Fabian Hürzeler had just heard chants of “sacked in the morning” from his own Brighton & Hove Albion fans when Oliver Glasner walked over to the Crystal Palace supporters and was greeted by a sea of applause.
Those were the stakes in this prickly, absorbing but low-on-quality derby as the Amex Stadium turned on Hürzeler after another deflating defeat for Brighton while Glasner and his players looked revitalised after such a desperately needed victory for Palace.
The Brighton anger was specifically directed at their head coach, given the fans pointedly applauded some of the players after the final whistle. Hürzeler was booed as he entered the pitch. He was booed whenever he emerged from a cluster of players. He was booed when he walked down the tunnel. Towards the end of the game, Brighton fans had chanted “you don’t know what you’re doing” after another pass rolled out for a Palace goal kick.
Brighton are no longer the Premier League’s happy club, after one win in 12 league matches, that coming at home to Burnley at the start of January. The results have been poor and the performances largely joyless. In their past 11 league games, Brighton have only twice scored more than once.
Hürzeler, 32, admitted afterwards this is “the hardest moment” of his career. He accepted his players were suffering from a “loss of self-confidence” and regarding the fans’ criticism, he said: “It is fine if they find the person to blame is me because I am responsible. As long as they support the team.”
Brighton finished eighth last season under Hürzeler and remain eight points above the bottom three. “I think everyone can imagine how you would feel if 25,000 [people] demand things and think about you. It’s not an easy situation,” Hürzeler said. “But there are only two options: to give up or to keep pushing harder. That’s why I’m sitting here because I never give up.”
Sarr’s smart finish made it two in two league games for the Senegal forward
REUTERS
It was as sour for Brighton as it was sweet for Palace, who had last won a football match on December 11, when their captain, Marc Guéhi, was still on the books and there was still lingering hope Glasner might stay beyond the summer.
It has been a long and turbulent two months, 59 days in all since that victory against Shelbourne in the Conference League, when they sat fourth in the Premier League, five points behind Manchester City.
Henderson needed no second invitation to wind up the home fans
REUTERS
Ismaila Sarr made the difference here with a smart finish just after the hour and while Glasner was generous enough to point out it was a game of “small margins”, Palace deserved the points, which should also reduce some of the noise around their coach.
“The fans have had plenty of opportunity to boo us in the last few months but they never did,” Glasner said. “The scenes at the end, this is what you can’t buy, the emotions and the feelings after the win. The fans on the M23 will be delighted. Maybe they will stop once or twice to buy an extra Guinness.”
Jorgen Strand Larsen started for the first time since joining Palace for £48million on Monday, stepping into the shoes of Jean-Philippe Mateta, who was not in the squad here after the Frenchman missed out on a move to AC Milan in the transfer window, in part because of a knee injury.
Strand Larsen admitted that he had cramp in the latter stages and looked a little rusty with a couple of chances but the 26-year-old will provide Palace with a focal point and some threat in the box in Mateta’s absence.
The air was thick with the smell of sulphur before kick-off from the pre-game fireworks but the fans were loud enough on their own, the atmosphere crackling like a proper derby and the football taking a back seat early on.
Chris Richards flew into an early challenge in midfield, Will Hughes clattered Georginio Rutter and Strand Larsen, perhaps yet to be told the full story about the Alan Mullery-Terry Venables spat in 1974, looked a little surprised by the intensity of the contest. He hurriedly cushioned his first touch straight out of play.
The game settled and was probably less entertaining as a result, with Brighton, playing with a box front four, enjoying the better of the first 30 minutes before Palace, with Yeremy Pino and Sarr as twin No10s, finished more strongly before the break.
Lewis Dunk and Maxim de Cuyper went closest for Brighton in the first half before Sarr lashed wide for Palace after an errant touch by Carlos Baleba in midfield.
Palace’s goal came out of the blue, started by Adam Wharton, whose clipped ball up the line was nodded to the feet of Evann Guessand, who has joined Palace on loan from Aston Villa. His scurry forward pulled the Brighton defenders across, allowing Sarr to run free, collect and fire in.
Kaoru Mitoma could have equalised for Brighton shortly after, when he raced clear but hit Dean Henderson with the finish while Strand Larsen might have put Palace out of sight. From there, Brighton never looked like finding an equaliser.
Brighton & Hove Albion (4-2-4): B Verbruggen — F Kadioglu, O Boscagli, L Dunk, M De Cuyper (D Welbeck 71min) — C Baleba (D Gómez 71), P Gross — H Howell (Y Minteh 71), C Kostoulas (J Hinshelwood 82), G Rutter (M O’Riley 82), K Mitoma. Booked Gómez.
Crystal Palace (3-4-2-1): D Henderson — C Richards, J Lerma, M Lacroix — D Muñoz, A Wharton, W Hughes (D Kamada 77), T Mitchell — I Sarr (B Johnson 88), Y Pino (E Guessand 56) — J Larsen. Booked Hughes, Muñoz, Strand Larsen.
Referee T Bramall