Gus Poyet felt that his side produced the perfect away performance as they beat Middlesbrough 2-0 at the Riverside Stadium, to move into fifth place in the Championship table.
The Albion boss admitted that the team did not have its usual speed and flair but he asked for extra attacking impetus from his midfielders and was pleased with the response.
He told seagulls.co.uk, “We had a different kind of team today. People are looking for excitement and speed but today we probably had the strongest team we can play in terms of physical ability and we knew it would be difficult for Middlesbrough to score.
“We were a little bit worried about not getting on the scoreline so we needed the midfield four – David, Deano, Crofty and Andrea – to pop up with a goal, and not to leave it all to Leo.
"It worked out. The key is that the players on the pitch believed that this was our best team for this game.
"We had to work hard but the finishing was quality. In front of goal it’s all about quality and Andrea showed that with a one-touch finish. Then we had the run from David and his finish was exquisite. At this point in the season it’s the perfect away performance.
“Last year we were in this position with 11 games to go and now we’re fifth with four games to go. We have a great chance but we cannot keep looking back and crying about what’s happened in the past. We have to look at today and focus on where we are because we’ve put ourselves into a great position and we deserve to be where we are.”
Poyet alo hailed the performance of Danish goalkeeper Casper Ankergren who bounced back from a slip at Nottingham Forest with a faultless performance in the North East as the Seagulls recorded their sixteenth clean sheet of the season.
“I’m absolutely delighted for Casper. If there was one player who I wanted to have a good game and keep a clean sheet it was Casper, so I hope that has relaxed him a little bit.
“It’s great for Casper and for the whole team because these things happen and you have got to be ready. You never know when the chance will come again and he was ready today. I could have changed it but I had full confidence in him and he showed how strong he is mentally.
“He dealt with all of the crosses and the defenders were outstanding too. It’s another clean sheet away from home which is also very important at this time in the season.”
Meanwhile, Poyet confirmed that Tomasz Kuszczak was suffering with a minor elbow problem.
“He had a little problem with his elbow before training yesterday and on Thursday. It’s a slight infection so we didn’t want to take a risk with him, and it was the same with Buckley and Kazenga.
“Let’s worry about the fit players on the pitch though and not the ones who are missing.”
Original article
The Albion boss admitted that the team did not have its usual speed and flair but he asked for extra attacking impetus from his midfielders and was pleased with the response.
He told seagulls.co.uk, “We had a different kind of team today. People are looking for excitement and speed but today we probably had the strongest team we can play in terms of physical ability and we knew it would be difficult for Middlesbrough to score.
“We were a little bit worried about not getting on the scoreline so we needed the midfield four – David, Deano, Crofty and Andrea – to pop up with a goal, and not to leave it all to Leo.
"It worked out. The key is that the players on the pitch believed that this was our best team for this game.
"We had to work hard but the finishing was quality. In front of goal it’s all about quality and Andrea showed that with a one-touch finish. Then we had the run from David and his finish was exquisite. At this point in the season it’s the perfect away performance.
“Last year we were in this position with 11 games to go and now we’re fifth with four games to go. We have a great chance but we cannot keep looking back and crying about what’s happened in the past. We have to look at today and focus on where we are because we’ve put ourselves into a great position and we deserve to be where we are.”
Poyet alo hailed the performance of Danish goalkeeper Casper Ankergren who bounced back from a slip at Nottingham Forest with a faultless performance in the North East as the Seagulls recorded their sixteenth clean sheet of the season.
“I’m absolutely delighted for Casper. If there was one player who I wanted to have a good game and keep a clean sheet it was Casper, so I hope that has relaxed him a little bit.
“It’s great for Casper and for the whole team because these things happen and you have got to be ready. You never know when the chance will come again and he was ready today. I could have changed it but I had full confidence in him and he showed how strong he is mentally.
“He dealt with all of the crosses and the defenders were outstanding too. It’s another clean sheet away from home which is also very important at this time in the season.”
Meanwhile, Poyet confirmed that Tomasz Kuszczak was suffering with a minor elbow problem.
“He had a little problem with his elbow before training yesterday and on Thursday. It’s a slight infection so we didn’t want to take a risk with him, and it was the same with Buckley and Kazenga.
“Let’s worry about the fit players on the pitch though and not the ones who are missing.”
Original article
