Brighton Held to Draw by Tromso in Europa Conference League

Brighton’s return to competitive action spluttered into life, then ran out of ideas, as they were held to a 0-0 draw by a disciplined Tromso in the first leg of their Europa Conference League play-off.

New season, same ambition. But this was not the sharp, whirring Brighton side that has lit up recent European nights. Midway through their own league campaign, Tromso looked fitter, better tuned, and more than happy to drag the Seagulls into a scrap.

Roberto De Zerbi’s side still leave northern Norway with the tie in their hands. Any win at the Amex next Thursday will be enough to book a place in the group stage. They just made life harder than it needed to be.

Brighton huff and puff, Haugaard stands firm

For long spells in the first half, Brighton had the ball and Tromso had the plan. Sit deep, stay narrow, wait for mistakes. It worked.

The first real crack in the home side’s resistance came on 29 minutes. Georginio Rutter stepped in from distance and let fly from 25 yards, the strike skidding towards the bottom corner. Jacob Haugaard read it early, sprang low to his left and clawed it away.

That seemed to wake Brighton up. From the resulting corner, the pressure finally told – or should have. The ball dropped to Osman inside the box. One touch on the chest, then a vicious volley. Haugaard reacted brilliantly again, tipping it over for another corner and roaring at his defence to switch on.

Just before the break, Brighton carved out their clearest opening. Deep into first-half stoppage time, Pascal Gross whipped in a superb corner that picked out Boscagli, completely free in the middle of the area. He met it cleanly, but the header flew over. Tromso survived, and the home crowd sensed this might just be their night.

Tromso threaten on the break

If the first half belonged to Brighton’s possession, the second half quickly reminded them of the dangers of European away legs.

On 49 minutes, one simple pass almost undid them. Edvardsson clipped a ball through the lines and it ran all the way to Heine Larsen. The flag stayed down. For a split second, Brighton were exposed. Bart Verbruggen tore off his line, spread himself and made a brilliant one-on-one stop to keep the scores level.

The warning was clear. Tromso didn’t need many passes to hurt them.

Brighton tried to wrestle control back, and Ayari began to drag the game in their direction. Booked as the tempo rose, he responded by demanding the ball and driving at defenders. On 54 minutes he skipped through two challenges and fired low, only for Haugaard to palm the effort wide. Again, the Norwegian goalkeeper refused to be beaten.

Missed chances at both ends

As the game ticked into its final quarter, the pattern frayed. Tired legs, tired minds, big spaces.

Brighton’s bench almost made the difference. On 75 minutes, Cozier-Duberry produced a wonderful cross from the right, curling the ball perfectly into the path of fellow substitute Kostoulas. It was the sort of chance managers dream about: central, unmarked, eight yards out. Kostoulas rose, met it – and headed over.

The groans from the away end told their own story. One moment of quality, wasted.

Tromso, though, had saved the biggest twist for the closing stages. On 86 minutes, Vadebu suddenly found himself clean through after a poor piece of defending from Vuskovic. No covering defender, just green grass and Verbruggen ahead of him. It looked destined to be the sucker punch. Vadebu dragged his shot wide.

The Tromso bench had their heads in their hands. Brighton’s players exhaled. The chance to take a precious lead back to England had gone.

All to do at the Amex – with Villa looming

The final whistle brought a murmur rather than a roar. Tromso will be proud of their work; Brighton will know this should have been wrapped up.

Now the schedule tightens. Between the two legs, Brighton open their Premier League campaign at home to Aston Villa on Sunday, live on Sky Sports in a 2pm kick-off. De Zerbi must juggle minutes, manage energy and somehow find the cutting edge that deserted his side in Norway.

The tie remains firmly in Brighton’s control. Any victory at the Amex sends them through. The question is no longer whether they can dominate Tromso.

It’s whether they can finally make it count.