Albion bounced back to form with a superb 3-0 win at Ipswich today.

Dean Hammond and Craig Mackail-Smith gave them a well-deserved two-goal half-time lead which Wayne Bridge improved midway through the second period.

A classy display against in-form hosts ended their run of five games without a win and delighted the 909 away fans in an otherwise hushed crowd of 19,108, Ipswich's second best gate of the season.

Hammond nodded them ahead at the near post on 14 minutes after he lost marker Guirane N’Daw as they raced to meet Andrea Orlandi’s corner.

Tomasz Kuszczak kept the lead intact by pawing an angled volley by Daryl Murphy.

But that was the only alarm the Seagulls suffered in the first period.

They went further ahead in the 34th minute as Mackail-Smith, fed in the inside-right channel by Ashley Barnes’ header, saw his angled drive hit far post, then near, and bounce in.

Ipswich were more lively after the break but Albion got men behind the ball, defended strongly – and crafted a superb counter-attack goal on 68 minutes.

Adam El-Abd started it by winning his tussle with recently-introduced sub Jason Scotland and playing a long ball into the path of lone frontman Mackail-Smith.

Barnes and Orlandi joined in the move, then sub Gary Dicker swept a clever crossfield pass into the path of Bridge.

The left-back’s shot from 25 yards bounced past keeper Henderson and inside his near post.