Locadia struck his second goal in as many games to sink Everton
Sunday 30 December 2018 12:48, UK
Chris Hughton praised the contribution of Jurgen Locadia after the Dutchman's goal earned Brighton all three points in a 1-0 win over Everton at the AMEX Stadium.
Locadia struggled to adapt to the Premier League when he first arrived from PSV Eindhoven last January in a then club-record £14m deal, scoring once in his first 18 appearances.
But after scoring the equaliser in the 1-1 draw with Arsenal on Boxing Day, Locadia pounced to score the only goal as Hughton's side sealed a first win in five games.
The 25-year-old was last month quoted in the Dutch media as looking to leave Sussex due to a lack of action, but when asked about the prospect of him leaving, Hughton said: "We've never thought that way.
"He's a really decent lad and our thinking always was that he was misquoted.
"We are aware that he wouldn't have been happy not playing. And I can understand that, he's been here a year now. But he's knuckled down. Credit to him, he's the one that deserves it."
In the absence of first-choice goalkeeper Mat Ryan - who is with Australia ahead of the Asian Cup - the Seagulls gave a Premier League debut to David Button, while Shane Duffy and Lewis Dunk partnered each other in central defence for the first time in five games following suspensions.
It resulted in a first clean sheet since October 27, and Hughton praised the match officials for coming to the correct decision in the game's decisive incident, as referee Andrew Madley overturned his initial decision to rule out Locaida's strike.
"Your first thought when you see the flag go up is that it's been disallowed," Hughton added. "When you're that far away, you're not quite sure what's happened.
"But it very quickly became obvious to everybody, and the reaction of our players that it had come off their player.
"There will be numerous incidents where the referee is in the wrong place - even when the reaction of our players says it should go in our favour. If you don't see it, it's very difficult to give it, so it was very good officiating."
