Brighton & Hove Albion Head Coach, Fabian Hurzeler praised his players for displaying “togetherness” to knock Manchester United out of the FA Cup.
Goals from Brajan Gruda and ex Man Utd forward, Danny Welbeck saw Brighton see off the Red Devils away at Old Trafford in their third-round tie, despite Benjamin Sesko’s late consolatory header for the hosts.
Hurzeler though had made six changes for the match and was left impressed at their unity and impact with those who had retained their starting spots, having drawn 1-1 at Manchester City last Wednesday (7 January) in the Premier League.
“The players who came in deserved to play and they showed what they are capable of doing. We have shown a great deal of togetherness and I think it’s good to know that there are always players who can come in and make a difference. We will need everyone and for the players who came in it was an opportunity and they did really good.”
Brighton however started the match sluggishly as goalkeeper, Jason Steele had to make two early saves but Hurzeler was pleased at how his team responded, and believes that they can hold ambitions of a cup run alongside their top-flight campaign where they sit just six points off fourth place.
“We were a bit lucky not to concede a goal in the first minutes but then we scored a nice goal and brought some calmness into our game. In the second half we controlled the game better.
“We have ambitions in the FA Cup but it’s do or die and we will have to be at our highest level whoever we play in the next round. Let’s see how far we can go. We always have the belief to compete with the best teams. You need to have this if you want to achieve something and we are a club with ambition.”
Hurzeler also praised fans who made the effort to travel to Manchester twice in the space of five days as he acknowledged the financial impact involved in both trips.
“I’m very happy for the fans because they always give us great support. They had to travel twice to Manchester and it’s not the closest place for us so I’m really happy for them, they spend a lot of money and time to support us. Hopefully they have a nice Sunday.”
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