Albion 3, Bolton Wanderers 2
David Stockdale has been dependable for Albion this season.
He has performed consistently well and made some important saves.
None more important than the moment he rescued the Seagulls from what might otherwise have been a damaging home defeat.
Chris Hughton's side head to leaders Hull tomorrow night full of confidence and momentum.
They are in the thick of the race for automatic promotion following a fourth successive victory.
It could have been a very different story without Stockdale's crucial intervention early in the second half.
Albion had just let slip a lead for the second time in the match against the team with the worst away record in the Championship.
An uncharacteristic mistake by the excellent Bruno presented Liam Feeney with a one v one from the halfway line.
Stockdale stood between the fleet-footed winger and the unlikeliest of leads for Bolton.
The keeper spread himself to foil Feeney. Three minutes later Beram Kayal struck Albion's winner.
Colin Calderwood, Chris Hughton's assistant, appreciated the significance of the moment.
He admitted: "We are indebted to David Stockdale, who made a super save at two each.
"I wish I could tell you what happened, because Chris was up, the fourth official was up, their bench was up.
"I just know it didn't go in, I don't know how he has blocked it. That's not the first time."
Thanks to Stockdale, instead of playing catch-up, Albion were soon celebrating being back in front, an advantage they retained for three more precious points.
They were unconvincing, strangely flat like the Amex crowd between Jamie Murphy's early breakthrough and Tomer Hemed's magnificently manufactured lead-restorer at the end of the first half.
And careless in their defending in allowing Bolton to restore parity again soon after the interval.
But the deeper you get into the season the more the result takes precedence over the performance.
It becomes increasingly a matter of getting the job done, which ever way you can. Winning without playing well? That is what successful sides do.
Albion, for all their performance faults, still showed glimpses of quality befitting a side in the shake-up for a top two finish.
Particularly with the manner in which they scored three goals for the second home game in succession.
Jamie Murphy galloped away for the first, outpacing the ponderous Dorian Dervite from Beram Kayal's through ball to slot his second in as many matches.
Tomer Hemed also has two in two, courtesy of a sublime counter-attack just before the interval.
Anthony Knockaert, pursued by Jay Spearing, ended a purposeful burst by picking out Bobby Zamora.
Strikers lacking Zamora's pedigree and awareness would have panicked or been selfish. Cool as you like, he fed the better-placed Hemed with a perfectly weighted back-heel which enabled the eight-goal Israeli to edge ahead of him in the scoring chart with a routine finish.
Kayal, who has the ability to score more regularly, capped an influential display with the winner.
He won possession, then combined with close friend and fellow countryman Hemed to find the corner of the net from 20 yards with pinpoint accuracy.
Kayal's only other goal this season was in the first minute at Huddersfield in August.
"Every player wants to score goals but it's not my favourite thing," he said. "I've never scored too many goals and I've always tried to help my mates score them.
"I just try to build the team and control the game, which is what's important as a midfielder. I just think about giving the ball to the magic people on the right (Knockaert) and the left (Murphy) to do the job."
Eight goals in a hat-trick of home wins has made handsome amends for Albion's six-match famine in late December and early January, which included the FA Cup exit at Hull for a makeshift line-up.
Albion are in much better form and have a much stronger side for tomorrow night's return to the KC Stadium but they will need to defend better than they did against Bolton to avoid the same fate.
Emile Heskey's first half equaliser took a deflection off Lewis Dunk but it was too easy for the team back at the foot of the table to find a way through and their second equaliser via a free-kick was even worse.
An unconvincing header by Liam Ridgewell, whose final appearance on loan from Portland Timbers was later curtailed by injury, and Kayal's failure to clear his lines allowed Spearing to drill the visitors level once more.
It was not ultimately costly. Albion should be grateful to Stockdale for that. His save from Feeney, if Albion are promoted in May, will be reflected upon as one of the pivotal moments.
Original article
David Stockdale has been dependable for Albion this season.
He has performed consistently well and made some important saves.
None more important than the moment he rescued the Seagulls from what might otherwise have been a damaging home defeat.
Chris Hughton's side head to leaders Hull tomorrow night full of confidence and momentum.
They are in the thick of the race for automatic promotion following a fourth successive victory.
It could have been a very different story without Stockdale's crucial intervention early in the second half.
Albion had just let slip a lead for the second time in the match against the team with the worst away record in the Championship.
An uncharacteristic mistake by the excellent Bruno presented Liam Feeney with a one v one from the halfway line.
Stockdale stood between the fleet-footed winger and the unlikeliest of leads for Bolton.
The keeper spread himself to foil Feeney. Three minutes later Beram Kayal struck Albion's winner.
Colin Calderwood, Chris Hughton's assistant, appreciated the significance of the moment.
He admitted: "We are indebted to David Stockdale, who made a super save at two each.
"I wish I could tell you what happened, because Chris was up, the fourth official was up, their bench was up.
"I just know it didn't go in, I don't know how he has blocked it. That's not the first time."
Thanks to Stockdale, instead of playing catch-up, Albion were soon celebrating being back in front, an advantage they retained for three more precious points.
They were unconvincing, strangely flat like the Amex crowd between Jamie Murphy's early breakthrough and Tomer Hemed's magnificently manufactured lead-restorer at the end of the first half.
And careless in their defending in allowing Bolton to restore parity again soon after the interval.
But the deeper you get into the season the more the result takes precedence over the performance.
It becomes increasingly a matter of getting the job done, which ever way you can. Winning without playing well? That is what successful sides do.
Albion, for all their performance faults, still showed glimpses of quality befitting a side in the shake-up for a top two finish.
Particularly with the manner in which they scored three goals for the second home game in succession.
Jamie Murphy galloped away for the first, outpacing the ponderous Dorian Dervite from Beram Kayal's through ball to slot his second in as many matches.
Tomer Hemed also has two in two, courtesy of a sublime counter-attack just before the interval.
Anthony Knockaert, pursued by Jay Spearing, ended a purposeful burst by picking out Bobby Zamora.
Strikers lacking Zamora's pedigree and awareness would have panicked or been selfish. Cool as you like, he fed the better-placed Hemed with a perfectly weighted back-heel which enabled the eight-goal Israeli to edge ahead of him in the scoring chart with a routine finish.
Kayal, who has the ability to score more regularly, capped an influential display with the winner.
He won possession, then combined with close friend and fellow countryman Hemed to find the corner of the net from 20 yards with pinpoint accuracy.
Kayal's only other goal this season was in the first minute at Huddersfield in August.
"Every player wants to score goals but it's not my favourite thing," he said. "I've never scored too many goals and I've always tried to help my mates score them.
"I just try to build the team and control the game, which is what's important as a midfielder. I just think about giving the ball to the magic people on the right (Knockaert) and the left (Murphy) to do the job."
Eight goals in a hat-trick of home wins has made handsome amends for Albion's six-match famine in late December and early January, which included the FA Cup exit at Hull for a makeshift line-up.
Albion are in much better form and have a much stronger side for tomorrow night's return to the KC Stadium but they will need to defend better than they did against Bolton to avoid the same fate.
Emile Heskey's first half equaliser took a deflection off Lewis Dunk but it was too easy for the team back at the foot of the table to find a way through and their second equaliser via a free-kick was even worse.
An unconvincing header by Liam Ridgewell, whose final appearance on loan from Portland Timbers was later curtailed by injury, and Kayal's failure to clear his lines allowed Spearing to drill the visitors level once more.
It was not ultimately costly. Albion should be grateful to Stockdale for that. His save from Feeney, if Albion are promoted in May, will be reflected upon as one of the pivotal moments.
Original article