Bright finish wins point
A LATE penalty and a save from Australian No.1 Mat Ryan in stoppage time have helped Brighton & Hove Albion snatch a 2-2 draw at Southampton in the Premier League.
Glenn Murray’s converted spot kick capped Brighton’s second-half comeback at St Mary’s.
Pierre Emile Hojberg and Danny Ings put Southampton seemingly in control before defender Shane Duffy headed Brighton back into the game.
The result left Southampton in 13th, one place above Brighton, which also has five points from as many games.
The Seagulls also battled back to draw 2-2 with Fulham in their previous league match two weeks ago.
“It’s the second game we’ve come back from 2-0 down,” Brighton manager Chris Hughton said.
“You have to look at the character but also some of the frailties that put us in that position in the first place, credit to the lads they responded well.”
Southampton has now dropped 26 points from winning positions the past two seasons, the most of any team.
Manager Mark Hughes was critical of the penalty and his team’s game-management.
“We got ourselves into a deserved winning position and needed to keep that two-goal cushion for longer than we did,” Hughes said.
“We maybe got anxious. Clearly they were going to throw balls into our box and hope something broke for them.
“As always, I question the penalty decision because it was a little bit soft.”
Southampton dominated the first half and deservedly went in front when Hojberg sent a shot from 25m into the bottom corner.
Ings then doubled the lead with a 65th-minute penalty after being taken down by Gaetan Bong.
Duffy headed home Anthony Knockaert’s freekick just three minutes later, setting the stage for Murray’s penalty after James WardProwse pushed Duffy down on a corner kick.
Southampton had one final chance but Socceroos custodian Ryan dived to his right to push away Ryan Bertrand’s fierce free-kick.