Albion 0, Brentford 2
Chris Hughton's biggest concern right now is one he would not have expected.
Albion have suddenly gone soft. They are far too easy to score against.
The first game since the transfer window slammed shut emphasised not so much the absence of a further addition to the strike force as a disturbing trend for leaking goals.
Although blanks were fired for the second game in succession there was no reason for Hughton to pinpoint, as has often been the case in games at the Amex, a need to be more clinical.
His team had a collective off-day in an attacking sense. They did not fashion lots of chances and there were no glaring misses.
It is in games like this that sides managed by Hughton are normally resilient, difficult to breach.
The season was launched by a quartet of clean sheets. That is the kind of mean-spirited defiance Albion need to rediscover to prevent a run of one point from the last nine developing into a sequence more damaging to their promotion prospects.
As Hughton remarked: "We're a team that, if we don't play so well, we are able to be solid and compact, make life difficult for the opposition to score.
"It is a concern and something we will certainly have to address."
Hughton's ability to do just that is hampered by the fixtures coming thick and fast.
It gives him limited scope to work on the training ground on integrating his new record signing into the back four.
It would be unfair to single out Shane Duffy for blame. Albion let in two goals at Reading without him, as well as two with the imposing Republic of Ireland international against both Newcastle and Brentford.
The defence did not, however, function effectively as a unit against the Bees and their buzzing striker Scott Hogan, who could have doubled his two-goal tally.
Hogan made the most of the spaces between Duffy, his partner Lewis Dunk and Bruno at right-back to wreck Albion's 14-match unbeaten home run in all competitions since the opening day of the year.
Hughton's defensive options have been disrupted ever since the start of pre-season, when Connor Goldson suffered knee ligament damage on the training camp in Tenerife.
Bruno filled in with aplomb as an emergency centre-half but that was never going to be viable over a prolonged period.
Now Liam Rosenior is out until Christmas. Goldson and Uwe Huenemeier, although fit-again, are short of minutes, as is new full-back Seb Pocognoli who was not in the squad against Brentford.
Unlike further up the pitch, where changes in personell from game-to-game can provide a helpful injection of freshness, an unsettled defence is more often than not a vulnerable one, devoid of understanding developed through consistency.
The shape of matches - and results - in the modern game are often determined by which team scores the opening goal.
Brentford's breakthrough, against the run of play, brutally exposed Albion's lack of defensive cohesion.
A hooked pass by Lewis Macleod had Hogan scampering clear through the inside left channel with Bruno, well in advance of his centre-halves, looking in vain for an offside flag.
Hogan raced away again in similar circumstances at the end of the first half and during the second. David Stockdale denied him on those occasions but there was no stopping his ruthless clincher into the roof of the net after finding room once more between Duffy and Dunk inside the box.
Hogan's part in proceedings was a script-ripper. A former Rochdale striker making the difference was supposed to be Glenn Murray, not him.
While Murray, after three goals in his previous two home outings, fed on scraps, Hogan feasted.
A spree of seven goals in four games at the end of last season for Brentford included three doubles.
The latest made Hogan the first opposition player to score twice against Albion at the Amex since Murray's pair for Reading on Boxing Day 2014.
Brentford, as Hughton observed, were the better side and kept the ball better, so there could be no complaints about the outcome.
Article continues after...[h=3]More Articles[/h]
It could, in spite of the below-par nature of the performance, still have been different.
John Egan showed admirable awareness to clear Tomer Hemed's header off the line on the stroke of half-time.
The subdued Israeli's replacement, Elvis Manu, was booked for diving as soon as he came on when replays suggested he had reasonable claims for a penalty.
Harlee Dean, Brentford's sound skipper, impeded the Dutchman. Hughton's verdict - no yellow card or penalty - was probably right.
His team had a bad day at the office. They have been few and far between over the past 12 months and it would be daft to write them off based on one lacklustre display and result, even though it has turned a satisfactory start into a disappointing one.
The initial route to recovery is to halt the pattern of conceding two goals per game. Albion do not possess sufficient firepower to depend on outscoring the opposition.
Original article
Chris Hughton's biggest concern right now is one he would not have expected.
Albion have suddenly gone soft. They are far too easy to score against.
The first game since the transfer window slammed shut emphasised not so much the absence of a further addition to the strike force as a disturbing trend for leaking goals.
Although blanks were fired for the second game in succession there was no reason for Hughton to pinpoint, as has often been the case in games at the Amex, a need to be more clinical.
His team had a collective off-day in an attacking sense. They did not fashion lots of chances and there were no glaring misses.
It is in games like this that sides managed by Hughton are normally resilient, difficult to breach.
The season was launched by a quartet of clean sheets. That is the kind of mean-spirited defiance Albion need to rediscover to prevent a run of one point from the last nine developing into a sequence more damaging to their promotion prospects.
As Hughton remarked: "We're a team that, if we don't play so well, we are able to be solid and compact, make life difficult for the opposition to score.
"It is a concern and something we will certainly have to address."
Hughton's ability to do just that is hampered by the fixtures coming thick and fast.
It gives him limited scope to work on the training ground on integrating his new record signing into the back four.
It would be unfair to single out Shane Duffy for blame. Albion let in two goals at Reading without him, as well as two with the imposing Republic of Ireland international against both Newcastle and Brentford.
The defence did not, however, function effectively as a unit against the Bees and their buzzing striker Scott Hogan, who could have doubled his two-goal tally.
Hogan made the most of the spaces between Duffy, his partner Lewis Dunk and Bruno at right-back to wreck Albion's 14-match unbeaten home run in all competitions since the opening day of the year.
Hughton's defensive options have been disrupted ever since the start of pre-season, when Connor Goldson suffered knee ligament damage on the training camp in Tenerife.
Bruno filled in with aplomb as an emergency centre-half but that was never going to be viable over a prolonged period.
Now Liam Rosenior is out until Christmas. Goldson and Uwe Huenemeier, although fit-again, are short of minutes, as is new full-back Seb Pocognoli who was not in the squad against Brentford.
- Hughton demands an immediate response from Albion
- Albion Analysis: Stop the leaking to start the recovery
- Kayal says Albion failed to cope with counter-attack - and it cost them
- Timely tweaks trigger a big improvement for Perks
- Hughton: They were better on the ball than us
Unlike further up the pitch, where changes in personell from game-to-game can provide a helpful injection of freshness, an unsettled defence is more often than not a vulnerable one, devoid of understanding developed through consistency.
The shape of matches - and results - in the modern game are often determined by which team scores the opening goal.
Brentford's breakthrough, against the run of play, brutally exposed Albion's lack of defensive cohesion.
A hooked pass by Lewis Macleod had Hogan scampering clear through the inside left channel with Bruno, well in advance of his centre-halves, looking in vain for an offside flag.
Hogan raced away again in similar circumstances at the end of the first half and during the second. David Stockdale denied him on those occasions but there was no stopping his ruthless clincher into the roof of the net after finding room once more between Duffy and Dunk inside the box.
Hogan's part in proceedings was a script-ripper. A former Rochdale striker making the difference was supposed to be Glenn Murray, not him.
While Murray, after three goals in his previous two home outings, fed on scraps, Hogan feasted.
A spree of seven goals in four games at the end of last season for Brentford included three doubles.
The latest made Hogan the first opposition player to score twice against Albion at the Amex since Murray's pair for Reading on Boxing Day 2014.
Brentford, as Hughton observed, were the better side and kept the ball better, so there could be no complaints about the outcome.
Article continues after...[h=3]More Articles[/h]
-
[h=5]Hughton demands an immediate response from Albion[/h]
-
[h=5]Kayal says Albion failed to cope with counter-attack - and it cost them[/h]
-
[h=5]Hughton: They were better on the ball than us[/h]
-
[h=5]Hogan double sinks Seagulls[/h]
-
[h=5]Albion 0 Brentford 2: How we reported the action live from the Amex[/h]
It could, in spite of the below-par nature of the performance, still have been different.
John Egan showed admirable awareness to clear Tomer Hemed's header off the line on the stroke of half-time.
The subdued Israeli's replacement, Elvis Manu, was booked for diving as soon as he came on when replays suggested he had reasonable claims for a penalty.
Harlee Dean, Brentford's sound skipper, impeded the Dutchman. Hughton's verdict - no yellow card or penalty - was probably right.
His team had a bad day at the office. They have been few and far between over the past 12 months and it would be daft to write them off based on one lacklustre display and result, even though it has turned a satisfactory start into a disappointing one.
The initial route to recovery is to halt the pattern of conceding two goals per game. Albion do not possess sufficient firepower to depend on outscoring the opposition.
Original article