Having claimed PL Manager of the Month following an excellent start to the campaign, Fabian Hürzeler was looking to capitalise on that momentum against winless Ipswich.
The Seagulls had lost just one of their last 13 PL home encounters against newly promoted sides and it wasn’t difficult to see why as they dominated from the off.
Carlos Baleba was the first to test Arijanet Muric, striking a low ball that required a strong palm to prevent the Cameroonian his first goal for Brighton.
The hosts remained on the front foot during the first half, and with HT approaching, it looked as if the deadlock would be broken, yet Muric once again came to Ipswich’s rescue, impressively denying Georginio Rutter and Kaoru Mitoma in quick succession.
The Tractor Boys were under the cosh once more following the restart, with the ball falling kindly to Rutter, who sent a deflected effort wide of the goal.
However, despite a lack of cutting-edge going forward, the visitors were still firmly in the contest as Kieran McKenna made three alterations to change the tide of the contest.
For all Brighton’s possession, they had failed to take their chances thus far, almost allowing Ipswich to steal a shock lead through substitute Chiedozie Ogbene, whose left-footed strike was blocked by Jan Paul van Hecke.
A period of Ipswich resurgence convinced Hürzeler to make a triple change of his own, yet the game remained in the balance as Omari Hutchinson provided the visitors with a lift following an exhilarating solo run.
Brighton’s early superiority had faded as FT approached, and despite threatening Muric’s goal on more than one occasion, Ipswich looked good value for the point.
Another draw here builds on the point secured against Fulham last time out, albeit without ending their winless start to the season, having yet to taste victory in any competition (D2, L3).
As for Brighton, it’s a story of missed chances as they are forced to settle for a rather unsatisfactory point in a game they could have put to bed in the first half.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Arijanet Muric (Ipswich Town)
