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Carlos Baleba’s thunderous 30-yard strike set Brighton on course for a nervy 3-2 win over Premier League rivals Wolves in the Carabao Cup third round.
Cameroon midfielder Baleba rifled home his maiden Seagulls goal in the 19th minute before Simon Adingra doubled the lead at the Amex Stadium with another eye-catching effort.
Wolves vastly improved after Goncalo Guedes’ 44th-minute strike changed the momentum but were made to pay for their profligacy as Ferdi Kadioglu’s late finish gave Albion breathing space.
Tommy Doyle reignited hope of forcing a penalty shootout by firing home via the underside of the crossbar in added time before the hosts held on to maintain their unbeaten start under head coach Fabian Hurzeler.
Brighton made eight changes following Saturday’s frustrating goalless draw with Ipswich, while only Joao Gomes retained his starting spot for Wanderers after Sunday’s 2-1 loss to Newcastle.
Baleba, one of the three Seagulls players to keep their place, stylishly opened the scoring in the 14th minute.
The 20-year-old dispossessed Gomes deep in opposition territory before bending into the bottom-left corner from range and celebrating the milestone strike with a cartwheel and a backflip.
Albion had the ball in the net again nine minutes later but Yankuba Minteh was offside when he turned home after Evan Ferguson’s initial effort struck Jose Sa and squirmed towards goal.
Wolves forward Guedes forced Brighton goalkeeper Jason Steele to turn his powerful strike behind on the half-hour mark before the visitors fell further behind a minute later.
After being afforded time and space on the left wing, Adingra cut inside to rifle into the bottom right corner from the edge of the D.
Hurzeler’s hosts looked set to coast into the next round but Wolves injected fresh life into the contest a minute before the break.
Rodrigo Gomes released Matt Doherty on the left and his cutback was side-footed into the right corner by Guedes via a deflection off Adam Webster.
Having been in control for most of the opening period, Brighton were on the back foot following the restart.
Only the legs of Steele prevented Gomes equalising just seconds into the second period before Pablo Sarabia went close to turning home Guedes’ low cross in the 59th minute.
Albion continued to live dangerously and endured more anxious moments.
Jack Hinshelwood prevented team-mate Webster scoring an own goal by hacking off the line before Guedes wastefully fired wide of the left post.
Brighton remained shaky at the back but ultimately booked their place in round four five minutes from time.
Wolves keeper Sa could only parry Danny Welbeck’s initial effort and fellow substitute Kadioglu was on hand to covert his first Seagulls goal.
The simple finish looked to have killed the contest but there was still time for Doyle to increase the tension by smashing home after Brighton carelessly gave away possession inside their own 18-yard box.
