Matty Ryan pleased with Brighton & Hove Albion’s start to the season
Australia
international Matty Ryan has acknowledged that he is pleased with the beginning
to the season with Brighton & Hove Albion. The Seagulls ended the previous
campaign in a disappointing fashion with just two wins following the turn of
the year and they were still able to hold on to the 17th spot by a margin of
two points ahead of Cardiff City.
As such, manager Chris Hughton was asked from the helm to be replaced with Graham Potter and the latter has made a sensational start to the season as Brighton secured a comforta.ble 3-0 victory on the road to Watford. Speaking after that game, Ryan admitted that he had a fine afternoon whereby the attempts on goal were minimal from the hosts.
He said: “It’s
always great as a goalkeeper when you don’t have much to do. There’s that old
cliche of being a goalkeeper and it’s all right when the games end up being a
clean sheet but, for that one moment that comes along, and even outside of that,
there are still decisive moments where you need to be clear with your decisions
and be that composed figure back there. I was just thankful that I could
contribute on the pitch to what we tried to show to the fans.”
Over the past two seasons, Brighton have tended to play with a defensive mindset on the road and that nearly cost them relegation last term where they managed just 13 points from 19 away trips. That statistic could change this season with Potter adapting a much better approach where the players have been offered the freedom to go for the victory rather than playing for the stalemate.
Brighton’s second game of the league season comes against West Ham United at the Falmer Stadium. The Seagulls have an excellent record against the Hammers since their top-flight comeback two years ago. They have registered three wins and one draw from the past four meetings.