Brighton & Hove Albion produced a perfect performance on Friday night, cruising to a 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest.
An entertaining first half saw both teams impress in front of the Sky Sports cameras, with Nottingham Forest’s Oli Burke a constant threat down the right-hand side.But it was down that very channel where the visitors were undone, following neat work between Jiri Skalak and Gaetan Bong. It was the latter’s brilliant cross which found its way to Man of the Match Knockaert, who converted from close range.
The Seagulls came out strongly after the break too, but failed to make the pressure count until the 68th minute. Skalak was involved again, his delivery headed across goal by Tomer Hemed where Glenn Murray was waiting to pounce.
A fantastic performance was capped off with a wonderful counter-attacking third in the 82nd minute. Dale Stephens robbed the ball in defence and released Knockaert, who burst forward and fed Sam Baldock. The substitute unselfishly squared for Murray to finish off the move, and finish the game as a contest.
The only downside was a late injury to goalkeeper David Stockdale, which saw centre-back Lewis Dunk see out the remaining moments in goal, but the Seagulls held out to celebrate their five-year anniversary at the Amex in style.