Brighton 1-1 Hull
A late equaliser from Yannick Sagbo denied Brighton a mouth-watering FA Cup quarter-final against former manager Gus Poyet’s Sunderland — for now, at least.
Banished from Brighton last summer after a controversial play-off defeat by Crystal Palace, Poyet looked to be heading back to face the fans who once adored him after Leonardo Ulloa’s first-half goal.
Instead, Brighton and Hull City will meet again at the KC Stadium next Monday. Steve Bruce, the Hull boss, called it a bizarre decision by UEFA to force clubs to play domestic cup games on nights that do not clash with Champions League fixtures.
The ruling means Hull go to Cardiff in the Premier League on Saturday and then Brighton two days later, and Oscar Garcia’s side host Wigan before travelling 300 miles to East Yorkshire for the replay.
Bruce said: ‘Surely we can play on the same night as the Champions League?
It’s quite bizarre for UEFA to say to the FA we can’t play on the same night as the Champions League. I don’t think there will be many tuning out of Manchester United to tune in to Hull City and Brighton. No disrespect!’
Garcia added: ‘It’s not good for anybody to play two games in three days. Of course the travel will not go in our favour, but we can do nothing.’
Bruce said any added motivation to lock horns with his former club Sunderland in the quarter-finals was gone, but the incentive of being two wins away from Wembley remains a sizeable incentive, even for a side whose priority remains Premier League safety. Both these clubs can nearly ‘smell the Wembley hot dogs’, as Bruce put it.
Garcia insisted he too was intent on progressing in this ‘traditional’ competition, but his team selection suggested otherwise. The Brighton boss made seven changes, yet it so nearly paid off against Premier League opposition.
‘Maybe the people felt we changed the team only in the last minute?’ said Garcia in response to accusations that he had not given the FA Cup the respect it deserves.
Bruce, after all, also made six changes, but with January signings Shane Long and Nikica Jelavic Cup-tied, still sent out a strong, attacking side. They lined up 4-4-2 and saw two first-half chances — from Sagbo and then Curtis Davies — cannon back off the bar, yet it was Brighton who took the lead.
Garcia’s side are capable of passing the ball around beautifully, yet seem to struggle with that elusive final ball or shot. Not so after half an hour last night, when Ulloa started and finished an excellent move.
It began with an exquisite back heel and a one-two with Will Buckley, and finished with the Brighton striker surging past Tom Huddlestone before scoring with his right foot. Hull goalkeeper Allan McGregor could perhaps have been quicker off his line but Ulloa’s finish was still calm and clinical.
The less said about his miss in first-half stoppage time, the better. Ulloa was unmarked in the area yet managed to skew the ball inches wide of a post after a cross from Buckley.
Davies came close to an equaliser two minutes after Ulloa struck, before Matthew Upson required the services of his own goalkeeper to prevent an embarrassing own goal, but Hull did not seem to heed the warning.
With Rohan Ince and Keith Andrews sitting deep in Brighton’s midfield, Sone Aluko and Sagbo were cut adrift, while wingers Stephen Quinn and Robert Koren were unable to attack the Brighton full backs.
Bruce sent his team out early for the second half, moved Koren into a more central position to support the two strikers and went for broke with a double substitution after 65 minutes.
Jake Forster-Caskey wasted three good chances to double Brighton’s lead and they paid the price after 85 minutes when Sagbo stole half a yard on Lewis Dunk to convert Aluko’s cross.
—Daily Mail