Late Pedro penalty earns Brighton 2-1 win over Fulham

BRIGHTON, England : A Joao Pedro penalty in added time earned Brighton & Hove Albion a 2-1 home Premier League win over Fulham on Saturday, moving the hosts up to sixth place in the standings and boosting their bid to qualify for European football.

After a cautious opening half-hour, Fulham's Alex Iwobi brought the game to life when he embarked on a lung-busting run down the right flank and sent in a pinpoint cross that Raul Jimenez chested down and fired past Bart Verbruggen in the 35th minute.

Five minutes later the south-coast club equalised through Jan Paul van Hecke, who was left completely unmarked at the far post and headed home a Yasin Ayari free kick for his first Brighton goal.

Just as it looked like the spoils would be shared following a scrappy second half, Pedro was bowled over by a clumsy tackle from Harrison Reed in the fifth minute of stoppage time and the Brazil international stepped up to calmly slot home the winner.