Brighton come from behind to earn home draw with Burnley
Despite losing more often than not this season, Burnley boss Vincent Kompany has claimed he’s been happy with performances.
His claims certainly debatable, but one thing that wasn’t was the intensity at which his side started this game, with Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson’s curling effort a clear signal of early intent.
That was as close as either side came to an opener in the first half-hour, with the UEFA Europa League perhaps playing on the minds of a Brighton side who have won more European games than league games since the beginning of October.
The Seagulls did at least find their stride a little bit before the break, but their best chance - a measured Pascal Groß strike - was impressively stopped by James Trafford in the Burnley goal.
If that was a great effort, then Wilson Odobert’s on the stroke of HT was even better, as his effort caught Bart Verbruggen off guard and sent the Clarets into the break leading by a goal to nil.
That opener seemed to breathe new life into Burnley, and particularly Odobert, who was again involved after the break when the visitors nearly doubled their lead through Jay Rodriguez, but a fine double save from Verbruggen twice denied him a third goal in as many weekends.
Brighton certainly started to ramp up the pressure afterwards, but when Evan Ferguson headed wide from no more than 12 yards, they must’ve been wondering whether it was going to be their day.
Roberto De Zerbi certainly was as he gloomily watched on from his seat in the dugout, but he wasn’t dismayed for too long as Simon Adingra popped up with a timely leveller to set up a grandstand finish on the south coast.
Understandably, it was all Brighton from then on, with Kompany making a raft of defensive changes to stem the Seagulls’ flow.
The Burnley boss has at times been labelled naive for his defensive approach, but his side stood firm to hold on and claim a credible point in their battle to beat the drop.
Brighton meanwhile will be disheartened not to have won in the end, but they have the chance to put it right on Thursday against Marseille.
Flashscore Man of the Match: James Trafford (Burnley)
