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Ayari scores again as Albion continue pre-season programme
Ayari scores again as Albion continue pre-season programme

Yahoo

time26-07-2025

  • Sport
  • Yahoo

Ayari scores again as Albion continue pre-season programme

Yasin Ayari scored another pre-season goal as Albion beat his old club. Ayari was set up by Matt O'Riley for the opener in a 2-0 victory over Coventry City behind closed doors at Lancing. Abdallah Sima, back in training at Lancing after his season on loan at Brest, added the second. Playing time for most starters was upped to 63 minutes after the 45-minute allocations in the first three friendlies. Among the players to come on 18 minutes into the second half was Ferdi Kadioglu, playing his first minutes since suffering injury at Liverpool last October. Kadioglu trained with the group during their recent trip to Marbella. Jeremy Sarmiento, who was not involved in the trip to Spain, also had some playing time. O'Riley teed up an open goal for Ayari in the friendly win over Las Palmas and this time his cross was headed home by the Sweden midfielder. Ayari has shown a good ability to get deep into the opposing penalty area and he arrived at the far post for a simple finish after O'Riley was released by Brajan Gruda. An offside flag denied O'Riley what would also have been a second goal in as many games. He also shot narrowly wide in the second half. Sima scored late in a competitive tussle after a cut-back by Andrew Moran. Adam Webster (knee) and Facundo Buonanotte (ankle) were among those who did not take part as Albion assess injuries. Read more Four for Ferguson as Albion man makes a flying start on loan I will not have a problem - Babis prepares for Prem spotlight after big move Veltman says 'amazing' new boy will fit into Albion's Dutch defensive connection Diego Gomez had only a brief participation against the Sky Blues for reasons which have not been communicated. The Seagulls visit Southampton and host Wolfsburg, both in front of fans, on the next two Saturdays. Albion: Steele; Wieffer (Veltman 63), Dunk (Simmonds 63), van Hecke (Coppola 63), De Cuyper (Kadioglu 63); Ayari (Milner 46), Hinshelwood (Yalcouye 63); Gruda (Oriola 63), O'Riley (Sarmiento 63), Mitoma (Gomez 46, Moran 63); Rutter (Sima 63).

'O'Riley provides something a little bit different'
'O'Riley provides something a little bit different'

BBC News

time24-07-2025

  • Sport
  • BBC News

'O'Riley provides something a little bit different'

Speaking on the latest episode of the Albion Unlimited podcast, BBC Radio Sussex's Johnny Cantor and former Brighton striker Warren Aspinall discuss Matt O'Riley's midfielder, who has been the subject of transfer speculation this summer, scored and assisted in Brighton's 2-0 friendly win over Las said: "I would quite like to see him stay. I don't know whether there's room for him in the squad. I think he provides something a little bit different to some of the other players."Aspinall added: "I think we should keep him, I think he's very good."He's got great vision. In that final third, he can open a team up. We saw it last season and the season before when he was playing for Celtic in big games."He's a very talented player, very good with his feet and he scores goals. He can make goals as well."He's a very good talent and I think £25m - if that's the going rate they're asking for - would be a bit cheap."I'd be willing to sell the likes of Facundo Buonanotte before him."Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Brighton's summer training camp: 34 players, two wins and a quiz night
Brighton's summer training camp: 34 players, two wins and a quiz night

New York Times

time22-07-2025

  • Sport
  • New York Times

Brighton's summer training camp: 34 players, two wins and a quiz night

Brighton & Hove Albion ended a 10-day training camp on Spain's Costa del Sol with a 2-0 win last night against Las Palmas. Victory against the side relegated from La Liga last season followed a 3-1 win against Championship outfit Stoke City last week. Ice baths and swimming pool recovery sessions at the Marbella Football Center resort provided welcome respite for the players from daily training sessions in temperatures that often climbed above 30C (more than 86F). Advertisement But it wasn't all serious business in preparation for Fabian Hurzeler's second season as head coach. The Athletic's Brighton & Hove Albion correspondent Andy Naylor spent time at the camp, and shares a few observations, including who was there, who wasn't, and why kit man Alex Burrows had players scratching their heads… Hurzeler used different XIs in each half against Las Palmas. Matt O'Riley, frustrated by injuries and irregular game time last season after a £25million ($34m) move from Celtic, was heavily involved in both goals. The Denmark international midfielder contributed to a sweet move by setting up Yasin Ayari for a tap-in after 16 minutes. O'Riley doubled the lead a minute later, intercepting a pass to stroke in a shot from a central position 25 yards out. Facundo Buonanotte faces a scan after rolling an ankle early in the second half. The Argentine attacker tried to continue but had to be replaced by Ayari. Buonanotte, loaned to Premier League rivals Leicester City last season, will qualify as homegrown if he stays in the UK until January, either with Brighton or if he has another domestic loan. Hurzeler told The Athletic after the match: 'The injury doesn't seem to be that bad, but there was no opponent near him. Hopefully, he is fine. He has performed well in training and in games, so let's see how the situation develops.' Although Hurzeler called time on his playing career with Bayern Munich in his early twenties, he still likes to keep himself in shape. After the game, he went on a solo run outside the secluded venue, which is surrounded by a high wall and fencing. The five signings made in this summer transfer window are being eased into action. Italian central defender Diego Coppola scored with a header four minutes into his first outing as a second-half substitute against Stoke on Wednesday. French central defender Olivier Boscagli had a run-out in the opening 45 minutes of a 6-1 victory against League One side Wycombe Wanderers, which was played behind closed doors at the training headquarters in Lancing the day before the camp started in Spain. Advertisement Belgian left-back Maxim De Cuyper made his first appearance in the opening 45 minutes against Las Palmas. Greek forward Charalampos Kostoulas and former Sunderland winger Tommy Watson have yet to play a part in any of the warm-up games. The same applies to Kostoulas' Greece Under-21 team-mate Stefanos Tzimas. The striker, signed at the end of the January transfer window, is recovering from a hamstring injury picked up on loan to Nurnberg in last season. As his Brighton team-mates rested after a morning training session in sweltering heat, Evan Ferguson arrived in Italy on Sunday to a raucous welcome from Roma fans. The club that knocked Brighton out of the last 16 of the Europa League in 2023-24 have an option to buy the 20-year-old Republic of Ireland No 9 as part of the loan deal. Squad trimming is ongoing to reduce a bloated group — 34 players made the trip to Marbella. They included Pervis Estupinan, who was pulled out of the game against Las Palmas as Milan push to sign the Ecuador left-back. In that position, Brighton already have De Cuyper, who signed this month from Club Brugge, and Ferdi Kadioglu, the Turkey international who was a non-playing member of the squad in Spain as he nears a return from a toe injury that has kept him out since November. Youngsters Malick Yalcouye and Caylan Vickers — who both impressed against Stoke — are going out on loan. Midfielder Yalcouye, 19, spent last season at Sturm Graz in the Austrian Bundesliga, while Vickers, 20, has joined League One side Barnsley for the season. The start of the Spain trip coincided with Joao Pedro scoring in Chelsea's 3-0 victory against Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup final. The Brazilian forward's £60million move from Brighton puts a lot of responsibility on Danny Welbeck and Georginio Rutter to lead the line. Advertisement The pair have hit the ground running this summer. Welbeck, still in prime physical condition at 34 and as hungry as ever, scored four goals in the first half against Wycombe. Rutter was on the scoresheet against Stoke in the Frenchman's first appearance since an ankle injury sidelined him in March. Hurzeler estimates that first-choice goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen is two weeks away from returning to action after a knee injury, which hampered the Netherlands No 1 last season. 'He had an ongoing issue and he suffered a lot,' Hurzeler revealed to The Athletic in Marbella. 'Now it is about us making him pain-free, then I am sure he can bring himself to another level.' The knock-on effect of Verbruggen continuing his recovery in Spain is that Carl Rushworth, third choice behind Verbruggen and Jason Steele, has registered the most pre-season minutes of any Brighton player. The club are keen for Rushworth to sign a new contract before sending him out on loan to a fifth club in as many seasons. Championship side Coventry City and Scottish side Rangers are interested in borrowing the 24-year-old. Togetherness is a key feature of Hurzeler's management style. Squad bonding outside the environment of daily training sessions and two matches was evident in Marbella. After the Stoke game, players and coaches spent the rest of the evening at a sports bar for a bite to eat and to play games on Formula One, golf and multi-sports simulators. The following day was designated as a day off. On many such club trips, players split into small groups, often sticking with team-mates from the same country or region. The Brighton players enjoyed each other's company on and off the pitch. Around 20 played golf together, with another large group on the padel courts and others on a bike ride. Advertisement On Saturday evening, kit man Alex Burrows hosted a quiz that was well attended by players, testing their knowledge of football and other categories, including music and general knowledge, with questions such as, 'Which country has the most pyramids?' (You'll just have to read to the end of the piece for the answer.) To Hurzeler, unity counts for a lot in coping with the inevitable ups and downs of a Premier League season. Fans get their first opportunity to see the team during the pre-season programme when they visit Southampton on August 2. Relegated from the Premier League last season, Southampton have a new head coach. Will Still is only 32, the same age as Hurzeler. The Belgian-born Englishman helped Reims achieve finishes of 11th and ninth in Ligue 1 before steering Lens to eighth last season. The annual curtain-raiser at the Amex Stadium is against German Bundesliga outfit Wolfsburg on Saturday, August 9 (5pm). Other games are in the pipeline behind closed doors before the club's ninth season in succession in the Premier League is launched at home to Fulham on Saturday, August 16 (3pm). (As for that question about the country with the most pyramids: it's not Peru, Mexico or Egypt. It's Sudan.)

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