Albion’s poor Withdean form continued this weekend as they were held by League One’s bottom side Rotherham United in a second consecutive 0-0 bore draw.

Brighton: Kuipers, Mayo, Lynch, El-Abd (Bertin 73), Butters, O’Cearuill, Ward, Hammond, Cox, Robinson, Savage.
Subs Not Used: Sullivan, Frutos, Gatting, Bakayogo.
 
Booked: Hammond, El-Abd.
 
Rotherham: Cutler, Worrell, Sharps, Fleming, Brogan, Cochrane, Bopp, Woods, Henderson, Facey, O’Grady.
Subs Not Used: Montgomery, Partridge, Mills, Newsham, Streete.
 
Booked: Cochrane.
 
Att: 5,444.
 
Ref: D Deadman (Cambridgeshire).

Dean Wilkins handed debuts to two of his new signings with Nick Ward starting on the right of midfield with Tommy Fraser dropping out of the 16 man squad while new striker Bas Savage started upfront alongside Jake Robinson with Joe Gatting dropping down to the bench. 
 
Other new signings Zoumana Bakayogo and Alexis Bertin had to make do with places on the bench as the Seagulls stuck with pretty much the same starting line up from last weeks 0-0 draw with Port Vale. 
 
The Seagulls have scored just one goal in their last seven games and a lack of confidence in front of goal was once again evident in a pretty dire game at the Withdean. 
 
The game was mainly based around both teams lumping the ball aimlessly forward at one another with the few chances carved out by both teams coming from some rare passing moves. 
 
The best of the chances in the first half was created by new signing Nick Ward who split the Millers defence with a through ball to Jake Robinson, but the goal shy forward fired his shot straight at Rotherham goalkeeper Neil Cutler. 
 
Robinson was again involved when Dean Cox missed the best chance of the game with a close ranger header. Robinson combined well with Nick Ward on the right and delivered a great ball to the far post where the smallest man on the pitch Dean Cox rose to head the ball agonisingly wide of the far post. 
 
Rotherham didn’t really create many clear cut chances, but they did enjoy their fair share of possession and particuarly early on in the first half they forced the play with a string of corners putting the Albion back four under pressure. 
 
Dean Hammond almost opened the scoring on the stroke of halftime when he ended a powerful run forward with a stinging shot which forced Cutler into a save although the shot was right down the throat of the Rotherham keeper. 
 
The second half was a slight improvement on the first with a bit more passing on the floor from both sides. It’s hard to see how the Seagulls have gone from playing some of their best football in years earlier in the season to some of the recent performances where good passing football has been at a premium. 
 
If any team was going to win it in the second half it looked like it would be Rotherham who forced a few uneasy moments for the Seagulls late on. 
 
A routine catch from a cross for Michel Kuipers almost saw a calamitous moment as the Dutch goalkeeper lost his footing gifting Rotherham’s Eugen Bopp the ball, but Kuipers managed to recover to spread himself well to block the former Nottingham Forest players effort. 
 
And it was Bopp who almost stole all three points for the Millers when he volleyed against the bar from 25 yards out with Kuipers beaten. So another clean sheet but a far from inspiring display against a side who haven’t won in four games. Albion will need to improve if they are to take anything from two consecutive away games to relegation threatened opposition as they take on Brentford on Saturday before the rearranged trip to Leyton Orient the following Tuesday.

Added on Sunday, February 4th, 2007 at 1:47 pm under Match reports by Wilka.