Chipolopolo midfield ace Enock Mwepu was full of praise for the Seagulls fans for sticking with the team during their 1-1 draw against Southampton away at St Mary’s.
The Zambia midfielder, 23, made his return for Brighton and Hove Albion after a month out with a hamstring injury at St Mary’s when Neal Maupay’s goal in the eighth minute of stoppage time secured a 1-1 draw for Brighton.
Mwepu admitted that it was not the best of games for the Seagulls including himself who missed two good chances.
“The fans were the man of the match on Saturday. We know we can do better on the pitch but they stuck with us and gave us the strength to go forward. I felt strong in my heart when we celebrated in front of them at the end,” Mwepu told the club's official website.
“I haven’t had many minutes since my injury and collectively it wasn’t a good start by us to the game, myself included,” he added.
The Chambishi born and bred play maker says he is still learning and adpating to the intensity of the English Premier League.
“The first chance was bad timing by me, if I’d waited two seconds I could have just smashed it at the goal. For the other one, the shot wasn’t hard enough and the keeper saved. I should have gone for the near post,” he said.
“But I am still learning the Premier League and adapting, especially to the intensity of the league. I treat each game as a learning experience while hopefully helping the team get points.”
Mwepu was also quick to praise the mentality of his seen them rescue a point in their last two games at the death from a losing position.
Neal Maupay scored in the 89th minute against West Ham to rescue a point and again was on hand over the weekend to score the equaliser against the Saints in the eighth minute of additional time.
“At this time of the season with a lot of matches the most important thing is recovery as quickly as possible after the game. But all the players who haven’t played so much know there is an opportunity to step up over this period and we will be ready,” Mwepu said.
“That’s the thing about this squad, the mentality is so strong. You have seen that in the last two games, we kept pushing until the last whistle. It’s good to have drawn the games but we know we can improve against Tottenham on Sunday.”
Mwepu put in a full shift but was far from his brilliant best and could only managed a 48% pass rate and only won half of his duels both on the ground and in the air.
The Seagulls will be back in action on Sunday when they host Tottenham Hotspurs at the American Express Community Stadium in East Sussex.
