Brighton resilience delights Chris Hughton after third straight clean sheet
Saturday 27 October 2018 19:12, UK
Brighton boss Chris Hughton paid tribute to his side's resilient defence after they kept another clean sheet in their 1-0 win over Wolves.
The shut-out was Brighton's third in a row in the Premier League, a sequence that has produced three victories and is a first in the top flight for the club.
The Seagulls had to endure large periods of pressure as Wolves dominated possession and they were grateful to goalkeeper Matt Ryan whose brilliant injury-time save prevented Ryan Bennett from equalising.
"That was our most resilient performance since last week," Hughton joked after the game.
"We would prefer not to make a habit of having to defend really well against a good Wolves team, but it is a trait that brings the best out of a team. We can play better though.
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"I spoke to the players after about how difficult it is for a team like us to get three wins in a row - to get three wins and clean sheets on the bounce is very, very difficult for a club like us at this level. But we need to try and use the things we are good at and try and be better in our next games."
The Brighton manager also had words of praise for match-winner Glenn Murray, whose second-half strike was his sixth in the league this season - more than any other Englishman - and his 100th goal for the club.
"It summed him up and Glenn will always want to play," said Hughton in reference to the concussion the veteran striker suffered at Newcastle last weekend.
"He is enjoying his football at the moment, he is scoring goals at the highest level, and it is credit to him the way he conducts himself, the way he looks after himself and trains.
"And you cannot reach this level at his age without making those sacrifices and that is what he has done."
Brighton may have had some early good fortune when referee Anthony Taylor did not award the visitors a 13th-minute penalty after Jose Izquierdo appeared to handle Matt Doherty's shot in the box.
"We have had one given against us in the Tottenham game with Glenn from the free-kick and if somebody raises his arm, then there is always going to be that question, 'Is it, or is it not?'" was how Hughton saw the incident.