Graham Potter might just be up for the cup

In Graham Potter’s first 12 cup ties in charge of Brighton and Hove Albion, he made an average of nine changes from the starting line-up that had begun the Premier League game directly before it.

He still made seven changes for his 13th cup game at West Bromwich Albion in the Third Round of the FA Cup on Saturday, but the side he fielded was a great deal more like a Premier League teamsheet than the line-ups selected for games against the Baggies’ Championship rivals Cardiff City and Swansea City in the early rounds of the Carabao Cup back in the autumn.

With captain Lewis Dunk still injured, Yves Bissouma now at the Africa Cup of Nations with Mali, and Adam Webster, Adam Lallana and Tariq Lamptey all understandably given the afternoon off after fitness issues in the not-too-distant past, it was perhaps brave of Potter to end the extra-time win at the Hawthorns with an almost full-strength side on the field given how unforgiving the festive fixture list has been for the Seagulls.

Three intense Premier League games in the space of seven days saw Brighton end their 11-game run without a win against Brentford on Boxing Day, earn a much-deserved point at the home of European Champions Chelsea, and then collect a first-ever win at Goodison Park thanks to two particularly impressive goals from Alexis Mac Allister.

It therefore would have been no great surprise to see Potter ring the changes, as he so often does in the cups, against a West Brom outfit that is struggling for consistency in the second tier.

Only two players who began the game for Brighton are not a regular part of matchday squads in the league though. Third-choice goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen made his competitive debut in goal and 19-year-old Odel Offiah made a first-ever appearance at right wing-back with Lamptey absent.

Neither of them did their chances of establishing themselves as Seagulls’ regulars in the long-term any harm, but it was only when Potter introduced even more of his first-teamers from the substitutes bench that his side secured progress to the next round of the oldest competition in club football.

Callum Robinson gave the home team a 48th-minute lead after Neal Maupay and Danny Welbeck had both passed up presentable chances to open the scoring in a disjointed first half performance from Brighton.

This prompted a further strengthening of the side on the field for the Seagulls. Leandro Trossard and Marc Cucurella were brought on in place of Welbeck and Offiah, but it was not until West Brom defender Cedric Kipre was shown two yellow cards in a matter of minutes, and Potter had introduced another impressive performer in recent weeks in the shape of Jakub Moder, that Brighton drew themselves level.

Moder came on as part of a double substitution with exciting young Irish forward Evan Ferguson with just under 15 minutes to go, and within five minutes, the 17-year-old set up the Polish international to score with a somewhat-fortunate flick that caught out the Baggies’ backline.

With the hosts down to 10 men and Brighton having close to the strongest side they could field on the pitch, the winning goal always seemed likely to come from a Seagulls player, but it took until the eighth minute of extra-time for the decisive moment to arrive as three of Potter’s regulars combined for the winner.

Moder escaped down the right-wing and crossed, Trossard dummied the ball into the 18-yard box and top goalscorer Maupay swept home from 12 yards out.

It was the Frenchman’s first non-Premier League competitive goal for the Seagulls, further highlighting his head coach’s change of approach.

It is perhaps something of a surprise that Potter has taken such an approach in the cups across his previous two-and-a-half seasons at the Amex, particularly given it was a run to the Quarter-Finals of the FA Cup that culminated in an epic yet heart-breaking 3-2 defeat to Manchester City in his single season as head coach at Swansea that brought his talents to the attention of a wider footballing audience.

He also won the Svenska Cupen in 2017 with Östersund, a success that launched a first-ever European campaign for the perennially third-tier club from the north of Sweden that saw them take on Galatasaray, Athletic Bilbao and Arsenal.

It is of course the financial reality of being a bottom-half Premier League club that has likely influenced Potter’s team selections in the cup competitions in previous campaigns. Risking important players in competitions that are ultimately dominated by the likes of City, Chelsea and Arsenal might have proven costly in relegation tussles, with the Seagulls finishing 15th and 16th respectively in the two seasons since Potter replaced Chris Hughton.

However, with the club reaching its highest ever points total at the halfway stage of a Premier League season and proudly perched in ninth place, the innovative 46-year-old clearly felt emboldened to select a side capable of starting a cup run.

“We will try our best in the FA Cup, it was important for us to go through today, we wanted to win. We picked a team with that in mind, to win.

“As you can see from results in the competition, it’s not straightforward but we had a good mentality.

“It was hard work, we thought it would be and knew it would be because of West Brom’s quality and style of play. They’re very competitive so we had to compete with that, which we did.”

– Brighton and Hove Albion Head Coach Graham Potter

The Seagulls are still some way from experiencing the sort of European nights that illuminated Potter’s final year in Sweden, and they could have had a kinder draw than a trip to Antonio Conte’s Tottenham in the Fourth Round, but Brighton could hardly be in a better place heading into Friday’s game against Crystal Palace.

Potter is yet to celebrate a victory in the not-so-local rivalry, and Dunk and Bissouma will both still be missing. However, given his side are now on a four-game run without defeat that has put their Autumnal slump to rest, they have set themselves up nicely for the visit of Palace and beyond.

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