On fightback and cheers boss Potter

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he was th how it the Premier League. His side are now in the bottom three, and the Scot ( far left) groaned: “In the first half our effort was humongous but there was a lot of fatigue in the second.

“We have given them a leg up twice out of nothing. We’re gutted and I’m disappointed at how we’ve defended, but that shouldn’t tarnish the overall performance.”

Aaron Mooy had a great chance to settle the Brighton nerves inside two minutes but how he directed his header wide defied belief.

The Hammers responded well when Issa Diop stabbed in Robert Snodgrass’ pin-point set-piece.

It should have been 2-0 moments later when Mark Noble started but failed to finish a fine counter.

Perfectly placed for Angelo Ogbonna’s cutback, he produced the air shot of the campaign.

Yet it was all smiles as the hosts extended their lead before half-time through Snodgrass’ deflected volley. That should have allowed them a comparatively calm second half.

But that was to discount the Irons’ fragility at the back as they conceded straight after the break. The normally reliable Lukasz Fabianski flapped at a corner, knocked the ball against Ogbonna’s head – and in it flew.

Suddenly the doubts of recent weeks resurfaced until the left peg of Snodgrass struck again. When Brighton cleared a 57th-minute corner there appeared no danger but the ex-Scotland star had other ideas, unleashing a peach of a volley to restore the two-goal cushion.

Game, set and match? Yeah right. First, a dreadful 75th-minute mixup between Ogbonna and Diop allowed Pascal Gross to cut the deficit. And then Murray walloped in his second of the season after more dreadful defending left him free at the far post.