Pedro penalty ends Cottagers curse: Brighton 2-1 Fulham photos
It has been a long time coming. But as these Brighton 2-1 Fulham photos show, the eight year and two month wait for Albion to beat the Cottagers proved worthwhile given the scenes delivered by their manner of victory.
You had to go all the way back to the 2016-17 Championship promotion season to find the last Brighton success against Fulham. Nine subsequent games in the Premier League had yielded zero wins for the Albion.
And it looked for the most part like that barren run would continue on a sunny Spring day at the Amex. Brighton were nowhere near their best with the match seemingly heading for a 1-1 draw as late as the 97th minute.
Raul Jimenez volleyed the Cottagers ahead with the first meaningful effort either team managed through the opening 35 minutes.
That at least sparked the Albion into life. Jan Paul van Hecke equalised via a towering header from a Yasin Ayari free kick to send the sides into the break level.
Brighton saw Kaoru Mitoma and Simon Adingra efforts ruled out in the second half for offside. All of which set the stage for the dramatic matter in which the Seagulls won the game.
Some clever forward play saw Joao Pedro draw a foul inside the box in the seventh minute of injury time. Pedro made an absolute meal of it but referee Sam Barrott was convinced, pointing to the spot.
After a miracle recovery from what appeared a career threatening injury based on the way Pedro rolled around, the Brazilian got up and beat Bernd Leno with the penalty to move the Albion 2-1 ahead.
It was reminiscent of when Alexis Mac Allister showed nerves of steel to score from 12 yards when Brighton beat Manchester United 1-0 at the Amex in the 2022-23 campaign.
And the reaction of the crowd was similar. An explosion of joy, relief and celebration from those who had not left early to beat the train or park and ride queue.
The Cottagers curse was over. Brighton moved to within a point of the top four. Six wins in a row across all competitions. A brilliant time to be a Seagull supporter.
If you have any photos you would like included in our Brighton 2-1 Fulham gallery please e-mail them to wearebrighton@hotmail.co.uk or tweet them to us @wearebrighton
