Albion emerged with a plucky point from a bruising goaless draw with Cambridge, plus a headache for their next away match.

Micky Adams could now be without both captain Paul Rogers and fellow midfielder Charlie Oatway for the tough trip to Tranmere on August 25.

That counts as the third of Oatway's controversial three-game ban for his red card on the Irish tour.

Rogers will also be unavailable at Prenton Park if his intended appeal against another hotly disputed dismissal fails.

The first sending off of Rogers' Albion career overshadowed an otherwise satisfying start for the Seagulls on their return to the Second Division.

Everybody was under the impression that his first booking, branded "silly" by Adams, was for gently kicking the ball away after conceding a free-kick.

Rogers, however, claims it was for his tackle on Ian Ashbee, rather than his reaction to being penalised.

The real dispute though revolves around the second yellow card, just minutes later and moments before half time, following an aerial challenge involving Ashbee again.

Referee Chris Foy clearly felt Rogers was responsible for leaving Ashbee on the floor requiring treatment. Rogers says Ashbee collided with one of his own players.

It would be surprising if someone of Rogers' experience did something reckless within such a short space of time of being booked.

The issue will be clearer once Adams has examined the video, but his skipper had to sit and suffer throughout the second half.

"I was in the stand with the fans," Rogers revealed. "It was horrible watching.

"You want the lads to dig in and get a result and every time the ball goes into the box you are on the edge of your seat.

"It was nice to come away without being beaten. They defended brilliantly."

Rogers was not the only unexpected onlooker. Adams left Kerry Mayo out of the starting line-up and off the bench, opting instead for Nathan Jones at leftback.

Mayo's virtually ever-present contribution to Albion's Third Division title triumph was rewarded in the summer by a two-year contract and a testimonial.

By omitting him Adams delivered the clearest message imaginable that competition this season will be fiercer than ever and nobody's place is guaranteed.

Adams pulled off what proved to be a tactical masterstroke at half time in response to the numerical disadvantage.

He withdrew wide men Paul Brooker and Gary Hart and introduced Oatway and Steve Melton in a 4-3-2 formation.

More cautious managers would have sacrificed new front man Dirk Lehmann, who worked hard in a debut eventually cut short by a leg injury.

"Looking at the first half I thought we could win the game and I still thought that at half time," Adams explained.

"We knew it was going to be difficult, but if I had taken a front man off we would have lost some height and, as we saw, Cambridge's style depends on an aerial threat."

A handful of home supporters took advantage of redevelpoment work at the Abbey Stadium by watching from an adjoining cow field.

It was an appropriate vantage point, because the approach of their team could certainly be classed as agricultural.

The decade dividing John Beck's first and second spells in charge does not seem to have diluted his liking for route one.

Cambridge were at their most dangerous from long throws and corners, but Albion defended so effectively that Michel Kuipers made his only serious save in the 65th minute, when he held David Kitson's snapshot.

Simon Morgan, preferred to Andy Crosby, had a sound debut at the heart of the back four, although he was among six other players booked and a touch fortunate not to concede a first half penalty for tripping Kitson.

The chances created by Albion were greater, both in number and clarity, with Bobby Zamora inevitably in the thick of things.

A first half header just lacked the elevation to defeat leaping keeper Lionel Perez, while he thundered a far post header against the bar in stoppage time from a cross by Lehmann's lively replacement Lee Steele.

In-between Rogers' indiscretions, Zamora's crossfield pass also set up Brooker for the most obvious opportunity of the contest, which he spurned by firing wide.

Adams said: "I was pleased with the first half. We had the better chances and should have come in with a goal.

"But for 'Dodge's' sending off I think we would have won. Bobby will feel a little bit disappointed not to have finished it at the end, but we are a point better off than we were this time last season.

"We haven't lost and we played with ten men for 45 minutes, so I think we can take a lot of credit from the game. We had great collective team spirit."

The gritty manner of the display banished the memory of the limp effort at Southend a year ago and earned Albion, notoriously slow starters, only their second point away from home on the opening day since 1984.

That is encouraging, even if Cambridge are likely to be nearer last than first come April.