Albion prospect Rob Hunt has been praised for a “magnificent” full Football League debut in testing circumstances.

The on-loan Seagulls defender played the full 90 minutes as ten-man Oldham won 1-0 in a feisty League One scrap at Chesterfield.

The Latics had centre-back Anthony Gerrard sent off during half-time but held firm and grabbed a second-half winner.

Hunt had previously come on as a second-half sub in the league for Albion at Burton and for Oldham at home to Bradford.

He was picked to start at left-back today by Oldham manager John Sheridan and excelled in a battling team performance.

Sheridan said: “I thought young Rob Hunt was magnificent all game.”

He added of his team: “It was a quality performance.

“When you get a man sent off with 45 minutes to go you sometimes fear the worst but I could see us keeping a clean sheet because we dealt with everything they threw at us.”

Hunt was able to get forward at times in what started as a 4-3-3 set-up and caught the eye with his pace.

The 21-year-old from Essex has been loaned to Oldham for the rest of the season to gain experience.