Bristol Rovers 1 Brighton & Hove Albion 2

Last updated : 21 April 2009 By Footymad Previewer
Brighton kept their survival hopes very much on the boil as they came from behind to beat Bristol Rovers 2-1.

For temporary boss Russell Slade it was a fourth win in the last five and again it owed so much to a goal from Lloyd Owusu.

He conjured up the equaliser but it was a stunning low header early in the second half from Calvin Andrew which pointed Brighton towards a 12th League win.

Andrew had replaced the injured Dean Cox and his goal from Gary Hart's cross sent him racing the length of the pitch to salute the 700 travelling fans.

It was a hard-fought win with Rovers chasing a top ten finish to their season competing for every ball as if their future like Brighton's depended upon it.

Owusu's goal with its hint of an angle was the crucial turning point in a tense match.

It came from a searching run by Hart down the left and a determined sliding finish by the striker which left keeper Steve Phillips without a chance although defender Jeff Hughes flung himself down in a desperate effort to keep it out.

Rovers had gone in front just short of the half-hour with a customary goal from Rickie Lambert, his 28th of the season. Again it was a goal fashioned on a wing this time on the right by Craig Disley.

David Pipe made a whole-hearted decoy run to deceive Brighton's back line as Disley coolly picked out Lambert at the far post and eight yards out.

There was no-one this time to rescue goalkeeper Michels Kuipers as there had been twice earlier.

The first came after just six minutes when Gary Borrowdale slid in front of a Lambert drive to give away the first corner. This was followed by an Adam Virgo deflection which went almost beyond the call of duty as he kept out a shot from Darryl Duffy.

Brighton had an early chance when Dean Cox seized on a loose clearance from centre-back Craig Hinton to put in Gary Dicker for a shot which went just wide of Phillips' right-hand post.