Albion under-23 coach Simon Rusk admits his side were not at their best despite a 3-2 Premier League 2 victory at West Ham United on Saturday.
The win extends the Seagulls’ unbeaten league start to four games, but Jose Izquierdo’s late winner came in a second half the hosts had the upper hand in – both in terms of possession and chances created.
“I didn’t think we were up to our normal standards,” Rusk said. “We had a bit of a difficult day in terms of possession; I thought we were a little bit sloppy but that can happen.
“Overall, we weren’t at the level we wanted to be but when a group of players win a game you’ve got to take the positives too. We were resilient, in fact this group always have a defensive resilience about them, and we scored a couple of very good goals.”
Indeed, Albion debutant Reda Khadra scored a superb early opener for the Seagulls, crashing home an effort off the crossbar from an acute angle, while Izquierdo netted a deft 20-yard lob from Rob Sanchez’s long punt forward.
“Reda replicated in the game what he’s been doing in training,” Rusk added. “He was very positive taking on people, showing his quality, and scoring a very good goal. Coming from a very professional set-up at Borussia Dortmund to what we believe is another professional set-up here should make it a smooth transition – and the early signs are that he’ll settle in quickly.
“He’s not quite up to his fitness levels yet and it’s the same with Ulrick [Eneme-Ella], who got his first 90 minutes, which I’m sure will really benefit him.”
Khadra was replaced by Izquierdo for his 30-minute cameo and the Albion coach was delighted to see him net the winner.
“I experienced a lengthy spell out with a knee injury in my career, so to see him have that moment, that bit of quality and composure with the finish, I was overjoyed for him. Obviously he’s been through a lot with his injuries, so it was a really nice moment and hopefully he can kick on from here.”
Albion currently sit second in the Premier League 2 table but Rusk admits his side remain a work in progress, with Liverpool next on the agenda in a fortnight’s time.
“It’s a solid start to the season in terms of points on the board but we’ve got a long way to go in terms of performance levels. But that’s how it should be, we’re a development squad for a reason, so we will look at what went well on Saturday, what didn’t go so well, and find the right balance on the training pitch.”