Last Updated: 03/04/15 7:28pm
Chris Hughton: Disappointed with defeat but tipped Norwich to go up
Brighton manager Chris Hughton expects Norwich to seal automatic promotion from the Sky Bet Championship after his former employers secured a 1-0 win at the Amex Stadium on Good Friday.
Three days before the one-year anniversary of his removal as Canaries manager, Hughton's resilient Seagulls were beaten by Bradley Johnson's 62nd-minute strike.
The midfielder grabbed his 11th of the season with a powerful finish after being set up by Nathan Redmond - the winger providing the assist after being on the pitch for just six minutes and capping an excellent week after his starring role for England Under-21s in their 3-2 win over Germany on Monday.
"They're a team that I felt would get promotion at the start of the season and they're a team that I think will get automatic promotion this season," said Hughton.
"They've got the best team and I think they've got the best squad.
"It's a real disappointing feeling at the moment - Norwich for the first 20 minutes were excellent, we found it difficult to get near them, and they've got a lot of good footballers.
"After that I thought we really came into the game, got into some good positions - most of them falling to Joao [Teixeira] - and that's the margins in the game. The real bit of quality that they showed turned the game for them."
In front of a bumper crowd of 28,890 on a gloomy day on the south coast, Norwich raced out of the blocks, with Johnson stinging the palms of David Stockdale as early as the third minute with a long-range effort.
Wes Hoolahan should have done better when he was played in by Cameron Jerome after Gordon Greer's miskicked clearance and Johnson's improvised effort from 30 yards drifted wide, before Brighton picked up towards the end of the first half.
Sebastien Bassong's woeful back-pass after 38 minutes let in Beram Kayal, but after picking out Teixeira when he might have shot the chance passed.
Portuguese midfielder Teixeira then wriggled free in the box only for his low cross-shot to be scrambled away, and the Liverpool loanee's shot in first-half stoppage time was kicked away by Ruddy.
Canaries boss Alex Neil introduced Redmond, who scored the equaliser on Monday before James Ward-Prowse poached a late winner, 10 minutes after the break and the right winger made an instant impact when he skinned full-back Joe Bennett and cut the ball back for Johnson to fire home from 12 yards.
"I wanted him to come on, make the difference and win the game for us and that's what he did so I was delighted," Neil said when asked about Redmond's impact.
"It's about trying to assess the match from the side and seeing what different threat you can pose them.
"All credit to Nathan - he was disappointed he wasn't playing, and I thought his attitude when he came on and the impact that he did have was fantastic."
With Norwich hot on the heels of Middlesbrough and Bournemouth, the two clubs currently occupying the automatic promotion places, Neil has challenged his players to produce a perfect run-in to secure an instant return to the top flight.
"We've got six games left and I've told the players we've got to win all six," he added.
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Chris Hughton: Disappointed with defeat but tipped Norwich to go up
Brighton manager Chris Hughton expects Norwich to seal automatic promotion from the Sky Bet Championship after his former employers secured a 1-0 win at the Amex Stadium on Good Friday.
Three days before the one-year anniversary of his removal as Canaries manager, Hughton's resilient Seagulls were beaten by Bradley Johnson's 62nd-minute strike.
The midfielder grabbed his 11th of the season with a powerful finish after being set up by Nathan Redmond - the winger providing the assist after being on the pitch for just six minutes and capping an excellent week after his starring role for England Under-21s in their 3-2 win over Germany on Monday.
"They're a team that I felt would get promotion at the start of the season and they're a team that I think will get automatic promotion this season," said Hughton.
"They've got the best team and I think they've got the best squad.
"It's a real disappointing feeling at the moment - Norwich for the first 20 minutes were excellent, we found it difficult to get near them, and they've got a lot of good footballers.
"After that I thought we really came into the game, got into some good positions - most of them falling to Joao [Teixeira] - and that's the margins in the game. The real bit of quality that they showed turned the game for them."
In front of a bumper crowd of 28,890 on a gloomy day on the south coast, Norwich raced out of the blocks, with Johnson stinging the palms of David Stockdale as early as the third minute with a long-range effort.
Wes Hoolahan should have done better when he was played in by Cameron Jerome after Gordon Greer's miskicked clearance and Johnson's improvised effort from 30 yards drifted wide, before Brighton picked up towards the end of the first half.
Sebastien Bassong's woeful back-pass after 38 minutes let in Beram Kayal, but after picking out Teixeira when he might have shot the chance passed.
Portuguese midfielder Teixeira then wriggled free in the box only for his low cross-shot to be scrambled away, and the Liverpool loanee's shot in first-half stoppage time was kicked away by Ruddy.
Canaries boss Alex Neil introduced Redmond, who scored the equaliser on Monday before James Ward-Prowse poached a late winner, 10 minutes after the break and the right winger made an instant impact when he skinned full-back Joe Bennett and cut the ball back for Johnson to fire home from 12 yards.
"I wanted him to come on, make the difference and win the game for us and that's what he did so I was delighted," Neil said when asked about Redmond's impact.
"It's about trying to assess the match from the side and seeing what different threat you can pose them.
"All credit to Nathan - he was disappointed he wasn't playing, and I thought his attitude when he came on and the impact that he did have was fantastic."
With Norwich hot on the heels of Middlesbrough and Bournemouth, the two clubs currently occupying the automatic promotion places, Neil has challenged his players to produce a perfect run-in to secure an instant return to the top flight.
"We've got six games left and I've told the players we've got to win all six," he added.
More...