BLACKBURN last night denied that they had sacked their manager Gary Bowyer. The club put out a statement on Twitter after speculation that the 44-year-old had become the first managerial casualty of the new season. Blackburn are without a win in the Championship.
Rovers stated: “We would not normally comment on speculation, but reports this evening regarding our manager are totally untrue and without foundation.”
Bowyer had bemoaned his team’s luck in losing to a Brighton team whose best performer was their goalkeeper, David Stockdale.
It was far from their best performance by Brighton but there were few complaints from their fans. Brighton are unbeaten in the league and moved to second in the fledgling table behind Ipswich after Kazenga LuaLua’s deflected first-half strike proved decisive.
“It was a real tough afternoon,” said Chris Hughton, the Brighton manager. “They caught us on a day where we were not at our best on the ball. At home against Nottingham Forest and away at Fulham we were very good on the ball, but we did not reach that level today.
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“You look for other qualities such as being defensively strong and resilient, and looking at your goalkeeper to pull off a couple of really important saves. It is small margins and this time we got the three points.”
The kick-off was delayed by 15 minutes because of the plane crash on the A27 at nearby Shoreham.
Blackburn began well and almost took the lead in the first minute when Fode Koita forced the first of many sharp saves from the impressive Stockdale.
Blackburn had been unbeaten in nine away games. Tough, physical and energetic, they squeezed Brighton in the opening exchanges, and Tommy Spurr’s long throws into the box were serious cause for concern for the home defence.
Hughton’s side are worth watching when their passing is swift and they began to engineer a few gaps in Blackburn’s defence. Dale Stephens fizzed an effort wide from 18 yards before LuaLua struck on 34 minutes. His third goal of the campaign was a deflected effort from Sam Baldock’s pass that deceived David Raya.
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After the interval Stockdale proved a formidable barrier. He rushed from his line to smother Nathan Delfouneso’s shot after the striker had given Gordon Greer the slip.
Shane Duffy headed a late chance over the bar but Blackburn, who did little wrong, crucially lacked a cutting edge. Bowyer, unaware of his fate, said, “We are creating lots of chances and that is the positive. We are bitterly disappointed that we’re not coming away with at least a point.”
Star man: David Stockdale (Brighton)
Brighton & Hove Albion: Stockdale 8, Bruno 7, Greer 6, Hunemeier 7, Bong 6, Murphy 6 (March 78min 5), Stephens 8, Kayal 6, LuaLua 7, Hemed 6 (O’Grady 88min 5), Baldock 6 (Ince 84min 5)
Blackburn Rovers: Raya 7, Marshall 6, Duffy 6, Hanley 6, Spurr 7, Lawrence 6 (Kilgallon 83min 5), Guthrie 6, Akpan 6, Conway 7, Koita 6 (Barrow 69min 5), Delfouneso 7