For 90 minutes, Nottingham Forest’s travelling fans watched their team hold on for dear life. But at the end of another exhaustive evening, Steve Cooper’s players left with a point.
It wasn't pretty. Forest’s first touch of the ball in the opposition box arrived after 58 minutes and Brennan Johnson’s subsequent shot flew so wide, it went out for a throw-in.
But Forest will take this draw after a robust defensive display at the Amex Stadium. Brighton were dominant, firing a total of 19 shots towards Dean Henderson’s goal. Yet time and again, they were saved, sometimes beautifully, often less so.
The club that made 23 summer signings are still waiting for it all to click. In the meantime, Forest will simply enjoy seeing themselves off the bottom of the Premier League table.
‘We are going to defend more than we did last year – that’s obvious,’ Cooper said.
‘But when you get the ball, you have to pay more attention to looking after it.
‘We need to focus on the positives. Brighton are a good team – a team that has been built over a number of years. It’s a good point.’
Brighton are sick of hearing about ‘expected goals’. They know they should be scoring more than they are and yet they cannot seem to escape these evenings of disappointment.
Manager Roberto De Zerbi is awaiting his first win as Brighton boss after four failed attempts. It’ll take some doing if it is to come on Saturday, when they face Manchester City away.
‘I enjoy a lot,’ De Zerbi said. 'I’m sorry for the result but I enjoy it. I said the same words to the players. I said ‘thank you’ because they played a fantastic game. OK, we have to improve the final 25 metres. I want work and we have to work.'
Forest’s social media team had learned their lesson. Their pre-match picture depicting Emmanuel Dennis having a playdate with three wolf cubs backfired spectacularly on Saturday, with Wolves winning 1-0 and tweeting ‘playtime’s over’ in a terrific retort.
There was none of that this time. No snap of Jesse Lingard having a lovely time by the seaside. No picture of Morgan Gibbs-White protecting his chips from some seagulls. Nothing that could come back to bite Forest in the event of defeat.
The first half followed a theme that is familiar to Brighton fans – all attack and no finish.
Leandro Trossard came closest to opening the scoring, showing some nice feet to lose Serge Aurier before forcing Henderson into a one-handed save.
Trossard versus Aurier was turning into a key battle. Brighton’s left-sided forward was the home side’s greatest threat and forever looking to get on the ball. By contrast, Lingard not yet managed a single touch after 15 minutes of football.
After 28 minutes, Joel Veltman blazed over the crossbar when he had time and space to do better. After 30 minutes, Trossard chested down the ball then fired a half-volley which struck the crossbar.
The waves of Brighton attacks were relentless with Henderson needed to deny Solly March and then Pascal Gross. To sum up a frustrating first half, Adam Webster sent his shot up into the stands as one minute of stoppage time was announced.
The half-time statistics emphasised how one-sided it had been. Brighton led 12-0 on shots, 6-0 on corners and had seen 68 per cent of the ball at the Amex Stadium.
The loudest cheer from Forest’s fans thus far had come when Johnson successfully blocked a Brighton clearance by the corner flag.
In their defence, the away end had been given little else to celebrate, so they made their own fun.
Forest were searching for their first away win in the Premier League since May 1999. More was needed if they were to end that 23-year wait, though Henderson was busy from the start of the second half.
Gross’s out-swinging corner was met on the volley by Danny Welbeck but Forest’s goalkeeper pushed it away.
In the 51st minute, Veltman’s cross was inviting for Welbeck, who headed wide. Another chance, another collective groan from the home fans.
There was concern for Forest captain Ryan Yates when Moises Caicedo kicked him flush in the face. There was blood, but Yates continued, determined to see out the draw.
It was 15-0 to Brighton on shots and 24-0 on touches in the opposition box.
Then at long last, in the 58th minute, the visitors had a crack. Johnson, who had shown the greatest endeavour of any Forest player, earned the space to shoot as he entered the box.
His attempt went out for a throw-in, much to the entertainment of Brighton’s supporters, but it was better than nothing.
As we entered the final 20 minutes, the game was much more balanced and Forest sensed they had done enough to add another point to their Premier League total.
There was time for one final heroic save from Henderson when Gross thought he had scored a late winner. He hadn't, thanks to a strong hand from Forest's busy goalkeeper.