Chris Hughton has confessed that Brighton & Hove Albion did not play well enough to earn victory against Crystal Palace on Tuesday night.
The Eagles picked up a first away point of the campaign by leaving the Amex Stadium with a goalless draw in a game that saw both teams lack conviction in the final third.
Opposition boss Roy Hodgson declared that a point apiece was "a fair result", and Hughton has echoed these thoughts after seeing his side maintain their unbeaten top-flight record against rivals Palace.
"We have to ask did we play well enough to win the game? Probably not," he told BBC Sport. "But neither did they. So it's a fair result. We had some good opportunities but the longer it went on, the way it went it was going to be a stalemate, and you felt maybe it would be a set-piece or a mistake that would settle it.
"It was a nervous game and didn't have the flow. Maybe not the style that you would expect a derby to have. Palace have a lot of ability in the final third, so if you do not play well enough you have to make sure you don't lose it."
Brighton welcome Liverpool to the south coast on Saturday afternoon in their next league outing, aiming to build on a run that has seen them lose just one of their last seven games.
Daniel Lewis
