Festive joy has been in short supply for both of these clubs, especially for a West Ham side seemingly sleepwalking their way towards relegation.
Brighton created a couple of early openings through Yankuba Minteh and Diego Gómez, but it was the Hammers who surprisingly broke the deadlock through Jarrod Bowen.
He latched onto Lucas Paqueta’s lofted ball and calmly tucked home a neat finish past Bart Verbruggen to register his 101st Premier League goal involvement, equalling Michail Antonio’s club record.
The Seagulls were struggling amid West Ham’s resurgence, but were given an unexpected lifeline when Maximilian Kilman was penalised for clipping Minteh in the box.
Danny Welbeck duly dispatched the subsequent spot-kick, sending Alphonse Areola the wrong way and restoring parity.
Incredibly, they were awarded another penalty when Paqueta hauled down Lewis Dunk from a corner, and Welbeck stepped up again. This time, the experienced frontman attempted a Panenka penalty, which cannoned off the bar, before Paqueta converted from 12 yards to restore the hosts’ lead after Dunk was penalised for handball at the end of a crazy first half.
Hurzeler was forced into reshuffling his pack, with Minteh forced off injured just shy of the hour mark. The Gambian was withdrawn as part of a double change that included Kaoru Mitoma, who was involved in a penalty shout almost immediately in an altercation with Bowen, but it was an unlikely source that brought the Seagulls back onto level terms.
Joel Veltman provided an opportunistic finish from inside the six-yard box after Areola failed to deal with Ferdi Kadioglu’s corner.
Only Brentford (12) have scored more league goals than Brighton’s 11 in the final 15 minutes, and the visitors were looking the more likely to score a potentially decisive third goal here.
Welbeck and Brajan Gruda linked up well to provide a chance for Yasin Ayari, which he volleyed over the bar, before Mitoma was denied by Areola following some neat link-up play with Kadioglu.
Areola was having a busy end to the match, this time parrying away Georginio Rutter’s strike as the Seagulls continued to push for a winner.
Ayari was unlucky not to score again when he rifled a right-footed shot wide, with Kadioglu heavily involved again, but Nuno Espirito Santo’s side held on for what could be a valuable point.
The result closes the gap on 17th place to four points for the Hammers, but they are yet to win a home Premier League game against Brighton after nine attempts (D7 L2). Meanwhile, Brighton’s winless run extends to six games (D3, L3), as their stuttering form continues.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United)
