A Tomer Hemed winner reminds us all of the delights of a budget third striker as Newcastle United’s well-owned goalkeeper and defenders fail to keep out Brighton at the Amex Stadium.
Here are the notes from Sunday’s one and only match.
Hemed the hero, for now
The 2017/18 Fantasy Premier League season is in danger of leaving us dazed and confused before October has even had the chance to turn up.
We started the campaign looking at top-performing midfielders, just like last year, to lead the way.
Now we think premium-priced forwards are the way to go, with budget midfielders to provide ballast and some decent returns now and again.
But Sunday’s match between Brighton and Newcastle threw even that idea into question, as the Seagulls’ Tomer Hemed – an archetypal cheap third striker if ever there was one – delivered a nine-point performance to prove that fine hauls from forwards don’t always have to come with a budget-busting price tag attached.
Dale Stephens provided the assist for the Israeli, who has two goals and an assist from his last three starts, making the 2.8%-owned forward a tidy differential indeed.
He’s been involved in three of Brighton’s four home goals this season and is something of a talisman at the Amex – the Seagulls have won 13 and drawn one of the 14 matches in which he’s scored on home turf.
Indeed, going back further, Hemed has now been involved in 20 goals in his last 23 starts from Brighton at the Amex, producing 15 goals and five assists.
But the striker could go from hero to villain in a matter of days. Hemed was involved in an “incident” with Newcastle’s DeAndre Yedlin late on, which appeared to show the striker stamp on the Magpies defender.
Accidental or otherwise, the incident could be reviewed by the FA having been apparently missed by referee Andre Marriner.
Should the FA issue a retrospective charge of violent conduct, Hemed will face a three-match ban. That would rule him out of fixtures with Arsenal, Everton and West Ham United. We would hope to have confirmation in the next 24 hours, with Marriner’s report set to be processed today.
So far, only 13,000 have invested in Hemed following Sunday’s points, with a potential ban no doubt a factor in the lukewarm interest to this point.
Should he sit out the next three, Chris Hughton’s options in attack would be severely limited. Glenn Murray failed to make the squad on Sunday as he struggles for fitness, although Izzy Brown returned from injury to make the bench and could be an option. He is classed as a 5.3 FPL midfielder.
Brighton’s 1-0 win over Newcastle made it back-to-back victories at home and seven of their next eight matches on the south coast – EVE SOT STK CRY BUR WAT BOU – offer the potential for good returns from their defensive assets as well, with only a Gameweek 15 visit from Liverpool likely to be a step too far for a backline of players available at around the 4.5 mark.
They certainly have some previous for parsimony at home, albeit in the Championship, as they kept 12 clean sheets and conceded just 14 goals in 23 matches last term.
Newcastle huffed and puffed but couldn’t breakdown a resilient Brighton, which derailed a number of Gameweek 6 bandwagons.
Jamaal Lacelles (10.1%) ended up with one point after being yellow carded, while Matt Ritchie, Chancel Mbemba and Christian Atsu had earned a combined 783,000+ transfers-in for the Gameweek, only to sell their new owners short.
Even keeper Rob Elliot, a 23.8%-owned budget pick at 4.1, let us down, failing to claim a save point for only the second time this season, although he was also the most benched player (808,000) of Gameweek 6.
There should be better defensive days to come for the Geordies – of the 18 teams to have played six times, only the two Manchester clubs have allowed fewer shots in the box than Newcastle, even though they’ve kept just two clean sheets.
And Rafa Benitez’s men still have six decent matches in the next eight. A visit from Liverpool next week and a Gameweek 12 trip to Man United aside, Newcastle will face: sot CRY bur BOU wat WBA.
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