Albion 1, Derby County 1

In normal circumstances, snatching a draw deep into injury time in a game you really needed to win would not count for much.

But there has been nothing normal about this Championship season.

James Wilson's late, late equaliser, was also the latest in a long line of result-changing shifts in recent weeks in the dying stages of matches involving the top three who have been fighting each other for automatic promotion.

You would not bet against other with Albion locked with last day hosts Middlesbrough on 88 points, a total good enough to clinch second, sometimes first, in each of the past 14 seasons.

Instead the pair will scrap it out at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday to reach the Premier League alongside Burnley, who seized the opportunity left open to them by the Seagulls dropping points to clinch an immediate return against Queens Park Rangers last night.

It is undeniably advantage Boro, with Albion now needing to win rather than only draw.

Wilson's equaliser was immaterial in that respect and yet of considerable significance in terms of the mood in the camp and among the supporters.

Both left the Amex disappointed but with more of a spring in their step than if the game, as well as Lewis Dunk, had been lost.

His absence from the centre of defence after a reckless red card will make a hard task even harder, although captain Gordon Greer is a comforting enough replacement to call upon. The concern for a match of such magnitude is the experienced Scot's inactivity in recent months.

Dunk's departure, on top of substitute Andreas Weimann's second half breakthrough for Derby, would have stuck in the memory and the throat without Wilson's rescue act.

The England under-21 international on loan from Manchester United has been a bit-part player since a Christmas virus which left him vomiting on the pitch.

He has the capability of popping up with a goal, a potentially vital attribute in the North-East in four days' time.

Wilson, on in place, of the subdued Sam Baldock, capitalised on just about the only time Derby did not defend properly from a corner delivered by Albion's brightest spark, Anthony Knockaert, as keeper David Stockdale made a nuisance of himself inside the six-yard box.

Wilson lashed the Seagulls level from a tame attempt at a clearing header by Marcus Olsson with a shot which deflected in off Jacob Butterfield, another of the replacements.

It transformed the mood of a record Amex crowd. They just wished it had come a little earlier to set up a frenzied, outrageous quest for victory a man down.

Dunk has only himself to blame for the numerical disadvantage and his absence from the side against Boro for the second time this season.

He was suspended for their 3-0 win at the Amex in December following a similarly daft red card for two cautions at QPR.

Dunk is a gifted defender but he is not a kid any more. He is experienced enough to have learnt by now that you cannot afford the sort of self-inflicted mishaps which will hold back his career if they continue.

He was majestic for most of the match yesterday, a strong presence in and out of possession, an aerial threat in the Derby box.

His first booking just before the interval, for a foul on Will Hughes after giving the ball away to the impressive midfielder, blemished a polished first half display.

His second, with seven minutes left, was just stupid, a lunge at Craig Bryson destined for only one outcome.

Albion were already playing catch-up by then. Manager Chris Hughton brought Wilson and Kazenga LuaLua on in a double change for Baldock and the also well-shackled Jiri Skalak in search of a breakthrough.

Instead it was a substitution a few minutes later by Hughton's opposite number, Darren Wassall, which brought instant reward.

Hughes, making his second start since cruciate knee ligament damage, controlled on his chest and volleyed a pass into Weimann's path, goal side of Bruno.

The Austrian international's shot, his first touch, was blocked by Stockdale. His second, from the rebound, ended a 14-game league drought and would have been greeted even more raucously on Teesside than by the 1,600 Derby supporters in the South Stand behind Stockdale's goal.

The strength of Albion's bench of late has emphasised the depth of the squad. The same is true of Derby.

As well as Weimann, signed last summer from Aston Villa when they were still a Premier League club, Wassall did not require the services of Darren Bent or former Reading marksman Nick Blackman.

They will be dangerous opponents for Hull in the semi-finals of the play-offs and, potentially, Albion in the final, although Sheffield Wednesday might have something to say about that and it will hopefully not come to that anyway.

Hughton's side will have to perform better than they did yesterday but they are certainly capable of going to Middlesbrough and winning, especially if left-back George Friend is not fit to return and Ritchie De Laet has the unenviable task of coping with Knockaert.

The Frenchman was always a threat in a match more fascinating than pulsating. The other attacking players who started on both sides were almost non-existent by comparison, including Chris Martin who had scored seven goals in his previous six appearances against Albion.

Tomer Hemed nearly added to his 17-goal tally with a header wide from a Skalak in the opening half-hour, when his team were on the front foot before Derby grew into the game.

Earlier than that Knockaert went close with a 20-yard free-kick which had keeper Scott Carson beaten, only for Jason Shackell to head it over on the retreat behind the wall. It was an intelligent and unusual piece of defending.

Knockaert also wanted a penalty in the second half when he went down under a challenge from George Thorne, back from illness as Derby's midfield protector.

An initial replay from one TV angle suggested the claim was valid, a second from a different angle showed Thorne clearly connected with the ball.

Neither side had made the most of some promising situations in the final third at that stage but it was Derby who looked marginally more menancing in the final two-thirds of the contest.

Their fate is already decided, Albion's is still in their own hands, although more in the grip of Boro.