Richie Towell caught the eye on his Brighton debut but wasn’t able to influence the result

The pressure was on.

Richie Towell, the most promising player to come out of the SSE Airtricity League in years, was given his first chance to impress for new club Brighton who he signed for last November on a two-and-a-half year deal. The midfielder, who scored 25 goals for Dundalk as they retained the league title last season, was tasked with helping Brighton progress to the fourth round of the FA Cup but wasn't rewarded with a dream debut as Chris Hughton's side fell to a first half Robert Snodgrass penalty away at Hull. But Towell was a shining light on an otherwise dull Saturday afternoon. https://twitter.com/OfficialBHAFC/status/685823668644147200 The well-wishers were out in full voice to offer congratulations to the 24-year-old on his first start in England. https://twitter.com/AidanMcGuinness/status/685832964152922112 https://twitter.com/sportsdes/status/685836945323352064 https://twitter.com/JFsports1/status/685840046927253505 And the attacking midfielder started brightly, by all accounts.  https://twitter.com/stephenjmcd/status/685844157999505408 https://twitter.com/FM_Ireland/status/685840491972280324 https://twitter.com/HullCityLive/status/685846141762682880 Many youngsters would have wilted on the big stage but the Irishman gave as good as he got, even to his teammates. https://twitter.com/FM_Ireland/status/685843748467662849 https://twitter.com/GerCun7/status/685851501013659648 The former Dundalk man brought his creativity into the second half, despite the Seagulls being behind at the break.  https://twitter.com/triIInigga/status/685855444364050434 https://twitter.com/FM_Ireland/status/685855794001219584 https://twitter.com/SamOHanrahanSCP/status/685864208496472065 He started trending.

Breaking news Richie Towell is now trending TOP topic in Ireland. Details https://t.co/BtiUibrROJ pic.twitter.com/C7hTqPuva1

— TrendsinIreland (@TrendsinIreland) January 9, 2016

https://twitter.com/TrendsDublin/status/685868418730426368 And also started scrapping. https://twitter.com/HullCityLive/status/685859662651080704 https://twitter.com/FM_Ireland/status/685859820658946053 And while he played the full 90, he wasn't able to get on the scoresheet and saw his new club knocked out of the FA Cup but the signs of promise were clear for all to see. https://twitter.com/GerCun7/status/685867561859289088