Brighton manager Chris Hughton knows the focus has to be on the Premier League but he was delighted to see the side take victory over Crystal Palace in the FA Cup yesterday evening.
Welcoming Roy Hodgson to the Amex Stadium for the clash, Dale Stephens gave us the lead half way through the first half and although Palace drew level with just over 20 minutes remaining in the game, Glenn Murray popped up to score the winner against his former side.
Speaking to the
Official Site as he met with the media following the game, Hughton was pleased to have avoided a replay and take us on a little cup run.
‘I thought we were good in the first half. They came out stronger than us in the second half, and they raised their game. I was confident that we wouldn’t concede, and it obviously took a wonder-goal off his weaker foot to get them back on level terms. But I`m really delighted with the winning goal, because both teams don`t really want to go into a replay, so I`m delighted to go through to the next round.’
With Murray’s goal raising tensions in the game and with the fact that some thought it had come off his hand, especially as VAR wasn’t directly used by the referee in the moment, Hughton went on to say.
‘I couldn`t see it that clearly, but Huenemeier rose at the back post and did really well. We had to wait until we came in to see, but it`s very clear that we didn`t need VAR.’
One downside to the game was the injury sustained by Izzy Brown, with the 21 year old loanee requiring substitution.
‘It`s very unlucky and that`s what has stopped me from really enjoying tonight. He`s a young boy that I really like. Hopefully he`ll be okay. He`s pretty sore at the moment, but we`ll assess him tomorrow and see the extent of it. I was really disappointed to see him come off so early – he`s a wonderfully-young talent and a boy that I really like.’
With some rotation for the game and changes to the starting line up, getting minutes into players was also a bonus from the night but he again stressed the Premier League was our focus.
‘For as much as we`d like to enjoy wherever this cup is going to take us, our priority is of course to make sure we stay in the Premier League. But what the victory will do is give the club a lift. For those that haven’t played as much, it`s given them valuable minutes and an even bigger lift.’
