Brighton were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw by Tromsø in the first leg of their Conference League play-off at Romssa Arena, leaving Fabian Hurzeler’s side needing a win in next week’s decisive return match.
Brighton controlled large periods of Thursday’s game but could not turn their superiority into a goal. The result means the tie remains finely balanced ahead of the second leg on the south coast in seven days’ time.
The visitors had to wait until the 26th minute for their first effort on target. Pascal Gross tested Tromsø goalkeeper Jakob Haugaard from outside the penalty area, but Haugaard gathered the shot comfortably.
Ibrahim Osman came much closer shortly afterwards on his Brighton debut. The 21-year-old created space for himself before unleashing a powerful effort, only for Haugaard to produce an excellent save and preserve the goalless scoreline.
Tromsø had their best opportunity five minutes into the second half. Heine Larsen was released through on goal and found himself one-on-one with Bart Verbruggen, but the Brighton goalkeeper reacted sharply, diving low to his right to keep out the attempt.
Haugaard was called into action again in the 54th minute when Yasin Ayari forced another smart save. Brighton continued to threaten, although Ferdi Kadioglu was unable to find the target after meeting Olivier Boscagli’s inviting corner.
The Seagulls dominated the closing stages, but Tromsø missed a late chance to snatch victory. Isak Vadebu was played in with four minutes remaining, yet, with only Verbruggen to beat, he lifted his effort over the crossbar.
Neither side could find a winner, leaving Brighton with work to do in the return fixture.
Osman impresses but Brighton lack a cutting edge
Osman was Brighton’s most effective attacking player despite this being his first appearance for the club. He joined Brighton from Nordsjaelland two years ago but had previously spent time on loan at Feyenoord, Auxerre and Birmingham City.
Only Haugaard’s fine intervention denied him a debut goal. Osman finished with Brighton’s highest totals for touches in the opposition box, with 12, and dribbles, with three. He also won possession three times in the final third. Only Gross, with five, created more chances than Osman’s three.
His display offered encouragement, but Hurzeler will be concerned by the lack of threat from the rest of his attack. Danny Welbeck, who scored 14 goals in all competitions last season, has left for Chelsea, while Georginio Rutter, Charalampos Kostoulas and Zadok Yohanna failed to make a decisive impact in Norway.
Brighton were also fortunate not to leave with a defeat. Tromsø recorded an expected goals total of 1.36 from five shots, while their late counter-attacks caused further problems. Brighton’s own xG figure was 1.61 from 25 attempts, underlining their dominance in volume but also their failure to make it count.
Hurzeler’s team will now switch their focus to their Premier League opener against Aston Villa on Sunday. However, Brighton know they must improve in front of goal if they are to overcome a Tromsø side that will travel to the south coast believing it can still progress.
