OWLS LACK A KILLER TOUCH
Dunk stars for Seagulls as hosts misfire upfront
CARLOS Carvalhal has ordered his sloppy strikers in for shooting practice after crashing to defeat at Hillsborough.
Goals from Sam Baldock and Anthony Knockaert saw Brighton run out comfortable winners against an incisive but toothless Wednesday.
The home side dominated possession and created a host of chances but just THREE of their 21 shots hit the target – one of them a meaningless 95th-minute consolation from Gary Hooper.
And while Brighton must take great credit for a stout defensive display, Carvalhal put the blame firmly on his forwards and has pledged to spend the upcoming international break working on their “efficacy”.
“We have to improve,” said the Portuguese, whose side – beaten play-off finalists in May – suffered their fourth defeat of a stuttering start to the season.
“If we have six clear chances we must score a minimum of three. We had five or six very good chances. Very clear.
“Sometimes the goalkeeper or the defender did very well but for the other we must make sure we put the ball in the net.
“Between now and the next game we will create situations to improve this situation and we believe we will come back with better efficacy to win games.”
Brighton, by contrast, were efficacy incarnate. Drilled to perfection, organised in midfield, quick and decisive on the break.
Like the Owls, Chris Hughton’s side had just three shots on target; the difference was that two of theirs hit the net.
The first came after 26 minutes, a sensational 50-yard ball from Lewis Dunk’s dissecting Jack Hunt and Tom Lees to set Baldock racing clear. Spotting Keiren Westwood hurtling from his line, the 27-year-old lofted a beautiful chip into the far corner for his third goal of the season.
The clincher came deep into the second half, Gaetan Bong punishing hesitant defending by crossing for Knockaert to sweep home.
In-between, Glenn Murray had the ball in the net again, though his searing volley was ruled out – wrongly, in Hughton’s view – for offside.
Carvalhal griped that his side should have had a penalty when Bong blocked with his arm, and a two-man advantage due to “aggressions” towards Jack Hunt and Ross Wallace. Bong, who appeared to chuck an off-theball elbow at Wallace, can certainly count himself lucky.
Yet the Wednesday manager should certainly be more concerned about his own side, who spent the rest of the match huffing and puffing to little avail.
Though Ross Wallace had a long-ranger tipped over and Lees a header cleared off the line, Wednesday’s chances were a tale of slick build-ups that descended into scrambled hacking matches.
Adam Reach also missed two sitters, first shooting straight at David Stockdale before scooping over an open goal from barely six yards. Hooper’s strike, a low, deflected effort, came far too late.
That said, Brighton were indebted to centre-back Dunk. The 24-year-old – a £5m target for Crystal Palace in the summer – made more blocks than an NFL lineman.
“Lewis is a very good player,” said Hughton. “At the moment, himself and Shane Duffy have got a great partnership. He’s maturing with every game.
“This isn’t a young lad in his first or second season. He’s only 24 but he’s played a lot of games now and it shows.
“He’s not somebody who’s naturally vocal but his performances are at a level that other players can feed off and that’s what’s happening.
“But we had some great performances all over the pitch. Any away win against the best teams in the division is always a big result.”