Fulham held Brighton to a 0-0 draw on Wednesday night in a game of very few chances.
With both sides struggling towards the bottom end of the table, taking three points from this game would have been vital towards survival.
The first half saw both teams struggling to create any clear-cut chances as they tried to get a foothold on the game.
The first real opportunity of the contest fell to Brighton’s Danny Welbeck midway through the first half after Tariq Lamptey picked him out with a low cross. However, the former Arsenal man failed to get a connection on the ball from 10 yards out when it looked certain to be a goal.
Brighton boss Graham Potter made the bold decision to drop his No 1 goalkeeper Maty Ryan after a string of poor performances. He opted for academy graduate Robert Sanchez who made just his second start in the Premier League.
The 23-year-old repaid Potter’s faith by superbly tipping over an Ivan Cavaleiro long-range effort towards the end of the first half.
Fulham started the second half on the back foot and found themselves under pressure early on from Brighton’s waves of attack.
The pressure soon paid off for the Seagulls, who found the back of the net after Adam Lallana turned in a low shot from close range.
However, after a lengthy VAR check the goal was ruled out after Welbeck was adjudged to have handballed in the build-up.
On the hour mark Brighton came close to breaking the deadlock again. Leandro Trossard delivered a pin-point corner which was meant by Adam Webster, but he saw his powerful header strike the underside of the crossbar and bounce to safety.
Fulham’s best chance of the game fell to Ruben Loftus-Cheek. He had a brilliant opportunity to put the Cottagers 1-0 up, after he pounced on a long ball, but he saw his tame effort saved by the feet of Sanchez.
Scott Parker’s side had another effort on goal in the 83rd minute. Ademola Lookman was quickest to react to a loose ball eight yards out, however he saw his two stabs at goal saved well by Sanchez.
The game drew to a close and ended goalless, in what is sure to be one of the least memorable games for either set of supporters.
A point doesn’t massively help either side in terms of moving away from the bottom three, but both managers’ will at least be pleased to keep a clean sheet as they continue in to the busy Christmas schedule.
By Liam Davies
