Key events
Ed Aarons was at the Amex tonight. Hereâs his report. Thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night!
Fabian Hürzeler speaks to Sky. âIt was not the best game from us regarding intensity and positional ⦠we only deserve a result like this ⦠normally we should have finished the game in the first half ⦠but we didnât and then you get punished ⦠we have to keep working ⦠itâs a process ⦠it takes time ⦠we have to keep going ⦠donât focus too much on the results, focus on the performance ⦠the results will come ⦠small details might bring you the win ⦠we didnât do that today ⦠we should not think about what is possible ⦠the reality is that we have a lot of hard work to do ⦠I received a yellow card, players can foul an amount of times but donât receive a yellow card, itâs difficult to explain.â
⦠and as for his much-criticised insistence on progressive play, he notes: âWeâre trying to find a balance ⦠weâve lost too many points through game management ⦠tonight the boys managed the game better ⦠so itâs keep trying to work with the boys and make them better ⦠there are a few scary moments but I think you have to accept that ⦠Tyler Dibling couldnât play if we were just grinding.â
An irritated Russell Martin talks to Sky Sports. âIn the first half we lacked a little bit of aggression and belief ⦠I asked the players for a bit more ⦠they were brilliant in the second half ⦠Iâm fed up talking about the decisions ⦠I donât want to be that guy ⦠it was a brilliant, well-worked goal ⦠if Adam Armstrongâs run had moved Verbruggen at all from his position I would understand the decision ⦠but he hasnât moved ⦠the ball goes behind Adam and I canât see how itâs affected the goalkeeper ⦠he actually takes a step away from Adam ⦠now itâs not clear and obvious enough because the on-field decision carries weight ⦠Iâm annoyed about it ⦠but Iâm really happy with the performance and proud of my players.â
In the interests of balance ⦠while Southampton will feel aggrieved at the decision to rule out Cameron Archerâs goal, on another day Flynn Downes could have easily picked up two yellows before scoring the equaliser. Hey, half the fun of football is moaning about refereeing decisions, so itâs great that both sets of supporters have something to get their teeth stuck into. Thatâs right, yes?
Saints goalscorer Flynn Downes speaks to Sky. âItâs massive ⦠to come here ⦠we knew it would be tough ⦠weâll take the point ⦠what a feeling [to score] ⦠we know our form hasnât been great but hopefully this is a turning point in our season ⦠hopefully we can kick on.â
Player of the match Tyler Dibling adds: âWe got another goal disallowed by VAR ⦠we feel weâve been unlucky this season ⦠obviously itâs a good point in the table ⦠we need to step it up from here ⦠itâs good to get a run of games and show people what I can do.â
On balance of play, a draw seems about right. Brighton were by far the better team in the first half; Southampton much improved after the break. But luck is hard to come by when youâre rock bottom, and the decision to rule out Cameron Archerâs goal for interference from the offside Adam Armstrong looked contentious at best. It really didnât look like Bart Verbruggen was affected in any significant fashion by Armstrongâs fresh-air swipe as the ball came across. Then again, as so often with these borderline decisions, a case can be made either way, and with the on-field team having already called the goal offside, perhaps there wasnât enough in it to overturn. Who knows? Oh VAR. But here we are, and a point apiece is enough to send Brighton into the heady heights of second spot, for one night at least, while at the bottom Saints nudge a little closer to Crystal Palace.
FULL TIME: Brighton 1-1 Southampton
A furious Russell Martin makes a beeline for the referee Fabian Hürzeler but is stopped by his staff. VAR, huh.
90 min +13: Minteh curls in. Van Hecke eyebrows weakly wide right. And then the whistle goes.
90 min +12: Fernandes has the chance of releasing Sulemana down the middle, but his pass hits the substitute striker on the heel. Brighton go up the other end, and Dibling is booked for a reckless lunge on the in-flight Mitoma. One last chance for Brighton with this free kick just to the left of the box.
90 min +11: ⦠Ferguson finds himself bundled over, but only when competing for a flicked-on ball while in a clear offside position. No penalty. For a split second there, Southampton hearts were in mouths.
90 min +10: Mitoma runs hard down the left. His cross is met by Adingra, who bundles a weak shot across Lumley and off the outside of the right-hand post! There was a deflection, so thatâll be a corner. From which â¦
90 min +9: Van Hecke pearls a long-distance shot towards the top-right corner. Heâs hit it well, but heâs so far out, itâs easy pickings for Lumley, who one loose pass apart, has looked pretty solid for Saints tonight.
90 min +8: Itâs petering out again.
90 min +7: Dibling embarks on a power dribble down the right and is unceremoniously checked by Wieffer, who goes into the book.
90 min +5: The folk at the Premier League Match Centre have published their reasoning for the disallowed goal. âThe refereeâs call of no goal was checked and confirmed by the VAR as Armstrong was in an offside position and deemed to be impacting Verbruggenâs ability to play the ball.â Nobody knows anything any more. Partly because everyoneâs winging it.
90 min +4: Fraserâs latest cross from the left is plucked from the sky by Verbruggen.
90 min +3: Ayari enters the Saints box down the left and goes over in the general environs of Harwood-Bellis. He wants a penalty, but neither referee nor VAR shows any interest whatsoever. And quite rightly so.
90 min +2: Mintehâs cross from the right is headed goalwards by Adingra. Easy for Lumley.
90 min +1: Armstrong is replaced by a freshly shorn Brereton Diaz.
90 min: There will be ten minutes of additional time. Little wonder: a lot of subs plus that long VAR check.
89 min: Dibling and Estupinan get involved in a pointless shoving match over nothing very much at all. The referee merely waves play on.
88 min: Estupinan crosses from the left. Ferguson cushions a header down to Ayari, who slashes a wild effort over the bar from the penalty spot. He had more time than he thought. Then both teams make a change, Minteh replacing Rutter for the hosts, Sulemana coming on for Archer for the Saints.
86 min: Fraser has made a difference since coming on. A couple of crosses from the left cause the hosts some momentary bother. He looks the most likely to create something right now.
85 min: This match is slowly petering out. Can either team find the energy for a final push?
83 min: Armstrong spins and swivels his way down the left. His dinked cross is only half cleared, but Diblingâs attempted volley is scuffed and easily blocked.
81 min: Ferguson manages to skittle both Fraser and Manning in one fell swoop. Some good old-fashioned number-nine play.
80 min: Lumley is fine to continue. The game restarts, and Dibling glides in from the right before bobbling a shot towards the bottom right. Easy for Verbruggen.
79 min: As the keeper gets his right knee checked, Brighton make another change, Ferguson coming on for Welbeck.
77 min: Lumley is down getting some treatment.
75 min: Brighton, full of relief, go on the attack in search of the Saints Sickener. Rutter tries an overhead that flies inches wide of the left-hand post. Dunk sends a header over. Wieffer ditto. Southampton, brought back down to earth, need to clear their heads of that crushing disappointment.
74 min: A triple change by Brighton. Wieffer, Adingra and Dunk come on for Lamptey, Pedro and OâRiley.
NO GOAL. Brighton 1-1 Southampton
72 min: VAR decides Armstrongâs flick towards the ball constitutes interference. Thatâs a fairly generous interpretation, it has to be said. Van Hecke was out of the game, and Verbruggen didnât seem affected. But here we are.
71 min: Archer is on! But did Armstrong â certainly in an offside position by the near post, ahead of Van Hecke, neither of them close to Archer stood behind them in the centre â make a movement towards the ball that had an impact on play?
70 min: This is really tight. Archer in the centre looks off to the naked eye, but Lamptey, in the right-back position could be playing him on.
69 min: ⦠but VAR is going to have a look at this. The flag has popped up for offside. Itâs very tight. Was Archer inches off? Out come the rulers.
GOAL! Brighton 1-2 Southampton (Archer 67)
Dibling sashays in from the right and sends Fraser scampering into acres down the left. Fraser crosses. Archer opens his body and slams into the bottom right. Easy as that! What an outrageous turnaround!
66 min: Downes is replaced before he can get himself sent off. Aribo comes on in his stead, while Sugawara makes way for Fraser.
64 min: Southampton assistant manager Matt Gill was the recipient of that aforementioned booking.
63 min: That goal has given Southampton such succour, and now Armstrong barrels down the left into space. Archer is free in the middle, but he canât find him with his cross. Had the cross been any good, it was surely 2-1 to Saints. How quickly games can change.
62 min: ⦠and breathe. The Brighton free kick leads to nothing.
