Brighton roar back for thrilling win as Spurs throw away two-goal lead

Danny Welbeck scored the winner as Brighton came from two down to stun Tottenham and secure a rollercoaster 3-2 victory at the Amex.

Ange Postecoglou’s visitors were the better side in the first period with the in-form Brennan Johnson tucking home the opener on 23 minutes to make it six goals in his last six matches.

James Maddison doubled Spurs’ tally heading into the interval with a low shot from the edge of the area that somehow squirmed through the hands of Seagulls shot-stopper Bart Verbruggen.

Brighton reduced the arrears three minutes into the second half when Yankuba Minteh seized upon an error to drill home his first goal for the club.

It was the catalyst for a surreal turnaround as Georginio Rutter levelled just shy of the hour with a show of strength and clinical finishing, before setting up Welbeck to nod the hosts in front on 66 minutes.

The result sees Brighton end a run of four Premier League matches without a victory and moves them up to sixth spot.

Tottenham’s five-match winning sequence across all competitions comes to a grinding halt with a third league loss in seven games leaving them in ninth place.

It wasn’t quite deja vu from the 4-2 defeat at Brighton last season, but Tottenham once again depart the Amex shaken by a turbulent, topsy-turvy affair that leaves them empty-handed.

Back in December, they were 4-0 down and managed to claw some respectability back with a late rally, but here they will feel they threw it away.

Indeed, a sixth straight win looked firmly on the cards at the interval as they oozed with confidence and swaggered into a 2-0 lead.

Quite how they ended up pointless will leave Postecoglou and his coaching staff scratching their heads – although Spurs fans have seen this sort of dramatic collapse all too often in the past.

The momentum of a five-match winning sequence following the derby defeat at home to Arsenal evaporated in 21 crazy second-half minutes and the chance to head into the international break with heads and tails firmly up is now lost, with plenty of time to dwell and conduct the post-mortem.

The winger produced an exhilarating display down the left, particularly in a barnstorming second half where Spurs struggled to handle him. The 27-year-old had a hand in the first goal, set up the equaliser and was only denied a goal of his own by some desperate defending and fine goalkeeping.

BRIGHTON: Verbruggen 6, Kadioglu 6, Veltman 7, Webster n/a, Dunk 6, Hinshelwood 6, Baleba 7, Mitoma 9, Minteh 8, Rutter 8, Welbeck 7. Subs: Igor Julio 7, Estupinan 7, Enciso 6, Wieffer 6, Gruda n/a.

TOTTENHAM: Vicario 8, Porro 7, Udogie 6, Romero 6, Van de Ven 6, Kulusevski 7, Bentancur 6, Maddison 6, Johnson 6, Werner 6, Solanke 6. Subs: Bissouma n/a, Sarr n/a, Moore n/a.

23’ – GOAL! – Brighton 0-1 Tottenham: (Johnson). It’s six in six for Johnson as he sweeps onto Solanke’s fantastic through pass to fire a clinical finish into the corner.

32’ – BRIGHTON CHANCE! Mitoma bends a sublime outside of the foot cross into the danger zone for Welbeck, but the striker contrives to slide a sitter wide of target.

37’ – GOAL! – Brighton 0-2 Tottenham: (Maddison). Werner bursts down the left again. This time he does find a pass into the path of Maddison who somehow fires a 18-yard shot through the hands of Verbruggen.

48’ – GOAL! – Brighton 1-2 Tottenham: (Minteh). The Seagulls are back in business! Udogie makes a hash of clearing Mitoma’s dangerous cross and Minteh is there to rifle a low shot in at the near post.

58’ – GOAL! – Brighton 2-2 Tottenham: (Rutter). It’s all square! Rutter takes Mitoma’s pass in his stride, turns two Spurs defenders and angles a low shot back across Vicario and into the corner.

66’ – GOAL! – Brighton 3-2 Tottenham: (Welbeck). The striker is well-placed to nod home from five yards out after wonderful, resilient play on the right by Rutter.