Hughton disappointed with his team’s poor second-half performance
Brighton and Hove Albion manager Chris Hughton expressed his displeasure over his team’s poor defensive performance in the second half against Fulham as the Seagulls let a two-goal lead slip and allowed the hosts to claim all three points with a 4-2 win.
Glenn Murray’s brace put the Seagulls in the driver’s seat in the first half before second-half goals from Calum Chambers, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Luciano Bietto turned the tables in favour of the Cottagers.
And Hughton couldn’t hide his frustration at his team’s poor performance in the second half after having things under control in the first 45 minutes.
He said, “For as good as what we were in the first half, we were equally as bad in the second half.
“In that period when you’re not playing so well and they’ve changed their system, you’ve got to make sure you defend well.
“We knew they would come out in the second half and go for it. We knew they would have good possession, but you’ve got to defend well in all of those situations.
“Once they got their first goal, that gave them some momentum. Once they got the second one, they were then in full flow.
“If you allow them the space and time to get the crosses in that they did, then you’re asking for trouble. You’re hoping that they don’t show quality at the end of it, but unfortunately for us, they did.”
“We probably had more chances today than we’ve had over most of the season. Even at 2-1, I thought we had a really good opportunity to get the third one, and that would have made it harder for them.
“If our finishing is better, we probably win the game beyond any doubt, but if you don’t defend well enough on their opportunities, then it was always going to be a hard evening for us.
“There’s a back four that needs support in front of them — the last thing you need is quality crosses coming in that allow them to play to their strengths.
“We needed to work harder to stop their strengths, the things that were going to allow them to get back into the game — we did it in the first half, but we didn’t in the second.”
