Brighton are unbeaten after their opening four top-flight games for just the second time
Unbeaten Brighton were left frustrated after being held to a goalless Premier League draw by Ipswich at the Amex Stadium.
The home side dominated possession but clear cut chances were at a premium and it was the visitors who came closest to finding a winner on the south coast.
Liam Delap broke forward early in the second half and, with no team-mates up in support, just kept running and burst into the box, but his fierce shot across goal came back off the post.
It would have been a goal completely against the run of play with Fabian Hurzeler's side enjoying much the better of the play in the first half and the start of the second.
The closest they came to a goal, though, was 10 minutes before the break when Georginio Rutter ran onto Yankuba Minteh's cute pass and worked space in the box but saw his shot parried by Ipswich goalkeeper Arijanet Muric.
It fell to Kaoru Mitoma six yards out and the winger looked certain to score but Muric sprung up to repel the rebound as well.
The Seagulls continued to press for the decisive goal, with Evan Ferguson curling narrowly wide late on, but it would not come.
Brighton stay unbeaten with two wins and two draws from their first four games, while Ipswich are still searching for their first win back in the Premier League.
Brighton unable to turn possession into chances
It was a patient start from Brighton, who were content to move the ball around and wait for the moment to up the tempo.
The energetic Carlos Baleba had the first effort of note, showing good footwork on the edge of the box before hitting a low shot that Muric was equal to.
That was as good as it got in the opening exchanges but Hurzeler's men picked up the pace as the half went on and began to ramp up the pressure with Minteh at the forefront.
A number of promising moves broke down at the crucial moment and when they did create the clear openings, Rutter and Mitoma were denied by Muric.
It was a similar story in the second half, albeit they made a quicker start.
Danny Welbeck curled a free-kick just wide and Rutter fired wide but Ipswich stood firm and the Delap chance at the other end halted Brighton's momentum.
There were a number of shots blocked in the closing stages but the disappointment for Brighton will be that they failed to muster much more than half chances, even as the visitors clung on.
Brighton 0-0 Ipswich: Fabian Hurzeler reaction
Ipswich grit rewarded
Given some of the flowing football Ipswich played under Kieran McKenna in the Championship, it is reasonable to think this is not the type of football he would ideally like his team to play.
The Suffolk side did not have a single shot in the first half but they defended strongly and did what they had to do against a Brighton side who have shown themselves to be among the best ball-playing sides in the division in the past couple of years.
It wasn't always pretty but Ipswich limited Brighton to just two big chances - both coming in the same passage of play - and little else.
The other saves Muric had to make, he would expect to make.
Having nullified their hosts before the break, the Delap chance gave Ipswich encouragement and following a triple substitution soon after, the visitors enjoyed their best spell of the match.
While they, too, struggled to create another chance worthy of the name, they did at least give Brighton something to think about defensively and allowed their own defence some welcome respite.
Omari Hutchinson's lone break led to their only shot on target before they were pushed back as the clock ticked down.
The wait for a first Premier League win since 2002 goes on but this could prove to be a hugely valuable point come the end of the campaign.
Draw at Brighton a 'good step' for Ipswich
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