KO’D BRUNO BIDS TO BOUNCE BACK...
BRIGHTON’s defeat at Huddersfield on Thursday evening was certainly a shock to the system. So, for once, a three-day turnaround before facing Brentford today might not be a bad thing.
And it could be a case of ‘beware the wounded Seagull’ as Brighton skipper Bruno has vowed his side will put the Terriers’ disappointment behind them and bounce back in style at Griffin Park.
Huddersfield removed any doubts over whether they are true promotion contenders once and for all on Thursday as a first-half blitz enabled them to emerge 3-1 winners.
Brighton had been looking to extend their one-point lead over Newcastle atop the Championship table. Instead, goals from Tommy Smith, Nahki Wells and Elias Kachunga did the damage.
Tomer Hemed had equalised after Smith’s angled opener, but the table-toppers were 3-1 down at the break. And the sendingoff of highly-rated centre-back Lewis Dunk for two yellow cards midway through the second half only compounded thier misery.
Bruno had no complaints about the result at the John Smith’s Stadium – which condemned Brighton to just a fourth league defeat this term – but the 36-year-old defender wants his troops to rally in the face of adversity.
“Huddersfield had more intensity and quality on the ball, especially in the first half. We spent 45 minutes defending,” admitted Bruno, who was booked for a foul just a minute into the game.
“It’s so difficult to play like that away from home because, if you can’t pass the ball three or four times to kill their momentum, it’s so difficult.
“They got all the second balls in the first half and the yellow card was a mistake from me.
“It was so hard to play with that yellow card from that first minute. It wasn’t our best game, but it’s time to forget about the result. We need to be together, learn from this and come back stronger.
“We didn’t expect to have the massive gap at the top. The Championship is tough, as we saw with Newcastle dropping two points against QPR.
“We were trying to make that gap bigger, but we couldn’t do it. We’ll work hard to come back from this defeat.”
Dunk’s sending off at Hud- dersfield means he will miss the trip to West London through suspension, while full-back Liam Rosenior is out with an ankle injury.
Defender Gaetan Bong and striker Sam Baldock are battling knee and calf issues respectively but will have their fitness assessed in the build-up to today’s clash.
History would appear to favour the Bees as they have lost just one of their previous eight home matches against Brighton and kept six clean sheets during that time.
However, recent form should give the Seagulls hope, with Brentford winning just two of their last nine league fixtures at Griffin Park.
And, while Bruno is under no illusions about the test awaiting his team, he is hoping Thursday’s defeat can be instructive.
“Brentford are playing well and we know they’re a strong side at home, so it will be a really tough game,” added Bruno. “The pitch is a bit smaller and we need to learn from the Huddersfield game about the second balls. They are going to be so important and we have to improve on that.
“But now it’s time to get together, analyse the mistakes and get a reaction.”