Ferguson on target as Brighton claim sound victory at Forest
Having picked up a 3-1 victory in their last H2H in April, Forest fans may have been reasonably confident of closing the six-point gap on Brighton, especially given the away side were winless in six league games ahead of kick-off (D2, L4).
Within five minutes, that confidence would have been sky-high as the hosts raced into an early lead, making it 17 consecutive games without a clean sheet for a shell-shocked Brighton.
Morgan Gibbs-White played a pivotal role in the goal with his direct run putting the Seagulls on the back foot before Anthony Elanga headed in a looped cross at the back post.
Two enforced first-half alterations added to Brighton’s woes but despite that, Roberto De Zerbi’s side went in level at the break thanks to Evan Ferguson’s incisive finish from the edge of the area.
That goal extended the PL’s longest active scoring streak to 29 consecutive games, whilst also setting the Seagulls a new PL record for successive matches in which both teams have scored (17).
Six minutes of first-half stoppage time were added and the visitors made the most of that, stealing a HT lead when João Pedro headed in Pascal Groß’s cross from the penalty spot.
A promising set-piece 10 minutes after the restart ultimately led to a penalty award in favour of the away side when Chris Wood was adjudged to have hauled down João Pedro.
After a lengthy VAR check, the decision stood, allowing the first-half substitute to dispatch from the spot and net his second of the game.
Forest were now left with a mountain to climb, yet they were handed a lifeline through Seagulls skipper Lewis Dunk’s ill-discipline when he first conceded a penalty before talking himself into a second yellow card.
Gibbs-White kept calm to send Bart Verbruggen the wrong way and set up a grandstand finish, fuelled by plenty of emotion from both sides.
Ultimately, the free-scoring visitors did enough to see out a victory that lifts them to seventh in the PL standings, bringing a timely end to their winless run.
As for Forest, they remain 14th in the league, comfortably above the drop zone for the time being thanks to an eight-point cushion over 18th-placed Sheffield United.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Pascal Groß (Brighton & Hove Albion)
