Brighton 1-2 Southampton: Premier League – as it happened

3.39pm EST 15:39

39 min: Djenepo clips Gross on the heel. It’s a free kick and nothing more … but he’s on a booking, and needs to take care. Another clumsy challenge and he could be in big bother.

3.38pm EST 15:38

37 min: Saints ping it around, but not with any great urgency. They look as though they need to hear the half-time whistle and have a rethink. They look as though they need Danny Ings.

3.35pm EST 15:35

35 min: Saints have achieved next to nothing going forward. Bertrand bucks that trend by forcing a corner down the left, but the set piece is a total non-event.

3.34pm EST 15:34

33 min: Dunk has a full and frank exchange of views with the referee, after receiving a ticking-off for kicking a dead ball into the Saints goal. For a second, it looks like he’s talked himself into the book, but common sense prevails.

3.32pm EST 15:32

32 min: Bissouma curls in from the left. Welbeck chests down for Gross, who attempts a volley from the penalty spot. He snatches at it and sends the ball miles over the bar.

3.31pm EST 15:31

31 min: Saints make a meal of clearing the corner, but the flag eventually goes up for offside. And relax.

3.30pm EST 15:30

30 min: Ward-Prowse’s delivery is no good. Brighton break quickly. Lamptey zips down the right and looks for Welbeck in the centre. Ward-Prowse blocks – legally this time, with his chest – but at the expense of a corner.

3.29pm EST 15:29

29 min: Free kick for Saints out on the left. Can they bounce back immediately? Can the dead-ball wizard Ward-Prowse conjure something up? For some reason, he leaves it to Bertrand, whose delivery is no good. But soon enough there’s another set-piece opportunity on the other flank, and he’ll take this one.

3.28pm EST 15:28

27 min: Ward-Prowse wasn’t happy with the award of the penalty, and he continues to chunter on at the referee. He’s not got much of a case. His arm was in a wholly unnatural position as he tussled with Welbeck, and the current rule is what it is.

3.27pm EST 15:27

GOAL! Brighton 1-0 Southampton (Gross 26 pen)

Gross whips the ball into the top-right corner, McCarthy diving the other way. The hosts lead, and 2,000 fans give it plenty!

Brighton’s Pascal Gross scores from the spot. Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA

Updated at 3.33pm EST

3.25pm EST 15:25

Penalty for Brighton!

25 min: March hooks in from the left. Welbeck goes up to contest. Behind him is Ward-Prowse, who has his arm stuck high in the air. The ball bounces off Welbeck’s chest and onto the Saints skipper’s hand. A no-brainer for the ref, who points to the spot.

3.23pm EST 15:23

23 min: There’s been a pleasant snappy pace to the game from the get-go, though passes aren’t quite sticking at the minute.

3.21pm EST 15:21

21 min: Djenepo makes good down the left and nearly slithers his way between Veltman and Dunk, but the Brighton door shuts just in the nick of time.

3.20pm EST 15:20

20 min: One corner leads to another. The second leads to nothing.

3.20pm EST 15:20

19 min: Bissouma is a marvellously assured player. From the middle of a hubbub, he calmly strides forward into space and picks out Welbeck down the left with a glorious slide-rule pass. Welbeck crosses for Connolly. Bertrand is forced to head behind for a corner.

3.18pm EST 15:18

17 min: Adams has taken a sore whack. Nothing too serious by the looks of it – just a grimace – but Ings is sent out to warm up, just in case.

3.15pm EST 15:15

15 min: Ward-Prowse blocks White illegally and it’s another free kick for Brighton in Saints territory. This one’s sent wide left for March, who whistles low into a crowded box. It’s easily hacked clear by Romeu.

3.13pm EST 15:13

13 min: Lamptey is beginning to influence this game. A third determined run in almost as many minutes, and this time he’s clumsily brought to ground by Djenepo. The Saints winger goes in the book.

3.12pm EST 15:12

11 min: Lamptey is brought down on his next sortie. Free kick. Gross swings it in from the right. Dunk barrels in from a deep position to burst through the Saints back line and meet the cross, ten yards out. He’s unchallenged, but sends a poor header high and wide.

3.10pm EST 15:10

9 min: The first sighting today of Lamptey, who is surely going to be a superstar. He tears off down the right at lightning speed, and for a second it looks like he’s going to break into a world of space, but he slightly overruns the ball and is forced to check back. Not this time, but notice has been served.

3.08pm EST 15:08

7 min: Saints respond, Walcott slicing a snapshot over the bar, Djenepo dribbling into the box from the left only to run the ball out of play. A lovely free-flowing feel to this one.

3.07pm EST 15:07

6 min: Bissouma pearls a lovely ball down the middle to release Gross down the inside-right channel. He’s got Connolly in the middle, thinks about taking a shot himself, then has his cross cut out by Vestergaard. Big chance, though there was a suspicion of offside and the flag may well have gone up.

3.05pm EST 15:05

4 min: March is sent scampering down the left wing by Welbeck. March returns the ball when he reaches the edge of the area. Welbeck opens his body and tries to guide a first-time sidefoot into the bottom right. He doesn’t quite get the angle right, and it’s an easy smother for McCarthy.

3.03pm EST 15:03

2 min: Bissouma plays a cute pass down the middle that nearly finds Gross. Walker-Peters swings one in from the right for Adams; not quite. Djenepo skedaddles down the inside-left channel and drags a shot-cum-cross harmlessly wide right. A nice open start to the game.

Brighton’s Aaron Connolly kneels in support of Black Lives Matter. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

Updated at 3.11pm EST

3.01pm EST 15:01

Saints get the ball rolling … but only after the players take a knee of love and solidarity. There’s no room for racism. The gesture is met with the warmest applause on a chilly night by the sea.

2.58pm EST 14:58

The teams are out! Brighton play in their retro 80s all-blue shirts, while Saints wear third-choice white with red sash. The visitors are given the pantomime bird by the 2,000-strong Brighton bunch – “Boo! Who are ya?!” – and yet it’ll be sweet music to the ears of everyone involved. The fans are back! They’re making some racket, one hell of an atmosphere, a beautiful noise. We’ll be off in a minute!

2.51pm EST 14:51

A word with Graham Potter. “It’s great news for football that fans are back … hopefully they can help us … it’ll be nice for us to get their support and get a good performance and a good result.”

Then a chat with Ralph Hasenhuttl: “Everyone is happy that fans are back in the stadium … this time we play away but next week we are at home and also have them in our ground so we are looking forward to it … hopefully we can go back there with a success from today.”

In other hot breaking news, we can report that Potter and Hasenhuttl are both happy that Lamptey and Ings are back. Pulitzer, please!

2.09pm EST 14:09

One change to the Brighton team that battled for a deserved draw against Liverpool. Tariq Lamptey is back from suspension; Neal Maupay drops to the bench.

Southampton are unchanged from their eventful defeat to Manchester United. Star striker Danny Ings returns from injury, but only as an insurance policy on the bench.

However, here’s the biggest and most welcome team news: 2,000 lucky Brighton fans return to the Amex for the first time since the March lockdown.

2.02pm EST 14:02

The teams

Brighton & Hove Albion: Ryan, Veltman, Dunk, Webster, Lamptey, White, Bissouma, March, Gross, Connolly, Welbeck.Subs: Maupay, Trossard, Jahanbakhsh, Alzate, Steele, Bernardo, Burn.

Southampton: McCarthy, Walker-Peters, Bednarek, Vestergaard, Bertrand, Armstrong, Ward-Prowse, Romeu, Djenepo, Walcott, Adams.Subs: Stephens, Long, Ings, Redmond, Salisu, Diallo, Forster.

Referee: David Coote (Nottinghamshire)

A checkpoint for supporters attending tonight’s game in Brighton. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

Updated at 2.47pm EST

11.40am EST 11:40

Preamble

It’s not the south-coast derby … but it’s a south-coast derby, and that’s good enough for us. Brighton & Hove Albion welcome Southampton, hoping for their first victory over their near-neighbours in the Premier League era, and three points that would ease them further away from the relegation zone.

Graham Potter’s side are better than their current total of ten points from ten matches suggest. After a sluggish but not always fortunate start to the season – think that game against Manchester United – they’re beginning to get it together. They’ve only lost one of their last six, and that narrowly to leaders Tottenham; their last two matches have seen them go toe-to-toe with champions Liverpool and win impressively at Aston Villa. They look a cut above the other early-season strugglers.

Southampton are also a team on an upward trajectory. Admittedly they’re currently eighth in the table having briefly been top, but you’ve tracked the general trend, you get the gist. Ralph Hasenhuttl’s entertaining team has been involved in some humdingers this season – a 4-3 win at Aston Villa, a 3-3 draw at Chelsea, 5-2 and 3-2 losses at home to Spurs and Manchester United respectively – as well as efficient dispatches of Everton and Newcastle, and a fine point at Wolves. They’re usually worth watching, one way or another.

All of which raises hope of a fine derby this evening at the Amex. Kick off is at 8pm GMT. It’s on!

Updated at 2.50pm EST