Ruben Loftus-Cheek was denied by an excellent Lewis Dunk goal-line clearance in the final seconds as Brighton and Fulham shared the spoils on the south coast.
Brighton’s long winless run at home in the Premier League continues as they have now failed to win any of their last 14 matches at the AMEX Stadium – dating back to their 2-1 win over Arsenal during the football restart last season.
Both Neal Maupay and Leandro Trosaard had glorious chances to give the Seagulls the lead which would have been deserved had either scored, given Brighton enjoyed the best moments of the game, but Fulham battled resolutely to keep themselves in with a chance.
At the other end of the pitch, Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic saw his glancing header collected calmly by Robert Sanchez in goal, before Dunk’s goalmouth heroics prevented on-loan Loftus-Cheek winning all three points for his side.
Brighton fans will have looked to this game as a great opportunity to end their hoodoo at home, but once again they seemed to stumble when presented with an opportunity to score. This season they have scored just 22 times. Only the bottom three (Sheffield United, West Brom and Fulham), the two teams directly above them (Burnley and Newcastle) and Wolverhampton Wanderers have struggled more in front of goal this term.
They’ll need to find a way of creating a few more chances soon if they want to make absolutely sure of Premier League status next season.
On the other hand, Fulham grew into the game but if anything looked even more challenged than Brighton when faced with a chance to attack.
Mitrovic was introduced after 80 minutes and his impact was clear to see. He gave the Whites a focal point going forward and brought others into play on several occasions. Recently he has found himself out of the starting line-up but Wednesday night’s cameo, although bland on paper, should help him force his way back into the side with a crucial game away to West Brom next up for Fulham on Saturday.
Brighton travel to London on Sunday where they face a Tottenham side who’ll go into the fixture having played Liverpool on Thursday night. How that game will turn out is anyone’s guess as Liverpool have struggled for form recently but are capable of performing to the highest standard in any given game.
All in all, a point was probably a fair result and both sides will be looking to kick on in the coming weeks as the hunt for survival gathers pace.
By Dylan Chavasse
