João Pedro escapes red as Brighton's winless streak against Brentford continues | first division

When Brighton produced a stirring comeback to defeat Manchester City Here at the beginning of November and in the top four, Fabian Hürzeler could have been forgiven for thinking that being a Premier League manager is a fairly simple matter. However, after another disappointing performance from his team that left them six games without a win and allowed Brentford to pick up just their second away point of the season, the 31-year-old is forced to face reality.

Despite creating a host of chances, Brighton could not find a way past Thomas Frank's side, who lost their goalkeeper Mark Flekken to injury in the first half and surrendered a first division debuted with Hákon Valdimarsson. For all their positivity and possession under Hürzeler, in the absence of top scorer Danny Welbeck, who has been sidelined during their winless run with an ankle injury, Brighton lack an attacking vanguard that has been exposed again.

They have now failed to win at home since beating City and were fortunate that striker João Pedro escaped punishment after the video assistant referee observed his attempted elbow on Yehor Yarmoliuk which did not make contact with the Brentford substitute. But although Frank complained that the Brazilian should have seen red, it was the traveling fans who finally had something to celebrate.

Brighton this week announced plans to alienate their supporters in a bid to improve their fortunes here, with Russ Wood, the club's commercial boss, admitting their prominent position behind goal is “not ideal”. But with that not happening until 2027 as part of a £40m development of their home, Hürzeler acknowledged they must learn to win these types of games after being booed by some sections of their fans.

“They have the right to their opinion,” he said. “Sometimes football is not fair. “I think we deserved more.”

Brentford remain just two points behind despite their dismal road run They only got a draw against Everton from eight previous departures. They may have failed to give owner Matthew Benham bragging rights over his Brighton counterpart Tony Bloom after their long-running feud which now dates back more than 20 years to when they worked together, although Frank was delighted to have came out with a share of the spoils despite not sanctioning João Pedro at the end of the second half. “I think it's a red card; you can't move your arm like that even if you don't make contact,” the Brentford manager said.

Refereeing body PGMOL later issued a statement backing Andy Madley's decision not to show a red card, as the VAR found his decision was “not clear and obviously incorrect”.

Defending the goal where his fans sang tributes to Benham during the first half, Flekken looked set for a busy night when he slotted straight past Carlos Baleba inside the first five minutes, but Julio Enciso's shot came off the post after João set it up. expertly. peter The Brentford goalkeeper then saved a shot from Baleba and then a close-range header from Enciso after an assist from Kaoru Mitoma. The ball was in the net 30 seconds later when Yoane Wissa headed in a cross for Mads Roerslev in a rare foray forward for Brentford, only for VAR to rule it out for offside.

Brighton's attack continued when Brajan Gruda was next to test Flekken with a free-kick before Matt O'Riley's shot deflected off a post. The Dutchman needed groin treatment after clumsily clearing a Mitoma cross and was unable to continue. That meant a baptism of fire for his replacement Valdimarsson, whose only previous appearances for Brentford were in the Carabao Cup.

However, in the face of relentless pressure, the Icelandic goalkeeper held firm until half-time, as (to Hürzeler's frustration) many of Brighton's attacks failed. Some clever footwork from the lanky Valdimarsson even helped create Brentford's best chance of the half when he picked out Roerslev, but was wasted by Bryan Mbeumo.

Increasingly foggy conditions in the second half made things difficult for both teams and the visitors were much more resistant to their opponents. Brighton continued to press but João Pedro should have done much better with a shot that dribbled harmlessly into the arms of Valdimarsson. However, the longer they waited for a breakthrough, the more anxious the home fans became and Brentford's confidence grew when Christian Nørgaard's acrobatic volley deflected wide.

There was a warm reception for Solly March from the bench as the winger made his first appearance since October 2023 after two ACL injuries, but his wayward effort in stoppage time summed up Brighton's fortunes in front of goal.