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West Ham held Brighton to a goalless draw at London Stadium in an uneventful contest.
In a match which lacked much quality, Brighton dominated much of the game as Pascal Gross saw late headers in both halves denied, whilst Adam Lallana produced their best chance in the 89th minute but his shot was saved by Alphonse Areola.
West Ham meanwhile saw their two best chances fall to Tomas Soucek who saw his first shot hit the left post, whilst he then fired wide in the second half as the Hammers scrapped to a goalless draw.
West Ham remain sixth whilst Brighton moved up to seventh on goal difference with the gap between both teams still three points.
Separated by just three points coming into this match, West Ham and Brighton initially struggled for quality in an uneventful opening 22 minutes, until Brighton’s Buonanotte saw a shot deflected into Areola’s arms a minute later.
That chance sparked West Ham into life as Emerson Palmieri fired wide and Soucek’s shot hit the left post in quick succession, whilst James Ward-Prowse’s volley from a loose header was saved by Jason Steele before Konstantinos Mavropanos headed over from the set piece.
Buonanotte meanwhile drew a foul from Ben Johnson which set up two chances for Brighton in rapid succession, as Danny Welbecker’s header was blocked by Areola to Jack Hinshelwood, whose follow-up shot was blocked by the French goalkeeper.
Said Benrahma rifled wide for the Hammers in the 35th minute as both teams continued to struggle to break each other down before half-time, as Pascal Gross saw a 42nd minute header from James Milner’s cross blocked by Areola as Brighton were denied a half time lead.
The start of the second half saw little improvement in quality aside from Welbeck’s 59th minute shot being saved, before Soucek fired wide two minutes later for West Ham as both teams struggled to find a breakthrough goal.
Brighton were first to make a substitute change as Evan Ferguson came on for Welbeck in the 67th minute, and soon wasted a chance two minutes later as Buonanotte flicked Billy Gilmour’s pass across for the Ireland international who rifled his shot wide of the bottom right corner.
Gross headed wide Joao Pedro’s 78th minute cross and substitute, Lallana saw a 89th minute strike saved by Areola as the Seagulls continued to push for a late winner but West Ham managed to keep their visitors at bay to snatch a point.
David Moyes’ Hammers remain sixth ahead of Brighton who moved above Manchester United into seventh on goal difference.
What’s Next?
West Ham now turn their attention to the FA Cup where they play host to Bristol City at London Stadium on Sunday 7 January in a 2pm GMT kick-off, before resuming their league campaign at Sheffield United on Sunday 20 January at 2pm live on Sky Sports in the UK.
Brighton meanwhile will visit Stoke in their FA Cup clash at BET365 Stadium on Saturday 6 January at 3pm GMT, before hosting Wolves in their next league match in a 7:45pm kick-off on Monday 22 January live on TNT Sports in the UK.
Teams
West Ham: Alphonse Areola, Ben Johnson, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Angelo Ogbonna, Emerson Palmieri, Edson Alvarez, Tomas Soucek, James Ward-Prowse, Pablo Fornals, Jarrod Bowen, Said Benrahma (Mubama 73′)
Substitutes: Lukasz Fabianksi, Kaelan Casey, Maxwel Cornet, Conor Coventry, Aaron Cresswell, Danny Ings, Divin Mubama, Levi Lang, Lewis Orford
Brighton: Jason Steele, Jack Hinshelwood, Jan Paul van Hecke, Adam Webster (Moder 74′), Pervis Estupinan, Pascal Gross, Billy Gilmour, James Milner, Facundo Buonanotte (Lallana 74′), Danny Welbeck (Ferguson 67′), Joao Pedro
Substitutes: Bart Verbruggen, Mahmoud Dahoud, Adam Lallana, Jakub Moder, Carlos Baleba, Evan Ferguson, Imari Samuels, Benicio Baker-Boaitey, Leigh Kavanagh
Referee – Samuel Barott
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