Albion 2, MK Dons 1
Chris Hughton, the oldest ever managerial appointment by Albion, will be 57 next month.
He still looks trim, nothing like his age, but much more of this and he will feel 87 by the end of the season.
The new club league record set under Hughton of 17 matches undefeated is an outstanding achievement.
It has also been tough on the nerves from its inception in the final match of last season at Middlesbrough.
Eight of the games, just like at Boro, have been draws. This ninth win, like the previous eight, was achieved by a single goal margin.
Hughton has been put through the wringer, in fact, from the moment Albion eked out a 1-0 victory at Charlton in his first Championship match in charge in January.
That was the first of six wins, four of them again by the odd goal, which combined with six draws saw the Seagulls to safety.
The only exceptions were successive 2-0 results at home to Leeds and Derby in the space of a week at the end of February and beginning of March.
Hughton was not breathing easily then either, as Albion were still embroiled in the guts of their relegation fight. Beating Derby with two goals deep into the second half was also somewhat fortunate on the balance of play.
Hughton's critics, the majority of them at Norwich, would argue the apprehension is in part self-inflicted. He has a reputation for setting up teams that are resilient and safety-first, rather than adventurous and free-flowing.
That is not an accusation that can be levelled against him at Albion this season now that he has assembled his own squad and is playing with two wingers and two strikers.
Fans have certainly not been short of edge-of-your-seat entertainment at the Amex. Albion have only failed to score in one game at home, against Preston when they were without the influential central midfield pairing of Beram Kayal and Dale Stephens.
This was the third time they have scored twice in a game and the sixth home and away. At Ipswich they found the net three times.
The Championship is so competitive from top to bottom that matches of fine margins are the norm, hammerings a rarity.
The devil is usually in the detail, which was very much the case against promoted MK Dons.
The visitors, in the first half, looked by some distance the worst side Albion have faced so far this season.
Naively open and vulnerable at the back, Hughton was entitled to expect he was set for an afternoon which, for once, would be free of angst with a 2-0 lead established inside the opening 20 minutes.
He should have known better. A game that should have been put to bed by half-time remained in the balance throughout an anxious second half.
The central figure in keeping Hughton's heartbeat racing was Lewis Dunk. A fine centre-half in the making, he is still prone to lapses in concentration, which would be exploited even more ruthlessly in the Premier League than they are in the second tier.
MK Dons had done nothing in the first quarter of the contest, apart from conceding a goal apiece to Albion's wide men.
Then Dunk presented possession to Nicky Maynard and his fine finish from 20 yards brought the visitors back into contention from nowhere.
The quality of the strike should not be overlooked but neither should Dunk's slight error. A small detail, yes, but it gave Maynard the opportunity to shoot.
Dunk was extremely fortunate in the second half not to give MK Dons another leg-up. A lunging tackle inside his own box on Samir Carruthers looked a blatant penalty, an impression confirmed subsequently by replays.
It was a big let-off. Referee Dean Whitestone and his assistant were well-placed but Hughton, without the benefit of seeing a re-run, conceded he would not have been surprised if it had been given.
It would be unfair to single out Dunk for causing his manager palpitations. Tomer Hemed's workrate and link-up contribution remains beyond reproach but boy does he need a goal.
The Israeli centre-forward, still the leading marksman with five, has gone eight games without one now. Goodness knows how. He had five chances in the first half and should have tucked away at least two of them.
One shot hit a post. That was unlucky. Another, over the bar, came to him at an awkward height and a third forced David Martin into a one-handed stop.
The problem was more with his head. He nodded wide from seven yards and from three yards at the far post in the same passage of play in which the woodwork denied him.
Sam Baldock, Hemed's two-goal partner, was forced off early in the second half against his old club by a left thigh injury sustained as he dragged an effort wide.
It is just as well Albion are scoring from a healthy variety of sources. Ten different players have been on target now in the league following Solly March's first-ever goal at the Amex in a competitive fixture.
It was a beauty, a left-foot riser from 20 yards after Dunk's header from a corner had been blocked. March was frustrating at times but he can glide past challenges with ease. When ever he was running at the MK Dons defence they could not handle him.
Jamie Murphy, recalled at Inigo Calderon's expense, swivelled to score his third goal in his last four appearances from 12 yards following a neat build-up between Bruno, March and Hemed and pass from Baldock which squeezed through to him via a defender's deflection.
It was smart of Hughton to switch March back to the right and the similarly versatile Murphy to the left. They operated on the opposite flanks when paired together previously.
It is hard to see Hughton's stress levels easing significantly in the near future. Albion go into another international break back up a place to second, behind an ominously powerful Hull on goal difference and two points clear of next opponents Burnley.
The trip to Lancashire is the first of four fixtures against other sides in the top six before Christmas. Being realistic about Albion's promotion chances, the most significant gap at this stage is the nine points dividing them from Cardiff in seventh.
The play-offs for the third time in four seasons would guarantee a few more grey hairs but Hughton, together with chairman Tony Bloom and every Seagulls supporter, would have taken that in August.
Original article
Chris Hughton, the oldest ever managerial appointment by Albion, will be 57 next month.
He still looks trim, nothing like his age, but much more of this and he will feel 87 by the end of the season.
The new club league record set under Hughton of 17 matches undefeated is an outstanding achievement.
It has also been tough on the nerves from its inception in the final match of last season at Middlesbrough.
Eight of the games, just like at Boro, have been draws. This ninth win, like the previous eight, was achieved by a single goal margin.
Hughton has been put through the wringer, in fact, from the moment Albion eked out a 1-0 victory at Charlton in his first Championship match in charge in January.
That was the first of six wins, four of them again by the odd goal, which combined with six draws saw the Seagulls to safety.
The only exceptions were successive 2-0 results at home to Leeds and Derby in the space of a week at the end of February and beginning of March.
Hughton was not breathing easily then either, as Albion were still embroiled in the guts of their relegation fight. Beating Derby with two goals deep into the second half was also somewhat fortunate on the balance of play.
Hughton's critics, the majority of them at Norwich, would argue the apprehension is in part self-inflicted. He has a reputation for setting up teams that are resilient and safety-first, rather than adventurous and free-flowing.
That is not an accusation that can be levelled against him at Albion this season now that he has assembled his own squad and is playing with two wingers and two strikers.
Fans have certainly not been short of edge-of-your-seat entertainment at the Amex. Albion have only failed to score in one game at home, against Preston when they were without the influential central midfield pairing of Beram Kayal and Dale Stephens.
This was the third time they have scored twice in a game and the sixth home and away. At Ipswich they found the net three times.
The Championship is so competitive from top to bottom that matches of fine margins are the norm, hammerings a rarity.
The devil is usually in the detail, which was very much the case against promoted MK Dons.
The visitors, in the first half, looked by some distance the worst side Albion have faced so far this season.
Naively open and vulnerable at the back, Hughton was entitled to expect he was set for an afternoon which, for once, would be free of angst with a 2-0 lead established inside the opening 20 minutes.
He should have known better. A game that should have been put to bed by half-time remained in the balance throughout an anxious second half.
The central figure in keeping Hughton's heartbeat racing was Lewis Dunk. A fine centre-half in the making, he is still prone to lapses in concentration, which would be exploited even more ruthlessly in the Premier League than they are in the second tier.
MK Dons had done nothing in the first quarter of the contest, apart from conceding a goal apiece to Albion's wide men.
Then Dunk presented possession to Nicky Maynard and his fine finish from 20 yards brought the visitors back into contention from nowhere.
The quality of the strike should not be overlooked but neither should Dunk's slight error. A small detail, yes, but it gave Maynard the opportunity to shoot.
Dunk was extremely fortunate in the second half not to give MK Dons another leg-up. A lunging tackle inside his own box on Samir Carruthers looked a blatant penalty, an impression confirmed subsequently by replays.
It was a big let-off. Referee Dean Whitestone and his assistant were well-placed but Hughton, without the benefit of seeing a re-run, conceded he would not have been surprised if it had been given.
It would be unfair to single out Dunk for causing his manager palpitations. Tomer Hemed's workrate and link-up contribution remains beyond reproach but boy does he need a goal.
The Israeli centre-forward, still the leading marksman with five, has gone eight games without one now. Goodness knows how. He had five chances in the first half and should have tucked away at least two of them.
One shot hit a post. That was unlucky. Another, over the bar, came to him at an awkward height and a third forced David Martin into a one-handed stop.
The problem was more with his head. He nodded wide from seven yards and from three yards at the far post in the same passage of play in which the woodwork denied him.
Sam Baldock, Hemed's two-goal partner, was forced off early in the second half against his old club by a left thigh injury sustained as he dragged an effort wide.
It is just as well Albion are scoring from a healthy variety of sources. Ten different players have been on target now in the league following Solly March's first-ever goal at the Amex in a competitive fixture.
It was a beauty, a left-foot riser from 20 yards after Dunk's header from a corner had been blocked. March was frustrating at times but he can glide past challenges with ease. When ever he was running at the MK Dons defence they could not handle him.
Jamie Murphy, recalled at Inigo Calderon's expense, swivelled to score his third goal in his last four appearances from 12 yards following a neat build-up between Bruno, March and Hemed and pass from Baldock which squeezed through to him via a defender's deflection.
It was smart of Hughton to switch March back to the right and the similarly versatile Murphy to the left. They operated on the opposite flanks when paired together previously.
It is hard to see Hughton's stress levels easing significantly in the near future. Albion go into another international break back up a place to second, behind an ominously powerful Hull on goal difference and two points clear of next opponents Burnley.
The trip to Lancashire is the first of four fixtures against other sides in the top six before Christmas. Being realistic about Albion's promotion chances, the most significant gap at this stage is the nine points dividing them from Cardiff in seventh.
The play-offs for the third time in four seasons would guarantee a few more grey hairs but Hughton, together with chairman Tony Bloom and every Seagulls supporter, would have taken that in August.
Original article