Brighton and Brentford played out a goalless draw at the Amex Stadium on Friday night. The hosts started the game brightly and on the front foot, with Julio Enciso striking the post with a fine strike after just five minutes. Brentford burst forward on a rare attack with 15 minutes on the clock and had the ball in the back of the net through Yoane Wissa but the goal was chalked off for offside following a brief VAR check.
Brighton continued to push forward in search of a goal in the first half, registering 15 shots in the opening 45 minutes, forcing Mark Flekken into making six saves before he was substituted off with an injury. The visitors started the second half in a much better fashion to the first, getting on the ball more and putting pressure on the Brighton defence but without really testing Bart Verbruggen. Both sides pushed forward in a match that became increasingly open and frantic but without creating many clear-cut opportunities.
Both teams had plenty of counter-attacks but were often guilty of overplaying or making the wrong decision at the final moment. Solly March returned to Premier League action after 433 days on the sideline after suffering a knee injury in October 2023, entering the fray for the final minutes to rapturous applause from the Brighton faithful. The game ended goalless, with just one place in the Premier League table and two points separating Brighton in 10th on 26 points and Brentford in 11th on 24.
It wasn’t for the lack of effort from Fab.