Following Saturday’s clash between Everton and Brighton, here are the instant reactions from both managers.
Everton hosted Brighton at Goodison Park on Saturday March 10, with the hosts taking a two nil victory.
After a scoreless first half, Gaetan Bong was credited with finding his own net after the hour mark and January signing Cenk Tosun doubled their advantage with just under 15 minutes remaining in the game to tie up the three points.
Brighton’s day got worse as Anthony Knockaert saw red and they were reduced to ten men, but Wayne Rooney did miss a late penalty in the game.
Teams:
Everton:
Pickford, Coleman, Jagielka, Keane, Baines, Davies (Klaassen 84), Rooney, Sigurdsson, Walcott (Calvert-Lewin 73), Tosun, Bolasie (Holgate 78).
Substitutes:
Martina, Niasse, Robles, Baningime.
Brighton:
Ryan, Schelotto, Duffy, Dunk, Bong (Suttner 82), Knockaert, Kayal (Locadia 69), Propper, Izquierdo, Gross, Murray (Ulloa 77).
Substitutes:
Bruno, Goldson, March, Krul.
Speaking to the BBC’s cameras a short time after match day referee Roger East blew the final whistle, Everton manager Sam Allardyce explained.
‘The players had to handle the pressure. Our form away, that’s been a long standing problem and it was a big win under those circumstances. The players accepted the pressure and delivered a performance.’
He added.
‘Usually when you lose two games and in the way that we’ve lost them, you have to find a response from the players. At Goodison, I don’t think there’s been a problem. Our big problem has been away from home.’
Brighton manager Chris Hughton in his comparative interview explained.
‘We fell well below the standards we’ve set and the level we needed to get a result. We restricted Everton to minimal chances going into half time. Once the first goal went in, it lifted the crowd and it became very difficult.’
