Can Brighton bore their way to safety?
Hughton’s men shut out Wolves for vital point
FLOODING midfield, scrapping for every ball, relying on a goalkeeping masterclass from Mat Ryan, all while avoiding the opponent’s half — have Brighton found a formula that may just be enough for them to survive?
Well, against Wolves it worked, but only just.
It is unlikely that they will get away with such an approach when they travel to Tottenham on Tuesday. Or, indeed, Arsenal and Manchester City over the last two weeks of the season.
But by then they may have accumulated enough points to stay up, even if it is now six games without scoring a goal and just one win in nine. As it is, they are 17th and three points above Cardiff, who play Liverpool this afternoon.
That will leave Brighton with a game in hand, which is the fixture against Spurs.
But it is pretty dreadful stuff to watch and is a symptom of the trouble they have found themselves in over the last few weeks. Their form has tanked and the goals dried up.
The biggest blow of all for Chris Hughton’s side came in midweek when they were beaten 2-0 at home by Cardiff.
So, this 0-0 draw must be viewed as a positive. A precious point and a first clean sheet away from home in 12 games, which they must be praised for even if it came against a Wolves side that were unlike their usual potent selves.
‘We certainly got a reaction,’ said Hughton. ‘I’m just hoping we take something from the manner of the result against talented players. We showed work ethic and determination, anything less would have got nothing.’
They had to dig in even more when Davy Propper came off injured after 10 minutes.
Beram Kayal came on and filled in alongside Dale Stephens in the two-man holding midfield. It quickly became a five-man midfield, which attempted to act as a shield ahead of the defence.
Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo dropping Joao Moutinho into a pairing with Ruben Neves allowed Morgan Gibbs-White to operate behind Jota and Jimenez. The combination of Moutinho and Neves gave Wolves a calmness and meant nothing was rushed.
It did make for a quite frustrating opening 20 minutes but it didn’t take long for Brighton to grow weary. Gaetan Bong failed to stay with Matt Doherty as he bombed forward on the right but shot wide. More gaps were found in the Brighton defence shortly afterwards when Jimenez and Jota linked up before the Portuguese attacker went down after a challenge from Pascal Gross, which referee Craig Pawson deemed fair. Nearly 30 minutes gone and Wolves had had 80 per cent possession. Brighton lacked so much in the way of opportunities, attacking intelligence and movement.
They didn’t, however, lack a cynical edge or defensive grit. As Jota went to surge forward on another run towards goal, Stephens stuck out a boot and clipped him. Down Jota went and Stephens was shown a yellow card. It was the 44th time this season that Jota had been fouled. His quick feet couldn’t be stopped the next time he got into an attacking position. Smart link play with Gibbs-White left Jota needing to dodge challenges from Stephens and Lewis Dunk, which he did, but then missed the target.
In many ways it is testament to Wolves’ progress this season that there is an expectation to turn sides like Brighton over. The fans arrive at Molineux expecting something special. Neves is usually one of the ones who aims to provide that but this time a shot from range was deflected up into the air and when it came down, Jota couldn’t convert. The introduction of Leander Dendoncker made a difference.
Within seconds of coming on, he nearly had his second Wolves goal. Jota’s header bounced back off the post after Jimenez’s cross and into the feet of Dendoncker but Ryan got down excellently to deny him.
He had another chance as the game ticked towards stoppage time but his header was easily held by Ryan.
‘Boring, boring, boring,’ was the chant from the home end as yet another ball was pumped forward from the Brighton half.
A fair comment but boring and unattractive football may just be enough to keep Hughton’s side in the top flight for a second season.
‘Their main objective was not to concede — it was up to us to break them down,’ said Nuno.