Bruno rolled back the years – by setting up Leo Ulloa to kick start his second Albion stint in front of goal.

The big Argentinian marked the first start of his second Seagulls stint as he did the first start of his first.

He headed home in an FA Cup tie in front of the North Stand.

Granted, this was fourth-tier Coventry rather than Arsenal. But it brought back memories.

And Bruno was delighted to be the one who teed him up with a pinpoint cross.

The returning skipper and right-back said: “I like to get forward and try and set up one of my colleagues.

“In his first stint with Brighton, Leo and I had a good understanding.

“Before the match we spoke about how he would get into positions.

“I thought he had a very good match and I’m very pleased about his goal.

“He is a special player who will give a lot with his quality and with his physical presence.”

As a former Almeria player, Bruno took Ulloa under his wing when he arrived from the same Spanish club in January 2013.

He accompanied him in his first press conference at the Amex and generally showed him the ropes.

They and their families have remained good friends.

As Bruno set up Ulloa on Saturday, the memory went back to the clever cross he provided for the first goal of an excellent win against QPR four years ago.

That was a low cross designed to bypass giant defenders and, like Saturday’s strike, the result of some pre-match discussions.

Bruno almost set up another Ulloa goal on Saturday.

That was at 3-0, by which stage he felt Albion had just started to relax after taking the challenge of Coventry very seriously.

Bruno said: “We went out there with a very strong team, we did well in the first half.

“The third goal gave us that tranquillity, it relaxed us a bit. At the end they pressed us a bit.

“But we gave the tie all the importance in the world.”