively including a 1-0 win away to West Ham.
So the Seagulls rode into the Welsh capital hopeful but perhaps not expecting to come away with all 3 points. But not only did we come away with the 3 points but we put in the sort of performance which had the 800 or so travelling Albion fans thinking hard about when they have witnessed better from the Seagulls in recent years. After last season that is saying something.
Ok so maybe Cardiff aren’t all that? Or maybe we caught them on a bad night? You could of course argue that point about almost ever side we have ever beaten. From where I sat Cardiff were just outclassed by the brand of football we have become accustomed to over the last season and a half thanks to Gus Poyet.
Ashley Barnes fired in a brilliant 25 yard low drive to give Albion the first half lead and the former Plymouth striker added to his tally with a penalty after Mackail-Smith ran onto another ball most strikers wouldn’t have even bothered to chase down. And finally new boy Will Hoskins marked his Albion debut from the bench with a well taken third goal for the Seagulls. The ref took pity on the home side with a late penalty which was converted by Peter Whittingham.
Brighton fans at Cardiff. We’re flipping brilliant
A massive factor in the win was the performance of Albion’s record signing Craig Mackail-Smith. He may not have added to his goal tally but his performance was nothing short of sensational. If Glenn Murray (dirty Palace bastard) was dubbed the lower league Berbatov by some fans then Mackail-Smith must be the Championships equivalent of Carlos Tevez. Brighton have never spent a better £2.5 million pounds on a player…. Oh wait we’ve never spent £2.5 million on anyone before. These truly are heady days.
This was my first visit to Cardiff since the 1-1 draw at Ninian Park when Bobby Zamora scored to equalise and my word how things have changed! For away fans a trip to Ninian Park was reason enough to check your life insurance and last will and testament were in order but I’m pleased to say things have changed since they have moved into the new stadium. I’m sure some of the knuckle dragging supporters still attend City games but thankfully I didn’t come across any this time around!
As any Albion fan who visited the Welsh capital for the play off final in 2004 will know the City is a great place to visit with some great pubs on offer. The pre match beers at Zerodegrees microbrewery were not only delicious but incredibly cheap thanks to happy hour. I would highly recommend this to any away fans planning on visiting Cardiff in the coming weeks.
One place worth avoiding on the other hand is “The Chippy” a fast food outlet near the Walkabout. Fine if you’re after chips but if you want some fine Turkish cuisine then avoid at all costs. Salad with a Kebab?? Garlic Mayonnaise??? The man behind the counter looked at us as if we were asking for caviar or quails’ eggs. But not even a rubbish Kebab could take the gloss off what will go down in my books as one of the finest Albion away trips ever.
