Hughton: The Warning Signs Were There

Brighton & Hove Albion manager Chris Hughton felt his team survived a number of warnings in the first half at Goodison Park, but struggled to adapt in the second half as Everton claimed a 2-0 victory.

The Seagulls conceded two goals after the break, before Mathew Ryan denied Wayne Rooney from the penalty spot in the closing stages, and Hughton reflected on a disappointing afternoon on Merseyside.

He said, “The warning signs were there and we didn’t adapt to them well enough. I didn’t think we were great in the first half, but we stuck in there and restricted them to minimal chances.

“We had a good chance at half-time to clear the air and realise how we needed to improve in the second half - we did improve slightly but not significantly enough to go and win the game.

“If we play at a level like that, we’ll find it really difficult to win Premier League games. We know what the levels are and we’ve reached those levels in this good run that we’ve been on.

“But we were well below that today - we knew the attacking threats they have and certainly the best team won.”

Albion struggled to threaten their opponents in a disjointed display against the Toffees, and Hughton admitted his team needed to show more quality in order to take something back to the south coast.

“They’re a level-headed group of lads, but it’s about performance and levels. In the periods throughout the season where you don’t reach the levels you need to, you can get beat.

“We were playing against top opposition and a team who are very good at home and have great attacking options - so you have to be at it.

“We got away with it in the first half, probably because they hadn't raised their game to the levels that they did in the second half.

“We were spirited towards the end and tried to get back into the game, but the second goal really killed us.”

Anthony Knockaert received a straight red card for a uncharacteristic lunge on Leighton Baines with ten minutes remaining, and Hughton had no complaints with the referee’s decision.

“I have no problems with that, it was a red card. It’s a team game and it will now see him miss three matches. We’re the ones that won’t benefit from that and he certainly won't.”