Brighton showed the gulf in class by beating Oxford 4-2 to progress to the next round of the League Cup.
The score could have been more severe if Brighton strikers were not so unlucky in front of goals.
They started the match well and opened the scoring just after 68 seconds. The goal came from debutant Sam Adekugbe who scored with a powerful shot. Brighton had more chances to extend their lead, but they will fail to do so either because of poor decision making or because the opposing goalkeeper made a save.
Indeed, if it was not for the Oxford goalkeeper, Brighton could have already won the match in the first half. Unfortunately for them, they could not extend the lead, and they allowed Oxford to come back into the game. They will manage to equalize in the 29th minute through Wes Thomas and to get back into the game.
Brighton will gain take control of the game and get a host of occasions through Manu, but he will be denied at each time by the goalkeeper. Brighton will manage to take the lead thanks again to a goal from LuaLua.
A few minutes later it will be the turn of Manu to extend the lead after good work from Danny Holla. This will free Brighton and they will begin to play with more confidence and will add a fourth goal through Baldock.
Late in the game Oxford will score a consolation goal to make the score 4-2.
The Brighton coach was pleased with the scoreline and said that his players deserve to win the game. He admitted that the players missed a lot of chances and that this could be a problem in matches against the better sides. He said that they would be working on this issue in training.