ADRIAN Colunga helped Albion through to the third round of the Capital One Cup - after a scare over his availability.

The Spanish striker signed from Getafe scored on his debut as the Seagulls edged past Swindon 4-2 after-extra-time at the County Ground last night.

Albion were sweating on Colunga being eligible hours before kick-off.

Boss Sami Hyypia said: "It was very difficult. We got (international) clearance at the last minute, just before we had the team meeting before the game.

"I wanted to put him in because the more minutes he plays the quicker he will integrate into the team. We knew that he has pace and he is a good player.

"When a striker scores it's good, it gives them confidence. It was difficult to communicate with him, because he doesn't speak English, but probably I can say in Spanish well done!"

Hyypia also gave debuts as substitutes to his latest signing, midfielder Gary Gardner on loan from Aston Villa, and Paddy McCourt as League One Swindon pushed them all the way.

The Finn said: "We knew Swindon were a good team but I was surprised how good they are. They played some good stuff and made it very difficult for us. I'm very happy that we are in the next round, not happy that we had to play 120 minutes, but the players worked very hard."

Kazenga LuaLua is an early doubt for Charlton's visit to the Amex on Saturday after going off injured.