Minteh earns Seagulls all three points at Sunderland | OneFootball

Yankuba Minteh's unorthodox goal proved to be decisive as Brighton & Hove Albion defeated Sunderland on the road.

There was a bright start to the game at the Stadium of Light with Brighton having two chances early. Melker Ellborg needed to be alert to deny Jack Hinshelwood before Pascal Gross fizzed an effort just wide.

Minutes later at the other end of the pitch, Lewis Dunk made a goalline clearance to deny Chemsdine Talbi from what would likely have been the opening goal.

From that point on the pace of the game dipped and only an attempted Chris Rigg overhead kick towards the end of the half was worth noting.

There was much more going on in the second half though with Rigg thinking he had put his side in the lead three minutes after the restart. A long freekick had been headed down by Omar Alderete which somehow found its way to Rigg at the far post to finish.

However, the goal was ruled out with the Paraguayan offside as he headed down – a let off for the Brighton defence who somehow were unable to stop a trickling header finding Rigg.

Instead it was the visitors who took the lead in the 58th minute following a corner with the ball finding Yankuba Minteh on the right. The Brighton man drove into the area and sliced a shot that deceived Ellborg at the near post – not the prettiest goal of the season, but they all count.

After having scored, Minteh was lucky not to get sent off shortly afterwards. First he was given a yellow card after an off-the-ball scuffle with Luke O'Nien. Then just seconds later he committed a foul that, more often than not resulted in a yellow card.

Minteh was lucky to get away with it and Fabian Hürzeler immediately replaced him with Maxim De Cuyper to avoid any further incident.

Sunderland pushed for an equaliser but couldn't find a way through the Brighton defence and suffered a third home defeat in a row in the Premier League. Meanwhile the Seagulls move ahead of the Black Cats and up to 10th.

Incidents: The story of the match

1':

The match begins

12':

Opportunity wasted. Pascal Groß from Brighton and Hove Albion attempted a right-footed shot from outside the penalty area following a corner, but it went off target.

38':

Opportunity wasted. Chris Rigg from Sunderland took a left-footed shot from the center of the box, but it went wide to the left.

50':

Missed opportunity. Danny Welbeck of Brighton and Hove Albion attempted a header from a challenging angle on the right but failed to convert. The assist came from Pascal Groß, who delivered a cross.

53':

Missed opportunity! Brian Brobbey from Sunderland took a right-footed shot from outside the penalty area.

Brighton and Hove Albion takes the lead against Sunderland, making it 1-0. Yankuba Minteh scores with a right-footed shot from a challenging angle on the right, finding the bottom left corner after a corner kick.Brighton and Hove Albion takes the lead against Sunderland, making it 1-0. Yankuba Minteh scores with a right-footed shot from a challenging angle on the right, finding the left corner of the net following a corner kick.

58':

GOAL Brighton & Hove Albion: Yankuba Minteh (Brighton & Hove Albion) scores!

Yankuba Minteh scores goal number 2 in the competition (26 matches)

63':

Missed opportunity. Habib Diarra from Sunderland attempted a right-footed shot from outside the penalty area.

66':

Missed opportunity. Trai Hume from Sunderland attempted a right-footed shot from outside the penalty area, but it went just wide to the left. The assist came from Chris Rigg.

68':

Missed opportunity! Diego Gómez from Brighton and Hove Albion attempted a right-footed shot from the center of the box, but it sailed high and wide to the right. The chance was set up by Mats Wieffer after a quick counter-attack.

998':

The referee whistles for the end of the match