Late point a pure delight for Eddie
EDDIE HOWE could barely disguise his smile when he described Callum Wilson’s late equaliser as “not one for the purists”.
The Bournemouth manager clearly did not care that his side had drawn level after one of most bizarre goalmouth scrambles you will see all season, only that they had avoided leaving the Amex Stadium empty-handed.
For Chris Hughton, it was a different matter altogether and while the Brighton boss insisted he was more concerned about the manner in which his side allowed Steve Cook to score the visitors’ first equaliser, the memory of his side’s defending late on will be one he wants to forget quickly.
It did not help that the Seagulls had led first through Anthony Knockaert’s fourth-minute goal and then again when Glenn Murray restored their advantage early in the second half.
But the sight of the ball pinging around the penalty box as Albion made five attempts to clear before it fell into Wilson’s path after bouncing off Adam Smith was painful for the home manager.
Hughton, above, said: “It was two points dropped, and not just because of the nature or the timing of the second goal.
“The second goal can happen. You can’t apportion any blame. You’ve got players who have attempted to clear the ball and there are a lot of bodies there and a lot of blocks.
“The timing wasn’t the best but I would have been more disappointed with the first goal rather than the second because it’s an area we have tried to work on and we’ve conceded too many goals from corners.”
Howe had no cause for complaint, although he also thought his side should have got more from a game that produced 42 attempts on goal, more than any other Premier League game this season.
“It wasn’t one for the purists, was it? But we’ll take that,” Howe said. “I can’t remember too much about it.
“It was a mass of bodies and hacked clearances and Callum claiming the goal. As all great strikers do, he was in the right place at the right time.”
Brighton looked on course to claim a second successive home win when Jose Izquierdo set up Knockaert’s goal from a tight angle after just four minutes.
Albion were guilty of slack marking when they allowed Cook to meet Jordon Ibe’s 33rd-minute corner.
Izquierdo should have added a second for the home side immediately before the break but made up for that miss when he set up Murray for the 48th-minute second.
Hughton said: “I am disappointed with the result.
“If we’d won it would have been a very good return from the festive period.”