Brighton and Hove FC V Tottenham Hotspur Match report

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Brighton conceded in the 96th minute to give Spurs a 2-1 win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday afternoon.Written by Joe Zelinger.
Heung-min Son, who had just returned from the Asian Cup, played his part in the winning goal, playing a perfect cross in for Brennan Johnson, who couldn’t miss from just a few yards out.
The Seagulls battled well in large parts of the match, and a draw wouldn’t have been an unjust result had they been able to hold on.

Assistant manager Andrea Maldera oversaw the team for the game, with head coach Roberto de Zerbi absent due to dental surgery, but despite this Brighton still started the game well and took the lead on 17 minutes.

Pascal Gross nicked the ball off Rodrigo Bentancur on the edge of the Spurs box, and after some intricate play inside the area, Danny Welbeck was brought down by Micky van de Ven and the visitors were awarded a penalty.Gross stepped up to take the spot kick, and confidently fired the ball into the net, sending Guglielmo Vicario the wrong way.

This had been a deserved lead after Brighton controlled the opening exchanges of the game, and could have been ahead earlier when Welbeck curled an effort towards the far corner, only to be denied by Vicario.

Tottenham responded well to going behind, but were still struggling to create chances of their own, as their main opportunities came from Brighton giving the ball away in dangerous areas.

The home side pounced on loose balls on a number of occasions, with one leading to James Maddison curling an effort just wide of the top corner, and another resulting in Jason Steele having to deny Dejan Kulusevski from close range.

Brighton could have made it two on the 30-minute mark, when Kaoru Mitoma’s shot was parried away by Vicario after he was played in on goal by Adam Lallana.At the start of the second half, it was one way traffic in favour of Spurs as they tried to get back on level terms, and 15 minutes into the second period they got their reward.

Pape Matar Sarr’s driving run forward was picked out by Kulusevski, and the Senegalese midfielder at first tried to square it to Richarlison for a tap in. Lewis Dunk heroically blocked this pass, but the ball fell kindly back to Sarr who finished calmly into an empty net.

From this point up until Spurs’ winner, Brighton grew back into the game, having long spells of possession and creating chances of their own.On 76 minutes Ansu Fati, on loan from Barcelona, squandered a golden chance to give Brighton the lead again.

Mitoma was played in down the left-hand side of the box by Gross, and pulled a cross back to the six-yard box where Fati was waiting, but he could only direct his effort agonisingly wide of the post, with the Brighton fans ready to celebrate behind the goal.

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Minutes later Brighton had another opportunity, but Facundo Buonanotte’s shot from inside the box was crucially blocked by van de Ven.As the game entered the final minutes, a draw seemed a fair result, but if it was going to be anyone that was going to win it, it was going to be the Seagulls.

Unfortunately for Brighton, Spurs had one more trick up their sleeves, working a move from a freekick in their own half, which resulted in Johnson meeting Son’s cross at the back post to snatch all three points.

The result leaves Brighton in 9th place in the Premier League, but still only three points behind Manchester United in 6th. They are back on their travels next week as they face Sheffield United at Brammall Lane.

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