Brighton & Hove Albion manager Chris Hughton felt a draw was a fair result as the Seagulls drew 1-1 with Birmingham City in a good workout for the squad on Saturday afternoon.
Yves Bissouma’s stunning stoppage-time free kick earned Albion a draw and Hughton learned plenty from the match at St Andrew’s.
He said, “We were a bit slow to get going and there are a number of areas where we can improve.
“We came up against a team that was very well organised and didn’t break them down well enough; we had to show more on the ball to allow ourselves to have more chances.
“On the balance of play, I think we deserved something with the possession that we had, and the keeper made two very good saves. It was a very good test for us.”
The Seagulls boss praised the quality of Bissouma’s excellent strike and the goals that have been scored in pre-season as a whole.
“It was a fabulous goal, he’s [Bissouma] got a lot of learning to do and got to get used to the system here. But he’s a very good acquisition for us.
“I’ve been pleased with the goals that we’ve scored in these pre-season. We’ve had good periods in most games in the final third, but it’s that ability to have an end product and break teams down. That’s the most important area for us.”
Hughton also looked ahead to the new season, and highlighted the challenges facing his squad in their second Premier League campaign.
“Overall we were quite satisfied with last season, but we don’t expect this season to be any easier than the last.
“We expect another tough season and we’ve got to show the same qualities as last season.
“There is likely to be a large group of teams that are close together, so it’s going to be about fine margins and the ability to score goals.
“As a starter, we conceded too many goals from set plays, if we are able to improve that, then we’ll be able to improve our prospects to get wins.”