Just when West Ham United thought they had one foot and maybe a few toes across the finish line, Jarrod Bowen firing them in front at the Amex, Brighton and Hove Albion hit back.

The Hammers had beaten the Seagulls only once in 16 Premier League meetings since Chris Hughton led the South Coast outfit to promotion in 2017.

On a bitterly cold and at-times frantic afternoon, West Ham United briefly appeared destined to land a knockout blow to the chin of their proverbial ‘bogey team’.

Jarrod Bowen had not scored in eight matches, his longest drought since the beginning of 2024. But, having looked the most likely to break the deadlock throughout the opening 70 minutes, it came as no surprise that it was he who found a way past Bart Verbruggen in the Brighton goal.

Callum Wilson, on as a second-half substitute, made an instant impact as he raced onto a loose ball, held up his marker, and slid the pass in behind. Bowen brilliantly found the corner from the tightest of angles.

Verbruggen, who had denied both Bowen and Crysencio Summerville earlier in the proceedings with a sensational pair of stops, had no response this time. But while Nuno’s team selection sparked much debate pre-match, it was the nature of Brighton’s stoppage-time equaliser which caused a stir at full-time.

Premier League say Georginio Rutter’s equaliser vs Wet Ham United was legal

In truth, there were not one but two reasons for VAR to take a closer look.

Firstly, a desperate overhead kick from Charalampos Kostoulas which appeared to at least graze the forehead of Konstantinos Mavropanos. Then, the ball bounced onto the arm of Georginio Rutter in the midst of a crowded penalty area.

Via an official X account, the Premier League have now confirmed exactly why Rutter’s 91st minute strike was not chalked off after an anxious wait.

How do YOU feel about Brighton’s controversial equaliser?

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“The referee’s call of goal was checked and confirmed by VAR – with it deemed that Rutter’s arm was in a natural position and he did not deliberately handle the ball, and the contact with the arm was not immediately prior to him scoring.”

Had Alphonse Areola not kept out Rutter’s initial attempt, fizzing the ball goal-ward after it rebounded back of his forearm, West Ham may have two more points to their name.

Instead, a typically inspired Areola palmed it aside, only for Jan Paul van Hecke to set up Rutter to fire through the helpless goalkeeper’s legs at the near post.

Nuno Espirito Santo fumes as West Ham drop vital points

The expression on Nuno’s face said more than words ever could. All he could muster, with a face like thunder, was a curt ‘yep’ when asked if he felt there was an element of ‘cruelty’ to the way West Ham had been denied a vital win on the road.

A hard-earned point at The Amex! Who was YOUR Man of the Match and why? Let us know below…

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“It’s a handball isn’t it!,” a furious head coach told Sky Sports, clearly not on the same page as the Premier League.

“We missed a couple of chances that we had, clear ones. It was a good game.

I think the first half was good. We created problems. We contained them. Areola didn’t have that much to do. We score, we try to close the game, and unfortunately we could not.”

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