Brighton & Hove Albion boss Chris Hughton praised his side's endeavour but felt they paid the price for a sloppy goal, as they went down 1-0 at home to Brentford this afternoon.He said, "I couldn't fault the effort that we put in, particularly after we went down to ten men and – for a period when Craig [Mackail-Smith] went off – down to nine.
"The game became very open at that stage, but we broke very well and even in that period of the game we managed to have some decent chances as well.
"We conceded a poor goal. It was a fortunate goal for them, in the way that it span over David, but I thought that we allowed ourselves to be a little bit open before that.
"Our endeavour to get back in the game was there and there were periods of the game when we managed to show some good attacking play.
"We were resilient at times, but we needed to make more of the opportunities that we did have. We didn't have major clear-cut chances, but even looking at the half chances we had, we need to take more of those."
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Albion played the final 30 minutes with ten men, after Lewis Dunk was sent off for a second bookable offence, after a shove on Brentford's Jota – but Hughton felt the decision from referee Andy Davies was harsh on the defender.He added, "It was very soft. He was already on a yellow card but if you look at the incident it is a free-kick for us and we want to get on with the game.
"It is a push but it is nowhere near head height and I felt that the referee could have managed it a bit better.
"He may say something different but I just feel that in the course of the game and in the way that the game was going and that particular incident that it could have been managed a bit better."
Hughton thanked Albion's fans for a tremendous welcome during his first game at the Amex – and says he wants to improve the club's home record.
"The crowd were behind us and obviously wanted us to win and the more the game opened up, the more it suited us.
"It was a great reception from the fans, and I was looking forward to it. It is a magnificent stadium and what we have to do is to make sure that we give the home supporters something to cheer about.
"We have to improve our home record. We came into today off the back of some good results away from home, but your league position is usually a reflection of your home form and we need to start picking up some points at home.
"We have a tough game*here on Wednesday night against Ipswich and we need to make sure that we are dusted down and ready for that one."
[h=3]ALBION V IPSWICH
[/h]WEDNESday 21ST january, KICK-OFF 7.45PM
[h=3]Albion v ARSENAL
[/h]SUNDAY 25TH JANUARY, kick-off 4pm
[h=3]Albion v nottingham forest
[/h]SATURDAY 7TH februARY, kick-off 3pm
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