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December was another depressing month in the main for Brighton and Hove Albion fans until Sami Hyypia finally did the decent thing and handed in his resignation – paving the way for FOUR POINTS!!!!!
Those came under the leadership of caretaker boss Nathan Jones, who secured a come-from-behind point in a 2-2 draw with Reading at the Amex on Boxing Day via a last minute Inigo Calderon leveller and then masterminded a quite brilliant 2-0 win away at Fulham thanks to goals from Adrian Colunga and Solly March.
Hyypia’s final game was a 1-1 draw away at Wolverhampton Wanderers in which Darren Bent scored the second goal of his loan spell from Aston Villa while the months other two games ended in a predictable hammering away at Derby and a much more concerning 1-0 defeat at home to Millwall which led to the first discernible protests against an Albion manager since Micky Adams’ Reign of Terror was bought to an end in 2009.
Elliott Bennett
Extended his loan for a second month in which e continued to impress with another string of fine performances, most notably in the win at Fulham when he won the penalty which enabled Adrian Colunga to give the Albion the lead. He will be missed out wide unless new boss Chris Hughton decides to bring him back from Norwich City.
Joe Bennett
The decision to leave him out of the Millwall game due to only being allowed to field five loan players proved just how much of an important part of the side he has become as the Albion looked completely at sea without him at left back. Given what happened on that terrible night at the Amex, it’s unlikely he’ll be left out again any time soon.
Darren Bent
A striker who can score seems like something of a novelty given how poor we’ve been in front of goal this season. The on-loan Aston Villa man added a touch of class to the line up, netting at Wolves to make it two in five before opting to go to Derby County for the rest of the season.
Inigo Calderon
The mans passion, work rate and flair were exactly what the doctor ordered when Sam Hyppia resigned and he responded to being handed the captains armband by Nathan Jones when he scored that all important late equaliser against Reading.
Adrian Colunga
Given an extended run of games after his return from suspension, he continued to look lively in attack and did what a lot of Brighton players struggle to do – scored a penalty in the win away at Fulham.
Lewis Dunk
Went goalless for the first month this season throughout December but the fact that is the only criticism you can throw at him as a centre back says everything about his growing importance to the team, again underlined with a string of strong performances.
Greg Halford
The on-loan Nottingham Forest defender has overtaken Aaron Hughes as third choice centre back, allowing him to get a run in the side Gordon Greer’s absence. He made one stunning tackle in helping secure the clean sheet at Fulham and his long throws were an absolute joy to behold.
David Stockdale
Now we are finally seeing why the Albion forked out £1.5m for the goalkeeper in the summer. Two genuinely world class saves to help secure the win away at Fulham followed up an excellent game against Reading and he also helped preserve a point at Wolves.
