Carlos Baleba’s stunning effort clinched three points for Brighton in an enthralling five-goal game at Amex Stadium.
The midfielder curled the ball into the top corner in added time to decisively swing the pendulum in the direction of Fabian Hurzeler’s team and give the Seagulls a first Premier League win in six matches.
Yasin Ayari had given the home side the advantage in the first half with a brilliant strike before a second-half comeback from the Hammers looked to have turned the game on its head.
Mohammed Kudus restored parity soon after half-time with a close-range finish before Tomas Soucek powered home a header.
The home side levelled again through Kaoru Mitoma and then, with almost the final kick of the game, Baleba fired powerfully past West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola from outside the box to snatch all three points for the Seagulls.
The opening stages of the match showed exactly why Brighton and West Ham went into the game as two of the out-of-form sides in the Premier League.
Ayari injected some much-needed quality in the 13th minute though, curling the ball into the top corner from the edge of the box.
The goal energised the hosts, who thought they had moved two ahead until Simon Adingra’s strike was ruled out for offside.
Soucek almost levelled for the Hammers but Bart Verbruggen turned the ball onto the crossbar. He was beaten soon after half-time however, when Jarrod Bowen squared for Kudus to finish with ease.
Brighton looked more likely to grab a late winner as the half wore on but Soucek headed in Bowen’s cross at the back post with seven minutes to go, putting Potter’s team on the verge of an impressive comeback victory.
Brighton were far from done though and netted twice in three minutes – first with Mitoma’s header and then with Baleba’s unstoppable shot – to snatch an unlikely victory and end their run of bad form.
The Seagulls move up to ninth in the table and West Ham remain in 17th, one place above Ipswich but with their Premier League status assured for next season because the Tractor Boys lost at Newcastle United and have been relegated.
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