- Sky Sports: Brighton snap winless streak with 2-0 victory over Ipswich.
IPSWICH, England, January 16 (Reuters) Brighton & Hove Albion beat Ipswich Town 2-0 at Portman Road on Thursday, ending their eight-game Premier League losing streak. Kaoru Mitoma and Georginio Rutter both scored. The result propels Brighton to ninth place with 31 points, while Ipswich drops to 17th with 16 and returns to the relegation zone, trailing Wolverhampton Wanderers in goals scored. Despite Brighton’s dominance, the hosts started well, with Nathan Broadhead creating Ipswich’s first good chance of the game with a drive from beyond the box, but Bart Verbruggen dived down to steer the ball back for a corner.
Five minutes later striker Liam Delap had a go from a similar position but again the Brighton goalkeeper was equal to the task and the Dutchman had to be on his toes again when midfielder Omari Hutchinson let fly just before the break.
Ipswich fullback Wes Burns flashed a shot just wide after a well-worked long throw in the 57th minute but the home side’s failure to take their chances finally cost them dear two minutes later when Mitoma struck.
A sliced clearance went to Swedish midfielder Yasin Ayari, who brilliantly feed Matt O’Riley, who set up the Japanese winger for a first-time goal. With Ipswich wobbling, keeper Christian Walton exacted revenge on Brighton’s Joao Pedro, who received a yellow card for colliding with him early in the second half, by making a great stop to save his 67th-minute drive from going into the top corner of the net. Brighton were not to be denied, however, and substitute Rutter fired home from close range in the 82nd minute to seal the three points and end the visitors’ long losing streak. “It was a long period and we suffered a little bit, but I’m incredibly glad for the players, really happy also for the staff, because they do a lot of work in the shadows, and today, I think we deserve to win, and we’re happy,” Brighton coach Fabian Huerzeler said.
“An important thing (during the winless run) was to stay predictable, to stay calm and to trust the process, and I think the performances were not that bad, and we could easily win one of these eight games where we weren’t able to win,” he added.
Both sides will be back in action again on Sunday, with Brighton travelling to Manchester United and Ipswich hosting Manchester City.
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