Source: FOOTYMAD
Hughton Explains His 'Strange' Substitutions
Chris Hughton explains why he took off Hatem Ben Arfa and Cheik Tiote on Sunday. Chris Hughton: “I was looking to win the game. “With Jonas, he can be more direct in the way he runs at the ball, and for Tiote because he’s very much a defensive midfield player. “What I had left on the pitch were two strikers in Andy Carroll and Shola, and a midfield player in Kevin Nolan, that are all capable of scoring goals. “I wanted to leave goalscorers on the pitch. “Tiote’s a good player, and they’ll certainly like him here. “What you see is what you get from him. “I felt we needed to score a second goal. “We knew the threat they posed from set plays and about dealing with them. “It was a combination of a couple of things – not doing enough in that second period, and also conceding. “I couldn’t fault the commitment of the players. “Even going into that last few minutes, I thought we could get back on level terms, but we didn’t have enough to break down a very resilient back line. “For me, this was a missed opportunity. “We’re at home and leading 1-0, and played well enough in that first half without being on our best form. “We weren’t able to cap off a very good week.”
