Report by Rhys Turrell

The seagulls' unbeaten streak came to an end at Withdean on Saturday to high-fliers Tranmere Rovers. Although it probably won't go down in the record books as a classic, the endeavour and desire shown by the Albion players (and staff) to earn a result was great for all to see. You could perhaps be forgiven for thinking that after last week's demolition of Northwich and a full-to-capacity family stand it was a case of 'after the Lord's mayor show' however the second-half performance was possibly deserving of at least a point.

We shouldn't forget however that the Albion were fairly poor in the first-period with the impressive visitors showing why they at the right end of the lead. How they didn't score in the five minutes is a real puzzler. From a well-taken corner two Tranmere players went for the same ball and whether or not they got in each others way it was certainly a relief to see Hendo collecting the ball of a ball boy and not out of the net.

The visitor's centre forward, Gareth Taylor, was causing Albion's rear guard lots of problems with his hold - up and aerial prowess. On several occasions he beat Butters in the air and was central to most of Rovers 'direct' style of play. But we shouldn't speak derogatorily about Tranmere, their manager, Ronnie Moore, had them well drilled and they formed an efficient and sturdy unit.

With the seagulls struggling for a foothold in the game and fluent play rare it took a flash of skill from Cox to register a shot for the home side. His half-volley never really tested the goalkeeper and neither did it serve as a statement of intent for the Albion.

Shortly afterwards Rovers had their goal when forward Chris Greenacre pounced on a mix-up between Lynch and Hinshelwood. A lack of communication between the two meant they both went for the same header and the ball squirmed to Greenacre who was through one-on-one and finished coolly.

After the break Brighton upped the tempo and peppered the Tranmere goal with several long-range shots. However their was little for the visitors to be concerned about as they soaked up the pressure and launched several dangerous counter attacks. With around an hour on the clock Albion Chief Dean Wilkins changed the formation to 4-3-3 which featured Dean Cox playing in the 'quarterback' role and allowing him to exhibit his passing ability. The introduction of Dean Bowditch increased the pressure but to no avail with the Tranmere back-line being marshalled well and their team spirit showing through. However Robinson must have thought he had won it in the last-minute when he connected with cross-box header but to everyone's disappointment the ball landed wide of the post.

It would have given the seagulls a point that they perhaps deserved but as previously mentioned it would have been harsh on the visitors who were ruthlessly well-organised and straight out of the Ronnie Moore handbook. Before this game their away record was as bad as our home - with just two wins - and it is now becoming a little concerning. With back - to - back home games after our last Yorkshire visit of the year next Saturday we will have another tough test against a Leon Knight missing Swansea and whipping boys Cheltenham.

Player Ratings (Out of 10)

Henderson: Possibly a surprise inclusion but didn't put a foot wrong despite many howls against him. The debate between him Kuipers will force one of them to leave the club. 6

Lynch: Seemed to struggle a bit against the lively Shuker and was involved in mix-up for goal. 5

Hinshelwood: Solid again but was a little perturbed by Tranmere's front two.
At fault for the goal however. 6

Butters: Struggled at the start against the impressive Taylor but gained composure and improved throughout the 90 minutes. 6

Whing: Generally faultless and was solid both at the back and going forward.
6

Cox: Was probably a victim of his size and was frequently out muscled but he still had plenty of touches and never hid from he ball. 6

Hammond: Another solid display if not quite as a good as in recent matches. 6

El Abd: Kept his composure well while being wound-up by the Tranmere players and broke up play reasonably successfully. 6 MoM

Fraser: No lack of endeavour or running but perhaps just missing that bit of class that Bowditch can offer. 6

Revell: Won a lot of headers but not a lot of them came to anything. Again
worked hard but suffered from a lack of service. 6

Robinson: Like Cox, he probably suffered because of the physical impact he
was on the receiving end of and didn't live up to last week's performance.
Like Revell he suffered from a lack of decent service. 6

Subs:

Bowditch: Pushing for a start next week after this bright, albeit short
run-out where his strong running caused the Tranmere unit to drop deep.