Nobody remembers a 0-0 draw in the Czech Republic for long, but Fabian Hürzeler will remember this one for a while. It was his 100th game as Brighton manager, the Seagulls came in on a six-game winning run, and they left Jablonec with a single point after a flat, laboured performance in the Conference League.
A rotated side that lacked a cutting edge
Hürzeler made eight changes from the team that beat Crystal Palace 5-0 on Sunday, and it showed. Brighton had scored in each of their previous 10 games, and they dominated both halves, but they struggled to create anything of real quality. Georginio Rutter, who scored twice in the 4-0 win over Lithuanian side Kauno Zalgiris last week, missed two good chances just before half-time.
Five minutes into the second half Malick Yalcouye thought he had put Brighton in front, but he mistimed his run and the flag went up for offside. That was as close as the visitors got. Hürzeler brought on four substitutes with 25 minutes to go, and the game lost some of its shape.
Verbruggen keeps it level
The home side sensed an opening. Antonin Rusek should have scored when he pounced on a misjudged header from Costinha, but he could not make it count. Bart Verbruggen then produced a fine save to deny a curling strike from Jiri Slama, and he had to beat away a stinging drive from Vakhtang Tchanturishvili at the end of a Jablonec counter-attack. Those stops preserved a fifth consecutive clean sheet for Brighton and earned the goalkeeper the BBC readers' player of the match award, with an average rating of 7.25.
What it means for Brighton
A draw hardly hurts when you are unbeaten in eight games in all competitions, and the clean sheet is a positive. Still, the way the side faded after the changes will bother Hürzeler, who has built his reputation on controlling matches with the ball. Brighton's next European assignment is a trip to Getafe in Madrid on Thursday 5 November, kicking off at 20:00 GMT.
The sense after this one is that Brighton could have done with a bit more edge up front. With Rutter's chances going begging and Yalcouye's disallowed run, one goal would probably have been enough, and it never came.
Match facts: Jablonec 0-0 Brighton & Hove Albion, UEFA Conference League league phase, Thursday 22 October 2026. No goals. Brighton are unbeaten in eight games in all competitions and kept a fifth consecutive clean sheet. Next: Getafe v Brighton, Thursday 5 November, 20:00 GMT.
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