Omobamidele's own goal gives Brighton the relief they need to win against Forest | first division

It's rare these days to see Brighton reducing the remaining injury time by hogging possession near the corner flag. Narrow victories, achieved thanks to the help of an opponent's head, can hardly be considered “branded.” But winning badly (as they did thanks to Andrew Omobamidele's own goal) is much better than not winning at all.

And so, in a week in which Roberto De Zerbi's team saw its current continental campaign almost concluded, defeating Nottingham Forest brought a very welcome home comfort.

Since the last time locals trudged from Falmer station, Brighton's hopes of finding something tangible and shiny for its bold, modern approach have been dashed. trips to both Molineux and then rome They have shown too much. Reclassification for Europe, now the goal of the season, will be favored by afternoons like this.

Sometimes some wonder whether De Zerbi's approach should incorporate a little more pragmatism. Certainly, under predecessor Graham Potter, they were much harder to bring down. Whether by choice or necessity, there were at least signs of greater resilience. Carlos Baleba was rightly awarded man of the match for a midfield performance that offered plenty of ballast.

Forest might feel a little aggrieved about leaving with nothing. They will almost certainly argue, with some merit, that Jakub Moder should have been sent off for a second-half tackle on Neco Williams. But for all his bluster, they didn't create enough to really unnerve Bart Verbruggen in the Brighton goal.

By the time they head to Luton next weekend, Forest can at least have some clarity on whether they will be docked points for PSR breaches. Maybe that will give them the boost they need. Then again, maybe that's not the case.

Few could reasonably argue that Brighton were not worth the lead Omobamidele gave them at half-time. Forest, to be fair, seemed happy enough to sit deep and give up possession.

The hosts certainly had a lot, but found few defensive loopholes. Set pieces seemed the most likely source and, from one by Pascal Gross, Moder almost scored his first first division start in about 736 days ideally. Unfortunately, Matz Sels was equal to his header.

From another dead ball from Gross came Brighton's goal. As the net rippled, two groups formed. The first was one of blue and white delight, Gross receiving many pats on the back for Omobamidele's swinging delivery past Sels.

“We scored a goal,” the local fans shouted, at least jokingly.

The second group was red with rage, the entire Forest staff except Harry Toffolo and Murillo surrounding Michael Salisbury.

Forest's roots still burn with the injustice of Paul Tierney dropping a ball on the wrong foot in the defeat against Liverpool. However, his anger here (the claim that Moder had stopped Sels from jumping) was misdirected.

Going behind made Forest switch from preventative to proactive. They almost tied immediately, Divock Origi forcing Verbruggen to stop with his legs. The striker had been fed by Morgan Gibbs-White, and the same pair combined shortly after the break. The end of Origi? Rebel.

Brighton felt frustrated, perhaps even a little anxious. De Zerbi bubbled, jumped and jumped around his technical area. Forest's confidence visibly grew and, after Moder launched an attack on Williams, they were sure a numerical advantage was coming.

Now, Salisbury, up to that point, had impeccably judged the line between foul and caution. He had even earned a rare round of applause when, early on, he showed Omobamidele a yellow card for a foul committed on Ansu Fati a few minutes earlier.

But Moder will, or at least should, consider himself a little lucky that Var official Craig Pawson agreed with Salisbury's initial decision to book him.

That seemed to deflate Forest. Gibbs-White made a pass behind the Brighton defensive line, but Verbruggen repelled Chris Wood. And that was the last real chance of note, much to De Zerbi's relief.