Club news

Rusk: It Took A Moment Of Real Quality

By Kieran Cleeves • 01 October 2018

Brighton & Hove Albion under-23 coach Simon Rusk accepted that it took a moment of real quality to end his team’s unbeaten start to the league season, but had no issue with the commitment shown by his players against Derby County.

Experienced midfielder Jacob Butterfield fired into the top corner from long distance to win the game for the Rams, and Rusk reflected on an evenly-contested match that was decided by a special strike.

He said, “It was a really tight game and I had that feeling that whoever scored first would win it. On the ball, we probably weren’t up to our recent levels.

“We had one or two good chances at 0-0 — Viktor Gyokeres went through one-v-one and he was onside, but we didn’t get the rub of the green on that.

“Viktor had another chance after half-time and perhaps on another day he tucks that away. But on the balance of play, I don’t think we can have too many complaints that we lost the game.

“I have no questions with the commitment and attitude from the players — it took a moment of quality to win the game.

“We’ve got some good points on the board and had some really solid performances. Perhaps it now gives us something to really get our teeth stuck into and bounce back from.”

Derby lined up with two first-team players at Loughborough University, and Rusk felt the experienced duo showed their class, as the Rams secured a narrow victory to climb above Albion in the league table.

“Butterfield in midfield had a good game, and then Curtis Davies, an experienced centre-back, was obviously a real plus for them. Both players impacted the game very well.

“It was a tight game, we were in it right the way until the end and we never gave up. There are no complaints from me towards the players.

“We had a bit of an off-night, in terms of our work with the ball, but credit to Derby, they were very organised and showed their quality.

“We can’t be too disappointed, we’ll dust ourselves down, look at where we could have been better, commit to that on the training pitch and go again. I can’t wait for the next game.”