BRIGHTEN BEAUTIFUL
Seagulls hit by a crazy sending-off but it’s sad Palace who are way short in the end
THE weekend’s derby madness arrived at the Amex Stadium as 10-man Brighton thrashed Palace in a crazy encounter.
Glenn Murray netted his magnificent seventh home goal of the season before Shane Duffy was sent off for a ridiculous head-butt.
But in a febrile atmosphere, the dismissal only inspired the Seagulls as sub Leon Balogun netted with his first touch – and fellow replacement Florin Andone scored one of the goals of the season in first-half stoppage time.
The plight of shellshocked Palace was summed up by Wilfried Zaha in his 300th game for the South London club.
The Ivory Coast winger, a hate figure for Brighton fans since his double in the 2013 play-offs here, was rattled by his hostile reception on and off the pitch. Zaha controlled his seething frustration to win a late penalty but Palace were well beaten by then.
While Brighton climb into the top 10 after a third game undefeated, Roy Hodgson’s side remain only three points off the drop zone after just one win in 10.
No-one can doubt the ferocity of this M23 derby despite nearly 50 miles separating these two clubs. There was trouble at the corresponding fixture last season and, despite a heavier police presence, there were more disturbances around Brighton station last night.
And the tension could be felt in the stadium and on the pitch.
Brighton dominated early possession before the simmering encounter exploded into life after 23 minutes.
Keystone Kop defending from Palace saw Aaron Wan-Bissaka collide with Luka Milivojevic in the away box. Amid the chaos, James McArthur got a touch on the ball before Jose Izquierdo tumbled over his challenge but referee Kevin Friend harshly pointed to the spot.
The recalled Murray slotted home his seventh goal in seven home games this season via the crossbar in his 100th game for the club, before celebrating with team-mates (right).
Brighton had a stronger claim for a spot-kick shortly after when James Tomkins sent Murray to the ground to cause a shoulder injury which would see him replaced.
But Friend could not miss a moronic piece of aggression from Duffy as the Brighton centre-back thrust his head at Patrick Van Aanholt right in front of him.
Yet the Irishman’s red card served only to disrupt the Eagles more than the Seagulls.
Chris Hughton sought to shore up his rearguard by bringing on Balogun, and the unmarked defender lashed with his first touch from Solly March’s corner.
Brighton then had to replace Murray with Andone and the Romanian scored a stunning third with help from more inept defending before the break.
Chasing a long clearance, the former Deportivo
La Coruna striker outpaced Tomkins and then fired home before Mamadou Sakho moved across.
Zaha was booked and then lucky to escape a red card when he was judged to have fouled Andone. But the Palace talisman won an 80th-minute penalty when he was tripped by Balogun. Milivojevic slotted home from the spot for his third goal of the season but Palace never threatened a big finish.