The big problem which had Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler fuming in Nottingham Forest FA Cup defeat
Fabian Hurzeler reacts to FA Cup quarter-final exit on penalties to Nottingham Forest
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler insists his team should have performed at higher level to avoid their heart breaking FA Cup penalty shoot-out defeat to Nottingham Forest.
Matz Sels was Forest’s penalty hero yet again as they reached the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 34 years.
The Belgian goalkeeper saved spot-kicks from Jack Hinshelwood and Diego Gomez as Forest beat Brighton 4-3 on penalties after a goalless draw at the Amex Stadium.
Brighton battled well but were far from their fluent best. Kaoru Mitoma looked out-of-sorts after a long-haul international break with Japan and Joao Pedro and Diego Gomez were fit enough for the bench after their exploits with Brazil and Paraguay respectively.
The Seagulls did create chances as Yasin Ayari took aim from the edge of the box and his drive looked destined for the bottom corner until Murillo stuck out a heel and deflected it wide.
Pervis Estupinan hit a swerving 25-yard effort which dipped in front of Sels, forcing the Forest keeper into an unorthodox save and Carlos Baleba arrowed a shot just wide from the edge of the box.
After the break, Brighton’s Georginio Rutter fired narrowly over after a sharp turn in the box and Hinshelwood headed another wide, while Bart Verbruggen tipped a Morgan Gibbs-White piledriver over.
Extra time came and went with a header from Gomez expertly pushed over by Sels the closest anyone came to forcing a winner.
Hurzeler: Not intense enough
“We were not on our highest level,” said a visible frustrated Hurzeler in the post match press conference. “We weren’t resilient enough, we weren’t intense enough and therefore we weren’t able to play our best game, especially in possession. We have to improve it the next time if we want to win the game.
