Mohammed Kudus rescued a point for West Ham United as they played out a 1-1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday.
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The Hammers remain without a win from their eight Premier League meetings with Brighton at the London Stadium and could have been dealt another defeat late on.
Mats Wieffer volleyed home his first Seagulls goal to put Fabian Hurzeler’s side ahead in the 51st minute before Kudus restored parity just six minutes later.
But West Ham goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski preserved a point for his side in second-half stoppage time, producing a brilliant save from close range to deny substitute Yasin Ayari.
There is no change in the table for either side. West Ham remain 14th on 20 points – five fewer than Brighton, who stay ninth after missing the chance to move as high as sixth as their winless run was extended to five matches.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
22 | -1 | 36 |
| 9 |
Brighton
BHA
|
22 | +5 | 34 |
| 10 |
Fulham
FUL
|
22 | +4 | 33 |
| 11 |
Brentford
BRE
|
22 | +1 | 28 |
| 12 |
Crystal Palace
CRY
|
22 | -3 | 27 |
| 13 |
Man Utd
MUN
|
22 | -5 | 26 |
| 14 |
West Ham
WHU
|
22 | -16 | 26 |
How the match unfolded
Jarrod Bowen and Kaoru Mitoma were denied from tight angles early on, with the former's cross deflecting narrowly wide, but that was the closest either side came to opening the scoring in a tepid first 45 minutes.
Brighton, however, would break the deadlock six minutes after the break when Wieffer slotted in a controlled volley after Lewis Dunk had beaten Fabianski to Pervis Estupinan’s cross.
Their lead lasted just seven minutes, though. Tomas Soucek released Bowen into space, with the England international’s fierce drive parried straight to Kudus, who made no mistake in nodding home the rebound.
The Seagulls squandered several opportunities to regain the lead late on, with Yankuba Minteh’s low cross turned on to the post by Mitoma, before Fabianski saved from Ayari from close range and Aaron Wan-Bissaka producing a remarkable clearance off the line to deny Tariq Lamptey a tap-in.
Hammers still seeking first Brighton home win
Though they had never beaten Brighton at home in the Premier League, West Ham had every right to feel confident. The Hammers had taken 10 points from their last five league games at the London Stadium.
Although Julen Lopetegui brought Niclas Fullkrug in for his first start, the German was generally seeking better service from his team-mates during the opening half.
The lack of opportunities and sharpness in front of goal during the first 45 minutes was epitomised by Lucas Paqueta, who blazed over from the edge of the box under no pressure.
Nevertheless, the hosts did respond swiftly to falling behind through Bowen, who had just adopted a more central position. His driving run forced a smart stop from Bart Verbruggen, but Kudus was on hand to apply the finishing touch.
Crysencio Summerville looked lively upon his introduction, seeing a shot blocked late on, but that was as close as the Hammers came to grabbing all three points. Up next for West Ham is a Boxing Day trip to Southampton, who have just appointed Ivan Juric as their new manager.
Seagulls have their wings clipped
Without a victory in four matches, Brighton will not have been relishing a trip to London, where they had failed to win on any of their 10 previous Premier League visits.
Nevertheless, they kept West Ham at bay during the first half, with their defensive stubbornness highlighted by Jan Paul van Hecke, who sported a bandage around his head after receiving an accidental boot from Konstantinos Mavropanos early on.
The Seagulls took the lead as Wieffer opened his account for the club, though it was a bittersweet day for the midfielder, who limped off injured a few minutes later.
But Brighton are without a clean sheet in eight league games, so West Ham will have always sensed an opportunity to hit back and did just that through Kudus.
Brighton did, however, look the more likely to snatch all three points late on. Unmarked in the six-yard box to meet Minteh’s low cross, Mitoma somehow skewed his effort against the post from inside the box.
Fabianski then twice denied Ayari, while a last-minute Wan-Bissaka intervention prevented Lamptey from nodding in a last-gasp winner. Brighton return to the AMEX Stadium to face Brentford next Friday.
Club reports
West Ham report | Brighton report
What the managers said
Fabian Hurzeler: "I think it's two points lost in the end because there were plenty of big chances. We weren't able to score and we weren't able to keep a clean sheet. Then we got punished for that one mistake. In the end it was our fault that we didn't leave the pitch as winners.
"There were positive things but we also need to get the result to get out of this circle of bad experiences. It's the business to get results if you want to achieve something. We have to get our higher standards back. We can defend better. We have to keep going and we have to trust the process."
Next PL fixtures
Match facts
Brighton are now unbeaten across their eight Premier League matches at the London Stadium (W2 D6); it’s the stadium they’ve played at the most in the competition without losing, while only Manchester City (P9 W7 D2), have played there more often without suffering defeat in the competition.
West Ham have now won just one of their 15 Premier League matches against Brighton and Hove Albion (D8 L6), with their 6.7% win rate against the Seagulls being their lowest against any side they’ve faced 3+ times in the competition.
West Ham have picked up a point after conceding the first goal at the London Stadium for the first time this season, having lost each of their first four home league games in which they conceded the opener this term.
