They were the Championship's best last season, but Newcastle and Brighton might just have served up one of the worst Premier League matches of 2017 following this sour stalemate.
It was not even one for the tactical purist, those whose analysis is better suited to the intricacies of a chess match. No, this was more like snakes and ladders - little skill, infuriating and ending up right back where you started.
The game's best player was a goalkeeper - Brighton's Matt Ryan - but his afternoon's work did not extend much beyond a pair of fine second-half saves.