Ten-man Sheffield United were denied a first win of the season when Brighton & Hove Albion’s Danny Welbeck struck late to cancel out Premier League debutant Jayden Bogle’s goal in a 1-1 draw at the Amex Arena on Sunday.
The visitors were reduced to 10 men when John Lundstram was sent off for upending Joel Veltman in a reckless challenge in the first half, with the referee changing his decision from a yellow card to a red following a VAR review.
Brighton, yet to win at home this season, stayed 16th in the standings, two points above the relegation zone, while United remained rooted to the bottom with two points from 14 games. Despite Brighton’s domination, United took the lead when Bogle made an impact after coming on as a second-half substitute.
The 20-year-old fired David McGoldrick’s cut-back towards goal and a deflection off Adam Webster took the ball past goalkeeper Robert Sanchez in the 63rd minute.
Brighton substitute Welbeck equalised three minutes from time from a set-piece when the ball fell to him in the six-yard box and the unmarked striker controlled it with his chest before firing a volley into the back of the net.
“(The equaliser) couldn’t have been more important... the way the game went today, we needed to get the three points,” Welbeck told Sky Sports. “Obviously, going behind it’s good to get the goal back, but with the circumstances and them having 10 men we really wanted the three points today.”
{{/usCountry}}“(The equaliser) couldn’t have been more important... the way the game went today, we needed to get the three points,” Welbeck told Sky Sports. “Obviously, going behind it’s good to get the goal back, but with the circumstances and them having 10 men we really wanted the three points today.”
{{/usCountry}}The home side had numerous chances to score but were denied by the Blades’ dogged defending while McGoldrick nearly struck at the other end with a free kick, only to be denied by a smart save from Sanchez. Brighton almost came up with the winner in stoppage time when Welbeck’s header was cleared off the line before Alireza Jahanbakhsh headed the ball against the crossbar.