27 December 2024
Brighton 0 Brentford 0
Brighton are having a strangely inconsistent season where draws are really hurting them. They were fifth in the table only a month ago but dropping points has cost them dearly. They welcomed Brentford to the Amex Stadium, whose away form has been woeful this season. However, their home form has been among the best and is mainly what they have to thank for their position in the table.
On paper you would have this down as a home win but The Seagulls have looked blunt in attack all too often. The Bees tried to gift them the lead as a stray pass trying to play out from the back went straight to the opposition. It was worked to Enciso in the box who looked to bend one in the far corner, only to see his effort come crashing back off the post.
Brighton continued to pile the pressure on the visitors with Mitoma causing the usual problems down the left wing. He held the ball up before clipping a pass in towards Enciso. The Paraguayan ran onto it to head towards goal but directed it straight at Flekken. On another day, he would have an early brace to his name.
The visitors came forward for the first time and Damsgaard played a superb pass in behind the defence for Wissa. He smashed his shot past Verbruggen to give The Bees the lead, largely against the run of play. However, the hosts were to be saved by a tight VAR decision which ruled the striker to be offside. Close call for Hurzeler’s side.
After having his introduction as a Seagulls’ player ruined by a knee injury, O’Riley is starting to show some of the form that prompted Brighton to sign him from Celtic. He went on a mazy run into the box and got a shot away towards the far corner only to see Flekken beat it out. The hosts were knocking on the door but struggling to find that goal to break the deadlock.
Usually The Seagulls have goal threat all over the pitch but it seems the majority of these players have all had a dip of form in front of goal at the same time. One thing you can guarantee with Brighton is that they will create chances but that is not hurting the opposition without that killer instinct we are used to seeing.
The two sides went in at the break level, a scoreline which flattered the visitors far more than Brighton. They should have had at least two maybe three goals from the chances they had created. The Bees tend to perform better in the second-half of matches but would need a motivating pep talk from Thomas Frank in the interval.
The visitors started well after the break and won a free kick in the final third. It was clipped into the box and half-cleared by the hosts. It dropped to Norgaard on the edge of the box but his volley took a slight deflection and dropped narrowly wide of the post with the keeper beaten. It was an important challenge to protect Verbruggen’s goal.
As a Brighton corner was headed away, Brentford broke with pace, carving the hosts’ defence open. Damsgaard spotted the run of Mbuemo and threaded it through to him. He held it up well before playing it into the path of Wissa. The striker seemed to snatch at the chance and fired a tame effort straight at Verbruggen, much to the relief of the home fans.
This was still anybody’s game at Amex Stadium. As The Seagulls came forward, something seemed to trigger striker Joao Pedro. He threw a wild elbow at his opponent, luckily missing him completely. VAR reviewed it and their current approach is to do nothing as nobody was killed. You have to physically maim a player now for it to be deemed a foul.
It is crazy really that we now live in a modern reality that you have to cause injury to be punished. The amount of challenges we have seen this season that could seriously hurt the player involved but the VAR studio feedback that the incident requires no action as there was not sufficient force. If the intent is there, you should pay the price.
As Brighton probed looking for a winner, Flekken managed to get a fist to a corner to clear his area. It dropped to March outside the box who had plenty of time to weigh up his options. He went for the glory as he fired a shot off but just could not keep it down as it flew over the Brentford goal. It proved to be the last chance either side could fashion in this tight affair.
The Seagulls will be frustrated that they have dropped more points at home, despite creating plenty of goalscoring chances. Given their away form this season, Brentford will see this as a step in the right direction picking up a point on the road with a clean sheet to boot. They remain in eleventh place in the table, two points behind the side above them, which happens to be Brighton.
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