With record signing Jurgen Locadia scoring on his debut for Brighton in the FA Cup clash against Coventry City, the returning Leo Ulloa also opened his account in the game to put us through to the quarter finals of the competition this year.
With both players getting off the mark for the club this season, Locadia was obviously pleased to have made an impact following is injury issues upon moving to the Amex.
Speaking to the Official Site as he met with the media following the game, the Dutchman explained.
‘I thought we played very well – we kept the ball well and created a lot of chances. We played very well and created a lot of chances, I had two opportunities to score, but all in all it was a good showing for our side. I thought I had scored with my first touch but unfortunately it hit the post! But I was sharp with the second chance and I`m delighted to score.’
Connecting with Anthony Knockaert’s cross to find the back of the net, Locadia was quick to pass praise around.
‘For my goal I knew I needed to anticipate the movement ahead of me. Leonardo Ulloa made some good movement for the first goal. He made a movement to the front post and I waited for the ball behind him. It’s natural for me to move out to the left side and Solly March knows that, so we can switch positions well.’
Locadia went on to say that having recovered from his hamstring injury, the plan was for him to play only until he got tired in the game to help him build his fitness and he expected to be flagging within the opening 45, so he was delighted to make it through until the 77th minute.
‘The plan was to play until I was tired and I thought that was going to happen in the first half! My hamstring is good, but I’ve trained very hard on it. My general fitness will always improve with the more matches I play – I`ve been working hard on my physical training as well.’
Reflecting on his first real experience of the stadium, he ended by saying.
‘The atmosphere was amazing. I saw against Chelsea how the fans were, but playing on the field was a crazy feeling. We now have an opportunity to play at Wembley, it’s crazy and we just have to win one more game. Everything is new for me, so to play at Wembley Stadium would be fantastic.’
As for Ulloa, he’d already re-debuted for the club following his loan arrival from Leicester City, but the game also saw him open his tally in his second spell with us.
‘I’m happy, because firstly we won the game and that`s the most important thing. I’m pleased with the goal because I know Bruno well and he knows me. That ball into the box proved that we have a special connection together. I played 90 minutes which is good for my fitness; it`s been a long time since I have done that and now I`m thinking of my next game. I’m very happy here, I have a great relationship with the fans and it feels very different here compared to playing anywhere else.’
With confidence from the result, Ulloa knew we had to remained focused as we go into the game against Swansea City next weekend.
‘We are more confident now after recent results, but we have to keep repeating what we`ve done. Everything that we do now is to achieve that and we have think about the next game. Now we look ahead to Swansea, who are also in good form too. The group is in a good way at the moment and we have to keep going.’
