It has been a long time coming, but it was certainly worth the wait.

The kid known affectionately within the camp as 'Rambo' had fired blanks 19 times. Scott Ramsay finally got it right though last night to kill off makeshift Macclesfield's brave challenge.

His two-goal salvo rewarded the faith of manager Micky Adams and left your correspondent eating a large slice of humble pie. I suggested Adams would surely turn to Gary Hart and Darren Freeman up front after a partnership of Ramsay and centre half turned centre forward Darren Carr hadn't worked at Lincoln last Saturday, despite a 3-1 win.

Adams, with typical single-mindedness, chose an alternative route. Ramsay retained his place, Gary Hart returned from a one-match ban at the expense of Carr and Freeman remained on the right. The result? Freeman scores twice as well after a scorcher from Hart in Albion's biggest home win since the opening day of the season.

If that makes it sound like a stroll it wasn't, or at least not for the opening 45 minutes. Suicidal defending meant the Seagulls had to come from behind twice against a Macclesfield team so depleted by injuries and suspension that manager Peter Davenport gambled by playing three forwards and had to name himself among the replacements.

An uncharacteristic mistake by Paul Watson inside his own area after just nine minutes allowed Graeme Tomlinson a shot which Mark Walton could only parry into the path of John Askey.

Watson had been the architect of the Lincoln victory, his corner-taking expertise leading to all three goals. He provided another for Freeman early in the second half, but the creative force this time was Paul Brooker.

The influential loan signing from Fulham set up both of Ramsay's goals and a cracking equaliser for Hart midway through the first half. Brooker embarked on a dazzling run through the middle, eluding three defenders in the process before finding Hart inside the area.

He cut inside his marker to rifle a right-foot shot across keeper Tony Williams into the roof of the net for his eighth goal of the season, seven of which have been scored at home.

Expectations of an easy victory were rudely interrupted again 12 minutes later. Andy Crosby, dallying on the edge of his own box, was dispossessed by Tomlinson and he unselfishly squared for youngster Damien Whitehead to restore Macclesfield's lead.

Had they held onto it until the interval things might have been different, but Freeman brought Albion back level again with a penalty on the stroke of half time. Ramsay, racing onto Hart's pass, was sent sprawling by Williams. Freeman, having missed from the spot in the home game against Halifax earlier this month, sent Williams the wrong way with a powerful shot.

Freeman took his tally for the season to 13 three minutes into the second half, applying the finishing touch to Crosby's goalbound header at the far post from Watson's corner. More importantly it gave Albion the lead for the first time and the impetus to finish Macclesfield off.

Enter Ramsay. Brooker, ignoring Askey's tug at his shorts, exchanged passes with the teenager twice down the left flank, the second time giving him space inside the area. Ramsay's toe-poke with his left foot from 12 yards carried just enough power to creep past Williams at his near post.

There was nothing fortunate about Ramsay's second with a minute left. Brooker weaved more magic to cross from the byline and the Hastings youngster met it with a half-volley into the roof of the net.

Adams said: "Sometimes you need one to bobble in for you, but Scott's second was top drawer. All I ever want Paul Brooker to do is get on the ball and be positive. When he is in that kind of form he is a handful.

"I was pleased with our five but not too sure about their two. I don't think it was a particularly fluid performance, but at this stage of the season you have just got to pick the points up.

"I was disappointed with our first half performance. Fair credit to Macclesfield, their desire and effort was not matched by my boys. They wanted it more than we did. You cannot keep giving teams leads. We had to work hard for all of our goals, but I am not so sure Macclesfield had to for theirs and the scoreline flattered us."

Adams is right to be concerned about Albion's defending at the moment and what he described as "cocky confidence" in the first half. Nobody can argue, however, with five wins and a draw in the last six games with 18 goals scored and five conceded, a run which has raised the Seagulls from no man's land into the pack pursuing a play-off place.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.