ALBION boss Gus Poyet has praised Ashley Barnes for putting himself on the spot again – but the role of penalty taker is still up for grabs.

Barnes’ second-half spot-kick earned the Seagulls a hard-fought 1-0 victory against battling Gillingham in the first round of the Carling Cup at The Amex last night.

The former Plymouth striker was among several players who missed penalties last season.

He converted confidently in the second half to send Albion through in the absence of first choice strikers Craig Mackail-Smith, away on international duty with Scotland, and the still injured Will Hoskins.

Poyet, asked by The Argus if Barnes now has the job for keeps, revealed: “He is one of them. There could be another one. It’s up to the players.

“We’ve got penalty takers. Ash, remember, missed one but scored from the rebound. Everyone has been a bit harsh on him because of the rest of the players missing last year.

“I’m pleased for him. The more we were missing the more pressure on the players taking them. Either you have a penalty taker or somebody has to accept responsibility.”

Poyet admitted Albion were a touch fortunate to be awarded the penalty when Gillingham skipper Andy Frampton brought down Will Buckley. He said: “It looked like he (Frampton) touched the ball from where we were. Sometimes you get them sometimes you don’t. We were just professional, nothing more than that, just okay. These kind of games are always difficult and Gillingham put in a great effort.”

Hoskins (hip) and Kazenga LuaLua (tight hamstring) were both left out of the squad with an eye towards Saturday’s South Coast derby at Portsmouth.