Chris Hughton Praises Brighton's 'Hard Fought Victory' Against His Former Club Newcastle

Following a 1-0 win over Newcastle United, Chris Hughton praised his Brighton team, who dug deep to end the away side's three-game winning streak.

Formerly employed by Newcastle, Hughton was sacked in 2010; when asked in his post-match press conference if this added to the occasion, he said: “I haven’t really looked at it like that, the important thing is that we’ve won, it doesn’t matter who it was against. It was a hard fought victory."

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Hughton also identified the close nature of the game, speaking to Sky Sports, the manager commented: "There weren't masses between the two teams but when you are the home team you sometimes get a little bit more in your favour. But the one opportunity we had we took in what was a tight game. We had to dig deep at times."

"We felt the way the game was going there wasn't going to be a lot of chances. We had to make sure we kept a clean sheet against a good Newcastle side. We then just had to look for those moments, either a bit of brilliance or a bit of fortune." In the end, it was a bit of brilliance from Hemed that secured the win, making it back-to-back victories at the Amex. 

Hughton also spoke about his former team: “I think they are a good side. We’ve watched their last three games and they deserved to win them." said Hughton, “They’re quite similar in the way they play and they probably a bit more pace off the front than we have. 

With both newly promoted sides having so little between them, it's Newcastle that have had the better start to the season. However, Hughton will be hoping that these three points will contribute towards survival: "So yes I suppose if you’re looking at any sort of barometer it was a nice to win, but they would say they’re still two points above us.”