We’re not as free flowing as we have been

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It was a 0-0 stalemate tonight between Brighton and Burnley at the Amex Stadium but home boss Graham Potter thought his team should have won the game on a night when he was delighted with the performance of Danny Welbeck on his first start for the club.

“It’s Danny’s first start for a while and I thought he was really, really good,” Potter said. “He gave us a different dimension which was really positive.

Embed from Getty Images“The performance was really good. We pushed and pushed, restricted our opponent to not too much at all and we had some good chances. A lot of pride went into the performance and the boys gave everything. I am not disappointed at all with their efforts. Our effort and personality was really good, so in the end the only disappointment is to only pick up a point but the performance level was quite good.

“Having more shots on target is something that we can improve. The number of shots we have is good but you want to hit the target. Sometimes we made the wrong pass or we didn’t shoot when we passed. But again, that’s the hardest part. We did enough to win the game, but that’s how it is.”

It was just a second point of the season for Burnley and Sean Dyche but he took some positives from the game, in particular the clean sheet, but once again saw his side fail to find the net themselves. “It’s one of the strange things about football. Sometimes you have a dry spell and then you score a goal, win a game and everything changes,” he said.

“I am a great believer in that, and I said to the players before the game that it’s not about waiting for that to happen; you have to make it happen. I don’t think there is a lack of effort because they are working diligently. It’s about finding those moments and we’ve shown it before.

“We know there are goals there and we know they will come. The stats and facts tell you that our four centre forwards can score goals, but we do have to create a better quality of chance at times and tidy up in the final third.

“Some of our play tonight, particularly in the first half, was good at times, but I mean the real detail in and around the box and a better quality going into the box. But a lot of our performance was right tonight and a lot more like we are as a unit.”

Happy to have got that point, he added: “I think it’s part of the rebuilding of the mentality and performance levels. Three of the last four games have brought performances, and tonight we’ve had to work hard for a draw against a decent team in Brighton. In the first half we offered some kind of threat, but in the second half we just got a little bogged down with our defensive mentality.

“It’s difficult because we’re not as free flowing as we have been in the past, so therefore we do get a little bit tight, making sure we get the clean sheet and the point. So it’s pleasing in that respect and I thought a lot of our defensive work was very strong.

“As I said, we still have to make more chances and a better quality of chance, but that can be difficult in the Premier League, away from home, so we will take the point and build on that.”

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