Brentford resiliently held Brighton to a scrappy 0-0 draw at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brighton largely dominated the game which saw very few quality chances aside from Danny Welbeck’s 90th minute header put wide, followed by a wide injury-time shot from the forward.
“We’re never happy when we don’t win,” commented Brentford manager, Thomas Frank who described the result as “a good point”
Brentford remain 15th in the table but moved six points clear of the relegation zone following Luton’s loss at Arsenal, whilst Brighton stayed ninth and missed out on a chance to move up to seventh on goal difference.
With just eight clean sheets between Brentford and Brighton in the top-flight this season prior to kick-off, there was a prospect of a humdinger but instead Brighton dominated the opening ten minutes as Joao Pedro flicked Pascal Gross’ cross behind in the ninth minute.
Roberto De Zerbi’s Seagulls almost took the lead three minutes later but Joel Veltman headed Gross’ cross into Mark Flekken’s hands.
Brentford soon began to feel their way into the match more but got lucky in the 23rd minute as Pedro nodded Simon Adingra’s cross over the bar.
Brighton soon found themselves on the defensive as Brentford eventually created their first proper chance in the 32nd minute, yet Ivan Toney could only fire his shot into Bart Verbruggen’s arms.
The remainder of the first half steadily became end-to-end with Brighton largely on top, as Facundo Buonanotte curled wide from his 36th minute interception of Nathan Collins’ clearance but Brentford resiliently limited their visitors into half-time.
If anyone hoped for more excitement in the second half then there was disappointment as Brighton continued to dominate, albeit with much cutting-edge in their end product as Joel Veltman curled out from Lewis Dunk’s cross just two minutes into the restart.
Brentford continued to soak up Brighton’s attacking pressure as Adingra curled wide for the visitors in the 63rd minute via deflection, which summed up Brighton’s frustrations in their end product.
Substitutes, Tariq Lamptey and Julio Enciso combined in the 75th minute as Lamptey’s cross was flicked by Enciso towards Carlos Baleba, but the Cameroon-born midfielder put his half-volley wide in another frustrating chance for Brighton.
Another Brighton chance came and went in the 86th minute as Danny Welbeck found his shot blocked by Kristoffer Ajer.
Brentford ultimately clung on for a point as both teams notched up their fifth clean sheets of the league campaign.
What’s Next?
Brentford head to top-four chasing Aston Villa on Saturday 6 April at Villa Park in a 3pm BST kick-off.
Brighton continue their push for an European spot with a home clash against title-chasing Arsenal on the same date, albeit with kick-off scheduled for 5:30pm.
Teams
Brentford: Mark Flekken, Mathias Jorgensen, Kristoffer Ajer, Nathan Collins, Mads Rorslev, Mathias Jensen (Onyeka 86′), Vitaly Janelt, Yehor Yarmoliuk (Damsgaard 64′), Keane Lewis-Potter (Reguilon 73′), Ivan Toney, Yoane Wissa (Mbeumo 73′)
Substitutes: Neal Maupay, Sergio Reguilon, Saman Ghoddos, Frank Onyeka, Bryan Mbeumo, Thomas Strakosha, Mikkel Damsgaard, Shandon Baptiste, Kim Ji-Soo
Brighton: Bart Verbruggen, Joel Veltman (Moder 86′), Jan Paul van Hecke, Lewis Dunk, Igor, Pascal Gross, Carlos Baleba, Facundo Buonanotte (Lamptey 74′), Adam Lallana (Enciso 64′), Simon Adingra (Welbeck 74′), Joao Pedro
Substitutes: Tariq Lamptey, Julio Enciso, Jakub Moder, Danny Welbeck, Jason Steele, Pervis Estupinan, Odeluga Offiah, Cameron Peupion, Mark O’Mahony
Referee: Andy Madley
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