Brighton 2 Barnsley 0: '˜Flat' Reds must be ready for real test from Aston Villa '“ Paul Heckingbottom

The Tykes, beaten 2-1 at home by Reading the previous weekend, struggled to impose themselves at the Amex Stadium and Heckingbottom described their performance as “flat”.

He said: “We knew that we would need to be at our very best but we are disappointed with our performance and it was flat.

“We were poor with the ball in the first half and needed more energy to pass but we didn’t play with any intent.

“We need to get back to previous displays; we are realistic enough to know what we are up against.”

Heckingbottom’s side, who went into the game having scored six goals from corners and free-kicks, were left with a huge task when Glenn Murray headed his second from Jiri Skalak’s free-kick three minutes after the interval.

Brighton chief Chris Hughton felt Murray produced his best performance of the season after the striker, on a season-long loan from Bournemouth and in his second spell with the Seagulls, scored in each half to take his tally to five goals this term, all of which have been at home.

Heckingbottom added: “We have scored goals with our set plays but the second goal took the game away from us. It was a good header from Murray but it made it a mountain to climb.”

Barnsley host Aston Villa tomorrow and Heckingbottom said: “We will try and enjoy each game, if we get the result then great. I’ve seen Villa twice and certainly the draws they have had could have been turned into wins. They are going to be a real test for us.”

Brighton & HA: Stockdale, Saltor, Duffy, Dunk, Bong, Knockaert, Stephens, Kayal (Norwood 46), Skalak (Sidwell 84), Hemed (Baldock 76), Murray. Unused substitutes: Maenpaa, Murphy, Goldson, Hunt.

Barnsley: Davies, Yiadom, Roberts, MacDonald, Kpekawa, Watkins (Kent 64), Scowen (Morsy 80), Hourihane, Hammill, Winnall (Bradshaw 80), Armstrong. Unused substitutes: Bree, Lee, Townsend, Jackson.

Referee: T Robinson (West Sussex).

Man of the match: Glenn Murray.