Brighton frustrated in goalless draw with Fulham

BRIGHTON, England (Reuters) - Brighton & Hove Albion drew 0-0 with Fulham in the Premier League on Wednesday, in a frustrating game for the south coast side, who missed the chance to pull clear of the London club in the relegation zone.

The draw left Brighton 17th in the table on 18 points, five clear of Fulham, who have a game in hand, in 18th place.

Both sides had chances in the first half. Fulham right back Ola Aina blasted a shot just over the bar from outside the box in the fifth minute, and Brighton's Leandro Trossard went close twice in quick succession at the other end.

Brighton repeatedly sliced through Fulham's midfield, but were unable to get a man on the end of any of their resulting crosses.

Fulham's Ivan Cavaleiro dashed forward on the break after a misfired pass by Brighton's Adam Webster, only to shoot wide of the post, and the Seagulls' Pascal Gross fired a free kick just wide of the post as the half drew to a close.

After the break, Fulham's defenders struggled to pass the ball out from the back, but Brighton's front line were unable to convert any of the numerous chances they created.

Fulham had keeper Alphonse Areola to thank for countless saves that kept them in the game, while captain Lewis Dunk was the hero for Brighton, clearing a Ruben Loftus-Cheek shot off his goal-line in stoppage time to hold onto a point.

"It's obviously frustrating that we haven't won at our ground," Dunk told BT Sport.

"We've got to go back and look at it and make sure we start putting the ball in the back of the net," he added.

Brighton manager Graham Potter was similarly frustrated with the result.

"We're creating the chances - that's not easy in this league. But we have to keep believing we can score. Our performances have been good, but the challenge is to turn those chances into points," he said.

(Reporting by Hugh Lawson; Editing by Toby Davis and Ed Osmond)