Locadia deserved his goal against Arsenal - Stephens

Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Dale Stephens said Jurgen Locadia deserved his goal in the 1-1 draw with Arsenal on Boxing Day.
Dale Stephens on the ball against Arsenal. Picture by PW Sporting PhotographyDale Stephens on the ball against Arsenal. Picture by PW Sporting Photography
Dale Stephens on the ball against Arsenal. Picture by PW Sporting Photography

It was Dutch striker Locadia's first goal for ten months and just his third for Albion since joining from PSV Eindhoven in January.

He went close to scoring again in the second half when he dragged a shot just wide of the far post.

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On Locadia's goal, Stephens said: "He deserves it. He has trained hard for the time he's been here and deserves to be starting. He's playing for his place to get a spot for the next game."

Stephens added Brighton could have taken all three points for their second half performance and said: “We knew we hadn’t picked up a point in the last three games, but I didn’t think we were too far away in the performances we’ve had. We knew it was an opportunity for us at home against one of the top teams to get three points, but we’ll take a point.

“I thought we played some good stuff in the second half and it was similar to the Chelsea game in the sense that we pressed them, finished strongly and had the better chances.

“We were aware of the quality in their team and we knew we’d have to surrender a bit of possession early on. We did that, but they didn't created too many clear-cut chances overall and I thought we stepped up in the second half and probably could’ve won it in the end.

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“We were disappointed with the way we let him (Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang) in with one pass in the first half, but Maty (Ryan) has bailed us out several times this season.”

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