Matt O'Riley celebrates scoring from the penalty spot _(Image: Simon Dack)_
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Matt O’Riley will get a confidence boost from his penalty, according to his boss.
But Fabian Hurzeler was delighted with the former Celtic man aside from the goal.
O’Riley has been prominent in pre-season playing between midfield and the front man and he duly put away their first goal of the season.
Head coach Hurzeler said: “For sure, it's important for the player that he has the chance to score goals, and he scores goals.
“I think every player gets a boost for their self-confidence when you make an assist, when you make a good game, when you make a goal, so I'm sure it will help him.
“But also, without the goal, he seems to be in a good place, he seems very integrated, he understands the football game, he's very clever in his positioning, in possession.
“He's doing a lot of work out of possession, so we're not only happy to have him because of the goal.”
O’Riley has been intermittently linked with interest from Serie A clubs this summer but appears to have a big part in Hurzeler’s plans.
The Seagulls boss said: “I think you only should focus on the things that happen on the pitch and the performance, and he showed a good performance. I think these things say more than anything else.
“That's my main focus, how the players behave on the pitch.
“He behaves good, he's an important player for us. He worked good defensively today, so that's my main thing, and all the other things I don't comment on.”
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