Brighton & Hove Albion manager Chris Hughton has claimed that his side were "better" than Newcastle United in their goalless draw at St James' Park this afternoon.
A game of few clear-cut chances for either party saw the Seagulls claim a valuable away point in a game that marked a return to the North-East for Hughton, who managed the Magpies for 18 months between 2009 and 2010.
"I thought over the 90 minutes we were the better side. Not many chances in it and you could sense the nervousness in front of goal from both sides but we were very worthy of the point and probably deserved a bit more," he told reporters afterwards.
"We had really good periods of possession in both halves and those are the moments you have to get your goal. A difficult game, never an easy one here and I'm reasonably satisfied with the point.
"We deserve to be in the Premier League but we are find the qualities in this division. It is harder to score. All you want is to be at least in the game and we have done that apart from against Liverpool."
Next up for Brighton, who end 2017 on 22 points and 12th in the Premier League table, is a home encounter with Bournemouth on New Year's Day.
Neil Wilkes
