EPL: West Ham 2 Brighton 2
Tomas Soucek scored a late equaliser as West Ham came from behind to rescue a point against struggling Brighton.
The Seagulls took the lead towards the end of a first-half they dominated when Neal Maupay swept in at London Stadium.
West Ham improved after the break and equalised when Ben Johnson scored his first goal for the club, taking advantage of poor defending to finish from close range.
Lewis Dunk thought he had won it for Brighton when he smashed in his first goal of the season following a short corner.
But Soucek, not for the first time this season, came up with another crucial goal as the midfielder was left unmarked at a corner and powered home a header.
Brighton had to settle for a fifth draw in their past eight games and are just two points above the relegation zone in 16th.
West Ham, meanwhile, remain 10th but move on to 22 points.
David Moyes has fashioned a very decent West Ham side that is disciplined while often creative and attack-minded. They have been rewarded for their enterprising play with some impressive results, notably big wins against Wolves and Leicester and draws at Manchester City and Tottenham.
It was therefore perplexing that Moyes appeared to abandon that approach with a very negative team selection and set-up against Brighton.
The Hammers were dreadful in the first half as they failed to register a shot on target and deservedly found themselves behind.
After the break, they were a different side. The introduction of Andriy Yarmolenko and Manuel Lanzini added the creative spark that had been missing and they took advantage of a Brighton side that struggled for composure after losing Adam Lallana to injury.
Had Moyes shown more faith in his side’s attacking capabilities from the start, they may have got more reward than the single point. The second-half performance will likely give him plenty to think about when setting up his side for similar games in the future.
Seagulls’ winless run continues
This has been a frustrating season for Brighton, who have often failed to get the reward their good play and possessional dominance has merited.
It was a similar story against West Ham, particularly in the first half when they were comfortably the better side and arguably should have had more than Maupay’s goal to show for it.
It was always likely to be tougher in the second half, and credit should be given to the Seagulls for twice getting in front, but their defending for both the goals they conceded was disappointing. They failed to make the most of numerous opportunities to clear for West Ham’s first and then left the obvious threat of Soucek unchecked for the second.
It is now just one victory in their past 14 games for Brighton and while a point at a solid West Ham side is a good result, the Seagulls need to find a way to get wins on the board again soon to avoid getting properly dragged into a battle for Premier League survival.
