Chris Hughton demands Brighton response after late Newcastle defeat
Wednesday 1 March 2017 00:24, UK
Chris Hughton challenged his Brighton players to maintain their promotion charge after Tuesday's agonising defeat to title rivals Newcastle.
The Seagulls were nine minutes away from stretching their lead at the top of the Sky Bet Championship to four points after Glenn Murray's first-half penalty at The Amex.
But Mohamed Diame's fortuitous equaliser and Ayoze Perez's classy winner a minute from time saw the Magpies snatch victory, and top spot in table.
It was a bitter pill for Hughton to swallow, who felt his side did not deserve to lose after such an encouraging display.
He told Sky Sports: "We know the quality Newcastle have got, they showed what they can do with their second goal.
"But up until the equaliser we had worked out how they were playing and coped with it very well. They threatened because of the quality they have got but I felt we would hold out.
"A really fortunate goal gets them back in it and at that stage they were in the ascendancy and a quality goal gets them the win.
"It's difficult to take because, while we weren't at our best, we were very much in the game. We started very well, had opportunities and got the goal.
"But you cannot keep those levels going for 90 minutes, especially against a team of Newcastle's quality.
"We should have shown enough resilience to hold out (for a point) so it was really difficult at the end. But we didn't deserve to lose."
Brighton now have to pick themselves up ahead of Saturday's trip to Nottingham Forest, where they try to continue their promotion push.
And, looking ahead to the trip to the County Ground, Hughton has warned his players of the pitfalls of wallowing in defeat.
"You have to pick yourself up quickly in this division because the games come thick and fast," the Brighton boss added.
"We've got another big game on Saturday, as do Newcastle. We are where we are for a reason, we were very close today.
"The players have been excellent this season and we need them to pick themselves up, go again and continue getting results because this league is unforgiving and you've got to turn things around."
