Brighton were held to a goalless draw by Wolves in a competitve Premier League clash at the AMEX Stadium.
A scrappy contest saw both teams dig deep defensively to deny one another amidst various dominant spells from Brighton, as Joao Pedro went closest for the Seagulls in the 52nd minute but Nelson Semedo made a crucial block.
Wolves meanwhile repeatedly threatened on the counter-attack with Pedro Neto and Matheus Cunha in particularly lively, with Cunha seeing two shots denied at the start of the second half whilst Craig Dawson volleyed over from a 56th minute corner.
Brighton moved up to seventh in the table on goal difference from Manchester United, whilst Wolves stayed 11th by virtue of their inferior goal difference to Newcastle United.
Speaking post-match to TNT Sports, Brighton manager – Roberto De Zerbi revealed that he was “disappointed” with the goalless draw despite having “big respect” for Wolves’ performance, especially because he felt that his team “deserved to win.”
The Italian however praised his players for their ability to adapt amidst injuries and international call-ups, as he explained: “We have to adapt depending on the players.
“Without Mitoma or Enciso or Fati or Adingra or March we can’t play with wingers and we have to change the tactical position on the pitch. We have to find a different solution.”
Having achieved their first domestic clean sheet of the season in their last league outing as they drew 0-0 at West Ham, Brighton were almost brought down to earth just 13 seconds in as Wolves broke forward from kick-off but Pablo Sarabia’s shot was saved by Jason Steeele.
Brighton however soon managed to get on top of Gary O’Neil’s Old Gold with impressive passages of passing play, whilst Wolves suffered a comedical howler from an eighth minute corner as Sarabia bizarely curled his delivery behind the goal.
Wolves soon rode their luck defensively at their own end as Matt Doherty blocked Danny Welbeck’s shot, from which Tommy Doyle cleared Pedro’s low header off the line in a well-timed clearance to keep the score level.
O’Neil’s men soon found themselves seeking to beat Brighton on the counter-attack and almost snatched the opening goal in the 22nd minute, as James Milner’s cutback pass was intercepted and worked to Pedro Neto who curled his shot wide of the bottom-left corner.
Brighton eventually finished a scrappy first half on top but failed to find a breakthrough goal in the 42nd minute, as Pascal Gross teed up Pedro but the Brazilian saw his shot towards the bottom-right corner saved by Sa.
The opening 45 minutes eventually finished goalless amidst annoyance from Wolves players at referee, Craig Pawson over his handling of a late booking for Cunha following a foul on Billy Gilmour despite seemingly miminal contact.
That tension quickly motivated Wolves within seconds of the second half as Neto delivered a pullback pass from the right which Cunha met, only for his first shot to be blocked by Steele before he smashed his rebound shot over the bar.
Brighton quickly recovered their dominance and carved Wolves open six minutes later with a free-flowing move, which saw Pedro pounce upon a flick-through pass by Welbeck and burst into the box but Nelson Semedo blocked the shot and Sa made a comfortable save.
Wolves soon broke back up the other end in the 56th minute but Neto could only force a block from Steele as he tried to fire in from close-range, whilst Dawson smashed over on the volley from the subsequent corner.
Both teams soon struggled to create many clear-cut chances until Semedo unleashed Neto up the right in the 77th minute, but the Portuguese dragged his shot wide across goal.
Neto was quickly involved in another counter-attack two minutes later as he played Cunha forward but the Brazilian was forced wide as he rounded the outcoming Steele and put his tightly-angled shot behind.
Steele then blocked a close-range strike from Mario Lemina after the Gabon international had picked up Cunha’s pass in the 81st minute as Wolves continued to threaten apace on the counter-attack.
Neither team ultimately managed to find a crucial breakthrough goal as Brighton returned to seventh in the table, whilst Wolves stayed in 11th position.
What’s Next?
Brighton will head to Sheffield United for their FA Cup Fourth Round tie on Saturday 27 January at 3pm GMT.
Wolves will also be in FA Cup action at the weekend, away to West Brom at The Hawthorns in the Black Country derby on Sunday 28 January at 11:45am.
Teams
Brighton: Jason Steele, Jack Hinshelwood, Lewis Dunk, Jan Paul van Hecke, Pervis Estupinan (Webster 72′), Pascal Gross, Billy Gilmour, James Milner (Lallana 72′), Facundo Buonanotte (Lamptey 65′), Danny Welbeck (Ferguson 65′), Joao Pedro
Substitutes: Bart Verbruggen, Tariq Lamptey, Adam Webster, Adam Lallana, Jakub Moder, Carlos Baleba, Evan Ferguson, Cameron Peupion, Benicio Baker-Boaitey
Wolves: Jose Sa, Max Kilman, Craig Dawson, Toti Gomes, Nelson Semedo, Tommy Doyle, Mario Lemina, Matt Doherty, Pablo Sarabia (Bellegarde 70′), Pedro Neto (Chirewa 88′), Matheus Cunha
Substitutes: Daniel Bentley, Santiago Bueno, Yerson Mosquera, Hugo Bueno, Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, Joe Hodge, Harvey Griffiths, Tawanda Chirewa, Nathan Fraser
Referee – Craig Pawson