Six things we learned from Brighton's cup defeat to Bournemouth

Brighton exited the Carabao Cup 1-0 away to Bournemouth last night. Here's six things we learned from the game.
Uwe Hunemeier challenges Bournemouth winger Jordon Ibe. Picture by Angela BrinkhurstUwe Hunemeier challenges Bournemouth winger Jordon Ibe. Picture by Angela Brinkhurst
Uwe Hunemeier challenges Bournemouth winger Jordon Ibe. Picture by Angela Brinkhurst

First look

Three players made their Albion debuts but the Seagulls did not have a recognised striker in their matchday squad.

Newcastle loanee Tim Krul started in goal ahead of Niki Maenpaa, who kept a clean sheet in the 1-0 win over Barnet in the second round. Krul made a number of excellent saves and could do nothing about Joshua King's winner. While Mathew Ryan is the Seagulls' number one, Krul will be waiting in the wings for a Premier League opportunity.

Albion debutant Dessie Hutchinson on the ball. Picture by Angela BrinkhurstAlbion debutant Dessie Hutchinson on the ball. Picture by Angela Brinkhurst
Albion debutant Dessie Hutchinson on the ball. Picture by Angela Brinkhurst
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Irish youngster Dessie Hutchinson started in central midfield for the first time, while Ezequiel Schelotto also made his debut. Columbian winger Jose Izquierdo also started for the first time, after coming off the bench in two Premier League matches so far for the Seagulls.

Hutchinson impressed playing alongside fellow Irishman Jayson Molumby in centre midfield, while Schelotto also looks like he will be a strong addition to the squad.

Molumby and Hutchinson got their chance with a number of other central midfielders at the club unavailable. Beram Kayal and Steve Sidwell are both out injured, while Rohan Ince (Bury), Oliver Norwood (Fulham) and Richie Towell (Rotherham) are all out on loan.

Albion boss Chris Hughton clearly did not want to risk first choice central midfield pair Dale Stephens and Davy Propper ahead of Sunday's big Premier League match with Newcastle at the Amex. The latter only came on for the final 15 minutes, while Stephens was not part of the 18-man squad.

Ezequiel Schelotto. Picture by Angela BrinkhurstEzequiel Schelotto. Picture by Angela Brinkhurst
Ezequiel Schelotto. Picture by Angela Brinkhurst

No out-and-out striker

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Brighton did not have an out-and-out striker in their squad last night as winger Jamie Murphy played the lone forward role.

With Sam Baldock out injured, Chris Hughton did not want to risk Tomer Hemed or Glenn Murray, who has just come back from injury, in a competition that is not a major priority for the club this season.

As is the case when the Seagulls do not score, fans will bring up the fact the club failed to sign a striker in the summer transfer window. Just how costly that ends up being will only be known at the end of the season.

Brighton looked lively enough going forward at times but Bournemouth carried much more of a goalscoring threat through Benik Afobe, Jordon Ibe, Lys Mousset, Junior Stanislas and then matchwinner Joshua King when he came on.

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Saying that, Murphy should have had two goals. A close-range effort in the first half was deflected wide and he then failed to beat Cherries keeper Artur Boruc when clean through in the second period.

How did Jose do?

Albion club record signing Jose Izquierdo made his first start for the club and he's certainly going to be a handful for opposition defenders with his pace.

The £16m signing from Club Brugge started on the left wing and stung the fingertips of Bournemouth keeper Artur Boruc with one shot, before he fired just wide with another opportunity from a tight angle.

The Columbian international has pace to burn and managed to keep hold of the ball after a poor touch on a couple of occasions due to his speed.

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At the moment, he's still probably behind Anthony Knockaert and Solly March in terms of starting a Premier League match.

March has been in sparkling form so far this season and Knockaert is the Seagulls' talisman. Izquierdo will be an excellent option off the bench, though, and will no doubt start a game soon once he is fully up to speed.

All change

The teams met in the Premier League on Friday and again in the Carabao Cup tonight at the Vitality Stadium.

Just three players who started on Friday were in the respective starting 11s tonight. Cherries captain Simon Francis and Ryan Fraser were the only two players to keep their place in the starting line-up for the hosts, while Liam Rosenior was the only Albion player to start both matches.

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Several Brighton players who have not featured much or at all in the Premier League this season got valuable game time.

Albion also tried a new 5-4-1 formation and it worked well for long periods. An option for Premier League games in the future? Quite possibly.

Bogey team

Albion's winless run against Bournemouth increased to eight games as Joshua King's extra-time goal took the Cherries through to the last 16.

Brighton's last victory against Bournemouth was on January, 2008, when Alex Revell completed his hat-trick in the last minute to give Albion a 3-2 win.

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Since then, Bournemouth have won five matches and drawn three. They completed the double over Brighton in the 2014/15 season when they were promoted into the Premier League.

This is now their third season in the top flight and the Seagulls will look to emulate the way the Cherries have stayed and progressed in the Premier League in the coming years.

Shut out

Many fans missed the start of the game owing to delays entering the stadium.

After a 10,369 sell-out on Friday, Bournemouth announced all tickets had been sold for the cup clash yesterday morning.

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Several empty seats were visible as the game kicked off but the stadium gradually got full as the game went on and the official attendance was 10,372.

Bournemouth released a statement while the match was going on, which read: "AFC Bournemouth are aware of delays incurred by supporters entering Vitality Stadium on Tuesday night, and thank them for their patience.

"Following recent incidents across the country, the club have been working closely with police and counter terrorism officers, who advised an increase in security searches, which ultimately had a knock-on effect.

"While the club are continuing to explore ways to reduce queuing time, it would greatly assist if fans could arrive at Vitality Stadium as early as possible on a home matchday."