Fulham 2 Brighton and Hove Albion 1
Seagulls fans of a certain vintage fondly remember Harry Wilson – a skilful, physical and highly competitive defender brought to the Goldstone by Brian Clough in the 1970s.
Today (Saturday 24 January), it was another Harry Wilson who grabbed the headlines as Fulham beat Brighton and Hove Albion with a stoppage time goal at Craven Cottage.
The Wales international fired in a stunning free-kick from about 30 yards out into the top left corner of the goal. Bart Verbruggen got a touch but was unable to keep the ball out.
Frustratingly, Albion had led from the 28th to the 72nd minute thanks to a superbly placed shot by Yasin Ayari that gave Fulham keeper Bernd Leno no chance whatsoever.
The equaliser came from Samuel Chukwueze who latched on to a cross from Joachim Andersen and almost curled the ball round Verbruggen.
A minute or two later, Kaoru Mitoma played a cracking pass forward to Danny Welbeck who caught Leno off his line and took full advantage.
But a review by the video assistant referee (VAR) suggested that Welbeck had been fractionally offside and ref Michael Oliver disallowed the goal.
Welbeck had another stab, prompting a terrific save from Leno, with just over 10 minutes left on the clock.
But just as Brighton salvaged a point against Bournemouth in added time on Monday (19 January), this time out they were on the receiving end of a late blow.
Kostoulas, the scorer of a spectacular overhead goal five days ago, came on after 88 minutes today and picked up a yellow card as six minutes of stoppage time got under way.
Then came the free kick from Wilson that sent the home fans wild.
Earlier in the match, both sides had tested the keepers, with Ayari’s goal coming, if anything, slightly against the run of play.
Mitoma almost doubled Brighton’s lead moments after their first-half goal but Leno was equal to the challenge. And Welbeck came close again three minutes after his disallowed goal in the second half.
Albion will rue their missed chances, not least after the equaliser from Chukwueze, just back from playing at the Africa Cup of Nations where Nigeria finished third.
The Seagulls stay 12th in the Premier League table, with 30 points from 23 games.
Next Saturday (31 January) the Seagulls host Everton at the Amex.
