February 21, (THEWILL) — History was made at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday when James Milner became the most capped player in English Premier League history, surpassing Gareth Barry’s long-standing record with his 654th league appearance.
The 40-year-old, who made his top-flight debut in 2002, reached the milestone in Brighton and Hove Albion’s colours against Brentford.
Brighton were the dominant force throughout the opening half, creating clearer opportunities and dictating the tempo. Their pressure told in the 30th minute when Ferdi Kadioglu’s long-range strike rebounded off the crossbar, leaving Diego Gomez to finish calmly from the rebound.
Further punishment arrived in first-half stoppage time when substitute Nathan Collins failed to deal with a clearance, gifting Danny Welbeck a close-range opportunity that he finished emphatically.
The two goals brought to a close a run of six EPL matches without a victory for the visitors, who had been the better side for much of the contest.
Caoimhin Kelleher was also tested before half-time, keeping out Kaoru Mitoma’s effort after the winger had cut inside the penalty area with purpose.
Brentford showed greater resolve after the interval and threatened primarily through set-pieces.
Collins headed over from one delivery, while Dango Ouattara hooked an effort wide following a knockdown from Igor Thiago at the back post. Neither opportunity produced a goal for the hosts.
Brighton were nearly punished late on when Joel Veltman came close to deflecting a cross into his own net, but goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen produced a superb one-handed stop to protect the clean sheet and confirm a comfortable victory for the south-coast side.
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.
