After beating Town, the Seagulls get ready for derby with the Eagles
Jorgensen Duffy Andone
IT’S not quite the Old Firm for history and loathing, but for Brighton’s Seagulls and Crystal Palace’s Eagles nothing tops the Old Bill.
Albion scorers Florin Andone and Shane Duffy can’t wait to establish the pecking order in tomorrow’s M23 derby at the Amex after a successful trip to Yorkshire.
The Romania striker’s flying header against Huddersfield’s 10 men, on his first Premier League start, left him in good heart for the twitchers’ duel.
And Shane Duffy, whose equaliser in first-half stoppage time proved the tipping point here, admitted taking home the loot from the John Smith’s Stadium would mean “nothing” to Brighton fans if they come unstuck against Palace.
Andone’s first goal in English football was the first payback on his £5.3million move from Deportivo de La Coruna and he said: “Every game is important for us and we showed we are a big team with a big personality.
“It doesn’t matter whether our next game is Crystal Palace, Manchester United or Chelsea – we must play with the same attitude. But we have a big opportunity to take three points on Tuesday. At home, with our fans, we are stronger and I want to have this experience with them.
“I have played in the Deportivo-Celta Vigo derby in Spain. The cities are very close together and there is a big rivalry, although we did not get very good results against Vigo in my time there.
“Now I am here, I am open to the experience of playing in new derbies, the Palace game is very important for us and I’m sure we will prepare in a way to reflect its importance.” Duffy, whose third goal of the season was the springboard for Albion’s second away win, grinned: “Derbies tend to be feisty – I haven’t played in too many against Palace, but for our fans it’s the biggest derby in the world and it’s the first fixture they look for.
“This will mean nothing to them if we don’t get a result on Tuesday night and the most important thing now is to back up this win with another one.”
Ee bah glum for the Terriers. They led through Mathias Jorgensen’s fastest Premier League goal of the season after 55 seconds, but instead of blaming referee Michael Oliver they should look closer to home.
Huddersfield felt aggrieved by Oliver’s first-half expulsion of Steve Mounie for a poor challenge on Yves Bissouma. Replays suggest it was a good decision.
Their claim that Pascal Gross grappling with Alex Pritchard in the box warranted a penalty was nearer the mark, but they didn’t cut out either of Solly March’s crosses leading to Brighton’s goals.
Striker Laurent Depoitre groaned: “There were a few decisions from the referee that we don’t really understand.
“It was a clear penalty for the foul on Pritchard, which would have made it 2-0 and then the game would have been very different.
“I don’t like to speak about referees, but he played a big role in this defeat.”