Albion moved out of the Championship relegation zone with an excellent 2-0 win away to Fulham.

Goals from Adrian Colunga and substitute Solly March earned the Seagulls only their second win in the last 20 league games.

Colunga converted a penalty on the hour-mark after Elliott Bennett had been brought down and March sealed victory with his first of the season three minutes from time.

It means caretaker Nathan Jones has taken four points out of six in his two games in charge following the resignation of Sami Hyypia just before Christmas.

Jones was forced into three changes for the game with Jake Forster-Caskey and Gary Gardner ruled out by illness while Darrren Bent was sidelined by a groin injury which forced him off in the first half against Reading on Boxing Day.

There was also a formation changes with Jones switching to 4-2-3-1, with Joao Teixeira playing in the middle behind Craig Mackail-Smith who was making his first Albion start since September.

Colunga had the first chance of note in the contest on eight minutes with an angled drive from Inigo Calderon’s deep cross which Marcus Bettinelli smothered at his near post.

There was plenty of neat attacking play from both sides but little in the final third.

On 32 minutes an on-target shot from Elliott Bennett was shovelled away for a corner by Bettinelli.

The only chance of note for Fulham in the first half came five minutes before the break when Kostas Stafylidis drove the ball into the six-yard box and narrowly wide of the far post with a sliding Hugo Rodallega just failing to get a touch on it.

Albion threatened to break the deadlock with a triple chance on 54 minutes. Elliott Bennett’s initial shot was blocked, his follow-up was pushed away by Bettinelli and then Colunga swept a third effort just wide of the near post.

The breakthrough came six minutes later when Elliott Bennett burst into the penalty area before being brought down by Stafylidis for a penalty which Colunga coolly tucked away.

The good work was almost undone on 66 minutes when a sloppy pass from Danny Holla allowed Rodallega to tee up substitute Cauley Woodrow but he scooped a shot over the bar.

Albion were grateful to former Fulham keeper David Stockdale for keeping them ahead with a tremendous one-handed save to tip over a Sean Kavanagh shot which was heading for the top corner.

With eight minutes remaining Stockdale produced another excellent save to keep out a low drive from Rodallega, then Kavanagh fired wide from the corner.

The clinching goal came three minutes from time when Chris O’Grady, recalled from a loan spell at Sheffield United, chested the ball down for Teixeira who played in March to finish with aplomb.

Albion: Stockdale; Calderon, Halford, Dunk, J.Bennett; Holla, Ince; E.Bennett (sub O’Grady 80), Teixeira (sub Hughes 89), Colunga,; Mackail-Smith (sub March 74). Subs not used: Chicksen, McCourt, Baldock, Walton.

Fulham: Bettinelli; Grimmer, Bodurov, Hutchinson, Stafylidis (sub Roberts 87); Hyndman (sub Kavanagh 63), Parker; Fofana, McCormack, Williams (sub Woodrow 63); Rodallega. Subs not used: Burn, Zvetoric, Dembele, Kiraly.