2017-18 Season Review Part Two

It will be more than a one season stay in the Premier League for Brighton and Hove Albion after Chris Hughton's side defied the pre-season predictions to avoid an immediate return to the Championship, finishing the 2017-18 season in 15th spot, some seven points clear of the drop zone.

The Albion hit the magical 40 points target with two games to spare after a stunning victory over runners up Manchester United in what was the high point of a season packed with plenty of those.

We've visited some of the most famous stadiums in the world, seen some of the greatest players in the world and been on a journey that made all those years of struggle in the lower divisions with no home ground seem a million miles away.

So sit back and relax as we relive the 2017-18 season with the second part of our Season Review.

	January 2018 Two cheap goals conceded from set pieces saw Bournemouth battle back twice to take a point in the opening game of 2018, a 2-2 home draw with Anthony Knockaert and Glenn Murray scoring. Murray was at it again a week later, netting a last minute winner against Crystal Palace to knock our rivals out of the FA Cup in front of a sparse crowd at the Amex, put off by ticket prices and the caper of the league meeting between the two a month previously. The worst result of the season followed that as another two goals from corners saw West Brom win for the first time in 20 games, securing a 2-0 victory at the Hawthorns and Chris Hughton's decision to change formation and try a 3-5-2 against champions Chelsea badly backfired as the Blues ran out 4-0 winners on a day in which the first "Opposition player, can I have your shirt" signs from our plastic support were aired. The Albion finally addressed the striker shortage, spending a club record £16m on Jurgen Locadia from PSV Eindhoven and bringing Leonardo Ulloa back on loan with January finishing with a 1-0 FA Cup win at Middlesbrough and a 1-1 draw away at Southampton. Record: P6, W2, D2, L2, F6, A10 Results: 2-2 Bournemouth H, 2-1 Palace H, 0-2 West Brom A, 0-4 Chelsea H, 1-0 Middlesbrough A, 1-1 Southampton A League Position at End of Month: 16th
	February 2018 That Southampton game had been a frustrating experiences given the way in which the Albion just sat back and defended after going ahead, leading to questions about whether Hughton's style had become too negative. The Brighton boss answered those pretty unequivocally in February's opening game against West Ham as, for the second time in the season, the Hammers were blown away. Murray made it five goals in six starts alongside the Goal of the Season from Jose Izquierdo and Pascal Gross to secure a 3-1 win and that was followed by a 1-1 draw at Stoke. There was late drama at the Bet365 Stadium, Maty Ryan saving a last minute penalty, Lewis Dunk scrambling away the rebound and then Anthony Knockaert heading the resulting corner off the line to preserve a huge point against the struggling Potters. Locadia and Ulloa marked their full debuts with goals in a 3-1 FA Cup win over League Two Coventry City to send the Albion into the quarter finals for the first time since 1986 with Connor Goldson also scoring for the first time since heart surgery and the month ended with another big win as Swansea were seen off 4-1, Murray netting another two and Knockaert and Locadia also scoring. Record: P4, W3, D1, L0, F11, A4 Results: 3-1 West Ham H, 1-1 Stoke A, 3-1 Coventry H, 4-1 Swansea H League Position at End of Month: 12th
	March 2018 That fantastic February saw Hughton awarded the Premier League Manager of the Month award and things got even better at the start of March when the Albion finally claimed their first Big Six scalp of the season as goals from Dunk and Murray increased the pressure on Arsene Wenger with a 2-1 win over Arsenal. Little did we know at that point we'd go onto win only one more game between then and the end of the season. It was a woeful showing a week later away at Everton where Knockaert threw his toys out the pram in the most dangerous way possible by trying to break Leighton Baines' leg, picking up a deserved red card in a 2-- defeat. That result at Goodison Park could've been even worse but for another Ryan penalty save late on from Wayne Rooney. It was a valiant effort in the last eight of the FA Cup at a snow-covered Old Trafford before Manchester United eventually proved too good, winning 2-0 to book their spot in the semi finals while the month ended in disappointing fashion as a succession of missed chances came back to haunt the Albion as 10 man Leicester scored twice late on at the Amex to inflict a first home defeat of the season from a side outside of the top five. Record: P4, W1, D0, L3, F2, A7 Results: 2-1 Arsenal H, 0-2 Everton A, 0-2 Man United A, 0-2 Leicester H League Position at End of Month: 13th
	April 2018 With the final five games of the season coming against the top seven, April's opening two fixtures against fellow strugglers Huddersfield and Palace looked vital if the Albion were going to secure survival. The visit of the Terriers to the Amex was going well until Shane Duffy decided to play a blind pass across his own goal straight to Steve Mounie who netted what proved to be the equaliser in a 1-1 draw after an own goal from goalkeeper Jonas Lossl had given Brighton the lead. The less said about Palace away the better, the Eagles sauntering into a 2-0 lead inside of 20 minutes after some woeful Brighton defending. We did manage to pull two back through Murray and Izquierdo but at the end of the day, Wilfried Zaha was - again - too good as the Eagles leapfrogged us in the table. Now we looked in trouble with that toughest of running beginning three days later with the visit of Spurs. In typical Albion style, we belatedly decided to put in the sort of battling performance we all wanted to see at Selhurst and ended up claiming an excellent point against Spurs after Gross equalised Harry Kane's opener. The month ended with an away game in the 1970s, a 0-0 draw at Burnley more noted for the home fans booing of Gaetan Bong. Record: P4, W0, D3, L1, F4, A5 Results: 1-1 Huddersfield H, 2-3 Palace A, 1-1 Spurs H, 0-0 Burnley A League Position at End of Month: 14th
	May 2017 The top three teams in the Premier League would provide the final three opposition for the Albion, with three points needed to guarantee Premier League safety. Remarkably, they were secured in May's opening game against eventual runners up Manchester United. Jose Mourinho's side were made to look distinctly ordinary in the final home match of the season as a second half header from Gross was ruled to have crossed the line thanks to goal line technology for a 1-0 win, which could have been more were it not for a string of superb saves from David De Gea in the United goal. Next up the trip to champions Manchester City who never really got out of second gear on their way to a 3-1 win which saw them break the record for most points in a season, most wins in a season and most goals scored in a season. Ulloa was the man on target at the Etihad Stadium for Brighton. The season was rounded off away at Anfield in the sunshine with the Albion looking distinctly like they were already on the beach - Duffy dreaming of a holiday in Jordan, no doubt - as Champions League finalists Liverpool sauntered to a 4-0 success, ending our proud record of never having been beaten away by more than two goals. Record: P3, W1, D0, L2, F2, A7 Results: 1-0 Man United H, 1-3 Man City A, 0-4 Liverpool League Position at End of Month: 15th
	Brighton and Hove Albion - a Premier League club There was only one aim for Brighton and Hove Albion in the 2017-18 season, and that was survival. Some of our more precious fans took huge offence and were outraged that any pundit could dare tip the Albion for the drop, despite being one of the three promoted teams full of players who had never played in the Premier League before. Those predictions looked as if they would prove to be even more accurate when no new striker arrived in August. So it is to the players credit that they managed to finish three places and seven points clear of relegation, providing some brilliant moments along the way. Nobody will ever forget destroying an established top flight side 3-0 in front of nearly 60,000 when we visited West Ham United. That first Premier League win over West Bromwich Albion will live long in the memory, as will beating both Arsenal and Manchester United at the Amex. Maty Ryan's penalty saves, Glenn Murray's goals and late charge for an England call up at 34 years of age and Lewis Dunk's fantastic own goal record all made for a memorable campaign. Sure, there have been frustrating games on the road where maybe we've been a little too negative and only scoring 10 away goals all season is one obvious area for improvement, but this season has been everything we could've hoped for and more. The second season is undoubtedly harder, but bring it on. Brighton and Hove Albion are a Premier League club and we're here to stay.