Brighton and Hove Albion News: Seagulls beat Derby at home in FA Cup

Brighton beat Derby County 2-1 in the FA Cup 5th round to progress to the quarterfinals. Goals from Anthony Knockaert and Jurgen Locadia sealed the deal for the Seagulls.

Brighton began the game quite clearly in the ascendancy. Frank Lampard’s Derby County were unable to really get a grip on the game right from the first minute. Within the opening knockings of this FA Cup 5th round contest, Brighton began to assert their dominance.

They began to pile on the pressure and while their Premier League quality was beginning to show, Derby County had to change some tactics to try and have a say in the proceeding of this crucial football match.

Having already beaten United in the cup this season, they were determined not to get blown away by Chris Hughton’s men. As time wore on, Brighton began to control the game more and more. And it was finally in the 33rd minute that they found the breakthrough.

Yves Bissouma did some excellent work on the left and after beating his man, he played in a low driven cross back to the edge of the area. An arriving Anthony Knockaert smashed the ball in to make it 1-0 to the home side.

With the goal, Brighton’s play began to grow in confidence and while the threat of Derby on the counter was ever-present, they were in complete control and were creating good chances at will.

As the half drew to a close, in the final few seconds of the game, Brighton doubled their lead through Jurgen Locadia.

Yves Bissouma picked up the ball on the right and after some excellent individual work to dribble a couple of men, he curled a fantastic shot past Kelle Roos, the rebound of which was tapped in by Locadia. Brighton went into half-time looking much stronger team than Derby.

The second half began with Derby County seeing a lot more of the ball but despite this newfound balance in possession, they were unable to really create an impact on the game.

But finally, in the 81st minute, Derby made the breakthrough when a shot from the left side was saved by David Button before it fell to Ashley Cole. He headed the ball home for his first Derby goal and made it 2-1.

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As the game went on into the final knockings, Derby began to create chances but were unable to find the equaliser, which meant that Brighton went through to the next round of the FA Cup.

Here’s what some ecstatic Brighton fans had to say about the victory: