|
|
Andy Naylor at The Argus |
Fulham (0) 1-2 (0) Brighton & Hove Albion
It is becoming increasingly difficult to escape the impression that promotion for Albion this season is just meant to be.
The New Year began beside the Thames the way the last one ended away from the Amex, with a comeback from 1-0 to sneak a 2-1 victory which left you scratching your head to explain how they managed it.
Although Lewis Dunk's header that pinched the points arrived a little earlier than Glenn Murray's last-gasp nod at Birmingham, this win was in some respects even more dramatic than the recovery in the West Midlands just before Christmas.
Partly because Dunk's decider came within a minute of substitute Tomer Hemed's equaliser from the penalty spot, but mainly because it was more unexpected.
Albion were outplayed again by a vibrant, fluent Fulham, just as they were in the opening 45 minutes at the Amex at the end of November.
Chris Hughton's restored table-toppers turned that one around too to prevail by the same score.
The theme of the season so far was replayed. Albion stayed in the game when far from their best and Hughton had a game-changer to turn to once more.
At Birmingham from the bench it was Solly March. Hughton, understandably, is treading carefully with the young winger after his year out with knee ligament damage.
The ineffective Jiri Skalak took March's place in the starting line-up, but it was the second substitute, Tomer Hemed, introduced four minutes later at the expense of Sam Baldock, who came up trumps by equalising calmly from the spot in his fourth minute on the pitch, the second penalty awarded on a challenging afternoon for referee Stuart Attwell.
Dunk instantly delivered the decisive blow to take Albion back to top spot, with a game in hand, as a consequence of another surprise defeat for Newcastle at struggling Blackburn Rovers, who also defeated them recently at home.
At the beginning of last season, when Albion were at the embryonic juncture of their revival under Hughton after almost toppling back into League One, Hemed secured a 2-1 success with a spot-kick deep into stoppage time at Craven Cottage.
It was around that time that Dunk, amid transfer interest from Fulham, downed tools. He has matured in the 18 months since then into an outstanding centre-half, especially this season.
His form has been consistently at a high-level and he has cut out the lapses of concentration and costly errors that characterised a dodgy spell midway through last season.
He was even smart enough to pick up a caution from Attwell in the dying moments, his tenth after two matches walking a tightrope on nine.
Conveniently, half of his punishment will now be served in Saturday's FA Cup third round tie at home to MK Dons on Saturday, when he would have been rested anyway, although he misses the next league game at Preston on Saturday week.
Albion will head to Lancashire still unbeaten for 18 matches in the Championship. For much of the match that sequence looked like being broken.
Not many teams in the division are as good on the ball or as fluid at attacking as Fulham. The Seagulls should be grateful that Floyd Ayite, so lively at the Amex, was sidelined due to his forthcoming involvement in the African Nations Cup with Togo.
Even without him, adventurous right-back Ryan Fredericks and former Hull forward Sone Aluko ahead of him were a hard-to-handle menace.
Both are players worth keeping an eye on if Hughton is preparing a squad for the Premier League next summer.
Albion should also be thankful that Chris Martin was absent from the hosts' front line, courtesy of the row over his desire to return from his season-loan loan to parent club Derby County.
He has often punished Albion in the past, including from the spot. Stefan Johansen was put on the spot 15 minutes into the contest when Bruno has harshly ruled to have handled a cross which had glanced harmlessly off the head of team-mate Shane Duffy.
No Fulham player was threatening. It clearly hit the Spaniard's hand via his foot, it was also clearly accidental.
The let-off made no difference to the home side's domination. Moving the ball quickly, precisely and purposefully, Albion were at full stretch to maintain parity by the interval.
They were slack in possession themselves, Oliver Norwood and Anthony Knockaert the most obvious of several culprits. The small details were letting Hughton's team down.
They began the second half a little better. Fulham's superiority was not quite so obvious when they deservedly went ahead ten minutes into the restart with a neatly crafted and well-taken goal.
Captain Tom Cairney threaded a ball through to Lucas Piazon. The Brazilian on loan from Chelsea cleverly placed a right-foot shot from 12 yards out of Stockdale's reach.
Piazon should have doubled the deficit when he headed straight at Stockdale. The response from Albion to falling behind was lukewarm, although Knockaert fired over an opportunity to level from ten yards and Baldock's chip on-the-run from 20 yards just lacked the necessary elevation to beat Stockdale's rarely employed opposite number David Button, who palmed it for a corner.
The equaliser when it came was another penalty initiated by Attwell playing an excellent advantage when Knockaert was fouled just outside the box.
Ragnar Sigurdsson's ensuing barge on Hemed was followed by a difference of opinion with Murray over who should seize the moment.
Hemed won the argument and kept his cool at the same end he converted from last season, to the delight of the massed ranks of visiting supporters behind the goal.
A minute later it was bedlam behind Button's net. Dunk surged forward, released Knockaert and continued his run to head the rebound into a gaping goal after the keeper blocked the Frenchman's shot.
Another result chiselled out of adversity. That is five wins in a row now. The second half of the season has only just begun, but when the final whistle blows in May it is difficult to envisage Albion not being in a different division, perhaps with Fulham accompanying them via the play-offs.
Source .