Albion 1 Cheltenham 1 - Doug Loft became an unlikely FA Cup saviour. The young substitute's stoppage time equaliser earned the Seagulls a first round replay at Withdean on Tuesday week.

It should never have come to that. Albion spurned numerous chances and they looked like paying when Steven Gillespie volleyed struggling Cheltenham into a 77th-minute lead.

But Loft, on as an 84th minute replacement for Tommy Fraser, had the last word to get the Seagulls out of jail.

They have now lost only once in ten matches and are unbeaten in five away from home.

That impressive sequence so nearly came to a wasteful end but Cheltenham now provide the opposition for the next two home matches. They also visit in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy on Wednesday.

Last season a couple of absentees might have left Albion manager Dean Wilkins scratching his head for obvious replacements. This season is different, with much more strength in depth to the squad.

He had ready-made deputies for injured Frenchman David Martot and unwell Irishman George O'Callaghan.

Dean Cox returned for Martot on the left, an immediate recall after he was dropped to the bench for Tuesday's 1-1 home draw with Walsall.

Tommy Fraser stepped in for two matches recently when O'Callaghan suffered a hamstring strain and the 19-year-old took over once more in the centre of the park alongside captain Dean Hammond.

Cheltenham also made two changes following Tuesday's 1-1 home draw against Yeovil which stretched their run without a win at Whaddon Road to seven games since an opening day victory over Gillingham.

Adam Connolly came in for on-loan midfielder Dean Sinclair, who was refused permission to play by his club Charlton, and the restoration of the fit-again Steven Gillespie to the attack meant there was no place for Andy Lindegaard.

Albion, in sixth place, are 13 points above rock-bottom Cheltenham in League One and it certainly showed at the start of the match.

The Seagulls, playing with quite a stiff wind behind them in the first half, went close on a number of occasions to taking the lead.

Jake Robinson is arguably the closest thing Wilkins has to a natural winger, with his speed and ability to go past defenders.

Switched He was switched out to the right wing when he scored his first League goal for over a year against Walsall.

It took Robinson only three minutes to leave the ageing Alan Wright, Cheltenham's left-back, for dead but his low cross missed everybody.

Two minutes later, Robinson set-up Cox to make space for himself for a shot just inside the area which he scuffed horribly.

Robinson and Cox, close friends, continued to be heavily involved.

They both had right-foot shots from outside the box which tested Cheltenham goalkeeper Shane Higgs, especially a rasper from Robinson which he dived to divert for a corner.

Tommy Elphick had two attempts from corners by Matt Richards to end the long goal drought for Albion defenders, the first header by the young centre-half was hacked away, the second missed the target.

Nicky Forster also had appeals for a penalty waved away by referee Fred Graham when he felt he had been impeded by Gavin Caines as he latched on to a flick from Bas Savage.

Robinson crossed on to the Cheltenham net as well as Albion dominated without making their superiority count.

The ease with which Albion controlled the first half was almost embarrassing at times and yet the lack of a killer instinct enabled a poor Cheltenham team to still be very much in the tie.

The suspicion that Cheltenham could only improve was confirmed by a flurry of activity early in the second half which put Albion under serious threat for the first time.

Michel Kuipers, a virtual spectator in the opening 45 minutes, had to dash off his line to clear as Gillespie tried to nick the ball around him.

A cross then swirled over Kuipers before reaching Damian Spencer beyond the far post.

He got the better of Andrew Whing but his shot from a tight angle was smothered at his near post by Albion's Dutch custodian.

Although Albion lost the initiative after half time, they still had another opportunity to break the deadlock in the 63rd minute.

Savage's cross found his former Reading team mate Forster but he headed over from just inside the six-yard box.

The Seagulls had to make a defensive change shortly afterwards, Guy Butters replacing Elphick, who hurt a knee in the first half as he twisted to tackle Gillespie.

Butters' partner, Adam El-Abd, brought the best out of Higgs with a downward header from a free-kick by Richards which the keeper parried for a corner as it bounced.

Of all the openings fashioned by the Seagulls, Savage squandered the best with 19 minutes remaining. Forster rounded Wright to cross low and invitingly to his fellow front man.

Savage, six yards out, tried to sidefoot the ball into the bottom corner but he did not make a proper connection and Cheltenham captain Jerry Gill cleared close to his own line for a corner.

It was an expensive miss. Albion paid for their profligacy in the 77th minute when David Bird's free-kick from a wide position midway inside the Seagulls' half found Gillespie escaping at the far post to volley in from close range.

The game seemed up at that stage but a desperate late rally provided salvation in the first minute of injury time.

A cross by Savage was cleared only as far as Loft, who drilled left-footed into the bottom corner.

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