Ings continues resurgence: Five things learned as Brighton snatch late draw against Southampton

In a tense south coast battle at the St Mary’s Stadium, Brighton & Hove Albion scored a late equaliser to devastate Southampton in 2-2 draw.

The Saints opened proceedings after Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg fired home an emphatic strike from 25 yards out, rifling a right-footed thunderbolt right out the top drawer 10 minutes before half-time, leaving Mathew Ryan no chance in the Brighton goal.

The Seagulls entered the second-half with more pace and purpose, but Southampton soon found themselves two to the good after Danny Ings won and converted a penalty in the 64th minute.

However, Brighton would not accept defeat and they came from two goals down to clinch a draw in the dying embers of the match. First, Shane Duffy scored after just two minutes of Southampton’s second, before Glenn Murray scored his fifth goal in six league starts for Brighton against Southampton in the 91st minute.

So with the points shared this evening, what five things did we learn?

1. Monday night curse continues to haunt Southampton

Southampton have a bizarre record for matches played on a Monday night. Prior to tonight’s draw the Saints had lost seven and drawn three, meaning they were winless in 10 outings.

That run has now extended to 11 matches after Brighton fired home a dramatic late penalty with Glenn Murray netting the decisive goal after James Ward-Prowse was penalised for grappling Shane Duffy in the Southampton box.

In truth the draw can come as no surprise as both sides finished last season’s meetings with a scoreline of 1-1, but having come so close to breaking their fateful Monday night hoodoo, Murray’s late equaliser will leave a sour taste in the mouths of Saints fans.

Victory would have ensured Southampton finished this weekend’s fixture in the top-half of the Premier League table, but the wait for a Monday night win continues for Saints fans, and that bad omen has struck once again for the club.

2. Pascal Gross absence hits Brighton hard

The German international has been the standout performer for Brighton since signing for the club in last summer’s transfer window; he played all 38 league matches last term as the Seagulls finished the season on a high.

However, when Gross has failed to make the starting XI it has always been to the detriment of Chris Hughton’s side, as Brighton have now failed to win the five Premier League matches he has not started for the club.

Prior to tonight’s meeting that record stood at four defeats, and Brighton were staring down the barrel for the majority of the match, but a late Murray goal salvaged a point for the club.

Despite this, that woeful record without the German in the side remains at four defeats and just the one draw. The Seagulls looked bereft of creativity and spark this evening, highlighting the sheer importance of Gross to their style of play and attacking tempo.

3. Redmond: Red-hot to unremarkable 

The incisive winger was on form in the first-half and produced a performance that would have left Saints fans purring and Brighton fans exhausted. The 24-year-old was insatiable on the left flank, linking up with Ryan Bertrand expertly and causing a number of problems for Martin Montoya.

It was the sort of performance that would have lifted you from your seat at times even if the match failed to excite. However, that was the furthest thing from the case in the second-half, and it is this inconsistency that continues to hinder the progress of Redmond.

The England international was below par last campaign as the Saints were left teetering on the brink of relegation, but his spark has somewhat reignited this season on early evidence, despite not yet registering a goal or an assist.

This will be an element of his game that he will need to significantly improve if he has any aspirations of reinstating himself into the England fold. Gareth Southgate was present at the St Mary’s this evening, but Redmond failed to perform in the second-half after such a promising start to the match.

4. Still no starting place for record signings

There were high expectations and huge excitement over the summer when Brighton recruited Iranian magician Alireza Jahanbakhsh for a club-record fee; likewise in January there was equal optimism with the signing of Jurgen Locadia, though both are yet to start a match this season.

Instead, Chris Hughton has opted to trust his faith in Solly March and Anthony Knockaert, and with varying degrees of success this season – notably the victory over Manchester United – but today the Seagulls looked flat and were crying out for creativity and attacking potency.

Brighton came out in the second-half with more intent and looked a completely different proposition in the early exchanges to the one who were somewhat toothless in the first-half, but they soon found themselves two goals down.

Shane Duffy handed Hughton’s men a lifeline moments later, but the match was still crying out for the introduction of some flair and venom. Late on Hughton made the changes, and Brighton were able to snatch a point from the jaws of defeat, with both Jahanbakhsh and Locadia looking lively.

5. Ings continues resurgence

Ings has now scored three goals in five appearances for the Saints and continues his early form on the south coast having seen his Liverpool career blighted by injury as well as stunted by the emergence of their formidable attacking trident.

However, Jurgen Klopp may now be keeping a close eye on events happening down south as Ings continues to impress for Southampton, netting in consecutive games for the first time since 2015.

Ings scored a crucial second for Mark Hughes’ men in the second half after surging into the Brighton box, before being brought down by Gaetan Bong to win a penalty; the England international duly converted the spot-kick.

With Gareth Southgate in the stands, the Liverpool loanee would have done his chances of impressing no harm at all, and as the 26-year-old looks to resurrect his footballing career, he may prove to be a very astute signing for the Saints this term.

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