NO WONDER Brighton never beat Fulham.
Alex Iwobi scored twice as Bart Verbruggen’s goal-gifting clanger and Matt O’Riley‘s unlucky own late goal sunk the Seagulls as bad-boy boss Fabian Hurzeler served a touchline ban.
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Carlos Baleba conjured up a sublime equaliser for Albion but it’s played nine, won none when it comes to Fulham in the Prem.
Brighton would have gone level on points with fourth-place Manchester City with a win but remain outside looking in.
Hurzeler was banished from the technical area for trying to get a Southampton player booked during a feisty 1-1 draw at the weekend.
Saints boss Russell Martin was not impressed and the duo squared up.
Lewis Dunk had been absent since October and Hurzeler rejigged his defence to a three to accommodate the fit-again skipper.
Within four minutes he was wishing he hadn’t although England man Dunk was not the guilty party.
Verbruggen was left as red-faced as his keeper kit with a daft short pass in the vague direction of Baleba.
Iwobi seized upon it greedily and with Verbruggen still away from his goal, had no difficulty in finding an unguarded net.
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Dunk tried to stop the inevitable with a stretch of those long legs but ended in a heap as Fulham fans celebrated – when they had stopped laughing.
The boys from the beach were shell-shocked and Iwobi was back again seconds later.
This time Dunk did manage to get in the way of his shot however.
Brighton knew they had to respond to escape their gaffer’s post-match wrath and Joao Pedro forced Bernd Leno into action with an angled drive.
Fulham almost doubled their lead straight after though, but Rodrigo Muniz’s header from a corner dropped just wide.
At last, Albion began to play some slick football on a surface heavily watered by persistent rain.
Simon Adingra ruined one decent chance with an obvious handball but returned to get the better of Antonee Robinson to curl just over.
Fulham found themselves penned in for a while and Sander Berge saw yellow for a late one on Pedro that almost took out referee Peter Bankes as well.
Again Leno was needed and again Leno was up to the task, this time denying Adingra when an equaliser seemed inevitable, and the half ended with Muniz heading another decent chance wide.
Fulham made a strong start to the second period too but Harry Wilson, in his first Prem start of the campaign, volleyed wide after bursting through.
Jan Paul van Hecke headed over from a corner as Brighton again remembered what to do – and Baleba levelled in the 55th minute in style.
Pedro’s samba flick of van Hecke’s long ball was sublime and Baleba’s left-footed effort skimmed across the turf on its way past the helpless Leno.
The sting in the tale wasn’t far off though as O’Riley put through his own goal when a corner flashed through a mob and bounced off his back
It was Iwobi’s night and the midfielder fired in his side’s third three minutes from time on the turn on the left of the box.
