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Chris Hughton praises Brighton goalkeeper Mathew Ryan following crucial save

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Brighton manager Chris Hughton claims neither side were good enough to win the game in the 0-0 draw against rivals Crystal Palace

Brighton boss Chris Hughton was pleased goalkeeper Mathew Ryan came up with a great double save to help his side secure a point.

The Australia international didn't have a lot to do during the goalless draw with Crystal Palace but was at his best when he had to first save from Christian Benteke and then Wilfried Zaha in the 14th minute.

Hughton said: "He has been very good for us, especially in recent games, where he hasn't had much to do, but then he has had to pull out some very good saves."

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Brighton 0-0 Crystal Palace

Hughton says his side had good chances of their own but, like Palace, they couldn't find the back of the net to earn the three points.

"I also thought we had some very good opportunities from Izquierdo and Pascal Gross on the cutback," he said.

Overall, Hughton accepts a point each was a fair result at the Amex Stadium on Tuesday night.

Mathew Ryan made a great double save
Image: Mathew Ryan made a great double save

He said: "Did we do enough to win the game? Probably not. Certainly they didn't play well enough to win it either, so on reflection it's a decent result.

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"The longer the game went it seemed like it was going to be a stalemate. It was going to either be a mistake or a set piece which put it into someone's favour.

"It was almost a bit of a nervous type of game. I don't think either side played to the levels they're capable of, so it didn't really go with the type of flow these games do."

A number of fireworks were set off
Image: A number of fireworks were set off

"What I am pleased about, certainly at this level, in these types of games if you don't play at the level, you've got to make sure you don't lose the game.

"What they do have Palace is a lot of ability in the final third of the pitch and Benteke is always a handful and the pace they've got with Townsend. We've kept a clean sheet, we just didn't show enough to get that goal to turn it into our favour."

The Brighton boss was asked about whether he thought the pyrotechnics set off in the away end impacted him and his team.

He said: "It was unusual, I've certainly not seen it here in my time, so certainly something we haven't had to face before, but what you have to do is get on with the job."

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