Graham Potter has a contract until 2025 but Brighton and Hove Albion still do not have a win in the 2020s. The only side in the Premier and Football Leagues yet to taste victory so far this year suffered the most demoralising of defeats, a loss in the A23 derby to Crystal Palace that could have considerable consequences.
In the top half in November, Brighton are being dragged deeper into trouble. Six of their next seven games are against top-10 teams and the short term looks troubling for a club with a long-term plan. Rightly or wrongly, their reinvention will be judged a failure if they go down. For all Potter’s progressive principles, the sacked Chris Hughton’s pragmatism kept them up twice, albeit after a similar New Year slide last season.
In contrast, Palace are benefiting from the least ambitious of strategies. “Thirty-six points,” reflected the match-winner Jordan Ayew. “We are not far from the target.” As manager Roy Hodgson said: “If we can get points in the next couple of games we can kiss our relegation fears goodbye.”
As they have banked most of the proceeds of Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s £50 million (Dh235m) move to Manchester United, safety would mean that, pound for pound, few have done a better job than Hodgson. At 72, he does not represent the future, but he is a guarantee of survival, if not excitement. “I am more than happy with a 1-0,” added Hodgson. “I don’t need a 3-0.”
Palace are the league’s lowest scorers but they can keep clean sheets. If the latest owed much to Brighton’s profligacy, Albion have a solitary shutout in 17 attempts and have only scored more than one goal once in nine. The numbers are concerning.
Brighton might feel they are deceptive. “A sore one for us,” said Potter. “Apart from the scoreline, we did a lot well.” They showed plenty of attacking intent as they had 24 shots, their most in a Premier League match, but were caught on the counter-attacking as they were applying pressure. “You can’t feel sorry for yourself,” Potter insisted. “But if you don’t score and you don’t take your chances that can happen.”
Released by Christian Benteke with a reverse pass, Ayew drilled a shot under Mat Ryan. For a goal-shy team like Palace, the workhorse’s haul of seven represents riches, especially from a player who only cost £2.5 million.
He has seven times as many goals as Benteke but, in an instant, Palace’s record buy justified his inclusion. The Belgian had showcased his weaknesses and strengths in swift succession; he had miscued a volley horribly wide but set up Cheikhou Kouyate with a towering header when Ryan saved well at the midfielder’s feet.
Benteke and Gary Cahill also both headed wide from set-pieces. Beyond that, Palace spent much of the game on the back foot. They defended valiantly and savoured a rearguard action but, as Hodgson said: “Most of the strikes came from distance.” The outstanding Cahill added: “An ugly game. They tried to play football but sometimes you have to dig in and get a result and that is what we did.”
Well drilled as they were, their goal led a charmed life when Lewis Dunk’s emphatic goal-bound header was inadvertently blocked by Albion striker Neal Maupay. If it summed up Brighton’s struggles, it was also telling. For all Potter’s passing principles, their greatest threat now stems from Aaron Mooy’s set-pieces.
In open play, Solly March missed one golden chance. Maupay, who had a quartet of opportunities, whacked another straight at Vicente Guaita. Brighton lacked a clinical touch and, at times, confidence and conviction.
The worst miss of all came from Palace’s Wilfried Zaha in injury time, hitting the post when presented with an open goal. It mattered not, though it capped his eventful afternoon. Brighton substitute Ezequiel Schelotto contrived to get booked without coming on for kicking a ball at Zaha. By the end, Brighton had altogether greater worries.
