Brighton suffer second successive defeat

Injury-hit Albion's winless run increased to six games this afternoon when they lost 1-0 at home to Wolves in the Championship.
Seagulls midfielder Beram Kayal. Picture by Angela BrinkhurstSeagulls midfielder Beram Kayal. Picture by Angela Brinkhurst
Seagulls midfielder Beram Kayal. Picture by Angela Brinkhurst

It was a second successive defeat for the Seagulls, who again had seven first-team players out injured, after a 1-0 defeat to Ipswich on Tuesday.

Wolves got the only goal on 32 minutes when Brighton defender Connor Goldson turned a Jordan Graham cross into his own net.

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Albion failed to make the most of a number of openings in the second period and have now failed to score in 395 minutes.

Brighton had started brightly and forced three early corners but it was Wolves who created the first clear opening on 12 minutes. The visitors’ James Henry won possession in his own half and broke forward, before finding Benik Afobe, whose powerful shot from a tight angle was blocked by Albion keeper David Stockdale at his near post.

The Seagulls then went close three minutes later when James Wilson’s dipping effort from 20 yards was superbly pushed over the bar by Wolves keeper Carl Ikeme.

Stockdale then came rushing off his line to block Dominic Iorfa’s cross-shot from the right on 26 minutes, before the visitors went ahead six minutes later.

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Jordan Graham’s cross from the left was poked into his own net at the near post by Connor Goldson - who played his youth football at Wolves - with no apparent danger behind him as Albion conceded the first goal at home for the fourth successive game.

Henry threatened a second on 37 minutes but his low effort was parried away by Stockdale as Brighton failed to create any clear openings and trailed at the break.

Wilson skipped past a couple of challenges and fired straight at Ikeme, before Lewis Dunk blazed over from ten yards after Goldson’s knock-down as Albion looked for a way back into the match at the start of the second half.

Jamie Murphy then fired over from 16 yards on 56 minutes, before Wilson tested Ikeme from 20 yards after cutting in from the right on 71 minutes.

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Wolves’ Connor Coady crashed a 25-yarder goalwards with 12 minutes to play, which was tipped over by Stockdale, before Albion’s Dale Stephens had a well-struck 22-yard volley saved by Ikeme low to his right by Ikeme two minutes later.

The Seagulls went agonisingly close to equalising six minutes from time when Bruno crashed an effort against the bar from the edge of the penalty area - the third time in two home matches Albion have hit the woodwork.

Wolves then survived late Brighton pressure, including Ikeme tipping over Dunk’s header from Goldson’ cross five minutes into injury-time, to hold on for all three points.

BRIGHTON: Stockdale, Bruno, Dunk, Stephens, Kayal, Crofts (Hemed 74), Calderon, Murphy, Goldson, Wilson, Zamora (Manu 56). Subs: Maenpaa, Forster-Caskey, Holla, Ince, Chicksen.

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WOLVES: Ikeme, Doherty, Edwards, Batth, Henry (Sigurdarson 66), Afobe (Le Fondre 90), McDonald, Coady, Iorfa, Ebanks-Landell, Graham (Byrne 85). Subs: McCarey, Golbourne, Wallace, Price.

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