Brighton and Hove Albion 0 Crystal Palace 1
A second-half goal from Senegal striker Ismaila Sarr proved enough to consign Brighton and Hove Albion to a miserable defeat at home to Crystal Palace.
Albion fans booed at the final whistle and the chants included: “You don’t know what you’re doing!”
The Seagulls looked the livelier of the two teams in the first half. They dominated possession throught the game but, as so often, they were unable to turn their approach play into goals.
And once Sarr netted, Palace tightened up even more at the back, snuffing out any and every chance, with keeper Dean Henderson a solid presence behind the visitors’ defence.
Almost straight after Sarr capitalised on a pass from sub Evann Guessand, with 61 minutes on the clock, Henderson denied teenage forward Charalampos Kostoulas.
Skipper Lewis Dunk had a few chances, from a corner and a free kick, but he was unable to head home a crucial goal against Albion’s south London arch-rivals.
Oliver Glasner’s side arrived at the Amex without a win in 11 matches including a 2-1 defeat at Macclesfield in the FA Cup last month. They were beaten by Arsenal on penalties in the League Cup quarter-finals two days before Christmas.
Their most recent win was at Fulham in early December. Since then, Palace have picked up just three points out 27.
Albion also came into the game on a run of poor form. Since beating Nottingham Forest at the end of November, they have played 12 league games including the game today.
They beat Burnley a month ago – a week before the FA Cup win over Manchester United. But six draws and five defeats have brought just nine points from 36.
On Wednesday (11 February), Brighton head to Villa Park in the league then to Anfield on Saturday (14 February) for a Valentine’s Day date with Liverpool in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
The added insult of the result today is that Palace leapfrog Brighton in the table, moving up to 13th, with 32 points from 25 matches. Albion sit 14th with 31 points – eight points from safety.
