Brighton star: We didn't deserve to lose to Southampton and should have had a penalty

The Saints got the only goal of the Premier League game early in the second half when they countered quickly and Nathan Redmond played in Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg who coolly slotted past Mathew Ryan.

Albion pressed for an equaliser and Martin Montoya hit the bar before Davy Propper went down in the penalty area but the Seagulls' penalty appeals were waved away.

Talking about the game afterwards, Stephens said: "As you can imagine there are sad faces and there is a lot of disappointment around.

"I don’t think we deserved to lose the game. We created some half chances. We have been beaten by one chance over the 90 minutes, but that’s the nature of the game at the minute.

"We have to swiftly move on because Chelsea’s coming up and then the semi-final."

On Propper's penalty appeal, Stephens said: "I was stood behind him at the time and he went to shoot and clipped the defender behind him.

"The referee said that Davy probably kicked him more than being fouled. I thought it was a legitimate penalty but we are not getting the decisions at the minute."

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