Report: Albion 4 Kauno Zalgiris 0

Georginio scores twice and Jack Hinshelwood and Matt O'Riley are also on target in comfortable win over the Lithuanians.

Charlie Hanson

2026-10-15T22:00+01:00

Jack Hinshelwood jumps for joy after marking his return to action with Albion's second goal. 📷Paul Hazlewood

Albion coasted past Kauno Zalgiris in their opening UEFA Conference League league phase match, putting four past the visiting Lithuanians without reply at the Amex.

Despite making eight changes from the 2-0 win over Sunderland, Albion were at their suffocating best at the Amex, winning with goals by Georginio (2), Jack Hinshelwood and Matt O'Riley.

A Lewis Dunk curler from 20 yards that flew just over the crossbar after 30 minutes offered the chance to take a glance at the possession stats. Albion had enjoyed 84% of the ball at that stage.

Delight for Georginio after he broke the deadlock just before the break. 📷Paul Hazlewood

Despite the sheer quantity of possession that Albion had, Tomas Svedkauskas had only been called into action to tip over Pascal Gross's free-kick from a tight angle at that stage.

Unfortunately for the visiting keeper, the floodgates opened four minutes before the break. Georginio neatly tucked in from Ibrahim Osman’s cutback - although VAR intervention was needed after it was initially ruled out - before Jack Hinshelwood fired home in the final moments of the first half.

Full stretch: Matt O'Riley and Michael Svoboda enjoy an unusual celebration! 📷Paul Hazlewood

The entertainment wasn’t only to be found on the pitch, with the South Stand three-quarters full with Brighton fans, toing and froing their songs of support with the North Stand throughout the first half.

It was in stark contrast to the last time Albion played at the Amex in Europe. Desperately trying to overturn a 4-0 away defeat to Roma, Danny Welbeck scored the only goal of the game in March 2024, when Albion exited the Europa League.

High flier: Matt O'Riley celebrates in front of the North Stand after scoring Albion's fourth. 📷Paul Hazlewood

Georginio and Osman combined again after 53 minutes for the Frenchman’s second. It was a near identical goal to his first, and shortly afterwards O’Riley nodded back across goal and into the bottom right corner from debutant Younes Ibrahim's cross to make it 4-0.

The Denmark international saw his diving header from eight yards punched away by Svedkauskas as the hosts went in search of a fifth, but a 4-0 victory to kickstart this campaign in the Conference League was more than enough.

Matt O'Riley's well-placed header makes it 4-0. 📷James Boardman

The occasion made good on the pre-match hype video featuring Fatboy Slim, with the tagline of ‘Our Time Is Now’ one Albion will hope can take them far in this competition. Based on tonight’s performance, they should have plenty of confidence that they can replicate their early Premier League form in their second adventure into European competition.

Albion: Verbruggen, Costinha, Svoboda, Dunk (Vuskovic 46), Boscagli (De Cuyper 46), Gross (Ayari 57), Hinshelwood (Promise 57), O’Riley, Osman (Ibrahim 67), Yalcouye, Georginio.