When Brighton produced a stirring comeback to defeat Manchester City here back 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. Yet 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 is being forced to confront reality.
Despite creating a plethora of chances, Brighton couldn’t 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. 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 a cutting edge in attack that was exposed again.
They have now failed to win at home since beating City and were fortunate that the striker João Pedro escaped punishment after the video assistant referee looked at his attempted elbow on Yehor Yarmoliuk that didn’t make contact with the Brentford substitute. But even though Frank complained that the Brazilian should have seen red, it was the travelling supporters who finally had something to celebrate.
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 happen until 2027 as part of a £40m development of their home, Hürzeler acknowledged that they must learn how to win this kind of game after being booed off by some sections of their supporters.
“They are entitled to their opinion,” he said. “Sometimes football is not fair. I think we deserved more.”
Brentford remain only two points behind despite their dismal run on the road that had only yielded a draw against Everton from eight previous outings. They may not have managed to give the owner, Matthew Benham, bragging rights over his Brighton counterpart Tony Bloom after their long-running feud that now dates back more than 20 years to when they worked together, although Frank was delighted to have come away with a share of the spoils despite the failure to sanction João Pedro late in the second half. “I think it’s a red card – you can’t swing your arm like that even if you don’t make contact,” said the Brentford manager.
The refereeing body PGMOL later released a statement backing Andy Madley’s decision not to show a red card, with VAR having found that his call “was not clearly and obviously wrong”.
Defending the goal where his fans sang tributes to Benham throughout the first half, Flekken looked set for a busy night when he passed straight to Carlos Baleba inside the first five minutes but Julio Enciso’s shot came off a post after he was expertly set up by João Pedro. The Brentford goalkeeper then saved 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 free-kick before Matt O’Riley’s shot was tipped around a post. The Dutchman needed treatment on his groin after awkwardly clearing a cross from Mitoma 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.
Yet in the face of relentless pressure, the Iceland goalkeeper stood firm until the break as – much to Hürzeler’s frustration – too many of Brighton’s attacks broke down. Some nifty footwork from the gangly Valdimarsson even helped to create Brentford’s best chance of the half when he picked out Roerslev but Bryan Mbeumo was wasteful.
Increasingly misty conditions in the second half made things tricky for both sides and the visitors were much more of a match for their opponents. 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 as an acrobatic volley from Christian Nørgaard was deflected wide.
There was a warm reception for Solly March off the bench as the winger made his first appearance since October 2023 after two anterior cruciate ligament injuries but his wayward effort in injury time summed up Brighton’s fortunes in front of goal.
