Fabian Hürzeler secured another win with Brighton in the League Cup, but was criticized afterwards for a scene. Brajan Gruda is still out of action
If Brighton & Hove Albion really want to win a title in their first season under Fabian Hürzeler, the domestic cup competitions certainly offer the best prospects. While the FA Cup does not begin for the Premier League clubs until January, the Seagulls have already successfully completed their second task in the League Cup on Wednesday evening.
After beating third division side Crawley Town 4-0 at the end of August, Hürzeler’s side reached the last 16 with a 3-2 win over league rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers. Long-range goals from Carlos Baleba (14′) and Simon Adingra (31′) gave them an early 2-0 lead, while summer substitute Ferdi Kadioglu calmed the nerves with his debut goal to make it 3-1 with a tap-in just before the end (85′).
Hürzeler was not in the mood for praise afterwards, however – especially because of the first goal conceded shortly before the break, when Goncalo Guedes successfully finished off a counter-attack that the Wolves had been able to play out calmly. “We played a very good first half until the 44th minute,” said Hürzeler. But “that’s a goal we should never concede because it came after a turnover. That was a lazy switching reaction from us. That’s something we can’t accept and it goes against our identity. We have to learn from these moments quickly, because we can’t do that. “
When will Gruda make his debut?
The Premier League coach of the month for August also criticized the team for not being at their best towards the end of the game. “We didn’t control the game as we should have. Of course you need results, but on the other hand I always try to focus on the process and there are still a lot of things we need to improve.”
After a dream start to his tenure, with four wins and two draws from six competitive matches, Hürzeler does not seem to be thinking about letting too much satisfaction set in. On Sunday (3 p.m.), the surprisingly unbeaten Nottingham come to Brighton, followed by Chelsea (September 28) and Tottenham (October 6).
Brajan Gruda is unlikely to make his debut in one of these games. The €31.5 million new signing from Mainz has been missing from the squad since his transfer due to an unspecified, allegedly only “minor injury” (Hürzeler). “He is still in rehab training, but is making great progress,” reported his coach before the Wolves game. “I’m very happy that he’ll be back in training soon. “
