Brentford and Brighton share points in dull stalemate
Referee Andy Madley declined to give a penalty to Brighton in the first half, despite being called to the VAR monitor for a potential foulIvan Toney’s run without a Premier League goal extended to seven games as Brentford and Brighton played out a dull draw.
Toney was denied by Brighton keeper Bart Verbruggen with one good chance and has now failed to score for Brentford since 17 February.
The 15th-placed Bees are winless in five home league games and six points above the relegation places.
Brighton produced few chances of their own despite dominating possession and stay ninth in the table.
Relive all Wednesday night’s Premier League actionWhile the Seagulls saw much more of the ball, the hosts created the better opportunities at Brentford Community Stadium.
Yoane Wissa flashed a shot wide of the near post following a slick team move down the left, before Toney turned his man in the area but could not get the power on his left-footed shot to trouble Verbruggen.
The biggest talking point came in first-half stoppage time, when the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) called on-pitch official Andy Madley to the monitor after Wissa appeared to pull down Brighton captain Lewis Dunk in the box.
In a rare occurrence, however, Madley stuck with his original call and gave no penalty – much to Dunk’s disbelief.
The second half provided no breakthrough either, with Danny Welbeck denied by a fine last-gasp block from Kristoffer Ajer before the Brighton striker poked a shot narrowly wide.
A point still left Brentford with a chunky gap above the relegation zone following Luton’s defeat at Arsenal, while Brighton missed the chance to move up to seventh and into a European place.
How did you rate Brentford’s performance? Have your say hereWhat did you make of Brighton’s display? Send us your views hereToney short on goals and confidenceWhile Brentford are continuing to put points between themselves and the bottom three, they are doing so slowly and unconvincingly.
A major factor in their poor form has been a lack of goals from Toney.
While he continues to play a key role in building their attack and forming a flowing partnership with Wissa, here the England international seemed uncharacteristically short of confidence in the opposition box.
Toney also continued to struggle after the break, blazing a free-kick well over from a promising position.
Brentford will hope their main man can rediscover his scoring touch before the end of the campaign – as will Toney himself, with a place in Gareth Southgate’s squad at Euro 2024 on the line.
A spark for the Bees comes in the return to fitness of Bryan Mbeumo, who came off the bench here. The Cameroon forward has not started a match since suffering an ankle injury in the fixture at Brighton in December.
More to follow.
Join BBC Sport’s WhatsApp channelsLine-upsBrentfordFormation 3-5-2
1Flekken13M Jorgensen20Ajer22Collins30Roerslev33YarmoliukSubstituted forDamsgaardat 64’minutes27JaneltBooked at 76mins8JensenSubstituted forOnyekaat 86’minutes23Lewis-PotterSubstituted forReguilĆ³nat 73’minutes11WissaSubstituted forMbeumoat 73’minutes17ToneySubstitutes7Maupay12ReguilĆ³n14Ghoddos15Onyeka19Mbeumo21Strakosha24Damsgaard26Baptiste36KimBrightonFormation 4-2-3-1
1Verbruggen34VeltmanSubstituted forModerat 86’minutes29van Hecke5Dunk3dos Santos de Paulo13GroĆ20Baleba40BuonanotteBooked at 53minsSubstituted forWelbeckat 74’minutes14LallanaSubstituted forEncisoat 64’minutes24AdingraSubstituted forLampteyat 74’minutes9JoĆ£o PedroSubstitutes2Lamptey10Enciso15Moder18Welbeck23Steele30EstupiƱƔn42Offiah44Peupion55OāMahonyReferee:Andy Madley
Attendance:17,024
Match StatsLive TextMatch ends, Brentford 0, Brighton and Hove Albion 0.
Second Half ends, Brentford 0, Brighton and Hove Albion 0.
Foul by JoĆ£o Pedro (Brighton and Hove Albion).
Nathan Collins (Brentford) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. Danny Welbeck (Brighton and Hove Albion) right footed shot from the left side of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Julio Enciso with a headed pass.
Attempt missed. Danny Welbeck (Brighton and Hove Albion) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Pascal GroĆ with a cross following a corner.
Corner, Brighton and Hove Albion. Conceded by Zanka.
Attempt blocked. JoĆ£o Pedro (Brighton and Hove Albion) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
Attempt blocked. Tariq Lamptey (Brighton and Hove Albion) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Danny Welbeck.
Attempt blocked. Jakub Moder (Brighton and Hove Albion) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Danny Welbeck.
Attempt saved. JoĆ£o Pedro (Brighton and Hove Albion) header from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal.
Attempt blocked. Danny Welbeck (Brighton and Hove Albion) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by JoĆ£o Pedro with a through ball.
Substitution, Brighton and Hove Albion. Jakub Moder replaces Joƫl Veltman.
Substitution, Brentford. Frank Onyeka replaces Mathias Jensen.
Offside, Brentford. Ivan Toney is caught offside.
Attempt saved. Julio Enciso (Brighton and Hove Albion) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Pascal GroĆ.
JoĆ£o Pedro (Brighton and Hove Albion) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Mathias Jensen (Brentford).
Attempt missed. Igor Julio (Brighton and Hove Albion) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Pascal GroĆ.
JoĆ£o Pedro (Brighton and Hove Albion) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Player of the match
JoĆ£o PedroJoĆ£o Pedro
with an average of 7.49
Squad number24Player nameDamsgaard
Squad number17Player nameToney
Squad number1Player nameFlekken
Squad number11Player nameWissa
Squad number20Player nameAjer
Squad number8Player nameJensen
Squad number30Player nameRoerslev
Squad number22Player nameCollins
Squad number19Player nameMbeumo
Squad number27Player nameJanelt
Squad number33Player nameYarmoliuk
Squad number13Player nameM Jorgensen
Squad number12Player nameReguilĆ³n
Squad number23Player nameLewis-Potter
Squad number15Player nameOnyeka
Brighton & Hove AlbionSquad number9Player nameJoĆ£o Pedro
Squad number5Player nameDunk
Squad number29Player namevan Hecke
Squad number1Player nameVerbruggen
Squad number40Player nameBuonanotte
Squad number20Player nameBaleba
Squad number13Player nameGroĆ
Squad number34Player nameVeltman
Squad number2Player nameLamptey
Squad number3Player nameIgor Julio
Squad number24Player nameAdingra
Squad number18Player nameWelbeck
Squad number10Player nameEnciso
Squad number14Player nameLallana
Squad number15Player nameModer
