Brighton and Hove Albion were left with more questions than answers in their latest pre-season friendly after letting slip a 2-0 lead and drawing with a Southampton side who only came alive after 65 minutes.
While the Seagulls had enjoyed a perfect pre-season to that point, winning all four of their matches and scoring 13 goals in the process, their trip to a Saints side rebooting after Premier League relegation presented some familiar issues.
Fabian Hürzeler’s side were largely faultless for 65 minutes, with two identical Yankuba Minteh finishes, and many more missed opportunities aside, putting them in full control.
Their drop-off as soon as a strike from Southampton teenager Jay Robinson met **Lewis Dunk**’s left leg to beat Jason Steele, however, was alarming.
Will Still’s hosts dominated the final 20 minutes and could have taken victory, and with Brighton dropping several points after lower-table opponents last season, this will be a concern to Hürzeler.
Story of the Match
There was no doubt coming into the game that Southampton were in rebuild mode, and if any further evidence was required, the confirmation before kick-off of goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale’s loan move to Newcastle sealed it.
Still named an experimental but highly positive side, with new American striker Damion Downs starting in a four-man attack alongside Adam Armstrong, Cameron Archer and Ryan Fraser.
Brighton, meanwhile, gave fans their first glimpse of how the 2025-26 season will look after two behind-closed-doors friendlies and two matches in Spain.
Both sides had already used several potential first-team players in a behind-closed-doors morning contest, which lasted 60 minutes.
Jeremy Sarmiento scored the only goal in a 1-0 Brighton win, with the likes of Danny Welbeck, Brajan Gruda, Joël Veltman, Ferdi Kadıoğlu and new signing Diego Coppola all getting minutes.
In the afternoon contest, the Seagulls did all the early running.
A rasping Diego Gómez effort and a Mats Wieffer header drew early saves out of Gavin Bazunu, while Lewis Dunk sent a speculative 60-yard effort just over the crossbar with the Irish goalkeeper out of his goal.
In the 22nd minute, Brighton had the ball in the Southampton net, but Minteh was penalised for a soft-looking foul on Ryan Manning as he spun the Irishman and rolled home.
Little did that matter for Minteh, who just three minutes later opened the scoring with a delicious left-footed effort.
Finding space just inside the right of the Southampton box, the Gambian opened his body and fired past Joshua Quarshie to find the bottom left corner of Bazunu’s goal.
It soon could have been two, with Minteh again breaking away in the 32nd minute and unselfishly squaring for Kaoru Mitoma with just Bazunu to beat. The pass fell just behind the Japanese winger, however, as the Saints breathed a sigh of relief.
A Mixed Second Half
The next excitement came after half-time, with Southampton offering a steady retort to Brighton’s first-half control.
A brilliant floated pass from Jack Stephens almost found Downs in the 55th minute, only for Jason Steele to spring out and clear, while Archer had an effort charged down a minute later.
Brighton responded as Matt O’Riley was foiled in the goalmouth after Minteh’s square pass, and Jan Paul van Hecke had a powerful header saved by Bazunu from the resulting corner.
On the stroke of the 65th minute, Minteh then ensured it was his afternoon with a replica of his first goal.
Again, the Gambian took on Quarshie, and his left-footed strike went through the German defender’s legs before finding the bottom left corner.
Just when it looked like the game was won, however, Southampton came alive.
Driving into the box, 18-year-old substitute Robinson took on van Hecke and fired a shot which took a deflection off Lewis Dunk’s left leg to beat Steele.
An unlikely comeback was completed in the 73rd minute, with Southampton awarded a penalty when a corner was deemed to have struck a Brighton arm.
Armstrong converted into the bottom left corner, putting the pressure all on Brighton.
The home crowd were fired up, and Shea Charles could have completely turned the tables in the 75th minute when his header struck the right post with Steele beaten.
Yukinara Sugawara was proving hard to contain for the Seagulls, with the Japanese full-back popping up on both wings and testing the Albion defence with a few excellent crosses.
Hürzeler’s seven changes in the final 12 minutes did not stem the flow of chances, and Southampton were left wondering how they did not take one of several half-chances to steal a victory.
When he left the field immediately after his second goal, Minteh could have been forgiven for thinking he would walk away with all the headlines.
Instead, the manner of Brighton’s capitulation without his services was alarming.
It only underlined how impressive Minteh had been on the pristine St. Mary’s pitch, where his joyful gallops in the first half were a beautiful reminder of how good he, and Brighton, can be on their day.
He gave Manning and Quarshie a torrid afternoon on the left of the Saints' defence with his ability to drive down the line or cut inside.
On another day, the Gambian might have had a hat-trick and a couple of assists.
He is a dead cert to start the Premier League season on the Brighton right as a result, with his swap to the number 11 shirt for 2025-26 fully deserved.