Hughton hails opening win as 'key moment'
Chris Hughton admitted his relief at Brighton breaking their Premier League duck with a 3-1 win over West Brom.
The pulsating victory already eases pressure on the promoted south coast outfit, who had failed to score a goal in their first three Premier League encounters.
Summer signing Pascal Gross scored twice and laid on Brighton’s third for Tomer Hemed as Hughton’s men stormed past an insipid West Brom.
Asked if the maiden Premier League win lifts a weight on Brighton, Hughton replied: “I must admit that is the case.
“It probably didn’t feel before the game that you needed that relief, but that is the case.
“We’re four games into the season. You want to get that first win and if you don’t, you don’t; we’ve got a group of lads realistic enough to know it’s going to be a tough season.
“But it is definitely a good feeling to get the win under our belts.
“I thought we coped with their threats very well.”
Brighton’s first top-flight win since 1983 sent the Amex Stadium fans into raptures, with manager Hughton now challenging the Seagulls to capitalise on kick-starting their season.
“In my time here we’ve had a lot of key moments at this club, the exploits last season were massive,” said Hughton.
“It’s only then that you understand the magnitude of it for this club.
“We got to 70 minutes against a very, very good Man City side and if we’d managed to hold out that would have been a key moment.
“It’s a key moment today and we’ve got to keep looking for those key moments.”
“I thought Pascal was good value for his two goals today. We signed him because of his strength as an all-round player, he’s very adaptable in midfield.
“But when he gets into those advanced positions he’s a very good technical finisher, so hopefully he can add goals as well.”
West Brom surrendered their unbeaten run with a whimper on the south coast, with only a late consolation goal from James Morrison to show for their trip.
Baggies boss Tony Pulis praised the hosts’ battling win but admitted many of his players were left fatigued after the international break.
“To concede a goal just before half-time and a minute after half-time is a real kick in the goolies for you and it gave them a massive lift,” said Pulis.
“They were the better side but (goalkeeper) Ben Foster didn’t really have a lot to do in the first half.
“The second goal is a poor goal and that kills us, and going 3-0 down puts the icing on the cake for what we’ve done.
“We livened up at the end but we had nothing to lose by then, so I’m not good for giving praise when we’re 3-0 down.
“Brighton were better than us, let’s leave it at that.
“I don’t want to stand here making excuses because Brighton deserved to win, but several of our players looked tired out there, having had some tough travel in the last week or so.”
Source: PA
Published at Sat, 09 Sep 2017 21:54:00 +0000
