Chris Hughton felt his Brighton & Hove Albion side’s 0-0 draw with rivals Crystal Palace was “probably a fair result”.
The Seagulls edged the game at the Amex Stadium, with Shane Duffy and Lewis Dunk both going close with efforts from set-pieces.
Third game in nine days catches up with Seagulls
It was Hughton’s side’s third game in nine days and he admitted it showed during the match, but they still defended “very well” and had the better of the chances.
Hughton said, “Palace showed what a good side they are but I felt we put them under a fair bit of pressure towards the end and in a game that was probably a fair result, if any team looked like they might get something it was probably us.
“We wasn’t at the levels that we’ve been at in the last couple of games, particularly on Saturday (a narrow 1-0 defeat to Manchester United). These things happen – you’re playing against good teams and you have to make sure you’re better in the next [game].”
The 58-year-old added, “firstly you have got to make sure you don’t lose the game and probably [today] was a bit like that. We gave away the ball more times today than I have seen us do in the last few games but sometimes that can happen. It might just be because of the volume of games.”
Brighton reduced the Eagles to few chances, although Maty Ryan was forced into a stunning double save to deny Christian Benteke and Wilfried Zaha early on. Hughton had high praise for his Australian goalkeeper, who also made a similar stop against Man United: “where we have been good (this season) is not allowing teams a lot of chances, which is a testament to this side, but when the chances do come you need a goalkeeper who can get you out of trouble and he (Ryan) has pulled off some great saves.”
The draw was Albion’s fourth in succession at home but Hughton is not worried, instead pointing towards the step up in quality from the previous year’s Championship campaign. “I’d put that (fourth successive home draw) down to this division. Palace, Southampton and Stoke City are all strong sides. We’re playing against better teams in this division.”