Media review: Southampton

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How the papers and websites saw our 1-1 draw with Saints on Friday.

Nick Szczepanik

2024-11-30T10:00+00:00

Matt O'Riley impressed on his first Premier League start. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

The consensus in the Saturday papers after the 1-1 draw at home to Southampton was that fans should cut out and keep a copy of the Premier League table that shows the club in second place but forget what happened in the second half of the game.

The Times put matters pretty succinctly: “Brighton occupy second place in the Premier League this morning, their highest-ever position this late in a season, but did not get there in the way they would have hoped. They are level on points and goals with Manchester City, but failure to beat Southampton, who remain bottom of the table, will sting as they contemplate missing the chance to go clear of the other teams behind Liverpool in the hunt for European places.

“Kaoru Mitoma put Brighton ahead with his third goal of the season. Flynn Downes, who had been lucky on several occasions not to see a second yellow card, levelled after 59 minutes. And Brighton survived a scare when an effort by Cameron Archer was disallowed after a lengthy VAR review.

“Brighton’s usual kaleidoscope of attacking patterns dazzled in the first half and they had already missed several chances before Mitoma charged in to head Tariq Lamptey’s cross past Joe Lumley, who was making his Premier League debut in goal at 29.

Lewis Dunk made his 250th Premier League appearance for the club against Southampton on Friday. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

“The second half started in similar vein, but the longer Brighton went without another goal, the more Southampton’s belief grew and just short of the hour, they were level.”

In The Guardian, Ed Aarons told a similar story. “While the draw moves Brighton up to the dizzy heights of second place by virtue of their superior head-to-head record against champions Manchester City, [Albion head coach Fabian] Hurzeler was bitterly disappointed not to have finished the job after Kaoru Mitoma headed them in front during a first half of almost total domination.

“With the impressive Yasin Ayari – the latest example of Brighton’s seemingly endless supply of emerging talent – prompting in midfield, the script seemed written for them to extend their lead. Hurzeler acknowledged that Brighton must become more ruthless after spurning a series of opportunities and was not happy with [Russell] Martin or the referee’s decision not to show a second yellow card to Downes.”

Other papers concentrated mainly on the whys and wherefores of that disagreement between the two coaches, but for match action we can reliably turn to Isabelle Barker of The Sun.

She wrote that “as expected, the hosts burst out the traps, with Georginio Rutter teeing up Mitoma, who would have lashed in the opener had it not been for Joe Lumley’s finger tips. Rutter was back for more with his twinkle toes twisting inside and out of three pink shirts before he flicked a shot just wide.

“It was no surprise that the French 22-year-old produced Brighton’s best chance as he cut inside and drilled a shot off the far post.

“Brighton were building and got their deserved opener on 28 minutes as Tariq Lamptey crossed and Kaoru Mitoma pulled away from Taylor Harwood-Bellis to head home.

Yasin Ayari caught the eye with an influential midfield display. 📷 by Paul Hazelwood.

“Meanwhile Mitoma, another hidden gem unearthed by Tony Bloom, is now one goal short of Shinji Okazaki's 14-goal record as the top Japanese scorer in the top-flight.”

However, she also considered the result in the larger scheme of things. “Brighton are now sitting pretty in second, bang on level with Manchester City on goal difference,” she wrote. “Brighton’s model as a football club has always been revolutionary and refreshing in equal measure, but last night begs the question of whether they have got the minerals to become real title contenders?

“Stats-driven recruitment is the beating heart of their success while their young and ambitious manager, Fabian Hurzeler, has produced an exceptional start to the season, but consistency will be key.

“With 23 points from their first 13 games, this remains Brighton's best start to a top-flight season. And since the beginning of October, only leaders Liverpool have won more points.”

And on the BBC Sport website, Emma Smith spelled out the doubts: “This appeared to be the perfect opportunity for Brighton to demonstrate that, if Manchester City and Chelsea are considered to still be in the title race, they should be too.

“Fabian Hurzeler's side have been in great form and have a good-looking run of fixtures to come too. In December, the Seagulls do not face a side currently in the Premier League top seven. Their highest ranked opponents next month are eighth-place Aston Villa on 30 December.

“But if they cannot follow up eye-catching wins over teams like Manchester City by beating a side without an away point until this point, then Brighton will fall short.

“They do have players coming back into form and fitness. Lamptey's return at right-back for the first time since October is welcome and the Ghana international was lively.

“Centre-back Lewis Dunk was also fit enough for the bench, while Matt O'Riley looked at home on his first start in a Premier League midfield since signing from Celtic in the summer. But forwards Danny Welbeck and Joao Pedro, both impressive in recent weeks, failed to shine here as Brighton dropped two points.”