Baleba stunner ends Brighton's winless run and adds to Potter's West Ham pain
Brighton against West Ham should have been a typical end of season exhibition. Brighton's hopes of qualifying for Europe looked a long shot and West Ham's safety was all but guaranteed with or without a point.
Instead the match was typical of both teams' form over the last few games. Brighton went into this one without a win in five league games while West Ham had not picked up three points in seven matches. More importantly, Brighton had conceded at least two goals in their last five league games and West Ham were without a comeback win all season. A 3-2 Brighton win should have been no surprise really.
Brighton dominated possession in the first half and Fabian Hürzeler's side looked much more threatening than Graham Potter's.
Brighton's pressing and probing paid off in the 13th minute when Yasin Ayari curled a stunning strike into the top right corner from the edge of the box. Simon Adingra, who often found himself in space on the left, played the ball infield to Brajan Gruda who teed up Ayari for the finish.
Adingra found himself involved in the action again when his goal was ruled out for offside after a fantastic double save from Alphonse Areola. The Ivorian winger tapped in from six yards out but as soon as he started to celebrate, the flag went up to signal that Mats Wieffer had strayed offside in the buildup.
West Ham, who played with three at the back, struggled to control the midfield, instead relying on their counterattack. Tomas Soucek had a couple of chances in the first half. The first of which hit the side netting from a tight angle after Aaron Wan-Bissaka's pass. His second opportunity was even better: a towering header tipped on to the crossbar by Bart Verbruggen.
Still it was not enough from Potter's side. What West Ham lacked in finesse was made up for in away support. Perhaps relenting to pressure from the crowd, Potter finally did what needed to be done. He brought on Niclas Füllkrug.
The change added a new dimension to West Ham's attack with their front three made up of the speedy Jarrod Bowen, the strong Mohammed Kudus and the tall Füllkrug. They got their reward within two minutes of his entry, albeit without Füllkrug's involvement, as Wan-Bissaka threaded a ball through to Bowen who cut it back for Kudus to tap in.
Yet, the attack seemed to be the only thing going for West Ham as Potter delayed making another change. Against the run of play, Bowen curled in a perfect cross for Soucek, who had the simple task of heading past the keeper from four yards out.
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Potter was seven minutes away from the biggest victory of his West Ham career but his former club did not get the memo.
With the clock ticking down, Brighton launched the ball into the box. Gruda headed the ball across to Kaoru Mitoma who headed in the eqauliser with two minutes to go. The stadium erupted.
Then just when you thought it could not get any louder, Carlos Baleba decided to rival Ayari and curl in a winner from the edge of the box. Delight for Hürzeler and despair for Potter.
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