Albion's luck shows no sign of turning, with time beginning to run out in their battle to beat the drop.

They were hard done by yet again at Carrow Road last night, both by the margin of defeat and another harsh red card.

Adam Hinshelwood was the unfortunate victim this time following Dean Hammond's late dismissal for two bookable offences against Leicester last Saturday.

Hinshelwood, making his comeback on the right side of midfield after 11 months out with serious knee damage, suffered the same cruel fate in the 57th minute.

The Seagulls were 1-0 down but still well in the game when Hinshelwood, cautioned in the first half for a foul on the outstanding Darren Huckerby, impeded Norwich's danger man again according to referee Mike Thorpe.

Huckerby had earlier capitalised on a mistake by Adam El-Abd to give Norwich the lead but, even with ten men, Mark McGhee's battlers looked capable of retrieving a point until two Robert Earnshaw goals in the closing three minutes.

Albion, with Hinshelwood in for the injured Seb Carole, Kerry Mayo replacing Hammond in the centre of midfield and Joel Lynch showing promise again at left-back at the expense of Paul Reid before going off injured created plenty of chances.

Gary Hart spurned the best of them in the first half and the impressive Joe Gatting could have scored early on.

The Norwich fans were not fooled by the result. They chanted for the head of manager Nigel Worthington again deep into the second half as the Canaries struggled to make their numerical supremacy tell.

As has so often been the case this season, Albion, giving as good as they got, could have got their noses in front in the opening half hour.

Gatting had an opportunity in only the third minute to increase the anxiety hanging around Carrow Road following four straight home defeats for Norwich.

A shot from Alex Frutos deflected off a defender into the path of the 18-year-old striker, making his full away debut, but Gatting headed narrowly wide of Robert Green's right hand post.

The Seagulls created another half-chance in the 23rd minute, with Frutos the provider once more. The Frenchman whipped over a cross which Hart glanced on with a flying header for Hinshelwood to nod over at the far post from ten yards.

Norwich had, by that stage, been restricted to one strike at goal. Wayne Henderson had to twist to his right in the eighth minute to save Huckerby's low drive when the ball broke to the Canaries' fleet-footed left-winger eight yards out.

Huckerby, so dangerous on his day and yet frustratingly inconsistent, made no mistake in the 28th minute, putting Norwich ahead with his seventh goal of the season.

Too many Albion players were sucked towards the ball when El-Abd challenged Peter Thorne in the air midway inside the Albion half.

The ball dropped behind them, via the head of El-Abd, for Huckerby to progress through the inside left channel before opening up his body to beat Henderson with a perfectly placed right-foot shot into the top far corner of the net.

The Seagulls scarcely deserved to be behind, a familiar story, and they should have been level six minutes later when Earnshaw lost possession for the home side.

Albion countered through Frutos, who put Hart clean through, only for Green to make a smothering stop when he ought to have been picking the ball out of his net.

Huckerby was the difference between the teams in the first half, and not just because of his goal.

Norwich aimed everything through him, which made life particularly uncomfortable for El-Abd and Hinshelwood.

The latter had been booked in the 38th minute for a foul on the Norwich danger man.

That proved significant when, in the 57th minute, Hinshelwood held Huckerby back as he tried to turn away from him close to the left hand touchline.

Hinshelwood knew he was off and began jogging back towards the dressing room before referee Thorpe had brandished his second yellow card.

A goal down and a man down with more than half an hour of the contest remaining represented another stern examination of the Seagulls' never-say-die spirit.

Hinshelwood's dismissal had a knock-on effect, because Colin Kazim-Richards had been brought on just two minutes earlier to partner Gatting upfront at the expense of Hart.

The numerical disadvantage forced Kazim-Richards into a deeper position on the right.

Albion's resolve in the face of adversity had to be admired.

Richard Carpenter went close from 25 yards at the start of the second half and, after Hinshelwood's early bath, a dipping 25-yarder from Frutos was grabbed one-handed by Green at the expense of a corner, one of several forced by the gallant ten men.

The bad luck dogging Albion surfaced once more with 17 minutes left. El-Abd's downward header from Carpenter's corner was destined to give Green problems when Gatting inadvdertently got in the way, which slowed the pace of the ball down and made it easy for the relieved keeper.

Cries of "We want Worthy out" greeted another equalising effort from the Seagulls, the willing Gatting turning away from Rehman to fire a shot at Green.

Fortune was, for once, on Albion's side in the closing stages when substitute Leon McKenzie, put clean through, struck a post.

Norwich finally made the extra man count with a couple of flattering goals for Earnshaw, his first for the club, in the last three minutes.

Huckerby outpaced Albion sub Paul Reid from Green's long throw before squaring for Earnshaw to slot into the empty net in the 87th minute.

The £3.5 million purchase from West Brom celebrated with a trademark somersault and Earnshaw struck again in the final minute, springing the offside trap to slot in via the far post despite McShane's last ditch attempt to clear.

  • Albion (4-4-2): Henderson 7; El-Abd 6, McShane 7, Butters 7, Lynch 7; Hinshelwood 6, Carpenter 7, Mayo 7, Frutos 8; Hart 6, Gatting 7. Subs: Martin, Reid for Lynch (injured 68), Robinson for Gatting (withdrawn, 81), Kazim-Richards 6 for Hart (withdrawn 55), Loft.
  • Norwich: (4-4-2): Green; Fleming, Rehman, Doherty, Drury; Johansson, Safri, Hughes, Huckerby; Earnshaw, Thorne. Subs: Gallacher, McKenzie for Thorne (withdrawn 70), McVeigh for Johansson (withdrawn 70), Etuhu, C. Robinson for Safri (withdrawn, 80).
  • Matchfacts
  • - Shots on goal: Albion 5 Norwich 4 - Shots off goal: Albion 4 Norwich 7 - Corners: Albion 7 Norwich 2 - Offside: Albion 2 Norwich 4 - Free-kicks: Albion 17 Norwich 15
  • Albion bookings: McShane (44, unsporting behaviour), El-Ebd (74, foul).
  • Albion sending off: Hinshelwood (38, foul and 57, foul).
  • Norwich booking: Rehman (38, unsporting behaviour).
  • Albion scorer: None.
  • Norwich scorers: Huckerby (28), Earnshaw (87, 90).