BURN’S NIGHT TO FORGET BUT BRIGHTON SHOW FIGHTING SPARK AT LAST
DON’T WORRY, Dan Burn. You aren’t the first defender to be left seeing Adama Traore charging at you every time you close your eyes, and you won’t be the last. Brighton’s Burn became the first player since Eliaquim Mangala for Manchester City in September 2014 to score an own goal and concede a penalty in a Premier League game. It was Traore who was hacked down in the box by Burn, the 6ft 7in defender who became the victim of a tactical tweak by his manager. Graham Potter reacted to going 2-1 down by switching from a back three to a four — leaving Burn at left back and up against that pesky Traore. Very rarely does Match of the Day dedicate a segment to someone having a horrific day, but they made an exception on Saturday. They showed Burn’s struggles in glorious HD. In the end, Potter substituted Burn after 69 minutes, realising he was a second yellow waiting to happen. That would have been a special sort of hat-trick. Burn’s mishaps aside, Brighton left the Amex Stadium grateful for a point, given they trailed 3-1 at half-time. How close the narrative came to being ‘Brighton lose again’ rather than ‘great comeback’, however, had Wolves substitute Owen Otasowie’s stoppage-time header been on target. With the very last touch of the game, Otasowie was unmarked when Traore’s cross found him five yards out. So crushed was the teenager, he stayed sitting inconsolable in the net after the whistle. At 19, Otasowie has plenty of time to make up for that miss. Wolves remain in mid-table, but Brighton stay too close to the relegation zone for comfort. They won only once in the league at home in 2020. They may not have started 2021 with victory but at least they managed to avoid losing. Potter said: ‘To come back and get something, all credit to the players. The application, attitude and togetherness was wonderful. Let’s hope we can kick on from here and get some positive results. We will keep fighting no matter what.’ Brighton travel to Manchester City next
in the Premier League, and you wonder whether Burn will be taken out of the team. Traore knew he had his opponent’s number — to the extent that even after winning the penalty, the Wolves winger almost apologetically picked the 28-year-old defender up off the floor. What we will see in Manchester is Potter in his own clothes rather than his usual club tracksuit. Managers are a superstitious bunch, and Potter said: ‘I fancied a change. I thought for 2021 I would be myself.’ Given Brighton’s worrying form in 2020, their fans would welcome change. BRIGHTON (3-4-2-1): Sanchez 5.5; Webster 6, Dunk 7, Burn 3 (Lallana 69min, 6); Veltman 6, White 6, Bissouma 6 (Zeqiri 46, 6.5), March 6; Trossard 6, Maupay 6.5; Connolly 6.5 (Propper 46, 6.5). Subs not used: Steele, Mac Allister, Gross, Jahanbakhsh, Bernardo, Molumby. Scorers: Connolly 13, Maupay 46 (pen), Dunk 70. Booked: Bissouma, Burn. Manager: Graham Potter 6.5. WOLVES (4-2-3-1): Patricio 5.5; Semedo 6, Coady 6, Saiss 6, Ait-Nouri 6; Moutinho 5.5, Neves 6; Traore 6.5, Vitinha 6 (Kilman 64, 6), Neto 6; Silva 5.5 (Otasowie 87).
Subs not used: Ruddy, Sondergaard, Hoever, Perry, Cundle, Richards, Corbeanu. Scorers: Saiss 19, Burn 34 (og), Neves 44 (pen). Booked: Semedo. Manager: Nuno Espirito Santo 6. Referee: Andy Madley 6.