Brighton 0 Sheffield Wednesday 0: No panic at Owls, insists Carvalhal

The Seagulls’ hopes of forcing a fifth successive home win for the first time at the Amex Stadium were snuffed out as Wednesday’s winless run was extended to five games.

The Owls went closest, with midfielder Barry Bannan twice forcing fine saves from Albion goalkeeper David Stockdale in the second half.

Brighton now boast four consecutive clean sheets, and Hughton said: “It was a little bit frustrating but we were not at our best.

“You have to give Sheffield Wednsday credit; they made it very difficult for us. They played very deep and you need that little bit of quality.”

Brighton have 10 games left and Hughton said he expected more “tight games” from now on.

He added: “There’s nine points between us and Sheffield Wednesday and it was important not to lose.

“These are the kind of games, against teams around you, that you have to make sure you don’t lose.”

Hughton felt Wednesday striker Lucas Joao would have been harshly sent off had referee Darren Drysdale dismissed him for aiming a kick at defender Connor Goldson in the first half.

Hughton said: “In game time I thought he kicked out, no doubt, but it was a bit of petulance. My feeling is that is wasn’t a red card.”

Wednesday head coach Carlos Carvalhal felt Owls fans would have been “proud” of their display and reckoned they were the “most dangerous team.”

The Portuguese said: “Brighton had more of the ball but we were the more dangerous team on the pitch and had two or three chances to score.

“In the second half we finished the game very well. What we did in this game is very important for us going forward.

“We knew it would be a tough game as I expected a balanced game between similar teams; we know how Brighton play.

“We played good football, we were positive and I’m sure the fans with us tonight were proud of the team.”

Carvalhal refused to be drawn on whether he felt Joao was lucky to escape a first-half sending off and said: “I don’t have a comment on it because I didn’t exactly see what happened.”

Wednesday have now gone five games without a win, firing blanks in four of them, but Carvalhal is remaining upbeat.

He added: “We have not won the points that we wished but we know why and our team is strong.

“We are fighting for three points in all games; there is no panic, we still believe in what we’re doing.”

Brighton: Stockdale, Saltor, Goldson, Dunk, Rosenior, Knockaert, Sidwell, Stephens, Murphy, Baldock, Hemed. Subs: Maenpaa, Greer, Kayal, Bong, Wilson, Zamora, LuaLua.

Sheff Wed: Westwood, Palmer, Lees, Loovens, Bennett, Lee, Hutchinson, Marco Matias, Bannan, Hooper, Lucas Joao. Subs: Nuhiu, McGugan, Lopez, Sasso, Wallace, Price, Pudil.

Referee: Darren Drysdale (Lincolnshire)

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