It might have been a terrible advert for the Premier League, but the result was all that mattered as far as Brighton & Hove Albion were concerned. Teams in their position have to take whatever they can get at this stage of the season and the relief was immense after Chris Hughton’s side eased their relegation fears with their first league victory of 2019.
This had threatened to be another frustrating day for Brighton. Yet they kept plugging away, breaking Huddersfield’s resistance thanks to a late header from Florin Andone, and will feel that they have turned a corner after rising five points above Cardiff in 18th place. “It does feel like a big win,” Hughton said.
A visit from the division’s bottom side came at a good time for Brighton, who had slid away from mid-table obscurity after seven games without a win, although they struggled to seize the initiative during a dismal first half.
As a measure of how bad it was as a spectacle, it took until the 32nd minute for either team to have a shot. It would have gone down as a goalkeeping error if Mat Ryan had allowed Alex Pritchard’s powerful effort to beat him, however, and it was difficult to think of many moments when Huddersfield looked like scoring. Their lack of conviction frustrated Jan Siewert, who refused to discuss reports that he dropped Jason Puncheon following an argument with the winger after last weekend’s defeat at Newcastle.
The better openings fell to Brighton, who almost lifted the tension when Alireza Jahanbakhsh struck the bar with a dipping effort just before the interval. Yet they could not complain about being booed off at half-time and Hughton had some stern words for his players during the interval.
“It had to be a balance of getting into the players and telling them what I thought and making sure they didn’t lose control in the second half,” the Brighton manager said. “We don’t have to score in the first five minutes – that was the message. But we expect more.”
Brighton played with more urgency during the second half. Juninho Bacuna denied Glenn Murray with a brilliant saving challenge and Jahanbakhsh threatened again after breaking clear on the left, only for Jonas Lössl to save the winger’s bending shot. Andone, on for the lethargic Murray, would also test Huddersfield’s goalkeeper.
Siewert rued the moment when Huddersfield, who are 13 points below 17th-placed Southampton with nine games left, switched off at a free-kick in the 79th minute. Brighton took it quickly, Anthony Knockaert had time to chip a cross into the middle from the left and Andone was more alert than anyone else, darting into the six-yard box to glance a clever header past Lössl.
“In one situation we were not switched on,” the Huddersfield manager said. “I am angry. Look how many supporters came from miles away. And we go away with nothing. This is hard. We have to learn that this kills you in the Premier League.”
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Huddersfield almost conjured an instant equaliser, Steve Mounié’s header bringing the best out of Ryan, but Brighton can breathe a little easier.
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