Glenn Murray put Brighton in front against Swansea with a penalty in the 18th minute of the game at the AMEX Stadium
Murray celebrates with team-mate Anthony Knockaert after opening the scoring for Brighton from the spot
Knockaert finished well with the outside of his boot to make it 3-0 to Brighton
Derided for so much of his career for being below Premier League class, Glenn Murray has clearly taken it upon himself to set the record straight.
The striker who managed a mere 11 goals in four top-flight seasons for Crystal Palace and Bournemouth earlier in his career now has 10 for this season alone.
Murray’s two goals here could well prove crucial in ensuring Brighton get another crack at the Premier League next season, while shunting Swansea a little closer to the Championship.
MATCH STATS, PLAYER RATINGS AND MATCH ZONE
BRIGHTON XI (4-4-1-1):Ryan 6.5; Schelotto 6.5, Duffy 6.5, Dunk 6.5, Bong 6; Knockaert 7 (March 78), Stephens 6.5, Propper 6.5, Izquierdo 7.5; Gross 7.5 (Kayal 90); Murray 8 (Locadia 82)
Subs not used: Krul, Bruno, Ulloa, Goldson.
Bookings: Murray 63
Goals: Murray 18 (pen), 69, Knockaert 73, Locadia 88
Manager: Chris Hughton 8
SWANSEA XI (5-4-1): Fabianski 5; Naughton 5, Van Der Hoorn 4 (Narsingh 46, 5), Fernandez 5, Mawson 5.5, Olsson 6; Dyer 5 (A Ayew 36, 6), Sung-Yueng 6.5, Carroll 6 (Abraham 65), Clucas 6; J Ayew 5
Subs not used: Nordfeldt, Routledge, King, Bartley.
Manager: Carlos Carvalhal 5
Goals: Dunk (o.g. 85)
Referee: Mike Dean (Wirrall) 7
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Glenn Murray’s second goal came following a neat move involving Pascal Gross and Jose Izquierdo
34-year-old Murray has hit form at the perfect moment, his fifth goal in five outings in all competitions coinciding with what has been a timely upswing in Brighton’s fortunes.
Drawing level with Wayne Rooney in the table of English goalscorers in this season’s Premier League, only Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling and Jamie Vardy have scored more than him.
Perhaps Gareth Southgate will consider Murray as an auxiliary forward for this summer’s World Cup in Russia?
Or perhaps not. But Murray has certainly performed his role in lifting Brighton away from danger and the loudest cheers and applause of the afternoon at the Amex were rightly reserved for him.
Anthony Knockaert ensured the three points for Brighton with their third, a necessary safety blanket given Tammy Abraham’s shot flew that in off Lewis Dunk.
£14m January buy Jurgen Locadia scored on his Premier League debut late on to make sure for Albion, adding further misery for Swansea.
Swansea manager Carlos Carvalhal cannot hide his disappointment at seeing his relegation-threatened side go behind
Brighton striker Murray was brought down in the area by Swansea defender Mike Van Der Hoorn in the game’s early stages
Murray and Jose Izquierdo react after the striker had a goal ruled out for offside in the second half
This was a chastening end to their upturn in fortunes under Carlos Carvalhal and they slipped back into the bottom three. Lacking any kind of invention, they deserved everything they got here and remain right in the thick of trouble.
It took some time for this contest to warm up on a bitterly cold Sussex afternoon. Though Swansea forced a couple of early corners, Brighton quickly showed they had the capability to clear and counter.
From one such break, Pascal Gross saw an effort from a decent shooting position inside the box blocked by Tom Carroll, winning a corner from which Jose Izquierdo fired over.
The Colombian winger produced an insouciant back-flick to keep Shane Duffy’s searching cross in play but Davy Propper’s resultant shot wasn’t in the same class, dropping well wide.
From Brighton’s next attack, Murray brushed aside Mike van der Hoorn as he burst into the box and, as the striker prepared to shoot, the Dutch defender clipped his trailing leg for a clear penalty.
Murray had cause for celebration in the second half after doubling his tally and putting Brighton two ahead
Brighton’s players were left delighted after going 2-0 up, with goalkeeper Mat Ryan even joining in with the celebrations
Knockaert celebrated in spectacular fashion after scoring his goal, which put Brighton 3-0 up
Murray dusted himself down and struck the perfect penalty, high and down the centre, away from Lukasz Fabianski, who’d dived to his right.
It was Murray who scored Brighton’s winner in the return fixture at the Liberty Stadium back in early November, so the Welsh side must be sick of the sight of him.
It could well have been a short-lived lead. Determined to make amends, Van der Hoorn had pushed forward and his shot came off Duffy and ballooned goalwards. Luckily, Mathew Ryan was alert enough to leap and pluck it from under his crossbar.
Carvalhal’s disgruntlement at his side’s lack of attacking penetration became evident when Nathan Dyer was sacrificed for a second striker in Andre Ayew after 36 minutes.
And a frenetic minute just before half-time could easily have seen Carvalhal’s side either two-down or level.
Jurgen Locadia celebrates scoring his first Premier League goal after emerging off the bench to excellent effect
Jordan Ayew attempted to make an impact up front for Swansea but to little avail as Brighton managed to prevail
Alfie Mawson of Swansea battles with Murray as the Brighton striker looks to hold the ball up for his team
Lewis Dunk produced an almighty jump above the Swansea defenders to meet a Gross corner, but his header bounced off the crossbar as all around him remained statuesque.
Almost immediately at the other end, Jordan Ayew skilfully turned away from two Brighton players and saw a low drive from just outside the box cannon back off the post.
It struck Ryan on his back as it came out and, as Brighton failed to clear their lines, Martin Olsson fired wide on the follow-up.
Early chances for Izquierdo and Gross in the second-half signalled Brighton’s intention to get the job finished, but it was Swansea’s Ki Sung-yueng who forced Ryan into a full-stretch save with a well-struck left-footed effort.
On the hour, the Amex erupted again when Murray bundled in Anthony Knockaert’s dinked cross at the far post, only for celebrations to be cut short by a correctly-judged offside flag.
And Murray flashed a shot across goal and wide following some intricate build-up involving Gross and Izquierdo.
Jordan Ayew is closed down by Brighton defender Lewis Dunk in a hard-fought game between two relegation candidates
Swansea made a tactical change in the first half as winger Nathan Dyer was replaced by Andre Ayew
Gaetan Bong frequently sought to push forwards for Brighton, with Chris Hughton’s side battling bravely
Swansea couldn’t keep him down for too much longer, however, and another neat passage of play laid Murray’s second goal on a plate.
Izquierdo drove infield from the left, gave the ball to Gross and continued his run into the box. The German turned and played it back for Izquierdo, who rolled a low cross to Murray just six yards out. He was never going to miss.
Two turned into three pretty rapidly and, for the first time all afternoon, the Amex could fully relax.
Gross, Brighton’s creative dynamo so often this season, assessed his options and played an angled through pass towards Knockaert that Alfie Mawson overran. The Frenchman made no mistake, firing past Fabianski.
Swansea didn’t lose all hope. They pulled one back when Tammy Abraham broke out of a challenge, surged towards the box and fired off a low shot that found the far corner via a deflection.
No matter. Locadia came off the bench on 82 minutes and scored eight minutes later, turning home from close range after Dale Stephens had driven for goal.
It carried Brighton to the lofty heights of 12th in the table. Safety is moving within view.
Referee Mike Dean speaks to Swansea defender Martin Olsson, who was left aggrieved after giving away a foul
Brighton’s Anthony Knockaert tries to get away from the chasing Swansea players as he looks to push his side forward
Following this victory Brighton have gone four games unbeaten in the Premier League and have won successive home games