That’s all from me but here’s the last word from Chris Hughton himself. “It’s a big win for us, we were not at our best but we found a way of winning the game,” Hughton says, speaking to Sky Sports. “I think there’s a resilience in the squad, and there was a period in the first half when we were desperate not to concede.
“I think we deserve to be where we are but there’s an awful long way to go. At the moment we are doing well but we are conscious of how tough games in this league are.”
Thanks for your company!
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For QPR and Ian Holloway, it’s six consecutive league defeats and their worst run for 26 years. Next up for QPR is a trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers while Brighton host Cardiff City, also on Friday night. In terms of the top two, Newcastle United play Nottingham Forest.
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Brighton are now unbeaten in 17 matches but in true footballer approach-every-game-as-it-comes speak, Glenn Murray’s not getting too carried away. “The league table means nothing at this stage, we just want to keep going and see where we are come May,” Murray says.
“There’s a long way to go yet and we’ve seen people come up from the play-off pack before in previous seasons.”
Stats at halfway point:
— BHAFC ⚽️ (@OfficialBHAFC) December 27, 2016
- 43 points from last possible 51
- 17 games unbeaten
- 14 clean sheets
- 21 goals for Baldock and Murray #BHAFC
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It was straightforward in the end and another brilliant victory for Brighton, who trump Newcastle to top spot. Everything about it felt routine; another Glenn Murray goal, more brilliance from Anthony Knockaert and a sumptuous effort by Sam Baldock – although that opener felt rather more spectacular.
“It was my first home goals since my Dad passed away and obviously it was an important goal for me,” Knockaert says, speaking about his poignant celebration, in which he held a portrait of his late father, Patrick, aloft. “It was an occasion to show how much I love him and I am very happy to score again today.”
Full-time! Brighton 3-0 QPR
Brighton go top of the Championship!
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90+2 min: Hemed drives forward before picking out Knockaert, who attempts a Rabona cross. It comes to nothing but Brighton are already home and hosed.
90+1 min: Sandro has a shot blocked from distance and another QPR substitute, Mackie, continues to charge down the ball. QPR cannot be faulted for their effort, but they have never really truly looked like scoring.
90 min: Dunk rises highest and meets the ball but heads wide. Three additional minutes will be played at the Amex.
89 min: Bong delivers a cross from the left and Hall does well to fend off Hemed and clear the ball for a corner. Skalak to deliver ...
88 min: Knockaert has been awarded the man of the match award, seconds after almost finding his second of the day. The winger darts onto a through ball, but Smithies rushes out of his goal to deny the Belgian a shot at goal.
87 min: Skalak tries to pick out Hemed but Grant Hall, born in Brighton, cuts the ball out for QPR. Brighton, as it stands, will move top and go eight points clear of third-placed Reading.
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85 min: QPR have a corner and glimpse of goal. Bidwell delivers a in-swinging ball and it almost falls at the feet of Sylla but Dunk does enough to clear. At the other end, Hemed chases down Smithies and they simply have not stopped running. A commendable performance by Brighton, who are surely heading top of the Championship this afternoon.
83 min: Hemed goes close to finding a fourth, but Smithies saves well. The striker twists and turns on the edge of the box before driving low to the right of the goalkeeper, who smothers the ball.
82 min: QPR owner Tony Fernandes, Chris Ramsey and Les Ferdinand look pretty glum in the posh seats at the Amex Stadium. They’ve tried hard but look unlikely to find the net – again. Meanwhile, Luongo receives medical treatment after a clash of heads.
80 min: QPR bring on 19-year-old Osman Kakay and Sandro.
78 min: Brighton cheer every player’s touch, as they knock the ball about in the final third. This must be pretty chastening for Holloway and his QPR team. Bong then loses the ball to a huge chorus of boos.
76 min: Just as Brighton look infallible, a high ball from Bidwell reaches Sylla, whose looping header is kept out by Stockdale. QPR might well feel unlucky, if they finish this match with absolutely nothing to show for their efforts. And it’s a final change for Brighton, with Skalak replacing Baldock, who got the ball rolling for the hosts.
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75 min: It’s one attack after the other at the moment for Brighton, who continue to expose James Perch in defence. He’s not had his best game.
72 min: Brighton are well on their way to extending that unbeaten record to 17 matches. QPR have pretty much capsized this second half, not helped by Onuoha’s red card. Meanwhile, Stephens almost finds a fourth after being played in by Hemed.
70 min: Top-scorer Glenn Murray is replaced by Tomer Hemed, last season’s top-scorer. Hughton’s got plenty of appealing options at his disposal. One of Steve Sidwell or Jiri Skalak could yet be called upon.
GOAL! Brighton 3-0 QPR (Knockaert, 69)
Brighton have a third, and it’s a special moment for Knockaert, who jinks inside and drills low beyond Smithies. Knockaert’s been superb today. The winger then holds aloft a picture of his father, Patrick, who passed away last month.
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68 min: Half-hearted handball shouts for QPR, as the ball cannons into Lewis Dunk in the penalty area. And that’s about it for now. Meanwhile, Murphy enters for the hosts, as March is withdrawn.
66 min: Jamie Murphy’s kitted out to come on, and it’s Solly March to make way. Hughton, meanwhile, continues to bark instructions to his players, who have been pretty relentless this second half.
64 min: What is going on? A total mess for QPR at the back, with Baldock chasing down Smithies after a nothing ball downfield. The ball ends up catapulting into the sky and with the goal gaping, Knockaert then closes down Perch before QPR eventually clear. Sterling effort from Brighton, though.
62 min: Just after the hour mark then, and it’s cruise control time for Brighton. It’s also the perfect time for an email or two. “You went off at half-time looking for pigs and blankets? Has there been a heating failure at Guardian Towers,” asks Daisy, picking up upon a fatal typo, “necessitating a desperate search for cuddly pets and insulation? The public should be told.”
59 min: QPR look shellshocked. Chris Hughton looks the same, oddly. Or sensibly? Brighton go again, with Baldock orchestrating things for the hosts.
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57 min: It’s been a truly dreadful start to the second half for QPR. The sending off seems a little harsh, it’s more of a collision between the two players and Baldock falls under pressure from Onuoha. Anyway, Brighton’s training ground routine from the resulting free-kick is smart but not smart enough. QPR seek to rebuild.
56 min: Onuoha is sent-off for QPR! Baldock races clear, in behind the defender and the striker bounces off the defender’s right shoulder and that’s it, he’s off. Onuoha, the QPR captain, can’t believe it and the visitors are reduced to 10 men.
54 min: March lets fly with the outside of the boot, to much excitement from the home crowd but it’s not as good as it sounds. On the touchline, Jamie Mackie readies himself for QPR.
GOAL! Brighton 2-0 QPR (Murray, 53 pen)
It’s goal No15 of the season Murray. Brighton have started this second half like a Southern Rail train. Well, a train. Their brilliant start to the second period has been rewarded. It was a silly challenge from Luongo for the penalty but Murray did not care an inch as he sent his penalty rattling down the middle, low and hard beyond Smithies.
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52 min: Penalty to Brighton! Luongo dives in on Stephens and Keith Stroud can only point to the spot. Brighton have the chance to double their lead from the spot. Murray to take ...
50 min: March drops his shoulder and cuts inside Perch before shooting at goal. Smithies does well to make himself relatively big before clearing, although he didn’t know too much about it. Meanwhile, Cousins receives treatment for – at last a bit of respite for the visitors.
49 min: March, who joined Brighton from local neighbours Lewes, the non-league club, has done more in this second half than in the entire first 45 minutes already. He looks very a totally different player.
48 min: Brighton win a free-kick in a dangerous area, 20 yards out but Knockaert spoons it over, following Onuoha’s foul. Brighton have started this second half rather turbocharged, and QPR might need to just compose themselves a little.
47 min: Grant Hall gets lucky, throwing a boot at Solly March’s low, driven ball which eventually earns Brighton a corner. March had ran down the left flank before getting to byline, bamboozling Perch, before trying to seek out a team-mate.
We’re back underway for the second half! Brighton begin as they mean to go on, penning QPR in down the left-hand side.
Half-time! Brighton 1-0 QPR
Baldock’s magical strike from distance is the difference at the break. As it stands, Brighton top the Championship and will upstage Newcastle, until next Friday at least.
QPR might trudge down the tunnel feeling down and out but they shouldn’t feel too hard done by, and could have found an equaliser through Sylla. I’m off to try and find some leftover pigs in blankets, before mulling over some terrific first-half action. The next 45 minutes is on the way!
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44 min: Knockaert, of course, sends it goalwards and his looping, curling effort crashes on top of Smithies’s goalnet. The QPR goalkeeper saw it all the way but it was dispatched with some venom.
44 min: Lip-reading Holloway and it’s relatively pleasant. “Move, move,” he shouts from the touchline. They haven’t been disastrous here by any means. Meanwhile, Brighton win a free-kick, after Hall trips Murray 25 yards out. There’s only one man for the job, surely?
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42 min: Another corner for Brighton and this time Dunk goes close! Smithies saves from virtually point-blank range, before Stephens picks out Baldock and his header is blocked. Another corner follows, before Knockaert runs the ball out play. Danger averted for QPR.
40 min: Bruno storms down the right, crossing low and Grant Hall does well to steer the ball away from Baldock’s feet. Shane Duffy then heads over from the resulting corner. Worth mentioning the two teams are now level-pegging in terms of possession.
38 min: Chris Hughton looks on from the touchline, with a stern face, as if his team are behind. They’re not, although QPR are still very much in this one on evidence so far. Sam Baldock’s peach from distance remains the difference between the two teams at the moment.
36 min: And now things calm down a little, with Stephens sending his effort towards Row X from just outside the box.
35 min: QPR are the better team at the moment. And Bong does brilliantly to keep Brighton in front, blocking Luongo who was surging into the box with only Stockdale in front of him. Brighton, though, counterattack through Knockaert and Baldock unselfishly tries to slide the ball across goal for Murray but his pass is cut out. It had opened up beautifully.
33 min: Some more QPR pressure, with little to show for it. First Dunk clears and second time around, the cross finds Sylla, who does brilliantly to kill the ball from Bidwell’s cross before driving low and wide.
31 min: March is again reprimanded by Keith Stroud, this time for a foul on James Perch. The winger’s not had quite the same impact from the off here, but then again that was some cameo against Birmingham. Brighton win the ball back from the free-kick, but Bong’s long-range effort is just that, and harmfully wide.
29 min: QPR aren’t rolling over just yet. Stockdale keeps Sylla’s low effort, from the tightest of angles, out with his legs. Ngbakoto had done well again down the left flank, finding room behind Bruno and Sylla managed to get a shot away but the Brighton goalkeeper clears.
27 min: Glenn Murray heads wide from inside the six-yard box! Brighton’s top-scorer tries to direct the ball towards goal but misses the target. A let-off for QPR.
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25 min: Ngbakoto does well, crossing from the left flank for Sylla, but he cannot get the ball under control in the box. Brighton surge up the other end through Bruno down the right and eventually QPR clear the ball for a corner.
24 min: Luongo strikes at goal once more but this time it’s wayward and always moving away from Stockdale. QPR are enjoying a little more of the ball now, although lone striker Idrissa Sylla still looks rather isolated up front.
21 min: A fine save by David Stockdale! Luongo gets a bit lucky, as Brighton clear the ball straight to the QPR midfielder but Stockdale saves his fizzing effort to force a corner. Brighton suddenly look a little nervy.
20 min: QPR win another free-kick, with March tripping Cousins. Bidwell whips it in from the right flank, but Glenn Murray heads clear for a corner.
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18 min: The ball balloons out of touch for a throw-in, but Ian Holloway struggles to get the ball under control, to the joy of the home supporters. The smallest of grins from Holloway follows.
17 min: Ngbakoto has an effort at goal which is blocked by Bruno for a corner. QPR send some of their big boys forward, but Brighton’s defensive pairing of Shane Duffy and Lewis Dunk see it clear. They look pretty comfortable at the back at the moment.
15 min: Knockaert again does really well to pick up a free-kick after running into some heavy QPR traffic inside. Brighton build down the right but Baldock’s run is snuffed out.
14 min: Brighton have won all 12 games which they have scored first in this season. They are looking good to extend that stat here today as well. Cousins has just sent a free-kick rocketing into a wall of blue and white Brighton stripes and it’s a half-decent response from QPR, but Brighton are very much in control.
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GOAL! Brighton 1-0 QPR (Baldock, 11)
Baldock with simply sublime effort. It’s his 99th goal of his career, and a memorable one too. So much is said about Glenn Murray, but it’s his vital support act, Baldock, who gets them off to a flyer here. He darts inside before unleashing an effort at goal, across the body of Smithies and into the top corner.
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9 min: Bruno is picked out on the right flank and nips in front of Ngbakoto but he looks a little surprised to have so much time and space, so ends up fluffing his lines. Brighton have enjoyed 70% of the ball thus far. Holloway’s frantically waving his hands about like that Vine of Tim Sherwood.
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7 min: A hint of handball by Idrissa Sylla, who does well to control the ball. He finds Bidwell but Knockaert tracks the QPR left-back all the way to his own byline before winning a free-kick. Nicely done.
6 min: Jake Bidwell sends a hopeful thud of a ball downfield to an unmarked area of space. Brighton take back the ball through Bruno before Sam Baldock gets a shot away at goal. Smithies’s isn’t worried this time, though.
5 min: Luongo puts a foot on the ball in the middle, slowing down the tempo a little in a bid to snatch back possession. Only for Brighton to nab it back, and you’d imagine the possession statistics at least will be heavily in their favour this afternoon.
3 min: A moment’s hesitancy at the back between QPR goalkeeper Alex Smithies and captain Nedem Onuoha. Glenn Murray tries to pounce and poke the ball goalwards but it’s only a corner, fortunately for them. A brief scare there for the visitors, who clear the resulting set-piece.
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2 min: Norwood sprays the ball wide to Bruno, who sends Knockaert on his way. QPR, playing in their deep red third-kit, are forced to deal with some early pressure.
We’re off! Brighton get things underway, with some typical early possession.
Gully the Seagull is on the pitch geeing up the home fans, dressed as Santa. No complaints as of yet.
Will Brighton go top of the Championship? The teams are on the way out of the tunnel, with the impeccable beard of Bruno, the Brighton captain, leading the way.
Kick-off is just a matter of minutes away now at the Amex Stadium. It’s looking wonderfully crisp, and very blue. Meanwhile, some staggering Championship valuation news as Aston Villa chairman Dr Tony Xia claims the club have rejected a £25m offer for Jordan Amavi.
Don't bother reading this. I can tell we have rejected an offer of £25M for @@JordanAmavi He will grow bigger at @AVFCOfficial ! https://t.co/QahCQ1vOgA
— Dr. Tony Xia (@Dr_TonyXia) December 27, 2016
Ian Holloway’s been talking to his former employers. “I’m excited about [Idrissa] Sylla. It sounds strange when you say that, it sounds like I’m talking about that wonderful Liverpudlian lady that used to sing,” he tells Sky Sports, before withdrawing from even attempting to pronounce the name of Paweł Wszołek.
After tearing Birmingham apart last time out, Solly March is making his first start for Brighton since last December. Hughton, of course, admits that ruddy good performance helped put him in the frame for today in his pre-match interview.
Let’s talk about Glenn Murray. The on-loan Bournemouth striker has scored 14 goals this season, including three in his last three. Only Dwight Gayle has found the net more often in the Championship this season. At 33, he’s no spring chicken but he’s rather magical at this level, isn’t he? Murray’s face did not fit in the Bournemouth system, but he’s regarded as a hero at Brighton, where he’s in his second spell at the club.
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And let’s hope Gully the Seagull keeps things low-key today then, in the wake of the biggest talking point from the festive action:
Gary Rowett has been telling Sky Sports about when he might make a return to management. “I will get back in when the right thing comes along, whether that’s tomorrow or in two months time,” he says.
Team news news. So, it’s three changes for QPR, with Joel Lynch, Tjaronn Chery and Sebastian Polter all missing through injury. Just the two changes for the hosts, with Oliver Norwood and Solly March coming in for Steve Sidwell and Jiri Skalak.
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The teams!
Brighton: Stockdale, Bruno, Dunk, Duffy, Bong, Knockaert, Norwood, Stephens, March, Murray, Baldock
Subs: Maenpaa, Hunt, Goldson, Sidwell, Skalak, Murphy, Hemed
QPR: Smithies, Perch, Hall, Onuoha, Bidwell, Borysiuk, Cousins, Wszolek, Luongo, Ngbakoto, Perch, Sylla
Subs: Ingram, Washington, Mackie, El Khayati, Shodipo, Sandro, Kakay
Referee: Keith Stroud
Preamble
The orange carrot has fallen from the face of Frosty the Snowman and, instead, it now dangles in front of those at Brighton and Hove Albion. Chris Hughton’s side can, after all, move top of the Championship with a win against QPR following Newcastle’s timely lapse at home to Sheffield Wednesday. Brighton, remember, have been pretty good at staying on the heels of Newcastle and are unbeaten in 17 matches. Up front, Glenn Murray’s been in award-winning form and at the back, no team has kept more clean sheets in the Championship this season (13).
“QPR have certainly found it difficult to get the goals you need,” Hughton said in the week. Indeed, QPR have scored 20 goals in 23 league games, the joint-worst record in the league, of which they share with Wigan Athletic.
But Ian Holloway’s team will of course be hoping to smuggle three points for themselves away from the south coast, with the Bristolian yet to make much of an impact upon his return at QPR. Defeat for QPR would surely leave them with more questions than answers heading into the new year. A sizeable crowd is expected too, providing Southern Rail do not get in the way of things.
Kick-off: 12.30pm GMT
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