Albion assistant Bob Booker has labelled the Seagulls' first friendly defeat as a "nice little wake-up call."

They were beaten 2-1 by League newcomers Yeovil at Huish Park last night, eight days ahead of the big kick-off at Oldham.

Loan signing Leon Knight levelled for Albion in the second half, but an unfortunate own goal by captain Danny Cullip after just 28 seconds and an 88th minute winner by substitute Adam Stansfield continued Yeovil's impressive pre-season form.

Booker said: "I thought we played a very good team, especially in the first half. We were caught very short at the beginning, which put us on the back foot, and it took a while for us to get into the pace of the game.

"We did that as the game went on and started to press a lot better. The one time we did not close down in the second half we got caught again and ended with a defeat.

"They are a good outfit and if they start like that they are going to cause a lot of problems. It was a nice little wake-up call for us at this stage of pre-season."

Yeovil had already beaten Wolves and Brentford at home, as well as drawing with Preston.

"The manager (Steve Coppell) made that point before the game," Booker said. "It was a good, tough test for us and the lads had to be on their toes."

The main plus points for Albion were Knight's second goal in as many matches and the performance of keeper Michel Kuipers after his injury problems last season. "It was a good 90 minutes for Michel," Booker said.

"He is slowly getting into kicking the ball again and made some good saves, especially in the first half."

Knight, who pounced on an error by Kuipers' counterpart Christopher Weale, said: "I am happy to score but I am not happy that we lost. That is disappointing, but it also gives us an incentive to get it right when the season kicks off."

Recent signing Carl Wilson-Denis missed the match as Albion are still waiting for his international clearance. They are hoping he will be involved in Monday's friendly against Leicester at Withdean (7.45).

Midfielder Geoff Pitcher is signing for Stevenage for a month's loan, while Rob Forzoni has rejoined the coaching staff for an unspecified period.

Forzoni, a specialist in sports psychology, worked with Coppell at Crystal Palace and Brentford and linked up intermittently with Albion towards the end of last season.