Brighton claim first win in seven by beating struggling Burnley
By Edward Elliot, Press Association
Brighton soared to eighth place in the Premier League by snapping a six-match winless run with a comfortable 2-0 success over second-bottom Burnley.
Georginio Rutter gave the Seagulls a first-half lead on a bitterly-cold afternoon at the Amex Stadium before Yasin Ayari doubled the advantage early in the second period.
Substitute Loum Tchaouna came close to halving the deficit but Scott Parker’s struggling Clarets remain six points from Nottingham Forest in 17th after their wait for a top-flight victory stretched to 11 games.
Brighton began the day in 14th position after picking up only three points from 18 available during December, while Burnley arrived in Sussex having collected just two from a possible 30 dating back to October.
Seagulls forward Charalampos Kostoulas, who made his first Premier League start as part of four changes from Tuesday’s 2-2 draw at West Ham, was denied a 10th-minute opener by a marginal offside.
Albion continued to be the dominant side and edged ahead in the 29th minute with their first attempt on target.
After Ayari’s effort from the edge of the 18-yard box deflected off Kostoulas, the ball broke kindly for Rutter to slam his second goal of the season into the bottom-left corner from a tight angle.
Burnley, who made three changes following a 3-1 midweek loss to Newcastle, failed to win any of their previous 39 matches when conceding first in the Premier League.
The visitors threatened to snatch an equaliser in first-half added time when Lucas Pires’ low shot was repelled by the left leg of Seagulls goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen.
That opportunity proved to be a pivotal moment as Brighton doubled their advantage within two minutes of the restart.
Clarets midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu conceded possession on the edge of his own area, allowing Sweden midfielder Ayari to sidestep Bashir Humphreys and drill an angled finish into the bottom-left corner.
Kostoulas thumped straight at Burnley keeper Martin Dubravka before Burnley almost pulled one back in the 67th minute.
After Verbruggen flapped at Pires’ corner from the right, French forward Tchaouna nodded towards the unguarded net, only for Ferdi Kadioglu to produce a superb last-ditch clearance by heading the ball against the crossbar.
Pascal Gross, who rejoined Brighton from Borussia Dortmund on Friday, received a rapturous reception from home fans when he was brought on for the final 19 minutes as part of a triple substitution.
Fellow Seagulls replacement Maxim De Cuyper almost added a third six minutes from time when he rattled the left post with a curling free-kick.
Relegation-threatened Burnley offered little in response as Brighton finally registered a first Premier League home win over their opponents at the seventh attempt.
