Fabian Hürzeler must be wondering if he will ever have another chance to get one over Oliver Glasner. The Brighton head coach’s record against his Crystal Palace counterpart and someone he counts as a mentor now reads three defeats and a solitary draw after Ismaïla Sarr’s second-half goal ended Palace’s 12-match winless run in satisfying style against their arch-rivals.
But while Glasner can breathe slightly more easily after new signings Evann Guessand and Jørgen Strand Larsen both made an impact on their debuts, Hürzeler left the field to widespread boos from his own fans and chants of “You’re getting sacked in the morning”. It is now only one win in their past 12 league games and the German, who became the youngest manager in Premier League, is facing the real possibility of being dragged into a relegation battle.
Brighton may find themselves eight points clear of West Ham at present but it is hard to see where their next victory is coming from. While Glasner has already confirmed he will leave Palace in the summer, with television cameras at the final whistle showing owner Tony Bloom looking far from impressed with his side’s performance, Hürzeler could also find himself looking for a new club if this continues.
There was the usual heavy police presence outside the ground before kick-off, although both sets of supporters had reason to be looking nervously over their shoulders. Brighton’s issue has been an inability to finish teams off that has seen them slip out of contention for Europe and Hürzeler sprung a surprise by naming two teenagers in his starting lineup.
Seventeen-year-old Harry Howell became the youngest player ever to start a Premier League game for the club, while Charalampos Kostoulas was preferred to veteran top scorer Danny Welbeck. There was a more familiar look to Palace’s side even with Strand Larsen making his debut in attack, with the visiting fans wasting no time airing a song no doubt borrowed from their Wolves counterparts. “Stand Larsen; he’s from Scandinavia, he hates the Albion.” An early stray pass from the Norway striker that went out for a throw-in was greeted with howls of derision from the home section.
Will Hughes also received a volley of abuse after picking up his customary yellow card for taking out the pirouetting Georginio Rutter. Lewis Dunk headed wide from the resulting free-kick but other than that Brighton had little to show for dominating possession in the opening half hour. Howell, an energetic midfielder who joined the club’s academy at the age of seven and has been a regular for England’s youth sides, didn’t look overawed by the occasion and showed some bright touches.
His side’s best chance came when a cross from Kaoru Mitoma wasn’t properly cleared but Maxence Lacroix was able to block Maxim De Cuyper’s shot. Palace lacked any cohesion in attack and had to wait until almost half-time to even threaten Bart Verbruggen’s goal. Strand Larsen was ready to pounce when a Lacroix flick-on from a Chris Richards throw caused panic in the Brighton area before Olivier Boscagli just beat Sarr to a dangerous cross from Yeremy Pino. The Senegal forward wasted another opportunity just before the break when Adam Wharton pinched the ball off Carlos Baleba in midfield.
Both managers seemed unimpressed with the lethargic way that their sides started the second half and Glasner wasted no time introducing Guessand for his Palace debut. It didn’t take long for theCote d’Ivoire forward to announce himself – a loose header from Dunk was seized upon and Sarr’s finish found the top corner via a deflection off Verbruggen’s nose. The Palace captain Dean Henderson showed his delight by performing a knee slide in celebration.
Kostoulas was presented with a golden opportunity to equalise two minutes later but Henderson was equal to his shot. Hürzeler made a triple substitution in a bid to alter the direction of travel. But it made no difference and Strand Larsen should have put the game out of reach when he went clean through, only to be denied by Verbruggen’s legs.
Brighton looked devoid of ideas and even the announcement that there would be six minutes of injury time for them to rescue a point barely raised a murmur from the home supporters who seemed resigned to their fate.
