The Seagulls had taken the lead through Adam Webster’s first goal for the club, before being reduced to ten men and falling to a cruel late 2-1 defeat in the Midlands, and Stephens praised the positive style in which the side continued to play for the remainder of the contest.
He said, “It’s tough to take, we put a lot of effort in and did enough overall to get something out of the game, even with ten men.
“Even though we played with a man less, I think we created enough chances to still even win the match, and that speaks volumes about the quality within this team.
“It’s important to still carry a threat, if you decide to sit in then you’re almost conceding that you’re up against it. We were positive, and I thought we were very unfortunate in the end.”
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Aaron Mooy was shown two yellow cards during the first period against Dean Smith’s side, the first after the midfielder had been adjudged to have kicked the ball away, and the second for a foul on Jack Grealish.
“The first one is cheap, I’m not sure he kicked the ball more than two or three yards. The second one looks like it could be a booking but I’m not sure about the first one,” Stephens continued.
“We were in charge at that point and creating chances, we looked like we were in full control of the game, but when you go down to ten men at this level, it’s difficult.
“It happened against Southampton too, Aaron was quiet and obviously disappointed, I don’t think he felt the two combined were worthy of a sending off.
“But these things happen in football though and I thought our reaction was brilliant, I think it will even itself out over the course of the season.”
Everton are the visitors to the Amex this weekend - Graham Potter’s men beat Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 during their last outing on home soil in the Premier League.
Stephens believes that the team deserve more points from their efforts so far this term, and highlighted the fact that the Seagulls continue to create chances aplenty in matches as being a positive sign going forward.
“We feel like we deserve more from our games so far, certainly performance wise I think we’ve been really good,” he emphasised.
“We’ve had a few sucker punches with some late goals go against us, but I think you can see that we’re improving all the time.
“Apart from the game with Chelsea, I’d say we’ve improved week on week. We’ve kept the same philosophy and we’re creating chances in every match; we’re proud of that and it’s something to take forward.”