Brave Bobby Zamora maintained Albion's march towards promotion this weekend.

The young marksman's 25th goal of the season and a Gary Hart strike deep into stoppage time clinched the Seagulls' 12th win out of 14 at Withdean.

It lifts Micky Adams' men back up into second place, but Mansfield made them endure an anxious second half after they had completely dominated the first.

A crowd of 6,703 saw Zamora add to his tally in the 17th minute.

He latched on to a Richard Carpenter pass to calmly lift the ball over goalkeeper Bobby Mimms.

Mansfield were never in the hunt in the opening 45 minutes, but it was a different story after the break.

They started to test a defence in which 18-year-old Adam Virgo made his full debut and it took a fine save by Michel Kuipers to deny Darrell Clarke an equaliser.

Paul Brooker almost eased the nerves with a shot which hit a post before Zamora was eventually forced off.

He suffered injuries to both his right leg and right hand in the first half and was replaced on 62 minutes by Nathan Jones.

Martin Thomas, signed on transfer deadline day from Swansea, made his debut as a 60th minute substitute for skipper Paul Rogers as the Seagulls struggled to hold on for three more vital points.

Hart finally made sure four minutes into injury time, Jones setting him up for his eighth of the campaign.

Albion are now three points above Cardiff from the same number of games ahead of the Welshmen's trip to Cheltenham tomorrow.

Adams stood behind the Directors' box to watch the match as a result of his 14-day ban from the dugout for misconduct.

He will be allowed back on the bench at Rochdale on Tuesday, when Lee Steele serves the second of a three-match suspension.

Albion today announced an average season ticket price increase of 20 per cent for next season.