Brighton player ratings vs Brentford: Two 9s as academy graduate stars alongside club legend

The 18-year-old headed what proved to be the winning goal, from Pascal Gross’ cross, after 52 minutes.

Gross had earlier levelled the scoring just four minutes after Bryan Mbeumo’s 27th minute penalty.

It was a return to winning ways for Albion after the 3-2 defeat against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

Here’s how the Brighton players rated:

Jason Steele - 7: No chance of saving the penalty. Left stranded by Yoane Wissa’s shot but Hinshelwood came to the rescue. Little else to do.

Jack Hinshelwood - 9: Things don’t get much better than scoring for your boyhood club in the Premier League. At 18-years-old too! The versatile teenager played at right-back today. Solid defensively and was a threat going forward. Lovely touch in build-up to Gross’ goal. He cleared one off the line at one end before scoring a superb header just minutes later. What a star. Given a standing ovation as he was replaced by Joel Veltman.

Jan Paul van Hecke - 7: Had big shoes to fill with Lewis Dunk still out. Was clumsy in giving the penalty away. He had no reason to complain, really. Recovered well and helped to ensure Brighton kept a clean sheet in open play. Went close with a thumping header.

Igor Julio - 8: Really looks at home in a Brighton shirt now. So calm and composed at the back all night.

Pascal Groß - 9: Oh where would Brighton be without this man? He’s been ever present since Albion were promoted to the Premier League and he barely puts a foot wrong. His goal to level the scoring tonight was classy. His assist for Hinshelwood wasn’t bad either. Some delightful passing throughout the night. One negative was when he lost the ball in front of goal and it would have resulted in Brentford making it 2-1, if not for Hinshelwood’s heroics.

Carlos Baleba - 7: Starting to show signs of what he is capable of after a slow start to life in Brighton. Still very raw but has all the attributes needed. Pass to Adingra needed to be more accurate 1-1 as it allowed the defender to win a foot-race.

Billy Gilmour - 8: Tireless performance. Was everywhere on the pitch and his passing was crisp. Booked in the second half.

Simon Adingra - 7: Worked hard in attack and defence. A real quality player when he’s at full throttle. Went so close to making it 3-1 with a curling effort. Had a shot well saved in closing stages.

Facundo Buonanotte - 6: Worked hard for the team but limited impact on the game. A couple of needless fouls. Was booked for protesting against one of those fouls. A highlight was when he robbed Ben Mee of the ball it nearly led to a third goal for the hosts.

Kaoru Mitoma - 7: The Japan forward hasn’t been firing on all cylinders lately and has looked tired but he showed signs he is getting back to his best tonight. Looked very lively in the early stages. Got a simple assist for Gross. Was a real threat out wide all night.

Joao Pedro - 6: Looked confident in early stages. Some nice link up play with his fellow forwards but didn’t quite happen for him in front of goal tonight. Had a good shot saved at 1-1. Good acrobatic attempt at 2-1.

Substitutes

Evan Ferguson - 6: Quiet off the bench but helped his team defend from the front.

James Milner - 7: Much needed experience helped to seal the points.

Joel Veltman 7: Slotted in nicely in defence and battled hard.

Jakub Moder - N/A: A warm welcome back to the Amex. Not much time to make an impact but showed some good defensive work.