Brighton beat Forest in Championship opener

By Adam Higgins
Aug 7, 2015
4 min read

KAZENGA LuaLua’s strike gave Brighton a winning start to the Championship season against Nottingham Forest in the 2015-16 Football League curtain-raiser.

The winger drilled home an angled finish across Forest goalkeeper Dorus de Vries early in the second half for the only goal of an entertaining game.

Forest came closest when Henri Lansbury’s free-kick struck the outside of the post but Brighton’s Beram Kayal also struck the woodwork and debutant Tomer Hemed’s header was clawed out brilliantly by de Vries.

The Seagulls’ first win on the opening weekend for four seasons was marginally deserved in a tight Friday night contest at a packed AMEX Stadium.

Boss Chris Hughton was understandably delighted to get his side’s campaign up and running with maximum points before their rivals play but will be just as pleased with an energetic performance as the Seagulls carried a persistent threat throughout.

Forest manager Dougie Freedman, who won his debut match in charge of the East Midlands club at Brighton in February, will be disappointed to lose at the start of his first full campaign in charge yet encouraged by the number of openings his team created.

Familiar face: The ex-Leicester and Reading defender, 29, was released by Freedman's former club Bolton during the summer

His injury-hit squad was without last season’s 15-goal top scorer Britt Assombalonga, captain Chris Cohen, playmaker Andy Reid and striker Matty Fryatt but the former Bolton boss gave debuts to Jamie Ward and Matt Mills.

The Seagulls handed first appearances from the start to Israeli striker Hemed and ex-Wigan full-back Gaetan Bong as Hughton resisted the temptation to throw in Bobby Zamora, who returned to the club after a 12-year absence on Monday but the veteran was left out having lacked match fitness.

Watching brief: The ex-England international was unveiled before kick-off but took in the action from the stands

Despite this their first taste of competitive action since the start of May, Brighton came out of the blocks at breakneck speed and LuaLua brought a low diving save from de Vries inside five minutes.

But the East Sussex outfit survived an early scare minutes later when Forest’s stand-in skipper Lansbury struck the outside of Brighton keeper David Stockdale’s right-hand post from 22 yards.

The hosts went close from their own set-piece when Kayal’s effort deflected narrowly over from a dangerous position after the tricky LuaLua was bundled over by Eric Lichaj, who was shown the first of six yellow cards by experienced referee Keith Stroud.

Rivals watch: The ex-Sheffield Wednesday midfielder, 25, has been linked with a move to Forest's East Midlands neighbours Derby County (Picture from Sky Sports)

As play swung from end to the other, Forest striker Dexter Blackstock headed Ward’s cross wide from eight yards before ex-Celtic midfielder Kayal came inches away from giving Brighton the lead when his shot hit the base of the post from a LuaLua cutback.

Michail Antonio, who scored 15 goals for Forest last term, was denied his first of the new campaign after a strong run through the middle by an athletic Stockdale save.

The visitors were then dealt a blow six minutes before half-time when midfielder Robert Tesche left the field with a suspected broken foot following an innocuous collision with Kayal and was replaced by David Vaughan.

Unfortunate: The 28-year-old, who spent the last three months of 2014-15 on loan at Birmingham, could face several weeks on the sidelines

And Freedman’s side could have been trailing at the interval with Sam Baldock narrowly off target from 20 yards before de Vries, preferred to on-loan Leicester keeper Ben Hamer, pulled off one of the save of the season contenders already to thwart Hemed’s close-range header.

But Brighton eventually made the breakthrough just five minutes into the second half from a well-constructed passage of play.

Solly March’s incisive pass reached LuaLua and the 24-year-old Congolese, who only scored four goals last term, raced away from Lichaj before cutting in to rifle a low left-footed shot into the bottom corner.

The former Newcastle player almost doubled their advantage soon after having got the better of Lichaj once more but his fierce drive lacked precision and accuracy.

March, another source of danger to Forest, also ought to have hit the target when bursting clear midway through the half.

Forest – who won 27 points from losing positions last term, the most in the Championship – asked questions of the Brighton defence in the final 15 minutes as they threatened an equaliser.

Teenage substitute Tyler Walker, son of Forest legend and ex-England defender Des, was kept out by Stockdale with a low shot before sliced horribly wide from the following scramble.

Blackstock then could not turn the ball home from a couple of yards from a quickly taken throw-in courtesy of excellent defending by Lewis Dunk.

Captain's example: The Scotland centre-back, 34, and partner Lewis Dunk, 23, had to form a solid unit to keep Forest at bay late on

It was the last opportunity for Forest, who had won their previous three opening day games but return to the City Ground empty-handed and are now winless in nine league games stretching back to the end of 2014-15.

Brighton could have sealed victory in the last of four added minutes when March wastefully lashed over from substitute Liam Rosenior’s set-up.

But the Seagulls begin their fifth successive second-tier season with a slender win and Hughton, who replaced Sami Hyypia last December, will hope his side have started as they mean to go on in their bid to finish higher in the table this term.

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