Bristol City were beaten at the American Express Community Stadium by a Brighton and Hove Albion side to remain within touching distance of the npower Championship relegation zone.
Inigo Calderon’s wonder strike broke the deadlock on the 37th minute before Will Buckley put the nails in the Robins’ coffin half way through the second period.
With the game lacking real goalmouth action throughout, Brighton’s clinical edge in front of goal proved vital.
Derek McInnes made three changes to the team that were deservedly beaten at Crawley Town in the FA Cup third round seven days ago.
Less than two days after signing on the dotted line, on loan West Bromich Albion centre forward Chris Wood was put straight into the starting eleven, replacing injured danger man Albert Adomah and partnering Nicky Maynard in attack with City shifting to a 4-4-2 formation. Other new signing, Richard Foster from Aberdeen started at right back in place of James Wilson.
Marvin Elliott returned to the side in place of suspended Stephen Pearson in the final change, with Cole Skuse being forced to play in an unusual role on the right hand side of midfield.
Without really creating a chance, the Seagulls started brightly. Only a couple minutes into the contest, City’s left back Ryan McGivern was cautioned after a cynical challenge on Buckley, in front of the raging Brighton manager Gus Poyet on the touchline.
Poyet has visibly installed a passing mentality into his side, who looked to be enjoying playing in their brand new stadium, passing the ball about at will in the first 10 minutes, leaving City chasing shadows.
However the Uruguayan was forced into two changes early on. First, lively striker Craig Mackail-Smith fell in the box after being unintentionally caught in the eye by Lewin Nyatanga. He was replaced by former Bristol Rovers front man Will Hoskins, who was predictably jeered by the 2,000 plus away fans.
Secondly, Jake Forster-Caskey was removed in place of fellow midfielder Alan Navarro in a start to the match in which City would have hoped would hinder the home side.
In fact it was Navarro with the first major chance of an uneventful first half. Following good wing play from Matt Sparrow, who comfortably beat City midfielder Neil Kilkenny’s weak attempt to block his cross, Navarro arrived on the edge of the box, only to put the ball high over the bar where perhaps taking an additional touch would have been the better option.
City were passing the ball patiently around their back four, without much pressure from the home side’s front men, but as soon as any of Foster, Louis Carey, Lewin Nyatanga and McGivern attempted to push the away team forward, City’s midfielders and front men struggled to retain possession.
This contrasted massively to the recent away performance at league leaders Southampton, where ball retention looked a lot more comfortable with five men in the middle of the park.
Recent regular Pearson was missed as City needed an extra man who was comfortable on the ball and able to thread through balls to Maynard who was rarely involved, as playmaker Kilkenny was forced to sit further back to aid Elliott’s defensive midfield duties.
Eight minutes before the break, Brighton skipper Inigo Calderon opened the scoring with a wonder goal from 25 yards for the south coast side.
The Spaniard picked up the ball from Liam Bridcutt before pulling the trigger to arrow an unstoppable shot past former England goalkeeper David James into the top right hand corner of the net with the first shot on target of the match.
In the final moments of the half, James was called into action again. This time, the stopper once again showed he hasn’t lost his class that seen him wear the three lions’ jersey 53 times, as he brilliantly tipped over the bar from Sparrow's 20-yard drive.
15 minutes into the second half, Yannick Bolasie was introduced, replacing Martyn Woolford. With Adomah’s absence, sufficient wing play was at a premium and City were crying out for an outlet on the wing,
Bolasie was straight into the action. After running the ball out of play following a darting run on the left wing, he switched to the right and after beating the full back for pace, his deep cross to Wood was unluckily headed against a defender. The man signed from Plymouth in the summer caused havoc down the right hand side for the remainder of the afternoon, creating more opportunities than anyone else in a red shirt.
Kalifa Cisse entered the field of play nine minutes later for Elliott, playing a holding role so that Brett Pitman could join the attack in place of Kilkenny.
As City stepped up the gas pushing for an equaliser, they were caught on the break. 17 minutes from time, Buckley ran on to a through ball and beat Louis Carey before rounding James to tuck into the net before the angle became too acute and effectively wrap up the three points for the Seagulls there and then.
Maynard somehow evaded an inviting Pitman cross in the dying stages where any sort of touch would hope given the reds a consolation, and when Pitman’s free kick was held by Brezovan in the 95th minute, referee Keith Stroud brought the game to a close, leaving City to head back to the West Country with glum faces and serious work to do on the training ground before next week’s clash with Doncaster Rovers at Ashton Gate.
Bristol City: James, Foster, Carey, Nyatanga, McGivern, Skuse, Elliott (Cisse 70), Kilkenny (Pitman 77), Woolford (Bolasie 61), Maynard, Wood
Substitutes: Gerken, Wilson, Cisse, Clarkson, Pitman
Brighton and Hove Albion: Brezovan, Dunk, El Abd, Calderon, Vincelot, Sparrow, Bridcutt, Buckley, Forster-Caskey (Navarro 28), Barnes, Mackail-Smith (Hoskins 25)
Substitutes: Ankergren, Hall, Navarro, Vicente, Hoskins
Referee: Stroud
Attendance: 20,398 (2,152 Bristol City)
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