PANICKING? FERGET IT
Despite Evan’s career-longest goal drought the Ireland striker still looks as hungry as ever and we’ll Sea goals flow for the teenage hitman once his team-mates rediscover top form
EVAN FERGUSON’S current goal drought, the longest of his career so far, is deeply worrying – but not for the teenager himself, nor for Ireland fans.
There is one statistic that should set alarm bells ringing around Brighton right now.
This season, in 19 Premier League outings, Ferguson has managed fewer shots-per-game than during his six appearances in Ireland’s disastrous Euro 2024 campaign last year.
That points to something that regular viewers of the Seagulls will know all too well from recent times – the service to Ferguson just isn’t up to scratch.
His movement is still sharp, but the ball just isn’t finding its way to the 19-year-old as much as it did in the second-half of last season and earlier this term.
Ferguson’s blank during a 25-minute cameo appearance in Monday’s 0-0 draw with Wolves means he is now 583 minutes without a goal at club level.
That’s roughly double his dry spell between the Newcastle United hat-trick on September 2 and his opener in the 1-1 draw with Fulham in late October.
He scored his last goal in the 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest on November 25. Since then he has played 10 times.
In five of those he was sprung from the bench, while he completed 90 minutes just twice.
But again, the concern isn’t with Ferguson, who looks as hungry ever.
When West Ham hosted Roberto de
Zerbi’s side earlier this month and clung on desperately for a point, they allowed the Meathman one sniff of goal.
He received the ball on the edge of the area, flicked it past a defender and let fly with his left boot, sending his shot narrowly wide of the right-hand post.
Opportunities such as that one have been few and far between for Ferguson in recent times.
After two scoreless draws on the bounce in the Premier League, De Zerbi is aware of his side’s problems in the final third.
“In the last two games in the Premier League we have been unlucky because two points after two games with good quality to win, we are losing too many points,” he said in the wake of the Wolves draw.
“We have been unlucky because five draws (at home), for example Sheffield United, Burnley, Fulham and Wolverhampton, we deserved to win all of the games.”
One possible fix could be to continue with Joao Pedro (left), Brighton’s young Brazilian forward who was also frustrated against Wolves.
Only two players in the Premier League this season have had more touches inside the opposition box than him – Alejandro Garnacho and Raheem Sterling. He has also scored one more goal than Ferguson off the same number of shots on target (16 each, according to Sky Sports), but only three of those were not from the penalty spot.
Ferguson, in contrast, has scored all six of his to date from open play.
Joao Pedro has seen more of the ball both inside and outside the box than Ferguson, but the Irishman is more direct and more likely to pull a goal out of nowhere – once the service is good.
James Milner (inset, bottom) spoke earlier this week about his young Irish teammate and referenced the chance against the Hammers.
“His finishing is phenomenal, it’s just so good. If a chance is falling, you want it to go to him,” he said.
“He had a chance at West Ham, we were joking about it. He didn’t score but he made it out of nothing – he hit it instinctively.”
While the ball drifted a yard wide of the post on that occasion, it showcased just why the Ireland striker has been spoken of as a potential €100m transfer target.
Surrounded by defenders, and with one right between him and the goal, in the blink of an eye he made the space for a shot.
He will emerge from this goal-less spell because it’s not your conventional, confidence-sapping drought.
Ferguson hasn’t lost the magic that has seen him score 16 goals so far for Brighton and three for his country, it’s his teammates who need to rediscover their mojo.