The moment a ref finally snapped
Two cards in 12 seconds for abusive Dunk in crazy win...
THE final whistle went and for Roberto De Zerbi, there was no time for handshakes as the Brighton boss charged down the pitch as if he was David Pleat in 1982 and towards the visiting fans housed in the lower tier of the Bridgford Stand, as his injury-ravaged side ecstatically celebrated their first league win since September.
Down to 10 men after Lewis Dunk was carded twice in 12 seconds for dissent by Anthony Taylor — first a yellow, then a straight red — after Nottingham Forest were awarded a penalty, Brighton held on after Evan Ferguson’s first-half equaliser and a brace from Joao Pedro ensured that Morgan Gibbs-White’s spot kick was nothing more than a consolation for Steve Cooper’s side, in a crazy encounter De Zerbi described as ‘one of the best games of the season’.
On Thursday, Brighton could secure qualification to the Europa League knockout phase but De Zerbi admitted that he celebrated as if this was the Champions League.
‘We celebrated like a final in the Champions League,’ said the Brighton manager. ‘The character and the attitude made the difference. The spirit, the soul and the way we won the game with ten players, without our captain, Pascal Gross at right back, Jack Hinshelwood at left-back and more than 25 minutes with ten men,’ he added.
Six of their ten players left on the pitch at the end of the game were 23 or under and De Zerbi stressed that his celebration was not out of disrespect but more out of emotion for getting the three points.
‘We are suffering a lot, losing ten players to injury and we lost two more players in the first-half. We also lost two substitutions and then we suffered a red card. We lost two points in each of the last few games.
‘This is one of the toughest moments in my time — not just in the Premier League — but in my career. And for that, it was a big celebration,’ said De Zerbi.
‘I’ve not seen him. I don’t want to get into that,’ Cooper said, when asked about De Zerbi’s celebration, ‘If you ask me, I’m a British coach. I’ve been brought up to shake hands after a game and show respect and trying to win and lose with dignity.
‘I’m not saying he’s not done that but I would always shake hands,’ the Forest boss added.
There was a moment just after the halfway mark when Brighton’s Tariq Lamptey went down with injury and the Brighton fans started chanting ‘Stand up if you’ve brought your boots’.
They had already lost Ansu Fati earlier in the half and now Lamptey — in his first appearance since October — was forced off.
De Zerbi had initially made five changes from the team that drew against Sheffield United before the international break but within three minutes, the hosts had opened the scoring. Morgan Gibbs-White floated a delightful delivery from the right flank to the far post where Anthony Elanga was free and the 21-year-old headed in wonderfully from a tricky angle to give Forest the lead.
Brighton’s woes were compounded when just 20 minutes in Fati was forced off with injury and replaced by Joao Pedro.
Yet five minutes later they found themselves level thanks to Ferguson. It was a superb finish from the 19-year-old after Gross found him on the edge of the box and the Irishman placed the ball wonderfully past German keeper Odysseas Vlachodimos. With the equaliser, Brighton ensured that they had scored for the 29th Premier League game in succession. Only three teams have ever had a longer run and each have won the league in at least one of the seasons that those runs spanned.
Lamptey’s injury led to the introduction of 18-year-old Jack Hinshelwood, whose name wasn’t even in the match day programme such has been the injury crisis on the South Coast.
In first half added time, Brighton took the lead thanks to another excellent finish. Gross’s delivery from the right found Joao Pedro, who guided a terrific header past the keeper to give the visitors a deserved half-time lead.
Just shy of the hour mark, Wood was deemed to have fouled Joao Pedro in the box — a decision that enraged Cooper — and the Brazilian sent the keeper the wrong way to double Brighton’s advantage.
Yet when Dunk was sent off for dissent after the referee gave Forest a penalty for Hinshelwood’s foul, which Gibbs-White converted, following a seven-minute VAR check, Brighton had to see out 27 minutes including ten minutes
of added time with a man short. That they did, thanks to some resolute defending and a last-gasp stop from Dutch keeper Bart Verbruggen to deny Ryan Yates, before De Zerbi went off to celebrate. Some three points no doubt feel sweeter than others.
As for Forest, it was a first home defeat of the season and a first top-flight defeat to Brighton since 1979.
‘It would be easy for me to hide behind an awful penalty decision but I’m not going to hide behind that — as bad as it was — because we’ve got to play better than we did in the first half,’ Cooper said.