EPL: Watford 0-0 Brighton

Stalemate at Vicarage Road

Brighton picked up their first Premier League point with a 0-0 draw at Watford.

Watford's Miguel Britos was rightly shown a straight red card for a wild, knee-high lunge at Anthony Knockaert on 24 minutes. But despite playing 66 minutes with a man advantage, Brighton were unable to make the breakthrough, managing just two shots on target against their resolute opponents.

Knockaert had already hit the post with a curling left-foot effort when Britos was dismissed and Tomer Hemed struck the other upright with a deflected effort off Christian Kabasele as the visitors pushed to make the most of their numerical advantage before the interval.

Brighton piled on the pressure after the break and there was some confusion when they were awarded an indirect free-kick in the box after Abdoulaye Doucoure's high foot appeared to have caught Knockaert on the face. Referee Graham Scott judged Doucoure to have missed his opponent and refused appeals for a penalty, as Brighton - who are yet to score in three Premier League outings - struggled to trouble goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes.

Nathaniel Chalobah - celebrating his first England call-up - went close to opening the scoring on nine minutes, when his goal-bound header from Tom Cleverley's free-kick had to be hacked clear by Lewis Dunk as Watford had the better of the early exchanges.

However, Brighton - who had lost their first two Premier League fixtures to Manchester City and Leicester - eventually began to get a foothold, with livewire Knockaert clipping a left foot shot from the right against the far post.

Britos' recklessness then handed the visitors even more momentum, and the impressive Solly March carved out another good opening, but a combination of Hemed and defender Kabasele sent the ball onto the woodwork again.

 

Chalobah again showed his class with a low, arrowed shot just past the Brighton goal, but the Hornets were increasingly on the back foot and their cause wasn't helped when Craig Cathcart, who had come on following Britos' sending off, pulled up seconds after half-time.

Kiko Femenia produced a superb sliding challenge to prevent Pascal Gross latching on to March's cross on 50 minutes before March tried his luck from range, Dunk hit an indirect free-kick inside the Watford box over the bar and Knockaert mis-directed a header from a good position. Still Brighton couldn't find the decisive blow.

Indeed, Gomes' only real work of the second period came when Knockaert fired across goal from range, the keeper parrying well, as Watford threatened to strike on the counter, with the lively Richarlison leading several pacey charges up-field. But the hosts failed to unleash a shot on target at all as the spoils were shared.