Town 2-0 Brighton Saturday, 28th Sep 2013 17:04 David McGoldrick netted in the 20th and 24th minutes to see the Blues to a comfortable 2-0 home victory over Brighton. While the deflected first had an element of good fortune, the second was as good as anything the striker has scored for the Blues. With Paul Taylor on loan at Peterborough, boss Mick McCarthy named striker Jack Marriott amongst his subs in an otherwise unchanged 18. Ex-Blues loanee Keith Andrews was in the Seagulls' starting line-up. Brighton should have gone a goal in front from the first significant chance of the game in the sixth minute. Will Buckley escaped down the right and cut the ball back from the byline to ex-Norwich midfielder Andrew Crofts, who somehow sent the ball well past Dean Gerken’s right post from 10 yards with the goal gaping. A minute later, Ryan Tunnicliffe struck Town’s first shot from the left of the area but hit a defender, then Aaron Cresswell found Seagulls’ keeper Tomasz Kuszczak’s arms with a cross from the left. The Blues gradually got on top and started to dominate possession and in the 20th minute went in front. After a spell off possession on the left, David McGoldrick brought the ball in past two defenders and hit a shot which deflected off Andrews, over Kuszczak and under the bar. Four minutes later, McGoldrick made it 2-0. Murphy flicked on a long ball and his strike partner cleverly tricked his way past Gordon Greer inside the box, leaving the Albion skipper on his backside, before rifling a low shot across Kuszczak and into the net for his fifth goal of the season, all of them at Portman Road. Brighton looked to get back into the game, but the Blues’ backline remained resolute. On 33 Greer’s tackle on McGoldrick looped goalwards but Kuszczak was able to claim comfortably. Town crosses came in from both flanks with Tunnicliffe unlucky not to find a team-mate with a knockdown, then a defender just got in ahead of Murphy from Cresswell’s ball in from the left. Seagulls’ striker Ashley Barnes shot over from distance on 42 with Town’s lead having rarely looked in any jeopardy. Gerken failed to claim a deep freekick into the box just before the whistle but Cresswell put the ball out of play. The Blues were applauded off at the break after a comfortable half. While McGoldrick’s first goal was somewhat fortunate, the way he found space to slam home his second showed the striker’s class. After that, Brighton, who really ought to have been in front via Crofts’s early chance, huffed and puffed but without particularly threatening. McGoldrick should have completed his hat-trick three minutes into the second half. Tunnicliffe drove forward with the ball on the left and played it beyond McGoldrick to Murphy to his right. The Irishman fed his strike partner running into the box but under pressure from two defenders his stabbed shot from 12 yards flew just over Kuszczak’s bar. Brighton continued in much the same manner as before the break, getting into one or two decent positions but with the Blues’ defence remaining solid and Gerken largely untested. There were skills aplenty from Town on the left flank in the 57th minute, clever flicks from Cresswell, McGoldrick and Tunnicliffe eventually conjuring space for the left-back to break into the area, but a defender’s toe prevented a shot on goal. From the corner, Murphy powered a header over. The Blues’ domination of the possession was interrupted in the 63rd minute when Barnes hit a couple of shots in quick succession which were blocked by Christophe Berra and Hyam after sub Kazenga LuaLua had cut the ball back from the right. Soon after, LuaLua stuck another effort into the sidenetting having got round the outside of Luke Chambers. Frank Nouble and Carlos Edwards replaced Murphy and Anderson in the 66th minute with the Blues quickly regaining the impetus against an increasingly shambolic Seagulls side all too often giving the ball away too easily and looking panicky at the back. On 72 a Cresswell freekick almost found Nouble at the far post but the Town striker and Andrews had collided and both were on the ground. A minute later, Brighton claimed a penalty when a Buckley shot hit Smith’s arm a couple of feet in front of him, but referee Stephen Martin waved away the protests, probably as the Town defender had little time to react to the strike. Greer did well to get back to dispossess McGoldrick as he took the ball in towards the penalty area in the 75th minute, then three minutes later Barnes was booked for encroachment as McGoldrick prepared to take a freekick 25 yards out. The Blues striker lashed the retaken kick well over. McGoldrick saw a curled effort blocked in the 79th minute after good work from Tunnicliffe and Hyam, then Cresswell sent another 25-yard freekick the wrong side of Kuszczak’s left post. Town were continuing to look more likely to score the game’s next goal and in the 85th minute Nouble’s flick sent Edwards into the area but the Blues’ skipper’s shot was too high. On 86 Town goalscorer McGoldrick made way for Anthony Wordsworth to warm applause from the Portman Road crowd. The Blues were comfortable going into injury time, Edwards breaking away and hitting a shot over the bar moments before referee Martin blew his home whistle. A thoroughly deserved third home win on the trot, extending the excellent overall home form under Mick McCarthy to 14 wins, three draws and four defeats. The victory was never in doubt after the again excellent McGoldrick netted his two quick-fire goals in the first half. The striker will be disappointed not to have added his third after the break in Town’s best home performance of the season so far, at stages dominating possession in a manner rarely seen since George Burley’s time as manager. Brighton never really looked like getting back into the game and, although they may claim they ought to have been awarded a second half penalty for Smith’s handball, can have few complaints about the result. Town: Gerken, Chambers, Berra, Smith, Cresswell, Anderson (Edwards 66), Hyam, Skuse, Tunnicliffe, Murphy (Nouble 66), McGoldrick (Wordsworth 86). Used: Loach, Hewitt, Tabb, Marriott. Brighton: Kuszczak, Ward, Greer, Upson, Calderon, Andrews, Bruno (Forster-Caskey 83), Crofts, Conway (LuaLua 51), Buckley, Barnes (March 79). Unused: Ankergren, El-Abd, Ince, David. Referee: Stephen Martin (Staffordshire). Att: 16,474 (Brighton: 1,186).
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