Brighton and Hove Albion 2 Burnley 0
Goals from Georginio Rutter and Yasin Ayari gave Brighton and Hove Albion their first win in seven matches at the Amex this afternoon (Saturday 3 January).
Too often, the Seagulls falter when faced with sides in or near the relegation zone but today they made no mistake as Scott Parker’s Burnley side were outplayed.
Eighteen-year-old Charalampos Kostoulas looked as though he’d opened the scoring inside the first 10 minutes, having buried an aerial pass from Ayari, but it was ruled out for offside.
Lewis Dunk also had a chance, having been left unmarked, but his powerful header went over the bar.
Just before the half hour, Rutter surged in from the right and, when his run was ended, Diego Gomez pounced on the loose ball.
The shot deflected off Kostoulas but Rutter found the rebound and fired it home to give Brighton a well-deserved lead.
Lucas Pires came close to levelling the score after a determined run down the left but Bart Verbruggen managed to stop the shot – Burnley’s only real chance before the break.
Just two minutes into the second half and Ayari exploited a loose ball, sending it into the far corner to put the Albion two goals in front.
Burnley seemed to be configured to try to prevent any more goals from going in rather than getting themselves back into the game.
Loum Tchaouna, on as a sub, had the best chance to pull one back but Ferdi Kadioglu pulled off a goal-line stop.
On this occasion, Brighton not only had most of the ball but they made it count when it mattered.
With about 20 minutes to play, Pascal Gross was given a rousing welcome when he came on as a sub on his return to Brighton from Borussia Dortmund.
Two other Albion veterans came off the bench late on – Danny Welbeck and James Miler who turns 40 tomorrow. They were joined by Maxim De Cuyper and Tom Watson.
De Cuyper almost added a third goal six minutes from the end when he curled in a free-kick but was thwarted by the post.
Brighton move up the table – from 14th to 8th – with 28 points from 20 games while Burnley languish in 19th on 12 points – two points and one place behind West Ham United.
On Wednesday (7 January), Albion face a sterner test when they travel to Manchester City for a 7.30pm kick-off in the Premier League.
And on Sunday 11 January, they are up against Manchester United at Old Trafford in the third round of the FA Cup at 4.30pm.
