Seagulls flying high but Dons taught a lesson as the countdown to Brighton in January begins

After the excitement of the FA cup round 2 replay in Milton Keynes last Tuesday night attention now switches to Brighton which will be the next stop on the Road to Wembley from Scotland. The match between Brighton and Hove Albion and MK Dons on Saturday January 7^th will be match number 12 on this journey towards the famous stadium in north London. Yesterday the Seagulls from Brighton were flying high in Birmingham and the Dons were learning a hard lesson in Gillingham.

Brighton are having a great campaign in the Championship and seem to be heading for promotion to the Premier Division next season. Yesterday they maintained their excellent recent form thanks to a stoppage time winner from Glenn Murray.

 

Glenn Murray heads the winning goal for the Seagulls in Birmingham

 Birmingham City had taken the lead only for the Seagulls to equalise courtesy of Knockaert. With the match locked at 1-1 Murray powered in a fine header to take all 3 points back to the south coast. This blog is always looking for the Scottish angle and Brighton have one Scotsman on their roster. Glaswegian Jamie Murray, ex of Motherwell and Sheffield United has been plying his trade at the Amex Stadium for the last 18 months. Unfortunately he was not involved in the match yesterday. Maybe manager Chris Hughton is saving him for the big gig in early January.

Meanwhile in Kent the MK Dons lost a close game away against Gillingham by a single goal. The Dons had the chance to take the lead in the first half when they were awarded a penalty. The previous Saturday Dons striker Den Bowditch had converted from the spot against AFC Wimbeldon when he sent the keeper the wrong way. When I met Dean last Tuesday I put it to him that his penalty kick against AFC was almost identical to Robbie Neilson’s legendary penalty in the Scottish Cup Final shoot out in the 2006 Scottish Cup Final. I asked him if he had ever seen it. He confessed that he had never seen that penalty and noted that ‘Robbie Neilson penalty versus Gretna Scottish Cup Final 2006” was a bit of a long search string for a Youtube search. Perhaps Dean should have done that search and seen how his gaffer got the job done because yesterday his kick was saved!

 

The Dean Bowditch penalty: A good strike but well saved

 In truth it was not a bad penalty and Bowditch once again sent the keeper the wrong way. Unfortunately this week his attempt was slightly narrower and the keeper was able to kick out a leg and divert the ball to safety. In the second half the Gills scored the only goal of the game from a header from about 10 yards with the MK Dons defenders marked absent. MK Dons Scottish manager Robbie Neilson hence had to endure the sour taste of defeat in a league match for the first time in his short tenure as boss at Stadium MK. On the pitch the only Scot involved was Jack Hendry who was required to come on after 53 minutes when right back Baldock had to leave the pitch injured. According to reports the young centre back looked a bit uncomfortable in the unfamiliar right back role.

Jack Hendry looking a bit lost - seen here tackling the referee !

Indeed, according to what I have read on the MK Dons facebook forums the whole of the defence looked uncomfortable. Not a great game I am told but the Robbie Revolution will take time and after 2 steps forward over the last week this was one step back but overall progress is being made.

So the countdown has begun. Only 20 days to go until the Road to Wembley from Scotland arrives in Brighton. Later this week I will be exploring Brighton and Hove Albion’s links with Bella Caledonia. Keep reading.