Hurzeler admits ‘every victory in the Premier League’ means a lot to him after Brighton scrape past Ipswich at Portman Road

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Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler was happy to walk away with three points against Ipswich despite his players not being at their best.

The Seagulls were 2-0 victors at Portman Road, thanks to second-half goals from Kaoru Mitoma and Georginio Rutter.

It extends the South Coast side’s unbeaten run to six games, although there have been too many draws for the head coach’s liking.

But this was a victory he will certainly saviour.

Speaking after the match, he said: “It wasn’t the best performance from us, but in the end, we controlled the game and were stable out of possession.

“We created more chances in the second half, so we deserved to win. I am happy about it.

“We have suffered in this period and this win should give us the belief and self confidence. Now we have to prepare for the next challenge.

“We tried to force it too much in the first half. We were not getting our positioning right.

“We changed a few things. In the second half, though they played with more intensity and pressed better, we were more dominant and created more chances. That’s why I think we deserved it.

“Every victory in the Premier League means a lot to me because it’s very difficult to win in this league. We saw that in the recent weeks.

“We had great performances, sometimes even better than today, but in the end the result is the most important thing. We are happy but there’s only a short time to be happy. We have to focus on the next.”

Hurzeler was particularly impressed with Rutter, who has forced his way into the side this season.

He added: “I am impressed by his attitude and how positive he always is. He always has a smile on his face. He really enjoys being on the pitch and playing with the lads.

“He has a lot of important experience in the Championship. He is a good finisher and I am very happy he is here. But there are a lot of things to improve and he knows it.

“We try to give him the environment where he can improve every day.”

Meanwhile, Kieran McKenna accused his Ipswich players of losing belief towards the end of the game.

The Tractor Boys held firm for the first hour but then collapsed after conceding the first goal.

McKenna said: “It was a really even game until the first goal. In the first 60 minutes we were the more threatening side, we had the better opportunities and got into the better areas but it was a poor first goal and then the game went away from us.

“We lost belief in ourselves on the pitch, they brought on better subs and pushed on and they were the better side in the last 30 minutes.

“We didn’t defend well enough to stop the goal and we have to find a better response, but we didn’t manage to do that today.”




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