Albion raised a few smiles among the Lutton family last Saturday – on both sides of the world.

Their 3-1 win over West Brom went down well with ex-Wolves man Bertie and his son Lee.

But Bertie, the former Albion forward now living in Melbourne, might not quite know the link between the current team and that which secured promotion in 1971-72 by finishing below Aston Villa but above Bournemouth in a three-team race for two places. It’s a simple one – hard work and fitness.

Tomer Hemed revealed this week that Albion have decided in-house they must be fitter than their Premier League opponents.

His colleague Pascal Gross is covering eight miles per game.

Back when the club were battling it out at the top of the old third division 45 years ago, the same principles applied.

That helped Albion come from a goal down to beat Torquay 3-1 at the Goldstone on Good Friday, then snatch a late 1-1 draw at Bournemouth the next day.

Lutton, a £5,000 capture from Wolves ahead of the March transfer deadline, scored against Torquay.

Then, with 85 minutes gone and Albion looking the stronger team at Dean Court, he reacted quickest to a Peter O’Sullivan flick on and headed past his ex-Wolves colleague Fred Davis in goal.

The 1-1 draw was the least Pat Saward’s side deserved and left them well-placed to overhaul Bournemouth.

“Staying power will win promotion and Albion are showing plenty of it as the season nears a pulsating climax,” was the opening line from our man John Vinicombe as he reported for the Evening Argus.

The crowd of 22,540 was the biggest at Dean Court for a league game in a decade and included 3,000 away fans packed in behind the goal as Lutton scored.

His strike cancelled out Ted MacDougall’s 42nd goal of the season.

MacDougall and Phil Boyer were otherwise well patrolled by Norman Gall and Ian Goodwin.

Superfit Albion scored important late goals in seven of their final 12 matches but that by Lutton in Dorset turned out to be the last of his four for the club.

The Northern Ireland international was sold to West Ham for £12,000 but suffered back problems and, after a stint at Horsham, moved to the Aussie top flight.

He has remained Down Under ever since.

His son Lee, born in Australia but now back in the West Midlands, said: “A former team-mate, Dave Mac-Laren, moved Down Under to manage a team in 1976 and signed players he knew.

“Dad had been unemployed for eight months so it was a good opportunity and the football was not as physically demanding.

“He played for Sydney City and for South Melbourne Hellas but he still gets the British papers and keeps in touch.

“He has talked a bit about his time in Brighton. Good result against that other lot on Saturday, wasn’t it?

“He says it was one of the best places he ever lived and we are hoping to visit when he is over next summer.”

Lutton, 67, is still a grafter. He works for Dulux in a supervisory role.

Albion: Powney, Murray, Spearritt, Templeman, Gall, Goodwin, Lutton, K.Napier, Beamish, Bromley, (Turner), O’Sullivan.

Albion’s John Templeman recalls how Bournemouth had four clear days to prepare for the Dean Court clash – and how he and Eddie Spearritt relaxed from their two matches in 24 hours with a trip to the Isle of Wight. They saw boss Pat Saward’s wife appear in cabaret at Pontin’s holiday camp. He added: “On the trip back home we had the pleasure of meeting Dora Bryan and her husband Bill Lawton, who were Brighton fans.”