Cherries fell back into the relegation zone after a 2-0 defeat to Roberto De Zerbi’s Seagulls on Tuesday night. Brighton took the lead on 28 minutes, in-form striker Evan Ferguson improvising to turn home Kaoru Mitoma’s low cross. Julio Enciso then made sure of the victory in second-half stoppage-time, after both sides squandered earlier opportunities. Reflecting on the defeat,
Neto said: “Of course a little bit disappointed because we created many chances and had many opportunities. I think until the end they (Brighton) didn’t create a lot. Of course, they always had the ball because that is their style. But the three or four opportunities that we created, if we score, the game could be completely different. We have to look forward, we have to keep going, we can’t stop here. We know what we are fighting for. It was difficult, they are a good team.”
On Republic of Ireland international Ferguson’s opener,
Neto said: “They scored a really strange goal, their first goal. Then we start from 1-0 and create one or two and didn’t score. That feeling of the situation that we are living is not the best, but we have to keep going. We created many chances. If we create these chances in another game, 100 per cent we will have the possibility to win. We depend just on ourselves. The performance I think was very good. Our team ran and gave it 100 per cent, so we are frustrated about it. Brighton are a good team. Not all teams play like them, they keep the ball. It is not good to play against them. We spent a lot physically and we had to run too much. Saturday is a different game. It is a big final for us.”
Cherries head to another side in the relegation zone in Leicester City on Saturday (3pm).