3 weeks ago
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When Brighton produced a stirring comeback to defeat Manchester City here at the start of November and move into the top four, Fabian Hürzeler could have been forgiven for thinking that being a Premier League manager is a pretty straightforward business. But after another disappointing performance from his side that made it six matches without a victory and allowed Brentford to pick up only their second away point of the season, the 31-year-old may have a different opinion now.
Despite creating a plethora of chances, Brighton could not find a way past Thomas Frank’s battling side, who lost their goalkeeper Mark Flekken to injury in the first half and handed a Premier League debut to Hákon Valdimarsson. In the absence of their top scorer, Danny Welbeck, who has been sidelined with an ankle injury, and for all their positivity and possession under Hürzeler, Brighton lack a cutting edge in attack that was exposed again by Brentford. They have not won at home since beating City and it was the travelling supporters who finally had something to celebrate at the final whistle.
Brighton announced plans this week to move away supporters in an attempt to boost their fortunes here, with Russ Wood – the club’s head of commercial – admitting that their prominent position behind the goal is “not ideal”. But with that not due to take place until 2027 as part of a £40m development of their home, Hürzeler has acknowledged that performances need to improve quickly in the short term after their slide down the table.
Ever the optimist, Frank said beforehand that this game offered another opportunity to end Brentford’s dismal run on the road. But while their owner, Matthew Benham, would have loved to get one over his Brighton counterpart, Tony Boom, given their feud that dates back more than 20 years to when they worked together, there seemed like only being one winner in the first half as the hosts tore out of the blocks.
Defending the goal where Brentford’s fans sang tributes to Benham, Flekken was almost embarrassed when he passed straight to Carlos Baleba but Julio Enciso’s shot came off a post after he was expertly set up by João Pedro. But the Brentford goalkeeper came to his side’s rescue with saves from Baleba and then a point-blank header from Enciso after he was set up Kaoru Mitoma. The ball was in the net 30 seconds later when Yoane Wissa finished off a cross for Mads Roerslev in a rare foray forward for Brentford, only for VAR to rule it out for offside.
Brighton’s onslaught continued as Brajan Gruda was next to test Flekken with a powerful free-kick before Matt O’Riley’s shot was tipped around a post by the Dutchman. He needed treatment on his groin after awkwardly clearing a cross from Mitoma and he was unable to continue.
That meant a baptism of fire for his replacement, Valdimarsson, whose only previous appearances for Brentford have been in the Carabao Cup. But despite the relentless pressure, the Iceland goalkeeper and his defence somehow stood firm until the break as – much to Hürzeler’s frustration –too many of Brighton’s attacks broke down without any end product.
Some nifty footwork from Valdimarsson even helped to create Brentford’s best chance of the half when he picked out Roerslev but Bryan Mbeumo was wasteful with the finish.
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Increasingly misty conditions in the second half made things tricky for both sides and Frank could not believe his luck when the referee, Andy Madley, got in the way of another promising Brentford attack. The visitors were much more of a match for Brighton after the break and it needed a block from Jan Paul van Hecke to deny Wissa inside the area.
Brighton continued to press forward but João Pedro should have done much better with a shot that dribbled harmlessly into Valdimarsson’s arms. Yet the longer they waited for a breakthrough the more anxious the home crowd became and Brentford grew in confidence and an acrobatic volley from Christian Nørgaard was deflected wide for a corner.
Hürzeler threw on Simon Adingra, Yankuba Minteh and Yasin Ayari in an attempt to wrestle back the initiative but it was Brentford who almost found a way through after a mistake from Baleba allowed Mbeumo to set up Wissa on the break. João Pedro was fortunate to escape punishment after VAR looked at his attempted elbow on the Brentford substitute Yehor Yarmoliuk that didn’t make contact before Ayari blazed over from close range. There was a warm reception for Solly March as the forward made his first appearance since October 2023 after injury but his wayward effort in injury time summed up Brighton’s fortunes in front of goal.
