Aston Villa keeper denies Brighton nine times to scrape draw

Brighton dominated and had 26 goalscoring chances

Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez was kept busy. EPA

Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez pulled off a string of superb saves to grab an unlikely point for Aston Villa in a 0-0 draw away to a dominant Brighton & Hove Albion that saw the Seagulls extend their unbeaten run in the Premier League to six games.

Alexis Mac Allister set the tone for what would be a frustrating night for the home side when he flashed a header just wide in the 10th minute before Martinez was called into action.

The 28-year-old Argentine made an excellent stop to deny Leandro Trossard and followed that up with a brilliant one-handed save to keep Daniel Burn's 39th-minute header out to keep the game scoreless at the break.

With Jack Grealish finding himself covered by two defenders almost every time he got the ball, Villa were able to offer little in attack, and instead their goalkeeper was in the thick of things again early in the second half.

Martinez made a reflex save from a deflected Alexis Mac Allister shot and despite a slew of chances, Brighton could not break the deadlock and the game finished scoreless.

In all, Martinez made nine stops from 26 goalscoring chances created by Brighton, which helped keep him warm on a chilly night as his side hung on to draw.

"I thought I had a good game because I made a save early on and I am delighted to keep everyone out today. I just want to repay the trust of the manager, goalkeeper coach and club," he said.

The point lifted Villa above Tottenham Hotspur to eighth place. They have 36 points after 22 games, while Brighton climbed to 15th in the table on 26 points from 24 matches.
"Not even bang average, I have never seen us make so many unforced errors in a game, it was sloppy from start to finish but we had the resilience to keep the ball out of the net," a frustrated Smith said.

"Emiliano Martinez made some good saves when needed and was our best player on the pitch tonight. It shows you need a player like that at times, we have not had many performances like this where we have been second best."