Brighton and Hove Albion stretched their unbeaten run to four games with a superb second half fightback to keep Steve Coppell's mini-revival on course.

Strikes by Simon Rodger (53) and Arsenal loan signing Steve Sidwell (72) made it eight points out of 12 for Coppell's spirited Seagulls in their battle to beat the drop.

Both were fashioned by the majestic Bobby Zamora and cancelled out first-half goals from corners for Preston by captain Chris Lucketti and Richard Cresswell.

Albion started brightly in front of a crowd of 13,068 at Deepdale before falling behind in the 17th minute.

Lucketti, returning from a rib injury, powered home a header from a corner by American International Eddie Lewis.

Dean Blackwell, back from a hamstring problem, hobbled off with another injury on 28 minutes and Albion fell further adrift eight minutes later.

Cresswell slotted his ninth of the season from close range when they failed to clear their lines from a Graham Alexander corner.

The Seagulls' habit of conceding from set pieces had come back to haunt them but Preston, themselves the comeback experts of the First Division, had reckoned without Zamora and the resolve of Coppell's side.

Zamora, shrugging off heel, ankle and hamstring injuries, was outstanding from start to finish.

Early on, his shot was parried by the diving David Lucas after a clever piece of skill fooled Colin Murdock.

Zamora also outwitted Lucketti in the first half to cross for Sidwell to have a header pushed over by Lucas.

The Seagulls hauled themselves back into contention when Zamora's hanging cross was headed back by Gary Hart for Rodger to volley his second goal in four starts from 15 yards.

The recovery was completed with 18 minutes left as Zamora put Sidwell through for an accomplished finish into the roof of the net.

Sidwell's first goal for the club on his full away debut earned Albion a valuable fifth away point of the season and condemned Preston to their tenth draw of the campaign.

The home fans were outraged when referee Howard Webb cautioned Cresswell, one of eight bookings in the match, on 64 minutes for diving when they thought he should have been awarded a penalty for a foul by keeper Michel Kuipers.

Albion's second successive away draw puts them in good heart for another tough trip on Wednesday to Nottingham Forest.

Results elsewhere also went their way. Stoke's losing run continued with a 1-0 home defeat by Millwall, for whom Steven Reid headed home a second-minute Dennis Wise free-kick.

Shaun Derry's deflected 18-yard strike sent Grimsby spinning towards a 2-0 defeat at Selhurst Park. Dele Adebola killed them off on 61 minutes.

Bradford continue to slip into the mire. They had Gus Uhlenbeek dismissed 56 minutes into a 5-0 home thrashing by Sheffield United.

Full matchday coverage at thisisthealbion.co.uk