City EDS suffered a heavy defeat away to Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League 2.
Two first half goals from Viktor Gyokeres and Hayden Roberts plus an Aaron Connolly brace and late goal by James Tilley meant that the Blues saw their first loss of the 2018/19 season.
What happened
City started well in the opening moments of the game which saw us enjoying a majority of the possession.
Despite playing a Checkatrade Trophy clash just days earlier, the Blues flew out of the blocks and with that the first chance of the game fell our way. Taylor Richards returned to the starting line-up to instantly make an impact by drilling a powerful shot at goal, which was to be blocked by the Seagulls stopper.
Moments later and it was Richards again. This time the midfielder tried his luck from long-range as he fired from outside the box, but once again Keto was there to make the save.
The chances then began to fall to the home side as Dreyer set up Tilley for a close-range attempt. Luckily Anderson was on hand to block the effort.
Just minutes before the half hour mark Brighton were awarded a penalty after Dreyer went down inside the area. Viktor Gyokeres stepped up to take the shot and converted from the spot to give Brighton the lead.
Their lead was doubled on the 42nd minute when Dreyer’s cross found Haydon Roberts, who head home with accuracy.
With Brighton hunting for their third, and City desperate to claw back a couple of goals, both sides were out at a canter after the break.
Frustrations showed as five yellow cards were given in just twenty minutes of the second half, three of those being City’s.
The Blues were unable to stop Brighton, and an Aaron Connolly brace and a last minute goal from James Tilley would secure the win for the home side and see City slip to their first defeat of the season.
Connolly’s first came in the 70th minute and his second 10 minutes later, while James Tilley’s strike went into the net in the 90th minute.
How we lined up
Paul Harsley made six changes to the side which faced Shrewsbury Town in the Checkatrade trophy earlier in the week. Muric, Humphreys, Wilson, Tom Dele-Bashiru, Adrian Bernabe and Benjamin Garre were all swapped out for the Premier League 2 clash.
Curtis Anderson was back in goal, shielded by a back four of Colin Rosler, Cameron Humphreys, skipper Joel Latibeaudiere and Nathanael Ogbeta. Iker Pozo, Claudio Gomes and Taylor Richards took their place in midfield. Rabbi Matondo and Ian Poveda were employed on the wings with Nabil Touaizi up front.
Up next
Next, City travel to the Lamex Stadium to face Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League 2.
