Brighton Progresses Despite O’Riley Injury from Williams’ Tackle

Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler condemned Crawley captain Jay Williams for a “ridiculous foul” after Matt O’Riley suffered a left ankle injury during the Carabao Cup victory over Crawley. O’Riley, who had joined Brighton for £25 million from Celtic just a day earlier, limped off the field in the sixth minute following Williams’ heavy tackle. Williams received boos throughout the match and faced substitution after the unpunished challenge.

The injury forced O’Riley to leave the pitch with the help of two physios leading Hurzeler to criticize the tackle as dangerous and unacceptable. “You can’t tackle like this,” Hurzeler said, adding that the challenge risked serious injury. The game also saw Crawley’s Jack Roles receive a red card in the 91st minute for fouling Yasin Ayari and both Hurzeler and Crawley manager Scott Lindsey received bookings from the referee.

Lindsey apologized after the match, acknowledging that the tackle might have been overly aggressive and expressing regret over any harm caused. He wished Brighton well for the next round of the competition. Despite the controversy, Brighton advanced to the third round of the EFL Cup with a 4-0 win. Simon Adingra, Jeremy Sarmiento, Adam Webster and Mark O’Mahony scored the goals.

Adingra scored first, followed by Sarmiento, who netted shortly after halftime. Webster added the third goal from a corner and O’Mahony scored the fourth. The match also saw Ferdi Kadioglu, another new signing make his debut but O’Riley’s injury overshadowed his introduction. Hurzeler maintained his 100% record in charge of Brighton, though the night was marred by the injury and the contentious tackle.