Brighton dunk Cheltenham out of League Cup

Brighton manager Sami Hyypia can celebrate his first competitive victory in charge of Brighton and Hove Albion as they beat Cheltenham 2-0 in the Capital One Cup First Round. Lewis Dunk was also on the score sheet for the first time in his Albion career.

Dunk told Latest Sport how the moment overtook him. He said: “I had a celebration in mind but it went out the window and I did a knee slide. I was running away and thought – what can I do, what can I do? Everyone loves the knee slide!”
The future of Will Buckley was the only distraction for Hyypia, with Sunderland and West Brom chasing the winger’s signature. Hyypia said; “He [Buckley] wasn’t available for selection, I think you’ll hear it in a few days.”
The game took a while to spring to life, Cheltenham’s defensive organisation, coupled with Albion’s slow build up meant the game didn’t get going until the second half. On 68 minutes Kazenga Lua Lua replaced Kemy Augestien, which was the injection of pace the Seagulls needed.

Lewis Dunk opened the scoring for Brighton in the 78th minute following a short corner from Lua Lua. Dunk arrived unmarked at the back post to nod casually across the face of Trevor Carson in the Cheltenham goal.

Cheltenham’s defensive power waned as the second half wore on, as Craig Mackail-Smith confirmed the victory for Albion with a neat finish underneath Carson after a calm through ball from Lua Lua. The Scotland striker told Latest Sport he couldn’t remember the last time he played 90 minutes. He said: “It was nice to last the pace, I can feel it in my legs now. Hopefully, I can get a few more of them to get better and stronger.”

Captain Gordon Greer left the pitch with a broad smile that certainly wasn’t there in the 1-0 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.

Brighton now face an away trip to Birmingham on Saturday 16th August.