Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler was pleased his side were able to end their run of eight Premier League matches without a win by beating Ipswich 2-0 at Portman Road.

Kaoru Mitoma and Georginio Rutter scored as the Seagulls secured victory in a dominant second-half display to move ninth, within four points of sixth-place Manchester City.

Hurzeler admitted his side have had a difficult few weeks but is glad they are back on track.

He told TNT Sport: "It was a long time [without a win] and we suffered a little bit. That’s why I’m really happy for the players and the staff because they do a lot of work.

"Today I think we deserved to win. We are happy and now it’s time to recover for two days and then it’s the next tough challenge.

"This period has been a lesson. It was a preparation for my next bad period but also an important thing was to stay predictable, stay calm and trust the process.

"The performances were not that bad, we could have easily won one of these eight games and we were honest with each other. We reflected every game about what we have to do better regarding game management.

"It’s a young group but there are a lot of improvements."

The Seagulls restricted Ipswich to just one shot in the second half, despite leading with over 30 minutes to play.

Kieran McKenna's hosts had forced visiting goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen into three stops in the opening period but couldn't get going after the break – and their boss conceded the defeat was a setback.

He told TNT Sport: "I thought it was an even game until their first goal, if anything we were slightly more threatening.

"The first goal was key and we weren't able to produce the result we wanted to. The last 20 minutes felt different.

"I think we lost a bit of belief, to be honest. We didn't find the conviction in ourselves that the game was still there. It wasn't our night.

"It's a setback, there's no doubt about it. We've got a big game [against Manchester City on Sunday] coming up. We don't have long and it's a great game to look forward to."