West Brom v Brighton, EFL, European latest and more: clockwatch – live!

“My reading on the Mason Whistle situation,” writes Jake Shaffer, “is that he blew to move the wall back/sort out the usual pushing and nonsense, Dunk thought this meant he could go ahead and kick, Mason blows again to say that wasn’t why I blew, then Mason realizes, ‘Well, how was Dunk supposed to know that, so seems fair that the goal stands.’ VAR steps in, Mason has to explain why he blew the 1st whistle (pause the play and sort out wall etc) and VAR declares, ‘Well then it is no goal as the whistle was not to restart play.’ Mason was, I think, trying to be fair to Dunk and VAR stepped in with the ‘technically’ correct decision. Not gonna stop people from hating Mason, which does seem a shame as I do think he was honestly trying to give the fair, but perhaps not technically correct decision.”

I don’t think so, based on Mason’s body language at the time, but this would seem to be an argument for the referee having a second noise-making device to differentiate between an oi-you-sort-it-out whistle and a right-then-off-you-go whistle. Something like this, perhaps?

“Time to replace the referee’s whistle,” writes Peter Littley. “They should have a bright red ‘light up’ nose fitted that flashes when the play is stopped. No confusion then.” While being obviously a stupid idea, this isn’t such a bad idea. Some kind of visual aid, perhaps something like an old-fashioned flashing blue police light (visual aid below) worn on the top of the referee’s head that starts flashing red when the whistle is blown, would have added to both clarity and hilarity there.

It’s half time, Brighton are definitely properly cursed, and Lee Mason needs a cold bath and perhaps a couple of weeks off. Meanwhile, why not sign up to our occasionally amusing email.

Chances at both ends! Maitland-Niles has a great chance to double West Brom’s lead but the keeper makes the save, then Brighton run up the other end, Burn’s cross causes a bit of chaos and both Maupay and Connolly have chances before it’s cleared for a corner!

Two chances in a minute for Brighton, but they miss them both, Maupay with the second and more glaring miss, skewing a sidefoot wide from a pull-back!

Birmingham have only won one of their last eight, and before that only won one of their previous eight (in all competitions). Despite that they have apparently been playing rather well today but QPR have now taken the lead, Charlie Austin ghosting in at the back post entirely unmarked to convert an excellent cross from the right.

In other goal news, Sheffield Wednesday have taken a two-goal lead at Luton, Josh Windass scoring both. And Cardiff’s recent victory frenzy is in line to continue, Sean Morrison giving them a 1-0 lead at Middlesbrough.

I think what happened was as follows. I hope this clears it up for you:

1. Lee Mason gives the free-kick. Everyone gets ready for the free-kick.
2. Lee Mason blows his whistle. Lewis Dunk takes the free-kick.
3. Lee Mason forgets he blew his whistle.
4. Lee Mason blows his whistle to tell Brighton that they can forget about this shot counting because he hadn’t blown his whistle yet.
5. The shot goes in.
6. Lee Mason has disallowed the goal, because he hadn’t blown his whistle before the free-kick was taken.
7. Lee Mason is reminded that he blew his whistle before the free-kick was taken, and forgets that he blew his whistle because he hadn’t blown his whistle.
8. Lee Mason allows the goal.
9. Lee Mason is reminded that he blew his whistle because he hadn’t blown the whistle that he had blown.
10. Lee Mason disallows the goal.
11. The end.

From the retaken free-kick Dunk has another go, and this shot is saved. I think Lee Mason needs a lie-down.

Three minutes of madness ends with Brighton being told to retake their free-kick. “A total and utter shambles,” rages Jeff Stelling.

This isn’t over yet! The question is, had Mason whistled before the free-kick was taken or after, and if it was before was it a go-on-take-it-now whistle, or an accidentally-breathed-into-this-apparatus whistle, or was it in fact not a whistle? VAR is still checking this.

Goal disallowed! Brighton win a free-kick just outside the area and Dunk curls it in with West Brom clearly not expecting it to be taken! Lee Mason seems to disallowed the goal, he’s surrounded by yellow shirts, then he gives the goal, and he’s surrounded by West Brom players. They’re still arguing, but this is going to count!

Though there’s a three-point gap between Doncaster in sixth and Accrington in seventh, there is so much congestion in League One that Gillingham in 13th are only four points from Oxford in eighth. Plymouth are four points behind Accrington and two from Oxford, and a win today could leave them sniffing the play-offs. They’re playing second-placed Lincoln and were two up inside 13 minutes, but Conor McGrandles has just scored for the visitors and it’s game back on.

Brighton miss the penalty! Gross, with a short run-up, hammers his shot against the meat of the crossbar, right in the middle of goal, and it rebounds out of the area for West Brom to clear!

Penalty to Brighton! Yokuslu jumped arm-first and the ball hit his fist! I don’t think he knew much about it, but it’s a penalty and Gross has a chance to level the scores here …

Brighton have a corner from the left, which is cleared but as the ball leaves the area half a dozen Brighton players appeal loudly for something. VAR might have to get busy here.

West Brom take the lead in the relegation million-pointer at the Hawthorns, Bartley rising highest in a group of players on the six-yard line, and heading low into the corner!

It’s already 1-1 at Barnsley, with Mason Bennett equalising for Millwall in the sixth minute after a Cauley Woodrow opener in the second. There have only been two shots in the match so far, and they’ve both in.

BONG! It’s 3pm (local time) on Saturday afternoon – kick off!

The pitch at Peterborough doesn’t look the best:

There’s an explosive end to the game between Bournemouth and Watford, with a scrap on the pitch as the game ends, with Watford’s Joao Pedro shown a second yellow card with one second to play, Jack Wilshere sent off after the melee, and the constant ridiculous play-acting cheat Jefferson Lerma, who has wound the visiting team up constantly, ending the game unpunished.

The line-ups for the one Premier League game with a 3pm kick-off are these:

West Brom: Johnstone, Furlong, O’Shea, Bartley, Townsend, Yokuslu, Phillips, Gallagher, Maitland-Niles, Matheus Pereira, Diagne. Subs: Robson-Kanu, Robinson, Livermore, Diangana, Sawyers, Ivanovic, Peltier, Button, Ahearne-Grant.
Brighton: Sanchez, Veltman, White, Dunk, Burn, Gross, Bissouma, Mac Allister, Connolly, Trossard, Maupay. Subs: Lallana, Moder, Jahanbakhsh, Alzate, Welbeck, Tau, Steele, Propper, Zeqiri.
Referee: Lee Mason.

It’s that time again. Saturday afternoon brings just the one Premier League fixture but also the usual avalanche of action across the Football League. Let’s start with a run-through of today’s fixtures.

The best of the Championship games is probably at Swansea, where Bristol City, who after a run of six successive league defeats appointed Nigel Pearson and immediately won at Middlesbrough in midweek, while talking of high-impact managerial appointments Mick McCarthy’s Cardiff juggernaut heads to Boro on a six-match winning run. Rotherham’s game against Reading might be 22nd v 5th but Reading have four points from their last six and the early-season pace-setters could be out of the play-off places by the end of the day (I write this without knowing the result of the early kick-off at Bournemouth).

In League One there are a couple of interesting games towards the bottom, with Northampton (23rd) heading to Swindon (19th, and two points ahead) and Burton (24th) going to Rochdale (18th, three points ahead). In League Two Bolton are the form side, with five wins and a drawn in their last six, and they could rise into the play-off places if they beat Barrow today – although they have played between one and four more games than all of their main rivals for those spots.

Here are today’s fixtures in full. And hello!

Premier League

Leeds v Aston Villa (5.30pm)
Man City v West Ham (12.30pm)
Newcastle v Wolverhampton (8pm)
West Brom v Brighton

Championship

Barnsley v Millwall
Birmingham v QPR
Blackburn v Coventry
Bournemouth v Watford (12.30pm)
Brentford v Stoke
Luton v Sheff Wed
Middlesbrough v Cardiff
Preston North End v Huddersfield
Rotherham v Reading
Swansea v Bristol City

League One

Bristol Rovers v Shrewsbury
Charlton v Blackpool
Crewe v Sunderland
Fleetwood Town v Accrington Stanley
Ipswich v Doncaster
Milton Keynes Dons v Oxford Utd
Peterborough v Wigan
Plymouth v Lincoln City
Portsmouth v Gillingham
Rochdale v Burton Albion
Swindon v Northampton
Wimbledon v Hull

League Two

Bolton v Barrow
Carlisle v Oldham
Crawley Town v Exeter (1pm)
Forest Green v Colchester (5.30pm)
Harrogate Town v Grimsby
Leyton Orient v Tranmere
Mansfield v Morecambe
Newport County v Stevenage
Port Vale v Cambridge Utd
Scunthorpe v Cheltenham
Southend v Salford City
Walsall v Bradford

National League

Premier Boreham Wood v Solihull Moors
Bromley v Altrincham
Dover v Maidenhead Utd (postponed because of Dover’s financial crisis)
Hartlepool v Barnet (5.20pm)
King’s Lynn Town v Weymouth
Stockport County v Chesterfield
Wrexham v Wealdstone
Yeovil v Dag & Red

Scottish Premiership

Celtic v Aberdeen
Hibernian v Motherwell
Kilmarnock v Dundee Utd
St Mirren v Ross County