Brighton 0-3 Burnley-Match Report
Words By Ciaran Coyle
Goals from Wout Weghorst, Josh Brownhill and Aaron Lennon saw Burnley cruise past Brighton and pick up three priceless points in their bid for Premier League survival.
The Claret’s first away Premier League win this season moved Burnley within five points of Newcastle United in 17th place, with Sean Dyche’s men having two games in hand on Eddie Howe’s side.
Burnley’s January signing opened the scoring 22 minutes into proceedings after a well-worked move by the visitors saw Lennon pull the ball back towards the penalty spot for the Dutchman who fired in his first Premier League goal for the Clarets.
Frustration started to set in amongst the Brighton defence as Shane Duffy and Goalkeeper Rob Sanchez were involved in a heated exchange after seemingly getting in each other’s way when attempting to clear a ball into the penalty area.
Brighton boss, Graham Potter said he felt the pair “didn’t channel their frustrations in the best way.”
Potter said: “I am not going to be critical of them, I’m going to try and help them because I know they were not the best versions of themselves in that moment.”
Brownhill, who also claimed his first Premier League goal, doubled their advantage five minutes before the break as Weghorst was able to take down a long, hopeful ball forward and play it off to the midfielder whose shot took a couple of deflections before finding its way into the back of the net.
Lennon capped off a dominant performance by Sean Dyche’s men as substitute Jay Rodriguez held off the challenge of Yves Bissouma in the centre of the field and played in the winger who took a touch and fired his shot into the roof of the net.
The win continues Burnley’s good record when visiting the Amex, They are unbeaten in their last six visits.
Brighton struggled to find any sort if quality in the final third during the game. The Seagulls only managed one shot on target in the 90 minutes, with their best chance coming in the form of a close range header from captain Adam Lallana.
Potter’s side remain in ninth place, just one point above Southampton, who were able to close the gap following their 2-0 win over Everton.
Dyche, who took charge of his 250th Premier League game , said that he thought his side fully deserved the three points and said that the win “has been coming.”
“I am pleased for the players who have stayed calm.”
“The performance levels have been there, not so much the outcomes because we’ve had three draws and a loss but the performances within there have been excellent.”
“We got the win because of the details, some excellent finishes, and some good defensive work from the whole unit.”
Potter apologised to the Brighton fans and said he had to take “full responsibility” for his side’s poor performance this afternoon.
“From the start I thought Burnley were good and deserved to win the game and we were not at the level to get anything in the Premier League.”
“We are all trying to get better but it was a disappointing afternoon for us and I can only apologise to the supporters.”
