Brighton & Hove Albion boss Chris Hughton was full of praise for new arrival Anthony Knockaert tonight, after he produced a man-of-the-match display on his home debut to secure a 2-1 home win over Huddersfield Town.The French winger created both Albion goals, the first was a fine counter-attacking move finished off by Bobby Zamora, and the second a clever cross converted by on-loan Manchester United striker James Wilson.
Hughton, who also singled out Zamora after he scored his seventh goal of the season, said, "We brought Anthony in because he can bring those moments of real quality. He knows this division having played in that position for a very good Leicester side.
"We need to score goals and we want players here who can assist, and it was great that Anthony had a hand in both goals today.
"Anthony works – and that is important. He is as player who works for the team. Sometimes you have a tricky gifted winger who is very comfortable going forwards but isn't prepared to work backwards. In Anthony, we have a player who is prepared to work both ways and he was really good today.
"The first goal was typical Bobby Zamora. He has the knack of being in the right place at the right time and for the period of time that we can use him, we are getting the best out of him.
"We can't use him exactly how we would like to. We have to manage him. It is possible for him to show bursts of great energy because that is what he has. That is just the way that things are.
"The problem that we have at the moment is trying to get that for 90 minutes. We have to manage it the best way that we can and if he keeps popping up with the goals, then we are doing that right."
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Hughton felt Albion should have been more than a goal to the good at the break, adding, "It was a real blow to concede just before half-time. At that stage, we'd had three or four counter-attacks and we really should have been two or three goals up, even though we were up against a really good footballing side."I was really disappointed with the goal we conceded, particularly the timing of it. That gave them a lift that they needed, but in the end it was a result that we thoroughly deserved, even though it was another hard-fought one.
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"Confidence can be a little fragile when you are on a little bit of a bad run, but we got a really good result at Blackburn last week. We have found it a little bit more difficult at home in the last few games and sometimes that can affect confidence, but also, goals change games and give confidence."
Hughton confirmed Dale Stephens suffered a dead leg and will be back for the next game against Brentford at the Amex, when the Seagulls could also see Sam Baldock and skipper Gordon Greer return to action.
He was also delighted with the 30-minute spell from Kazenga LuaLua, saying, "The real plus for us at the moment is Kazenga. He has pace and power to cause opponents problems. He has been out for so long and that gives us a real good boost at this time.
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"Dale has a dead leg. When he went in for the tackle, I knew he was struggling, as he is a really tough lad. The good news is we don't have a match next weekend, so that will give him and the others some rest and recovery."
[h=3]ALBION V BRENTFORD
[/h]FRIDAY 5TH FEBRUARY, KICK-OFF 7.45PM
[h=3]ALBION V BOLTON WANDERERS
[/h]SATURDAY 13TH FEBRUARY, KICK-OFF 3PM
[h=3]ALBION V LEEDS UNITED
[/h]MONDAY 29TH FEBRUARY, KICK-OFF 7.45PM
Original article
Hughton, who also singled out Zamora after he scored his seventh goal of the season, said, "We brought Anthony in because he can bring those moments of real quality. He knows this division having played in that position for a very good Leicester side.
"We need to score goals and we want players here who can assist, and it was great that Anthony had a hand in both goals today.
"Anthony works – and that is important. He is as player who works for the team. Sometimes you have a tricky gifted winger who is very comfortable going forwards but isn't prepared to work backwards. In Anthony, we have a player who is prepared to work both ways and he was really good today.
"The first goal was typical Bobby Zamora. He has the knack of being in the right place at the right time and for the period of time that we can use him, we are getting the best out of him.
"We can't use him exactly how we would like to. We have to manage him. It is possible for him to show bursts of great energy because that is what he has. That is just the way that things are.
"The problem that we have at the moment is trying to get that for 90 minutes. We have to manage it the best way that we can and if he keeps popping up with the goals, then we are doing that right."
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Hughton felt Albion should have been more than a goal to the good at the break, adding, "It was a real blow to concede just before half-time. At that stage, we'd had three or four counter-attacks and we really should have been two or three goals up, even though we were up against a really good footballing side."I was really disappointed with the goal we conceded, particularly the timing of it. That gave them a lift that they needed, but in the end it was a result that we thoroughly deserved, even though it was another hard-fought one.
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"Confidence can be a little fragile when you are on a little bit of a bad run, but we got a really good result at Blackburn last week. We have found it a little bit more difficult at home in the last few games and sometimes that can affect confidence, but also, goals change games and give confidence."
Hughton confirmed Dale Stephens suffered a dead leg and will be back for the next game against Brentford at the Amex, when the Seagulls could also see Sam Baldock and skipper Gordon Greer return to action.
He was also delighted with the 30-minute spell from Kazenga LuaLua, saying, "The real plus for us at the moment is Kazenga. He has pace and power to cause opponents problems. He has been out for so long and that gives us a real good boost at this time.
*
"Dale has a dead leg. When he went in for the tackle, I knew he was struggling, as he is a really tough lad. The good news is we don't have a match next weekend, so that will give him and the others some rest and recovery."
[h=3]ALBION V BRENTFORD
[/h]FRIDAY 5TH FEBRUARY, KICK-OFF 7.45PM
[h=3]ALBION V BOLTON WANDERERS
[/h]SATURDAY 13TH FEBRUARY, KICK-OFF 3PM
[h=3]ALBION V LEEDS UNITED
[/h]MONDAY 29TH FEBRUARY, KICK-OFF 7.45PM
Original article