'No surprise': Brighton boss pays Sunderland compliment in verdict on 0-0 draw
Sunderland held Brighton to a 0-0 draw at the Amex Stadium on Saturday afternoon
Fabian Hurzeler said it is 'no surprise' that Sunderland are flying high in the Premier League table after his Brighton side took a 0-0 draw from their clash at the Amex Stadium.
Brighton ended the contest far the stronger of the two teams with Yasin Ayari in particular missing a huge late chance to score, but Sunderland had arguably had the better of the first hour and so were probably worthy of their point.
Hurzeler said there were positives to take from the performance but said his side couldn't afford to be off the pace for as long as they were in the game.
"We played in the first half against a really good side from Sunderland," Hurzeler said.
"It is not a surprise they are there where they are in the table. We weren't playing at our highest level but then, in the second half, we reacted well, we created plenty of chances. In the end, of course, it's again a frustrating feeling when you create that many chances and you aren’t able to score.
“But overall we have to realise there are missed opportunities. Overall we have to realise the issues about consistency - to start and to end and to play a game for 90 minutes well, like we played in the second half.
“It might not be enough if you only play well for 40 minutes while against a team like Sunderland. So these are the things where we try to keep working. Overall we are pleased with the clean sheet, we're not happy that we missed so many chances, but we have to keep pushing.”
While Sunderland were missing five players on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations, Brighton were also missing a number of key figures. Defenders Lewis Dunk and Jan Paul van Hecke were both absent, while Danny Welbeck was also ruled out. Hurzeler said it was no excuse for his side's sluggish start to the contest.
"No excuse," Hurzeler said.
"Of course, these players are important enough, but we still have a strong squad."
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What Régis Le Bris said about Sunderland’s draw with Brighton
“A draw was probably a fair result,” Le Bris said.
“We had two parts to the game. Until 65 or 70 minutes, we were dominant, especially for a team playing away from home. We showed good qualities, great character. We were controlling the ball, and we had opportunities to score during this period. But when you don’t score away when you have those opportunities, you can expect that the opponent will push until the end. They did well during the last 20 or 25 minutes. We stayed consistent with our deep block and kept this clean sheet.
“They crossed a lot, as expected, so we were prepared for that. We have players who are really determined to defend the box and the goal, and they did that. They defended well.”