Brighton maintain European push
Wolves 0 - 2 Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton kept their European ambitions alive with a 2-0 victory over Wolves, thanks to goals from Danny Welbeck and Brajan Gruda.
Author - Peter Grainger
Stadium - Molineux
Welbeck opened the scoring from the penalty spot shortly before the interval, while Gruda, a second-half substitute, sealed the win with his first goal for the club in the closing stages.
Wolves came closest through Matheus Cunha, whose acrobatic effort drew an excellent save from Bart Verbruggen. Despite a lively spell after the break, particularly following a triple change by head coach Vítor Pereira, the home side were unable to convert their chances.
The result lifts Brighton to ninth in the Premier League, level on points with Brentford who sit just above them. With two matches remaining, the Seagulls remain in contention for a second successive European campaign, although much still hinges on other results.
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Welbeck’s goal marked a personal milestone. The 34-year-old reached double figures in a Premier League season for the first time since his breakthrough at Manchester United in 2008. Gruda, 20, joined from Mainz last summer and received warm congratulations from his teammates after calmly lifting the ball over José Sá to make it 2-0 in the 85th minute.
Brighton hitting form at the perfect stage
Fabian Hürzeler’s side, who had managed just one win in their previous seven matches before travelling to Molineux, began to find their rhythm midway through the first half.
Danny Welbeck thought he had reached double figures for the season when he calmly slotted past José Sá, only for the effort to be ruled out after Yankuba Minteh was deemed to have interfered with play from an offside position.
The disappointment was short-lived. Welbeck made no mistake from the spot soon after, sending Sá the wrong way after Matheus Cunha had brought down Mats Wieffer in the area.
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Wolves took control after the interval and pressed Brighton back for large periods, buoyed by a triple substitution from manager Vítor Pereira that added urgency to their play.
But it was Brighton who found the net again. A deflected pass fell kindly for Brajan Gruda, who kept his composure to finish neatly and claim his first goal in what was his 19th appearance for the south coast club.
Hürzeler has remained cautious about talk of European qualification. Yet a win over champions Liverpool at the Amex on Monday 19 May could force the Premier League’s youngest ever head coach to reassess his ambitions.
