Brighton and Hove Albion 1 West Ham United 1
A late equaliser from Georginio Rutter saved Brighton and Hove Albion’s blushes in yet another match where the Seagulls had the possession and the shots but struggled to make the advantage count.
But, on a mainly miserable afternoon, rain-soaked fans had to wait for the video assistant referee (VAR) before being able to celebrate a late great escape at the Amex.
Albion went a goal down as Jarrod Bowen made the most of Paul van Hecke appearing to misjudge a header in the 73rd minute.
The ball was played in by sub Callum Wilson in front of Bowen who outpaced and outmanoeuvred Ferdi Kadioglu and cut in from a tight angle across a helpless Bart Verbruggen.
Brighton looked the more threatening in the early stages. A cross from Maxim De Cuyper almost crept inside Alphonse Areola’s near post before Diego Gomez headed a good chance wide from a corner.
Lucas Paqueta returned to West Ham’s line up after missing out at Old Trafford through suspension after his angry red card against Liverpool.
The Brazil international began to exert an influence as the first half wore on, first with an inviting through-ball to Bowen, whose shot was blocked.
And West Ham, still in the bottom three, passed up the best chance of the opening half when Paqueta stuck out a leg to rob Brighton skipper Lewis Dunk and prod the ball to Crysencio Summerville.
The Dutch winger, back after month out injured, raced clean through but sent his finish across Verbruggen and wide of the far post.
After the break, Lewis Dunk, making his 501st Brighton appearance, ran the length of the pitch to head off a West Ham counter-attack from a Seagulls corner, sliding in to block Bowen’s square ball to Summerville for a tap-in.
Moments later Verbruggen made a stunning double save to keep out a deflected drive from Bowen as well as Summerville’s acrobatic effort on the rebound.
But the Brighton keeper was unable to prevent the West Ham skipper from scoring from an unlikely angle to give the visitors the lead.
The Seagulls almost equalised straight after the restart but Rutter’s cross hit Max Kilman and looped over Areola, with the Hammers keeper at full stretch to tip the ball against the crossbar.
Areola was, however, beaten in stoppage time, at the second attempt, by Rutter.
The France keeper blocked Rutter’s first effort but was powerless to stop the rebound, with the goal surviving a VAR check for handball.
West Ham could still have snatched a victory at the death but Konstantinos Mavropanos headed narrowly wide from a corner.
Brighton stay seventh, with 23 points from 15 games, and West Ham stay 18th, with 13 from 15.
Next up, the Albion visit Anfield on Saturday (13 December) where relations appear to have soured between star striker Mo Salah and manager Arne Slot.
It could be the last appearance from Salah, with champions Liverpool currently ninth in the table. Like Albion, the Reds also have 23 points from 15 matches.
