For the second time in four days, Bobby Zamora secured victory with a winning goal in the final moments of the game, minutes after appearing as a late substitute. The former England striker’s appearances in his second spell at Brighton may so far have only been fleeting, but his impact is certainly being felt.
On Saturday, Zamora’s 89th minute finish at Leeds United ensured Chris Hughton’s side faced a struggling Bristol City with a four-point lead at the head of the Championship table. Last night he did not leave it so late, scoring in the 82nd minute, six minutes after being introduced, ensuring the cushion to second place was maintained.
The relief felt following Zamora’s contribution was tangible, and evident in the way that the normally restrained Hughton celebrated the goal. Before that moment, Brighton’s hold on their unbeaten league record, the last in the four divisions, had appeared precarious with the home side continuing to appear vulnerable even after Sam Baldock’s 53rd minute goal had cancelled out City’s first-half lead, provided by Derrick Williams.
Zamora, though, provided the goalscoring know-how that Hughton admits his side have been lacking, confirming, in the manager’s eyes, the forward’s value even as he continues to work towards full fitness.
“In some ways it was a similar type of game to Leeds,” Hughton said.
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“We certainly could have won the game but we could have lost it as well because they had real pace up front. I just thought we needed to get a grip in midfield and use Bobby to give us a different direction to score goals.
“There are so many good aspects of our game at the moment but still we can make some games more comfortable for us if we can get a lead and we should have been leading at half-time. He [Zamora] needs the service and if we don’t get the first goal, he can’t get the winner. But that’s what Bobby does. He uses his experience; he has adapted his game and knows how to make best use of his attributes.”
The timing of the decisive goal only added to the frustration felt by Steve Cotterill, the City manager, who was convinced his side should have been awarded a second-half penalty when Luke Freeman went down under a challenge from Uwe Huenemeier, only to receive a yellow card for diving.
“It was nailed on,” said Cotterill, whose side performed in a manner that suggested they would soon start moving away from the lower reaches of the table.
“You have to leave it for half an hour but I think I will go and have a word with the referee. Luke Freeman is not experienced enough to look for a dive. It’s not in his thoughts, he will be thinking about having a shot. That’s happened to us a few times this season. At that point I thought there was only one team going to win it.”
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Williams’ left-foot volley gave the visiting side a 17th minute lead and a series of missed chances, particularly from Baldock, meant Brighton trailed at half-time.
Baldock made amends, connecting with Bruno Saltor’s low cross early in the second half to equalise but the threat posed by Cotterill’s side, and in particular Jonathan Kodija, meant Brighton had cause to be grateful for the outstanding efforts of David Stockdale, the goalkeeper.
“We are feeling the pressure of other teams wanting to beat us because of we are top and because of our run,” Hughton said. “But it’s much better than the pressure we experienced last season when we were desperate for points to stay up.”
Brighton & Hove Albion (4-4-2): D Stockdale — B Salto, L Dunk, U Hünemeier, G Bong — L Rosenior (sub: A Crofts, 73min), D Stephens, B Kayal, S March (sub: I Calderón, 87)— T Hemed (sub: B Zamora, 75, S Baldock. Substitues not used: N Maenpaa, C Goldson, R Ince, E Manu. Booked: Dunk, Zamora.
Bristol City (3-5-2): F Fielding — N Baker, A Flint, L Ayling (sub: S Cox, 83) — E Bennett (sub: L Moore, 60), K Smith, M Pack, L Freeman, D Williams — A Wilbraham (sub: K Agard, 86), J Kodjia. Substitutes not used: B Hamer, M Little, B Reid, J Bryan. Booked: Baker, Freeman, Moore.
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Referee: I Williamson.