Brighton & Hove Albion 1 Walsall 1

Last updated : 06 November 2007 By Footymad Previewer
Brighton & Hove Albion moved into the play-off places, but they still suffered double disappointment.

Their failure to kill off Walsall was compounded by the lowest ever crowd for a league game at Withdean.

Only 4,714 fans turned out to see the south coast club extend their run to one defeat in the last nine matches.

They should have celebrated a fifth victory out of six in all competitions after Jake Robinson ended a league goal drought spanning more than a year.

The young striker put Brighton ahead in the 36th minute with his first goal in League One since a hat-trick at Huddersfield in October last season.

However, there was an element of fortune about it.

Robinson had to stretch to reach a cross from Frenchman David Martot. His volley was not cleanly struck but Walsall's giant goalkeeper Clayton Ince went down too early in anticipation of a more powerful strike.

Brighton dominated the first half with some neat football.

Ince had to save a header from Bas Savage and Martot chipped narrowly over the bar from long range.

Walsall barely mounted an attack in the opening 45 minutes but they improved in the second half after losing defender Rhys Weston following a clash of heads with Savage.

Brighton still had chances to put the game beyond them. Centre-half Tommy Elphick headed straight at Ince, Martot drove wide following good work by Nicky Forster and Ince also had to hold a swivelling volley from Robinson.

Walsall's five-match unbeaten run away from home seemed destined to end until Ishmel Demontagnac equalised with a bolt from the blue eleven minutes from time.

The England Under-19 international, who was brought on as a second-half substitute, fired a left-foot shot over Brighton's Dutch goalkeeper Michels Kuipers from 25 yards.

Demontagnac nearly staged a repeat three minutes later, this time cutting inside onto his right foot, but Kuipers clawed the ball to safety.

Brighton's last chance went begging when Martot glanced a header wide from Robinson's cross on the stroke of full-time.