Brighton missed a chance to go fourth in the Premier League as they left a wet and windy Craven Cottage empty-handed after a loss to Fulham.
And Fabian Hurzeler’s side had only themselves to blame after they gifted the hosts a fourth-minute opener and then scored an unfortunate own goal from a set piece after they had pegged it back to 1-1.
The conditions were horrendous with heavy rain and strong wind, but there were still no excuses for Bart Verbruggen’s early mistake that saw Fulham take the lead.
After only three minutes, Brighton’s Dutch keeper, looking to play a short pass to team-mate Carlos Baleba inside the penalty area, saw Alex Iwobi intercept and score the first of his two goals.
However, despite the error, Hurzeler said there would be no change in the club’s playing style after they suffered only their third league defeat of the campaign.
“If a goalkeeper makes a mistake it’s immediately a goal,” said Hurzeler. “But that [playing out from the back] is the way I want to play and we will continue to play like this.
“I’m completely convinced the players will develop and we will keep pushing him. He has made great matches for us, mistakes happen, that’s football and we have to accept it and keep moving on.”
