ALBION destroyed not just Cheltenham but a myth as well with an utterly convincing victory.

They showed that being big, strong and organised is not sufficient by itself to succeed in the Third Division.

This was a triumph for brain over brawn, subtlety over brute force.

Prior to Micky Adams' arrival, Albion were often accused of lacking physical presence to cope with the hustle and bustle of life at the fag end of the League.

At times last season they went to the other extreme, copying the Cheltenham philosophy of roughing up the opposition, launching it long and concentrating on set pieces as the main source of goals.

On Saturday, before another record Withdean crowd, the Seagulls struck the perfect balance. They matched Cheltenham's rough and tumble approach while simultaneously playing them off the park.

It doesn't come much better than this. I cannot recall, taking into account the strength of the opposition, a more complete home display since Adams took charge.

"It was a terrific performance from start to finish," Adams said. "We dominated the game and, but for some inspired goalkeeping from Steve Book, it could have been more emphatic.

"If we had got sucked into a physical battle Cheltenham have players more than capable of winning that sort of game.

"We had to play our game, passing around them and getting crosses into the box. I thought there were some awesome performances."

Danny Cullip fell into that category. He did not give the giant Julian Alsop, one of Adams' summer targets, a kick.

The on-loan Matthew Wicks was outstanding again alongside Cullip. In fact, it was hard to find much fault anywhere with a line-up unchanged for the third match in a row.

Captain Paul Rogers had arguably his best game in an Albion shirt and Richard Carpenter has given an extra dimension to the middle of midfield. He was superb before an ankle injury forced him off in the second half.

Then there is the new system, ah yes the system. Call it 4-5-1 or, as Adams prefers, 4-3-3. The numbers are irrelevant. It's a winning formation, which is all that matters.

Rogers is revelling in a more advanced role ahead of the anchoring Carpenter and Charlie Oatway. The skipper must still be wondering how he did not repeat his goal against Cheltenham last season.

Rogers thundered a volley against the bar and was foiled by the exceptional Book moments after the former Albion reserve keeper had somehow kept out team-mate Mark Freeman's misdirected volley.

The trickery of Nathan Jones down the left, especially early on, Gary Hart's strong running down the right and Hart's intermittent partnering of Bobby Zamora through the centre gave Albion a flexibility alien to Chel-

tenham's old-fashioned methods and ordinary players.

Until Steve Cotterill returned to take over at his home town club, Cheltenham was best known for its National Hunt Festival.

They were never at the races, although Cotterill demanded a steward's enquiry into the defining moment of the match.

In the 56th minute, Martin Devaney charged down Mark Cartwright's clearance and was then manhandled by the goalkeeper.

Referee Mike North immediately gave a penalty, but the linesman was flagging and Albion were eventually awarded a free-kick instead for a handling offence by Devaney. Who says referees never change their minds?

Cotterill had a point when he said: "I cannot understand the referee. He had a better view and was much closer to the incident than the linesman.

"I thought once the penalty had been taken away something would happen at the other end."

It did. Two minutes later Wicks was unmarked at the near post to nod Paul Watson's corner into the roof of the net, a tame way for Cheltenham to concede their first away goal of the season.

Watson's perfect penalty, for a foul by Freeman on substitute Lee Steele, put the issue beyond doubt.

Watson will be annoyed at missing a second spot kick, Book guessing he would go for the opposite corner to make a fine stop after a handball by substitute Bob Bloomer.

Zamora provided a fitting flourish, finishing off replacement Paul Brooker's defence-splitting pass with customary aplomb three minutes from time.

Adams said: "The frustrating part was that we didn't score in the first half, but we just had to carry on playing the way we were."

Cotterill, chastened by Cheltenham's heaviest defeat since securing League status last season, claimed: "Maybe the scoreline was a bit harsh on us."

He's wrong. The result only flattered one team, and it wasn't Albion.