The Seagulls took a 2-0 lead, also within the space of two minutes, with their eighth and ninth goals from corners this season. West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini said he was “absolutely frustrated” despite Marko Arnautovic scoring twice in two minutes to salvage a point against Brighton.
“The most important way that Brighton scores is from set-pieces, and we allowed them to score two goals this way,” said Pellegrini, whose side ended a run of the three consecutive defeats against their opponents.
“I don’t remember any other chances for them, but we didn’t create in the first 45 minutes.” Arnautovic, who has been linked with Chelsea, proved his value again for the Hammers by turning around a game which came to life after a drab first half where Andy Carroll made his first start in exactly a year.
After Carroll was hooked at half-time, Dale Stephens rifled the visitors ahead from the edge of the box with his first Premier League goal. Shortly afterwards, the Seagulls doubled their advantage when Shane Duffy peeled to the back post and controlled the ball on his chest before cleverly poking home.
But two Pellegrini substitutions unleashed their star striker as Mark Noble chipped a lovely ball forward which the Austrian striker hammered home from close range. Then Michail Antonio cut the ball back from as close to the byline as he could get for the 29-year-old to score his seventh goal of the season.
There were further chances for Antonio and Declan Rice to win it, but the point moved West Ham into the top half of the table. When the disappointment of throwing away a two-goal lead subsides, Brighton will take solace in remaining unbeaten in three games over the festive period as they remain 10 points clear of the relegation zone.
Arnautovic shines as Carroll disappoints
Much of the attention prior to the match centred on Carroll, who made his first start in a exactly a year – when he scored twice to help the Hammers beat West Brom 2-1 – to freshen up his team.
But after only six appearances off the bench this season, the former Liverpool and Newcastle striker looked rusty as he miscontrolled the ball on several occasions. A poor half was made worse when he was caught by a flailing elbow from Lewis Dunk that left the 29-year-old with blood running down his head.
And there was little link-up play between Arnautovic and Carroll, perhaps contributing to the fact that the Englishman did not emerge for the second half.
His replacement Lucas Perez dropped shorter to offer West Ham a different option up front, but it was only after they conceded twice, and Noble and Antonio came on, that they really started to find their rhythm.
Immediately, they started to play the ball in behind the Brighton defence and it paid dividends. There were chances in the first period as Arnautovic tested David Button in the Brighton goal and Felipe Anderson wasted a decent chance at the edge of the area.
But after seven games in December and four in the last 12 days, the hosts struggled as Brighton started faster and took advantage after the interval. That was before Arnautovic ensured there was a positive start to the year after a poor 2-0 defeat at Burnley on 30 December.
Brighton set-piece expertise pays off again
Chris Hughton’s side can temper the disappointment of losing their lead with the fact that, until their quickfire double when Stephens scored a first Premier League goal, they did not create great deal.
They also continued their unbeaten run against West Ham over the last two seasons and have gained five points over the festive period after losing their previous three Premier League games.
The fact that both goals came from corners underlined the diligence and organisation that runs through this Hughton team, which looks more than capable of remaining in the top flight for a second successive season.
The first was fortunate given that neither Perez or Robert Snodgrass chose to pick up Stephens as he scored from the edge of the area with a well-taken strike.
But the second goal, when Duffy found space, looked like it was straight off the training ground as Brighton sent their travelling supporters wild.
Although Hughton will rue a chance to chalk up a third away win of the season, he will also be wise to the fact that West Ham had won five of their previous seven games prior to this contest.
Man of the match – Marko Arnautovic
‘I don’t remember any chances for them’ – what they said
West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini: “I’m absolutely frustrated. The most important way that Brighton scores is from set pieces, they had seven goals form corners. And we allowed them to score two goals this way. I don’t remember any other chances for them, but we didn’t create in first 45 minutes.”
Brighton boss Chris Hughton: “When you are 2-0 up in any game, it’s hard to take when the opposition get back to level terms. At that stage the momentum was with them, but to gather our composure was pleasing and away from home it was a good performance. I’m delighted with the goals we got.”
On whether Antonio went out of play for Arnautovic’s equaliser, he added: “I’ve seen one angle that looks like it might have gone out, but someone else has told me it was just in play.
“At the moment no complaints, we defended really well particularly in the first half, and there was probably only a handful of times where we didn’t defend well and that’s where they got their chances.
“Any point here is a good point, but today it’s not because we were 2-0 up. It could have unravelled, but I thought we knuckled down and showed good composure.”
West Ham striker Marko Arnautovic: “I can’t be happy. Obviously we talked about the game we wanted to win at home. First half was a boring game from both sides, second half they had two set-pieces and after those we started to play football.
“With a bit of luck we can take a win away, but we didn’t and it was a fair draw.
Raining goals – the best of the stats
- West Ham have only won one of their eight top-flight matches against Brighton (D2 L5), winning 2-1 in March 1983.
- There were just 125 seconds between Dale Stephen’s opener for Brighton and Shane Duffy putting the Seagulls two goals in front, whilst there were 131 seconds between Marko Arnautovic’s two strikes for West Ham.
- Marko Arnautovic scored his first Premier League brace for West Ham since March 2018 against Southampton.
- Brighton’s Shane Duffy has scored four goals in 18 Premier League appearances this campaign – his joint-highest goal return in a single season across the top four tiers of English Football.
- Stephens’ opener for Brighton was his first league goal since December 2016 against Blackburn Rovers in the Championship.
What next?
West Ham host Birmingham in the FA Cup third round on 5 January (12:30 GMT) before hosting Arsenal in the Premier League the following Saturday. Brighton travel west along the south coast to face Bournemouth in the FA Cup on 5 January (12:30), ahead of hosting Premier League leaders Liverpool on 12 January.
Source: BBC News
