Albion boss Sami Hyypia has defended his No.1 David Stockdale.

Hyypia refused to blame Stockdale for last night’s 1-1 draw against Cardiff at the Amex.

The keeper gifted the Welshmen their first-half equaliser when he missed a cross which Kenwyne Jones headed in.

Hyypia preferred to concentrate on a second half save by Stockdale from Anthony Pilkington and the Seagulls’ best display of the season, as Cardiff keeper David Marshall denied them with a string of saves.

Hyypia told The Argus: “I feel a little bit sorry for the players. We had a very good game. Most of the game we defended well and attacked well, it’s a bit difficult to go back to the dressing room with a draw.

“The Cardiff goalie was very good and we conceded an easy goal but I don’t point the finger at anybody. It’s a team sport, you win as a team, you lose as a team.

“The most important thing is how you react after you make a mistake. We all make mistakes, that’s quite normal, and the reaction after that is very important.

“We can’t lose our confidence, we can’t lose our faith, how we do things, and I think we are experienced enough to not do that after this kind of performance.

“The whole 90 minutes was very good. There were times when Cardiff got the ball a little bit but they didn’t create anything dangerous. I am very pleased with the performance. The only thing we lacked was the second goal and the third goal, fourth goal and fifth goal.”

Albion have striker problems for Saturday’s visit to Watford after Craig Mackail-Smith limped off with a hamstring injury and Sam Baldock was sidelined again by a calf problem. Hyypia was also unhappy about a harsh booking for Jake Forster-Caskey which means the midfielder is banned for the trip to Vicarage Road.