Brighton 3-2 Wolves: Attack good, defence not so good in ratings
The player ratings from Brighton 3-2 Wolves tell the story of this interesting League Cup third round tie perfectly. Nobody in the Albion backline managed more than a six. More attack-minded players scored in the eights.
Brighton had looked in total control through the first 40 minutes. The Albion led 2-0 via the excellent duo of Carlos Baleba and Simon Adingra. All was well in the world.
But then the Old Gold pulled one back just before the break. The second half subsequently saw Brighton have some sort of midlife crisis, particularly in defence. It was as if somebody had mistakenly put MDMA instead of sugar in the half time tea.
“Low scores for our defence as they constantly stopped paying attention in the game,” was how one Seagulls supporter described it when submitting their ratings. A polite way, shall we say.
Come for the comparison between Igor and Colin Hawkins. Stay for the part where Carlos Baleba is hailed an inevitable Ballon d’Or winner. Here are your Brighton 3-2 Wolves player ratings.
Jason Steele – 5.42
Vintage Steele. Three good saves mainly forgotten thanks to a total cock up in passing the ball straight to Wolves for their second goal. There must be something about facing the Old Gold in a cup competition which frazzles his mind. Who can ever forget THAT performance at Molineux in the FA Cup last season?
Jack Hinshelwood – 6.00
Highest rated Albion defender although that admittedly is not saying much. An unbelievable clearance off the line denying a comical own goal from Adam Webster was the highlight of Hinshelwood’s performance
Adam Webster – 5.50
Oh so close to that wonderful own goal when nearly bundling the ball past an alarmed and helpless Steele. Solid in the first half but began to do increasingly strange stuff in the second half – although nowhere near as erratic as the man next to him…
Igor Julio – 5.25
Igor! Igor! Igor! Lowest scorer in the Brighton 3-2 Wolves player ratings for performance. Highest scorer for entertainment. The ghost of Colin Hawkins appeared to be wielding increasing power over him as the game wore on and his passing, ability on the ball, decision making and, well, everything else went to shit.
Pervis Estupinan – 5.75
A first start of the season for the left back with important minutes banked. Had to walk a disciplinary tightrope after an early booking.
Jakub Moder – 5.92
His most noteworthy contribution of the night was a sliding tackle which drew cheers from the crowd. Struggled to make much impact otherwise and with Fabian Hurzeler having so many other central midfield options to pick from once the injury list clears up, Moder’s time as a Brighton player is surely coming to an end.
CARLOS BALEBA – 8.25
Topped the player ratings on Saturday for the 0-0 draw against Ipswich and does it again in Brighton 3-2 Wolves. Opened the scoring with goal which was self-made as a clever press gained possession, enabling Baleba to beat Jose Sa from 25 yards. Some strike followed by some celebration. Future Ballon d’or winner?
Yankubu Minteh – 5.50
Along with Hinshelwood and Baleba, one of only three players to start who were also involved against Ipswich. Hurzeler was presumably hoping Minteh would play himself into form against a Wolves second string. It just ended up being a frustrating evening for the winger.
Julio Enciso – 5.58
Not his best summed up when he shot from a free kick in a promising position and the ball ended up heading towards one of the moons of Saturn. Enciso has apparently spent this week talking about getting a move to a bigger club. He looks someway off the Albion’s Premier League starting XI at the minute, let alone another club’s.
Simon Adingra – 8.02
His third goal of the season arrived via a lovely finish. Adingra was then heavily involved in the third Brighton goal, a delicious first touch and turn starting a counter which ended with Ferdi Kadioglu tapping him. The Albion’s most in-form winger so far this season, he surely must start against Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
Evan Ferguson – 6.67
First start since undergoing ankle surgery in April. Would have broken his long wait for a goal stretching back to the end of November had his shot which was heading in not been unnecessarily helped along by Minteh from an offside potential.
Mats Wieffer – 6.75
Home debut from the bench for the Dutch international midfielder after recovering from injury. Showed the Amex his passing range by setting Brighton on a couple of counters when the Old Gold were beginning to pile on the pressure in the second half.
Danny Welbeck – 6.75
Hurzeler opted to send on Welbeck in an attempt to break Wolves’ dominance and find the Albion a killer third. And it worked. Welbeck saw his shot saved by the legs of Sa with fellow substitute Ferdi Kadioglu picking up the pieces.
Yasin Ayari – 6.67
Brought renewed energy for the final 15 minutes as Brighton began to labour in the middle of the park.
Ferdi Kadioglu – 7.25
“I think I got 10 minutes today and one goal – not bad,” said Kadioglu afterwards. Scoring with his first touch after coming off the bench was enough to push him into third place in the Brighton 3-2 Wolves ratings.
Tariq Lamptey – 6.08
Interesting that Hurzeler opted to move Hinshelwood to right back – who it would have been easily justifiable to rest – and keep Lamptey on the bench.
The WAB Player Ratings are formulated using marks out of 10 given by Brighton fans via Twitter. To have your scores included, follow We Are Brighton on Twitter and look out for the player rating thread after each game.
