Brighton & Hove Albion 0-0 Fulham: Seagulls' long winless run at home continues
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Brighton were aiming for back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time since November 2019
Brighton's long winless run at home continued as they were held by fellow Premier League strugglers Fulham.
Graham Potter's side have now failed to win any of their last 14 top-flight matches on the south coast.
Lewis Dunk, Leandro Trossard, Adam Webster and Solly March all had excellent opportunities to score for the hosts who had the better of a hard-fought contest.
Brighton remain 17th in the table, with Fulham five points behind them in 18th.
While Fulham appeared to be holding on for long periods, they will also feel they could have claimed an important three points after failing to convert two glorious late chances.
Aleksandar Mitrovic saw his glancing header saved by Seagulls goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, while Dunk's brilliant goal-line clearance prevented Ruben Loftus-Cheek from scoring in stoppage time.
Brighton fail to fire
Before their victory against Leeds, Potter's side had endured a run of nine league games without a victory.
And this fixture represented an opportunity to put a major dent in Fulham's hopes of Premier League survival, while enhancing their own by establishing a seven-point gap to the bottom three.
However, once again their lack of prowess in front of goal proved the stumbling block.
Brighton 0-0 Fulham: We dominated the game - Potter
Only six clubs have scored fewer goals than the Seagulls this term, with the bottom three as well as Newcastle and Burnley - the sides directly above them - among five of them.
Neal Maupay has managed a reasonable return of seven goals from 18 appearances but none of Brighton's best opportunities fell at his feet.
Instead, the French forward twice created opportunities for Trossard, who fired straight at Fulham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola from eight yards and saw a second attempt blocked.
And while Dunk and Webster also went close from corners the home side rarely gave the impression that they could break the deadlock.
Fulham with work to do
While Fulham have improved as the season has developed - notably starting a five-game unbeaten run with a draw against Liverpool on 13 December - they now remain without a win since 30 November.
Brighton 0-0 Fulham: Parker 'satisfied' with Brighton goalless draw
Alarmingly for manager Scott Parker, his side also initially exhibited many of their early-season shortcomings in defence that, against more ruthless opponents, would have been punished.
Lax play from Tosin Adarabioyo and two poor passes from Ola Aina provided Brighton with three presentable opportunities to open the scoring after the visitors had started brightly.
However, Trossard and Pascal Gross were unable to capitalise and the visitors regrouped and improved after the break.
Another area of concern for Parker, like Brighton, is their lack of goals. And though the late introduction of Mitrovic could have swung all the points in their direction, two of their three efforts on target came in the final three minutes.
Until that late salvo, their only other effort of note came via an Ivan Cavaleiro shot just before the hour mark which was saved by Sanchez.
'It was an onslaught at times' - what they said
Brighton manager Graham Potter to BBC Sport: "Over the course of the 90 minutes we were the better team. We had the better chances and more chances.
"But in any Premier League game you feel the other team will get a chance. It's a big chance at the end. We defended well. I'm really happy with the players for what they put into the game against a team fighting for points too.
"There are still 50-odd points to play for. A lot of football to play. We have to focus on ourselves. Sometimes it's not your day in terms of a bit of luck in front of goal."
Fulham boss Scott Parker to BBC Sport: "We missed elements of our game. In the first half we had control about us - played our way. We lacked in duels and battles, we were second best.
"We addressed that at half-time. We showed that in the second half, we had more resilience, but lost the other side. We couldn't get a foothold. We had to defend an awful amount. It was an onslaught at times.
"Am I fully happy with the overall performance? No, I'm not. I'm satisfied as can be with the point."
Draw specialists Brighton - match stats
Since winning five consecutive league games against Fulham between 2014 - 2017 (all in the Championship), Brighton have since failed to win any of their four matches against the Cottagers (D3 L1 - all in the Premier League).
Since the start of their first season in the Premier League in 2017-18, Brighton have played out 14 goalless draws, more than any other side in the competition.
Fulham have drawn both Premier League games 0-0 against Brighton this season, the first time the Cottagers have played out two goalless draws against an opponent in a single league campaign since 2001-02, against Leicester.
Brighton have won just one of their last 19 Premier League games at the Amex stadium (D10 L8) and remain winless on home soil since a 2-1 victory against Arsenal in June 2020 (P14 D7 L7).
Fulham remain winless in their last nine Premier League games (D6 L3), since a 2-1 victory against Leicester in November.
Only West Brom, Sheffield United and Burnley (10 each) have failed to score in more Premier League games this season than Fulham (nine).
There were 26 shots in this game (16 for Brighton and 10 for Fulham). Only Aston Villa v Burnley in December (33) and Leeds vs Arsenal in November (34) have seen more shots in a Premier League game this season without a goal being scored.
What's next?
Brighton are next in action when they host Tottenham in the Premier League on Sunday, 31 January (19:15 GMT).
Fulham travel to the Hawthorns to face fellow top-flight strugglers West Brom in their next game on Saturday, 30 January (15:00 GMT).
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