Brentford 0 Brighton and Hove Albion 2
Brighton and Hove Albion marked James Milner’s record-breaking 654th Premier League appearance with a much-needed 2-0 win at Brentford.
The pressure had mounted on Seagulls boss Fabian Hürzeler after just one league win in 13 – and he again turned to veteran midfielder Milner to try to arrest the worrying run of results.
Milner’s inclusion took him past Gareth Barry’s previous record of 653 appearances – and it proved an occasion to remember all round for Brighton after first-half goals by Diego Gomez and Danny Welbeck.
Gomez scored in the 30th minute to end the Albion’s three-match run without a goal and Brentford captain Nathan Collins was at fault when Welbeck made it 2-0.
Collins’s poor clearance allowed Welbeck to fire home for his 10th goal this season in added time at the end of the first half.
History was made with Milner given only his fifth start this season but a wayward first pass was roundly cheered by Brentford fans.
Both goalkeepers were busy early on, with Caoimhin Kelleher tested by skipper Lewis Dunk before a poor clearance by Bart Verbruggen went unpunished by Mathias Jensen.
Kelleher spilled an effort by Brighton’s Jack Hinshelwood soon after which sparked a spell of dominance for the out-of-form Seagulls.
Milner was involved in the first clear-cut opportunity with a lovely chipped pass into Hinshelwood who headed down for Kaoru Mitoma but Kelleher kicked away his scuffed effort.
Another chance followed when a Pascal Gross corner went through to the back post for Milner but he lashed wide.
Mitoma sent another shot straight at Kelleher before Brentford responded with Milner’s former Liverpool team-mate Jordan Henderson able to pick out Igor Thiago who smashed his shot off target.
It failed to stop the momentum of Hürzeler’s team and they ended a three-match goal drought in the 30th minute.
A wonderful curled effort by Ferdi Kadioglu almost halted the run only for his strike to hit the crossbar but Gomez reacted quickest to fire in the loose ball.
Vitaly Janelt had an off-target effort for Brentford in response before home boss Keith Andrews was forced to bring off the injured Aaron Hickey.
Bees captain Collins was sent on but his first involvement resulted in Brighton’s second goal in stoppage time.
Hinshelwood burst down the right and crossed into the area where Collins made a mess of an attempted back-heel clearance and Welbeck pounced to make it 2-0.
Andrews reacted at half-time with Yehor Yarmoliuk and Kevin Schade introduced but it failed to spark Brentford into life.
Collins sent one header wide before Mikkel Damsgaard was turned to in the 67th minute.
It momentarily lifted Brentford but Jensen could only head off target before Dango Ouattara flicked over from Thiago’s knock-down.
Verbruggen denied Damsgaard late on and produced an even better stop to prevent an own goal by Joel Veltman, ensuring Brighton claimed a first victory in seven and kept a clean sheet.
Milner’s special afternoon ended with a passionate celebration in front of the travelling fans and applause coming from both sets of supporters at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Next up, the Albion host Nottingham Forest at the Amex at 2pm on Sunday 1 March before the visit of league leaders Arsenal on Wednesday 4 March.
