Brighton & Hove Albion ba wai kawai suna zura kwallaye da ƙarfin da ke barin abokan hamayyarsu na Premier League a baya — suna yin haka da salon wasa wanda ke sa masoya kwallon kafa a duk faɗin ƙasar su tsaya su yi mamakin gani.

Nasara ta 5-0 akan Crystal Palace ranar Lahadi ta nuna ƙwarewar da kuzarin da ke gudana a cikin ƙungiyar Fabian Hurzeler, kuma ta haifar da wani lokaci da zai iya bayyana dukan kakar wasa — ba ga Brighton kaɗai ba, amma ga ƙungiyoyi duka.

Kwallón da ta tsayar da kowa

A minti na bakwai a filin Amex, ɗan wasan tsakiya na Paraguay Diego Gomez ya karɓi ƙwallon kusa da layin tsakiya, ya ga mai tsaron gidan Crystal Palace Walter Benitez yana nesa sosai daga gidansa, ya harba a ƙarfin zuciya daga mita 51 wanda ya shiga ƙasa da madaidaiciya.

Benitez ya koma da sauri cikin kwararar damuwa ya yi tsalle, amma ƙwallon ta riga ta wuce shi. Filin ya fashe da murna.

Wannan ita ce kwallón da aka zura daga mafi nisa a Premier League tun lokacin da Wayne Rooney ya harba daga mita 58 don Everton a nasara ta 4-0 akan West Ham a watan Nuwamba 2017 — kwatancen da ke nuna yadda ƙoƙarin Gomez ya kasance da wuya a same shi kuma ya yi ban mamaki.

Mai tsaron gida na tsohon ƙungiyar Newcastle Shay Given, yana magana a matsayin mai sharhi a Match of the Day, ya zana kwatancen da ya burge: "Yana tunatar da kwallón David Beckham [na Manchester United a kan Wimbledon a 1996]." Given ya ƙara da cewa bai zargi Benitez ba, yana mai cewa matsayin mai tsaron gida yana da ma'ana a mahallin kwallon kafa na zamani tare da layin tsaro mai tsayi.

Tsohon dan wasan kwallon kafa na Premier League Efan Ekoku, wanda yake sharhin wa BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, ya faɗi cikin sha'awa: "Wannan ita ce kwallón kakar wasa har yanzu — an bugetar da ita sosai kuma a kan kai mai tsaron gida daga da'irar tsakiya."

Gomez kansa ya kasance mai gaskiya bayan wasan. "Da na zura kwallón, ban san inda zan gudu ba, ko me zan yi," ya yarda, ɗan wasan ɗan shekara 23. "Da na sami ƙwallon, na san mai tsaron gida yana gaba kaɗan. Na yi farin ciki sosai da kwallón."

Kyaftin din Brighton Lewis Dunk, wanda ke riƙe da kyautar mafi kyawun kwallón a ƙungiyar bayan harbarsa ta mita 32 a kan Coventry wanda ya lashe kyautar mafi kyawun kwallón a watan Satumba na Premier League, ya yarda da murmushi: "Wannan ita ce kwallón kakar wasa har yanzu. Ya kwace mini kwallón mafi kyau ta ƙungiyar."

Kwallaye, kwallaye, da ƙarin kwallaye

Kwallaye 23 na Brighton daga wasanni bakwai sun sa su sama da ƙungiyoyi huɗu fiye da jagoran tebur Manchester City, kuma sama da ninka kwallaye 11 na zakarun yanzu Arsenal. Tun lokacin da ake kiran ƙungiyar azaman Premier League a 1992, ƙungiyoyi uku ne kawai suka fi Brighton zura kwallaye a cikin wasanni bakwai na farko na kakar wasa — Arsenal a 2009-10 da 24, Manchester United a 2011-12 da 24, da Manchester City a 2019-20 da 27.

A cikin manyan gasar kwallon kafa biyar na Turai, Barcelona ne kawai — waɗanda suka zura kwallaye 39 a wasanni tara na La Liga — suka fi Brighton yawan kwallaye a gasar gida a wannan kakar.

Yan wasa goma daban-daban sun taimaka wajen cin waɗannan kwallaye, kuma sakamakon ya yi kama da jerin abubuwan ban sha'awa: 4-0 akan Aston Villa, 5-0 a Coventry, 3-0 akan Arsenal, 2-0 a Sunderland da 'yan wasa goma, da 5-0 akan Crystal Palace. Sun kuma dawo daga 0-2 zuwa nasara ta 3-2 a Old Trafford akan Manchester United a Carabao Cup, tare da zura kwallaye huɗu duk akan Tromso da Kauno Zalgiris a Conference League.

Hurzeler yana riƙe da ƙafafunsa ƙasa

Hurzeler — wanda ya zama ƙaramin manaja na dindindin a tarihin Premier League lokacin da aka naɗa shi a watan Yuni 2024 yana da shekara 31 — yana ƙudurin kar ya bar farin ciki ya rufe hangen nesansa. Da aka tambaye shi game da ƙoƙarin lashe gasar, amsa tasa ta kasance mai natsuwa: "Dole ne mu kasance masu tawali'u sosai. Kakar wasa za ta yi tsawo. Ba za mu iya gamsuwa ba. Dole ne mu ci gaba da tura, mu kasance masu tawali'u kuma mu fahimci dalilin nasararmu a halin yanzu don mu ci gaba da tura a wannan matakin."

Ya kuma yi amfani da wannan hujja don kwallón Gomez mai ban mamaki, ya ƙi barin ta zama abin hana ci gaba. "Ba abu ne mai sauƙi ba don a zura kwallo irin wannan," Hurzeler ya yarda, "amma a gare ni abin da ya fi muhimmanci shi ne abubuwan da za mu iya inganta — ƙananan ƙwallo masu sauƙi da muka rasa. Ba mu horar da bugun ƙwallo daga mita 50 ba. Amma mun san yana da ƙarashen wasa da kyau sosai."

Hanya mai wahala a gaba

Wasanni biyar na gaba na Brighton duk za a yi su a wajen gidansu — jerin da ya haɗa da gasar Premier League zuwa Liverpool da Manchester City, wasa a zagaye na 16 na Carabao Cup a Etihad Stadium, da wasannin Conference League a kan Jablonec a Czech Republic da Getafe a Spain. Lokacin da Brighton suka koma Amex a ranar 8 ga Nuwamba don yin wasa da Brentford, waɗancan sakamakon za su faɗa mana abubuwa da yawa game da abin da kakar wasan nan ke iya zama.

Given ya ba da hangen tarihi wanda masoya Brighton na iya runguma: "Na san ba kasafai ake ganin haka ba, amma ka kalla Leicester a 2016 da Blackburn a 1995. A halin yanzu, za ka ce suna iya rube tsammanin da ake yi — amma babu shakka hunturu mai tsawo yana zuwa."