Birmingham City 0, Albion 1

Oscar Garcia collected his first three points as Albion manager this afternoon as the Seagulls soared to a 1-0 win over Birmingham.
Brighton & Hove Albion FC newsBrighton & Hove Albion FC news
Brighton & Hove Albion FC news

The Midlands club hit the woodwork twice in the second half but Andrew Croft’s strike was enough to ensure the win for the visitors.

Albion had lost their opening two games of the new campaign but it has been 25 since they have lost their first three.

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The Seasiders have now taken the lead in all four of their competitive fixtures this term and were dominant in the early stages today despite struggling to penetrate the Blues backline.

Will Buckley called Darren Randolph into action with a sweetly-struck volley before combining with debutant Stephen Ward in a wide position to swing a ball in towards Leonardo Ulloa, but the Argentine’s header was well saved.

Ulloa was presented with another opportunity soon after courtesy of an inviting through ball from David Lopez, but after shrugging off the challenging defender and shaping himself to shoot he prodded just wide of goal.

It was a different story in the second half and Albion were quickly on the back foot.

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Andrew Shinnie struck the woodwork with his clever strike before Lee Novak followed suit, rattling the underside of the bar with a fierce shot.

Tom Adeyemi also tried his luck from range but a deflection saw his effort crash into the side netting.

It wasn’t to be for the Blues, however, as a slick passing move ended with Kemy Agustien feeding the ball to Crofts, who duly fizzed it under Randolph and into the back of the net.

Matthew Upson’s header then had his former side scrambling in the closing stages of the game but a nearby Crofts was unable to direct the ball on target.