Club news

Murray: Brilliant Duffy Led The Way

By Kieran Cleeves • 19 September 2018

Brighton & Hove Albion striker Glenn Murray gave credit to team-mate Shane Duffy for his performance against Southampton on Monday night, as the defender halved the deficit before winning the game-levelling penalty.

Murray was able to fire his 98th Albion goal from the penalty spot after Duffy was sent tumbling in the 18-yard box, and the forward praised the Irishman for the noticeable impact he had at St Mary’s.

He said, “Shane was fantastic, it was a brilliant header and we want more of that. He’s such a big dominant figure and he does it in our box as well.

“I’m sure he can add some goals this year in the opposition box. Even without being near the ball, with the pure size of him, he’s always a threat. People are nervous around him and he managed to win a penalty for us.

“We need all areas of the pitch to chip in with goals. Duffy got a goal and a penalty, it was a huge effort from him. He really led the way with us getting back into the game.”

The Seagulls were able to come back from 2-0 down for a second game running, following their 2-2 draw against Fulham at the Amex Stadium, and Murray assessed Albion’s latest performance on the road.

“My personal feelings are that the first half was very disappointing - maybe a little bit like Watford. But thankfully we got the reaction in the second half and I’m happy to get a point out of it.

“We came in at half-time and knew from one to 11 that we weren’t good enough. We needed a reaction and we got that. We ran around a little bit more, pressured higher up the pitch and were a bit braver.

“Away from home, if you can get one back, it makes the home crowd a little uneasy. Getting one right off the back of their second really helped - they didn’t settle down in the game or get a flow.

“We managed to hit right back and then all of a sudden the atmosphere changed. We went from being on the back foot to the front foot, and managed to make amends.”

Murray came face-to-face with former team-mate Alex McCarthy from the penalty spot, and the 34-year-old admitted it was an easy decision to place the ball down the middle after doing his research.

“Under the circumstances, it was just about keeping a cool head and getting a good purchase on the ball. I was always going down the middle, I just needed to hit the target and thankfully it hit the back of the net.

“That was always the plan. We watch the goalkeepers every week to see if we can take anything out of their previous penalties - whether they like going a certain way or staying put a little longer.

“I felt the right decision was to go down the middle, especially in those circumstances when temperatures were high and there was a lot at stake. Thankfully, it turned out to be the right decision.”