JOEL Lynch is ready for the "biggest match of my life" against relegation rivals Sheffield Wednesday at Withdean today after his first senior goal.

The 18-year-old leftback's 72nd-minute effort sealed Saturday's 2-0 success at Ipswich, which kept alive the Seagulls' hopes of avoiding the drop.

Wednesday also won, 1-0 at home to Norwich, so Albion are still seven points adrift of the Yorkshiremen with three games to go and must beat them today to have a chance of staying up.

Lynch said: "It's going to be the biggest match of my life. Everyone wants to stay up obviously and we are going to be really up for it. We've got to beat Sheffield but they have got some hard games left and if we beat them then it's game on."

Lynch ignored his defensive duties at Portman Road and stayed up for a corner.

Moments earlier he had a shot blocked behind from the rebound after Colin Kazim-Richards fired against the woodwork.

Lynch revealed: "I wasn't even supposed to go up for the corner but I thought I'll go up and see if I can do it again' and I was just lucky really.

"I didn't even use to score many in youth team football, so I'm pretty pleased to score my first goal in the Championship.

"In the situation we are in we have got to keep playing well and we have been playing really well recently. It was just a good team performance, all working hard for each other. This is the year where it's just happened for me - getting in the first team, being selected for England (under 19s) and now getting my first goal - it just keeps getting better."

Wednesday's match kicked off 15 minutes later on the 17th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster, as a mark of respect to the 96 Liverpool fans killed, so the Albion players had to wait to hear their result.

"Everyone was still showering, trying not to think about it," Lynch said. "Someone said the result but we have looked at the games they have got left and we still think we have got a chance of staying up, so it was mixed emotions really."

Wednesday entertain runaway champions Reading on Saturday and finish at Derby, while Albion go to Wolves and end at home to Stoke.

Manager Mark McGhee said: "I thought they would win (against Norwich). It's the next three where I think there are both points for us and where Sheffield Wednesday are going to find it difficult.

"Were we to beat them we'll put the pressure right on them. They are still out and out favourites. I think this might be too little too late but we are going to give it a go to try and make it into the Stoke game and see if by some miracle we end up getting out of this."

McGhee has urged fans to play their part today. "Where they will make a difference is if they come in any negative sort of frame of mind," he said.

"Then they will depress the players, they will depress the performance.

"The players feel that. We need them to come believing it is still possible that if we beat Sheffield Wednesday we can get out of this.

"We need them to start in that frame of mind. By all means if we are three down they can turn on us but give us a chance to win the game and give us a chance to stay up."