Brighton & Hove Albion have ruined Leicester City's promotion party with a thumping 4-1 win at the King Power Stadium on Tuesday night to move right back into playoff contention.
The game was even and fairly tense inside the opening 10 minutes, before the first chance of the game fell to Kevin Phillips, but he was surprised that Paul Konchesky's cross went through to him and he was unable to keep it in.
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Kazenga LuaLua had a decent chance on 15 minutes to hit the target with a first-time shot, but he got underneath the ball and saw it sail into the stands when he might have done better.
However, two minutes later the South Coast side were ahead. Inigo Calderon whipped in a free kick where left-back Stephen Ward was able to head in at the far post for 1-0.
Then less than 10 minutes after the opener Brighton were two ahead as this time Ward turned provider, putting in a cross for loanee Jesse Lingard to head home.
Just before the break Brighton could have been three ahead as LuaLua's effort from the edge of the box forced Kasper Schmeichel into a diving save to put it behind for a corner.
Ten minutes into the second half and Brighton were nearly 3-0 up. Dale Stephens ghosted past a couple of Leicester tackles before clipping over Schmeichel, but alert defending from Marcin Wasilewski saw him clear the ball before it crossed the line.
It was game, set and match on 65 minutes with Brighton's third. The Foxes had just started to ramp up some pressure with a couple of chances before the Seagulls broke through Stephens, who found Leonardo Ulloa in space to round Schmeichel and clip into the net.
Brighton then edged ahead of Ipswich Town in the playoff hunt with another goal. Ulloa grabbed his second of the night at the far post, rising highest to head in a LuaLua free kick.
There was late consolation for Leicester with a Gary Taylor-Fletcher strike, but the hosts were well and truly outclassed throughout most of the 90 minutes.
Matt Domm
