AT LEAST Brighton fans have one of England’s top destinations to enjoy, right on their doorsteps.
Because despite an unexpectedly resilient end to their ill-disciplined defeat against Brentford, there now seems to be little chance of any European trips anytime soon.
Joao Pedro’s sending off after 61 minutes typified an afternoon when the South Coast side struggled to stand up to Brentford’s more physical and direct presence.
There was then the worrying sight of Jan Paul van Hecke receiving prolonged treatment in a near-silent and half-empty GTech Stadium before being stretchered off by a team of paramedics.
It added an unfortunate sour note to a defeat that had otherwise been largely of Brighton’s making.
Pedro’s petulant elbow flung at Nathan Collins as the pair tussled for a meaningless high ball on the edge of the centre circle summed up the frustration felt by a team who have now gone five games without a win.
READ MORE ON FOOTBALL
Pedro himself was annoyed still that just moments earlier he had fizzed the ball across the face of goal, but no Brighton player was there to convert it.
The contact with Collins was not much, but it looked like enough – certainly VAR was not about to argue with referee Tim Robinson.
Brighton were already two goals down by this stage on an afternoon when very little seemed to go their way.
An up-tempo second-half performance by Brentford had blown them away – although their two goals shortly after the break both took massive deflections off Brighton captain Lewis Dunk.
Most read in Football
CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS
Brentford had come racing out for the second half and immediately punished a groggy-looking Brighton defence.
Bryan Mbeumo was given time on the right to cut in and hit a left-foot shot which hit Dunk’s puffed-out chest and bobbled past Bart Verbruggen and into the far corner.
With their newfound energy, Brentford were suddenly mounting a much more direct physical threat, particularly from set-pieces.
Somehow Brighton managed to bundle away two high, menacing corners that dropped at the far post in quick succession and even tried to counter.
However, a brilliant pass down the channels by Mikkel Damsgaard sent Mbeumo clear again, only this time he cut the ball across the area and, thanks to another cruel Dunk deflection, Yoane Wissa was able to force his shot into the back of the net.
In fairness, Brighton did not flinch from their uphill battle and Fabian Hurzeler brought back into the side Kaoru Mitoma among a number of changes from he bench designed to make up for the numerical disadvantages.
Brentford have recently held Chelsea and Arsenal to creditable draws to prompt suggestions that they have it within them to challenge higher up the table next season with a bit more consistency, but the GTech Stadium has not been the fortress it was in 2024.
Indeed the Bees had not won here in any competition since December.
So there was understandable anger in the ranks when Brentford’s defence seemed to remain static while Mitoma found a way to wriggle away from them and score far too easily despite Brentford’s extra man.
Brighton chairman Tony Bloom had turned down a place in the directors’ box to take his place in the corner among the away support and they did their utmost to cheer their side back into contention.
A thrilling finale seemed unlikely given the visitors had even started the game on the back foot once an early Matt O’Riley free-kick had flown harmlessly over the bar.
Wissa should have given Brentford the lead inside three minutes when he met Kevin Schade’s perfectly-placed cross only to shoot too close to Bart Verbruggen and allowing the Brighton goalkeeper to turn the ball past his post with his foot.
Instead, it was Mbeumo who burst through the middle in the 10th minute to give Brentford the lead with a powerful finish that left Verbruggen with no chance.
Then with virtually the final touch of the half, Brighton snatched an equaliser.
Danny Welbeck may not have the same spring in his step as when he was a kid, but the 34-year-old had showed the cunning of his years to steer a header inside the post while leaning back to meet Mats Wieffer’s cross in the last minute of injury time.
Could Brighton do something similar in the second half?
The energy in his legs meant the former Manchester United striker had long departed before the fourth official raised his board to indicated that there would be eight extra minutes at the end of the second period to raise hopes that they could.
In the end, it was simply time for Brentford to pour more misery onto their opponents.
Another deep looping cross, this time from substitute Mathias Jensen, was headed in by Christian Norgaard from amid a crowd of players.
Tempers still showed no signs of calming and an unseemly bustle ensued when Jan Paul van Hecke kicked out after an untidy challenge on the edge of the Brighton penalty area.
This time the card was yellow and when the free-kick sailed harmlessly into the stand it really should have been game over.
Read More on The Sun
Unfortunately, the final whistle was in fact delayed even further by an accidental clash of heads between van Hecke and Yunus Konak.
The Brentford player rose gingerly to his feet but the Dutch centre-back more concerning exit just compounded the misery of Brighton’s afternoon.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
