It was a painful evening for Brighton debutant Matt O'Riley following his £25m arrival from Celtic. The Denmark international midfielder had to be helped from the pitch after just six minutes during the first half following a poor challenge from Crawley’s Jay Williams. It was a big blow for Brighton and hopefully the injury will not prove to be too serious.
There was however better news for Seagulls fans as another £25m new signing Ferdi Kadioglu was introduced to the crowd ahead of kick-off. “I'm very excited because we are getting an excellent player and a great character,” said Albion head coach Fabian Hurzeler.
League One Crawley played well on the night and were unfortunate to be 1-0 down at the break as Simon Adingra scored against the run of play. Jeremy Sarmiento added a second after the break and late goals from Adam Webster and Portsmouth-bound Mark O'Mahony completed the scoring. There was also a late red card for Crawley’s Jack Roles after his foul on Brighton’s Yasin Ayari.
Here’s 17 pictures from a dramatic Sussex derby at the Amex Stadium:
9. Brighton 4-0 Crawley Town
Crawley Town's Rushian Hepburn-Murphy (L) fights for the ball with Brighton's Simon Adingra Photo: GLYN KIRK
10. Brighton 4-0 Crawley Town
Players respect a minute of silence in tribute of late former England's manager Sven-Goran Eriksson Photo: GLYN KIRK
11. Brighton 4-0 Crawley Town
New signing Ferdi Kadioglu of Brighton & Hove Albion is presented to the crowd prior to the Carabao Cup Second Round match Photo: Mike Hewitt
12. Brighton 4-0 Crawley Town
Matt O'Riley of Brighton & Hove Albion (second left) warms up with his teammates Photo: Mike Hewitt