Mariappa gives Brighton lifeline
… as own goal keeps Hornets in drop zone
Abizarre own goal from Watford’s Adrian Mariappa allowed relegation rivals Brighton & Hove Albion to take a precious point in a 1-1 draw at the Amex Stadium that left both sides facing a continued struggle to stay in the Premier League.
With the visitors apparently heading for victory, Brighton substitute Alireza Jahanbakhsh drilled the ball across goal but, under no pressure, Mariappa fired past his own keeper on 78 minutes.
The home side, who have not won this year, could hardly believe their luck after seldom threatening – or even mustering a shot on goal.
“It’s probably a missed opportunity but also a hard-earned point,” said Watford manager Nigel Pearson.
“We’ve played better than that in our last two games, we worked exceptionally hard out of possession but we’ve got to be better in possession.
“I’ll be reminding the players regularly about what’s expected.
“If you thought it was easy to negotiate a relegation battle, it’s not. We’ve got players who have played quite a bit of football and perhaps didn’t reach the levels we’ve done recently.
“The players understand what is needed and we have to push on
from here.”
Watford keeper
Ben Foster added: “The way the goal went in was very disappointing. Maps (Mariappa) is not trying to score an own goal, but that’s football. It can go against you sometimes.
“The way we dropped back is a symptom of where we are in the league. We tried to defend what we had and thought we could weather the storm.
“Brighton threw it all at us but if it wasn’t for the own goal we would have won.”
The Seagulls came back from 2-0 and 3-1 down to gain a 3-3 draw at West Ham a week ago and again rescued a point from a losing position.
“We gave a lot in the game. It was difficult to go behind when we had started quite well and were in the ascendancy,” Brighton
boss Graham Potter told BBC’s Match of the Day.
“The crowd got a little nervous and the atmosphere is difficult. I’m proud of the players because we took responsibility of the game.
“The character they showed, they accepted the challenge because you could go under at that point – it’s not easy to be the one that has to find the answers.
“Aaron Mooy had a good chance before we scored, it’s an own goal but it’s a good attack.
“We were down on the scoreline, the lads desperately want to get points, get the win. We showed maturity. It’s not easy in the Premier League when you are down.
“Every point is what it is and we have to take it. We will look to move forward, take a break now and move forward for Sheffield United.” – Reuters/Agencies