West Ham 1-1 Brighton: Hammers snatch a vital point to steady the ship after Mohammed Kudus clawed back the equaliser against battling Seagulls
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If the hope was that Niclas Fullkrug would be the man to save West Ham’s season and, ultimately, Julen Lopetegui’s job, then those in claret and blue will need to make a few more Christmas wishes before that happens. Thankfully, they have someone called Jarrod Bowen at the heart of their play.
![[Mohammed Kudus (left) helped West Ham secure a point at home after falling behind Brighton]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/21/16/93384261-0-image-a-22_1734799958408.jpg)
It was their captain, as it so often is, who helped the Hammers claw something back from this topsy-turvy contest after they had gone behind to a goal from Brighton’s Mats Wieffer, forcing a save that was turned in by Mohammed Kudus to earn a point at the London Stadium.
The £27million summer signing Fullkrug made his first Premier League start after missing three months through injury and that he is not yet up to full speed would be the kindest explanation for his stumbling full debut. The 31-year-old German struggled to have any impact, gave away three fouls in the first half in which he touched the ball 13 times and on eight occasions gave it away. At one point he lost the ball, won it back, and then tried a 30-yard Hollywood cross-field pass to no one and then threw his arms up in frustration when he wondered why no one got anywhere near it.
It was no surprise that Fullkrug made way just before the hour and West Ham found their equaliser a minute later after Bowen had moved into the middle. For Brighton, it’s a fifth game without a win and a third time Fabian Hurzeler’s side have taken the lead but failed to see out the game.
