Brighton 0 - 2 Aston Villa: Cash In For Gerrard As Seagulls Woes Continue

Saturday, 26 February 2022 23:40

By Dominic Kureen @WriteOnDom

Brighton and Hove Albion fans witnessed a third consecutive defeat for their side as Aston Villa triumphed 2-0 at the Amex this afternoon (Saturday).

Brighton handed starts to Solly March and Leandro Trossard in a bid to turn around their poor form. Captain Lewis Dunk also returned from suspension.

But it was Gerrard's brave selection which reaped rewards: Emiliano Buendia left on the bench, with strikers Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings paired in attack and Phillipe Coutinho pulling the strings behind them.

The Villans halted their own run of two straight defeats by taking the points, with full-back Matty Cash sending a tribute to a Poland team-mate stuck in Ukraine after scoring the opener.

After back-to-back defeats against Newcastle and Watford, the pressure was on Steven Gerrard's visitors to respond and they got the perfect start when Cash skilfully slotted them in front from 25 yards.

During his goal celebration, the defender unveiled a T-shirt, with the message "stay strong bro" dedicated to his Polish international team-mate Tomasz Kedziora, who is still in Ukraine with his family.

Despite arriving late to the Amex due to traffic issues that delayed the kick-off by 30 minutes, Villa were the sharper team in the final third.

Following the opener the visitors grew increasingly dominant, with Phillipe Coutinho denied by a flying Robert Sanchez save from a 25-yard free-kick before Watkins wrapped up the points.

The striker scored his first goal in seven Premier League games after taking advantage of some lacklustre defending from Joel Veltman.

It was another limp display from Albion, who have now lost three on the bounce without scoring and registered just one shot on target in this defeat.

They can't afford to put the beach towels down just yet, with in-form Newcastle United up next weekend at St James' Park.