Super Eagles defender Leon Balogun scored his first Premier League goal for English side Brighton and Hove Albion with his first touch of the match after coming in as a first half substitute in the team’s 3 -1 win over Crystal Palace on Tuesday at the American Express Community Stadium.
The Nigerian international replaced midfielder Pascal Gross in a swift decision by Coach Chris Hughton after central defender Shane Duffy was given his marching order following his headbutt on Palace’s Patrick Van Aanholt in the first half of the London derby.’
Balogun on his introduction scored his first goal with a perfect curl of the ball from a Solly March corner kick in the 31st minute of the match. Glenn Murray had put the home side in front in the 24th minute through a penalty kick before Balogun made it two. Substitute Florin Andone scored the third goal for the Blue Seagulls in the 45th minute before Palace captain Luka Milivojevic scored a consolation goal for Place after Wilfred Zaha was hacked down in the box.
Leon Balogun has now featured for Brighton four times this season and is most likely to start the next set of matches for Brighton after Shane Duffy was shown a straight red card for his offence.
According to Opta, Leon Balogun scored just 25 seconds after coming on as a substitute for Brighton – the second quickest goal by a sub in the Premier League this season after Daniel Sturridge vs West Ham (24 seconds).
Shane Duffy after the game apologized to the fans for his unruly behavior. “Can only apologize to everyone tonight for letting us down. Grateful for the team we have here for a huge win tonight the boys were unbelievable! I’m disappointed in myself for even getting myself into the situation. What a win!!”
The win sees Brighton move up to the 10th position on the Premier League table with 21 points after 15 games while Palace is 15th on the log with just 12 points after 15 games placed this season.
