Brighton have all but guaranteed their place in the Premier League after a well fought 1-1 draw at Southampton on Thursday evening.
Brighton took the lead in the 17th minute thanks to a well worked move from a throw-in. Poor defensive positioning from the Saints’ backline allowed Tariq Lamptey to find Glenn Murray from the throw, and the veteran’s header found Neil Maupay, who was allowed space and time in the box to pick out the bottom corner with his left foot for his 10th goal in his first Premier League season.
Southampton were much better in the second half, and they were allowed many more chances. Danny Ings eventually took advantage of poor positioning from the the young full-back Lamptey, and was able to roll a shot into the corner with his left foot, becoming the first Southampton player to score 20 goals in a season for 17 years.
Both sides had great opportunities to take all three points. Jannik Vestergaard hit a sublime strike that was heading into the top right hand corner, but the Australian goalkeeper Ryan was somehow able to reach and claw it onto the crossbar with one of the saves of the season. There was also a goal-line clearance from the fantastic Brighton skipper Lewis Dunk, before a last-ditch block came from Adam Webster. But the Seagulls had the best chance to snatch a win, when substitute Yves Bissouma somehow put wide from less than 15 yards from the Southampton goal.
In the end, both south coast sides had to settle for a point. Southampton, with not much left to play for, consolidated their league position of 12th in the table. A win for the away side would have seen them mathematically safe from the drop, but a point should suffice, as they are six points clear of Bournemouth and Aston Villa with two games to play, and their goal difference is far superior.
Player Ratings
Southampton
Alex McCarthy – 6
Pierre-Emile Højberg – 7
Jan Bednarek – 7
Jannik Vestergaard – 7.5
Jake Vokins – 6.5
William Smallbone – 6
Oriol Romeu – 5.5
Nathan Redmond – 7.5
Michael Obafemi – 6
Danny Ings – 8.5
Subs:
Che Adams – 6.5
Kyle Walker-Peters – 7.5
Stuart Armstrong – 6.5
Brighton
Mathew Ryan – 8.5
Tariq Lamptey – 6.5
Adam Webster – 8.5
Lewis Dunk – 9 (MOTM)
Dan Burn – 7
Solomon March – 7.5
Dale Stephens – 6
Davy Pröpper – 5.5
Leandro Trossard – 6
Glenn Murray – 7
Neil Maupay – 8
Subs:
Aaron Mooy – 6.5
Martin Montoya – 6
Yves Bissouma – 6.5
Alexis Mac Allister – 6
Pascal Groß – 6
By Jed Vine
