Hendrick marks 100 in style to deny Potter his home comforts
BRIGHTON deflated, Burnley elated. The injury-time equaliser from Burnley denied Graham Potter’s men their first home win under the new regime. But while his players felt down, the reality is that the draw was both predictable, and just.
Under Potter, Brighton have shown flexibility and the ability to change styles as the occasion demands. They had to do it yesterday after Burnley swamped them in the first 25 minutes. Out went a back three. Under Sean Dyche, Burnley have shown a spirit and a refusal to accept defeat that secured a draw. Dyche keeps faith in the same system. There is even an urban myth that the flowers in Dyche’s garden are arranged 4-4-2.
But he also has a tenacious group. ‘We just do not know when we are beaten,’ he said. And that quality was needed yesterday.
‘Brighton were the better team in the second half,’ Dyche said. ‘But we have a strong mentality. We do not know when we are beaten.’ And so it proved. Potter knows that home form will be paramount to Brighton’s survival in what is effectively the third tier of the Premier League.
There are Manchester City and Liverpool. Then the likes of Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester United, Everton and, now, Leicester.
And then there is the rest. All of whom would settle now for a place in next season’s Premier League fixture list.
‘You need to win home games, I know that,’ said Potter, whose men have drawn with West Ham and now Burnley and lost to Southampton.
‘We could have had more than two points, but we know we win for the fans and for ourselves.
‘But the Premier League is a tough place. You have to fight for every point.’
It looked as though Potter’s tactical readjustment from an exposed back three to a more solid back four was going to pay off after Neal Maupay gave Brighton a 51st-minute lead.
The creator was Solly March, a player who has blossomed under the Potter regime. March has been transformed from a decent left winger into an all-action individual — sometimes right, sometimes left, sometimes central.
On this occasion, he popped up on the right to break the deadlock in a match that had left it until the 38th minute to produce its first shot on target — a near-post strike from the impressive March which was saved by Nick Pope.
But Brighton looked like a rejuvenated team in the secondhalf. That superiority was reflected in the goal.
March crossed from the right and Maupay showed the anticipation lacking in the Burnley central defence as he swooped to volley past goalkeeper Pope. Now Burnley struggled.
‘We were playing too straight,’ said Dyche. ‘But we always believe we can find a chance.’
That looked optimistic in the extreme as Burnley huffed a lot and puffed to exhaustion. But they could not find a way through.
Until, that is, Dyche showed his imagination with the use of his substitutes.
On came Jeff Hendrick for his 100th Premier League appearance. On came Matej Vydra for a rare outing. And in the last minute, Dyche’s ploy paid off.
Three weeks ago, it was a lastminute penalty for Wolves that denied Burnley a win at Molineux.
That ticking clock was Dyche’s enemy then. Yesterday, it was his friend.
In a rare flowing move, the ball fell to Vydra and Hendrick celebrated his personal century with a fearsome drive. There was, however, some confusion involving VAR in the post-match debrief, where it emerged that a high challenge by Ashley Westwood that left Maupay with a cut on his head was referred to VAR by referee Mike Oliver.
The crowd are supposed to be informed about VAR checks — but no indication was given on the big screens at the Amex.