January 11, (THEWILL) — Brighton and Hove Albion claimed a 2-1 FA Cup victory at Old Trafford to eliminate Manchester United from the competition. The visitors withstood late pressure after Benjamin Sesko reduced the deficit, with Shea Lacey’s dismissal sealing the hosts’ fate.
Manchester United started aggressively, with Jason Steele rushing from his goal to deny Diogo Dalot inside the opening two minutes. Dalot then fired over the crossbar, whilst Bruno Fernandes forced another save from Steele following a quick free-kick routine with Kobbie Mainoo.
Despite the early dominance, the hosts fell behind in the 12th minute when Brajan Gruda smashed the ball home after Georginio Rutter’s header had been cleared off the line. Senne Lammens almost presented Brighton with a second moments later, but the Belgian goalkeeper recovered to stop Danny Welbeck after his pass was intercepted.
Lisandro Martinez, Fernandes and Matheus Cunha all threatened before the interval, yet Brighton doubled their lead just after the hour mark. Joel Veltman’s pass down the left found Gruda, who laid the ball off to Welbeck, and the former United striker took a touch before rifling a fierce left-footed drive into the roof of Lammens’ net.
Sesko nodded in Fernandes’ corner five minutes from time to reduce the arrears. United’s hopes of completing a comeback disappeared when Lacey picked up two yellow cards within two minutes. Brighton held out to record a memorable cup triumph on difficult ground and advance to the following round.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
