January 03, (THEWILL) – A severely depleted West Ham United and Brighton and Hove Albion played out a dull 0-0 draw on Tuesday night, mutually denting their ambitions of a top-five English Premier League finish this campaign.
Missing a combined 16 first-team players, the two fatigued sides struggled to find any attacking fluency in a match played at a pedestrian pace. West Ham were without several key men due to injury, illness and the Africa Cup of Nations, while Brighton themselves were also missing important players.
Despite the London Stadium hosting 60,000 spectators, they witnessed a game severely lacking in action, with neither goalkeeper forced into making many noteworthy saves. Brighton enjoyed the better openings, with Pascal Gross, Danny Welbeck and Jack Hinshelwood all going close in the first half.
After the interval, West Ham’s Tomas Soucek missed a gilt-edged chance when he fired wide from close range. Brighton substitute Evan Ferguson almost made an immediate impact off the bench, while Adam Lallana also forced a late stop out of Hammers keeper Alphonse Areola.
In the end, a share of the spoils was probably a fair result between two sides who appeared to be running on fumes as they entered their second congested month of the hectic festive fixture schedule. Both David Moyes and Roberto De Zerbi will likely be content with avoiding defeat ahead of more winnable fixtures in the coming weeks.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
