Chris Hughton Commends Brighton Performance & Admits Leicester Defeat 'Hard to Take'

Chris Hughton said Brighton's defeat to Leicester was difficult to accept as the Seagulls dominated for large periods of the game at the AMEX Stadium but still

Chris Hughton said Brighton's defeat to Leicester was difficult to accept as the Seagulls dominated for large periods of the game at the AMEX Stadium but still ended up on the losing side.

Hughton's men kept Leicester's attacking outlets quiet for most of the game but struggled to create chances of their own, and were eventually dealt a body blow by late goals from Vicente Iborra and Jamie Vardy.

“It’s frustrating and hard to take," Hughton told Seagulls TV. "It was certainly not a game that we deserved to lose. The things that we needed to do, to nullify the strengths they had, I think we did very well.

FT: Albion are beaten at home for only the fourth time this season. Iborra headed home after Murray's second-half penalty was saved by Schmeichel. Vardy doubled the lead in stoppage time.

Harsh result after a positive performance at the Amex. #BHAFC 0 #LCFC 2 #BHALEI pic.twitter.com/0DdeyIz0Lw

— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) March 31, 2018

“We dealt with the pace of [Jamie] Vardy and the quality of [Riyad] Mahrez, and we did that very well for the entire game.

“The next bit is that we’ve got to score goals ourselves. We created good opportunities and had decent chances to score."

Brighton were handed a golden opportunity to take the lead late in the second half when Wilfred Ndidi fouled Jose Izquierdo in the penalty area and Chris Kavanagh pointed to the spot, but Glenn Murray's spot-kick was saved by Leicester keeper Kasper Schmeichel.

📝 @shaneduffy felt his team-mates were made to pay in the closing stages against @LCFC...

🗨️ "We're very disappointed. We had a chance to go ahead in the game and I thought we played quite well, but the ending killed us."#BHAFC 🔵⚪️

Read ➡️ https://t.co/XOZnYiHqkw pic.twitter.com/aA931wUnii

— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) March 31, 2018

“Glenn has scored penalties for us this season and scored vital goals," said Hughton. "That’s what strikers do and what penalty takers do. 

“Leicester will be grateful for a good save from their goalkeeper, and we’re just disappointed that we never scored it. But Glenn has been very good for us this season.”

Brighton remain six points clear of the relegation zone and can move a step closer to securing their Premier League safety when they host Huddersfield next Saturday.