Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler believes his side were unlucky as their run without a win stretched to six matches following a 2-2 draw with relegation-threatened West Ham.

A breathless first half saw three penalties awarded in a Premier League match for the first time since 2002, with Danny Welbeck’s spot-kick cancelling out Jarrod Bowen’s opener for the hosts after just ten minutes.

Welbeck was given the opportunity to add another from the spot but missed for the visitors, becoming the ninth player in Premier League history to score and miss a penalty in the first half, with Lucas Paqueta then converting his own to put the Hammers in control at half-time.

Joel Veltman would rescue a point for the away side, which leaves them in 14th place, but Hurzeler considered the performance worthy of all three.

“A good performance, but in the end not a result we can be happy with,” the 32-year-old told BBC Sport.

“In some moments we missed some quality, in some moments we had a lack of luck. That's why it was 2-2."

Despite the disappointing run of form, the Austrian is convinced that his side will return to winning ways quickly.

“We have proved we are capable,” he said. “We have the belief in our quality and ourselves.

“Small margins are missing but we keep pushing and I'm sure we'll be back to getting on the winning track."

West Ham end 2025 in 18th place and on a nine-match winless run themselves, only ending the calendar year with a longer streak without a victory in 2002, which saw the Hammers go down at the end of that season.

Head coach Nuno Espirito Santo was disappointed his side could not hold onto their lead after the break, after a first-half display which he was encouraged by.

He said to BBC Sport: “First half was better, we contained, dominated, created a lot of chances.

“Second half we started well, controlling well with good combinations, but after conceding we went through some troubles, especially when Brighton brought on Mitoma and Rutter, fresh players with such quality.

“After that we were trying to hold on with the young boys.

“I'm really pleased with what they gave to the team and squad, but we didn't have many situations from which we could counter-attack from."