Brighton held to 0-0 draw by Tromso in Conference League play-off
Brighton’s European campaign began with a stutter rather than a statement, held to a 0-0 draw by a disciplined Tromso side in the first leg of their Conference League play-off.
On a cool night against opponents already deep into their domestic season, the Seagulls looked exactly what they were: a team feeling their way through a first competitive outing of the campaign. The rhythm never quite came, the final touch kept deserting them, and by the end they were hanging on as much as they were pushing for a winner.
They will still be firm favourites to finish the job back at the Amex next Thursday. Any win in the second leg sends them into the main draw. But this was a reminder that Europe rarely hands out easy nights.
Brighton huff and puff, Haugaard stands firm
The pattern arrived early. Brighton with the ball, Tromso in their shape, waiting for mistakes and breaks. The Norwegian side were compact, organised and utterly unflustered.
Just before the half-hour, Brighton finally snapped into life.
At 29 minutes, Georginio Rutter stepped in off the flank and let fly from 25 yards. It was a clean strike, skidding low towards the corner, but Jacob Haugaard read it well and plunged to his left to turn it wide.
That seemed to wake Brighton up. From the resulting corner, the ball broke to Osman on the edge of the box. One touch on his chest, then a vicious volley that looked destined for the net. Haugaard reacted superbly, springing across his line to claw it behind again. Two excellent saves in a minute, and an early hint that this might be a frustrating night.
Right on the stroke of half-time, another chance slipped away. Pascal Gross delivered a teasing corner in stoppage time, picking out Boscagli completely unmarked in the middle of the area. He rose, met it cleanly – and powered his header over. Tromso survived to the interval without conceding, and Brighton trudged off knowing they should already have been in front.
Tromso threaten as Brighton wobble
If Brighton expected Tromso to fade, the opening of the second half told a different story.
On 49 minutes, one simple ball from Edvardsson carved them open. His pass slid through the lines and found Heine Larsen racing in behind. The flag stayed down, the angle opened up, and for a split second Tromso’s travelling fans were ready to explode. Bart Verbruggen had other ideas. The Brighton goalkeeper flew off his line, spread himself and made a brilliant stop, a huge save in a game where mistakes suddenly looked costly.
That scare briefly jolted Brighton back into sharper movement. Ayari, increasingly influential between the lines, began to drag his side forward. He took a booking in stride, then moments later danced past two challenges and drove into space on 54 minutes, only to see his low effort pushed wide by Haugaard, who refused to be beaten.
Still, the longer it stayed goalless, the more emboldened Tromso became.
Missed chances at both ends as stalemate holds
Roberto De Zerbi turned to his bench and almost found the breakthrough there. With 15 minutes to play, substitute Cozier-Duberry produced one of the moments of quality the game had been crying out for, whipping in a superb cross from the right. Another substitute, Kostoulas, timed his run well and met it from a prime position in the middle. The header, though, sailed over. Head in hands, chance gone.
The miss seemed to drain Brighton and energise Tromso. The Norwegian side sensed that the Premier League club were vulnerable and pushed higher, chasing a famous first-leg win.
On 86 minutes, they should have had it.
A poor piece of defending from Vuskovic opened the door, his error allowing Vadebu to race clear through on goal. One touch to steady himself, the goal gaping, Brighton’s back line nowhere. He dragged his finish wide. Tromso’s bench slumped. A golden opportunity wasted, and a huge let-off for the visitors.
The final minutes drifted away, Brighton probing without conviction, Tromso content with the clean sheet they had worked so hard to earn.
No away goal to protect, no advantage to carry home. Just a goalless first leg, a few regrets, and the knowledge that next Thursday at the Amex, there will be no room for this kind of wastefulness.
Between now and then, Brighton must flip the switch quickly. Their Premier League season starts on Sunday with Aston Villa visiting the Amex. A domestic test, live on television, before a European night that will already feel like a defining early checkpoint in their season.
