'Better is needed against Man Utd'
[BBC] [Getty Images] There is probably never a good time for your centre back and goalkeeper to turn into the Dutch version of the Chuckle Brothers, doing a passable 'To Me, To You' impression with a horrific attempt at a blind back pass to gift the opposition a winning goal. Yet if you did want to pick a particularly bad moment for Jan Paul van Hecke and Bart Verbruggen to resemble Rotherham's most famous sons, the 96th minute of the penultimate game of the season with Brighton chasing Europe is up there. The equation was straightforward heading to Leeds on Sunday.
An Albion win guaranteed participation in one European competition or another. Potentially the Champions League, depending on other results over this week. Defeat at Elland Road means that whilst Brighton still have their fate in their own hands, finishing in the top eight now looks much more difficult with a resurgent Manchester United coming to Sussex on Sunday.
What happened against Leeds was therefore a massive opportunity missed. But to put the sole blame on Van Hecke, Verbruggen or anyone else is harsh. Collectively, the Albion were not good enough.
The Chuckle Brother moment would not have been so damaging if Brighton had converted one or two of the 19 shots they had into goals. As many as 13 of those efforts came in the second half. Throughout the first, the Albion looked like they were in a similar boat to Leeds with nothing to play for.
It was astonishing to watch when the possibility of making Brighton history is in touching distance. I suppose equally astonishing is that we are even talking about the Albion and the Champions League. At the end of February, after one win in 13 league matches, the Championship looked a likely destination.