Wilkins faces keeper dilemma

9:45am Monday 12th March 2007

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Albion boss Dean Wilkins must have hoped his goalkeeping headaches were over when a disenchanted Wayne Henderson moved to Preston during the January transfer window.

It cleared the way for Michel Kuipers to re-establish himself as the undisputed No. 1, backed up by the promising John Sullivan and Richard Martin.

Then Kuipers picked up a groin injury against Nottingham Forest last month and now Wilkins is faced with another tricky situation.

Scott Flinders, signed as cover for the Dutchman on a month's loan from Crystal Palace, made a shaky start on his clean sheet debut at Gillingham and tasted defeat on his first home appearance against Bristol City.

Kuipers was fit enough to be on the bench at Crewe and, in spite of Flinders performing heroics to preserve a point, the clamour from his long-serving rival's admirers among the fan base gathered pace ahead of the Blackpool game.

Wilkins kept faith with the Palace youngster and Flinders repaid him with another shut-out far more impressive than the one he opened up with at the Priestfield Stadium.

Now here is the tricky bit. Flinders' month runs out with Saturday's visit of leaders Scunthorpe, when he will surely keep his place again.

Will he stay for longer? "I haven't even thought about it," said Wilkins after praising Flinders' part in another commendable away result.

Flinders wants to hang around, rather than returning to Palace to sit on the bench, but patience is not one of Kuipers' virtues. The longer Flinders keeps him out of the team the greater the risk of him blowing a fuse.

Wilkins also has Sullivan to consider. He did not want to put undue pressure on him by throwing him into a team still looking over their shoulders when Kuipers tweaked his groin.

Albion's lingering relegation fears are easing with every outing and, once they are mathematically safe, it will be a good chance to give not just Sullivan a game but others on the fringes, such as Nathan Elder and Tommy Elphick.

It is quite a puzzle for Wilkins to solve but what is beyond dispute is that Flinders could not have done any more in the last two matches to win over even Kuipers' biggest fans.

He exuded confidence against Blackpool and, just like at Crewe where he foiled Luke Varney in a couple of one-on-ones, made two eye-catching stops late on to keep Albion on terms.

Aerial shots and headers must be food and drink to the 6ft.4in Flinders but he got down well with a strong right hand to deny substitute Keigan Parker's low angled drive from close range.

His agility was tested again on the stroke of full-time by a well-struck shot from the edge of the area by Claus Jorgensen, which was bound for the bottom corner of the net until he dived full-length to divert it for a corner.

Jorgensen must have wondered what he had to do to score. It was the last of several attempts on goal in the second half by the midfielder after he had missed the chance to give his play-off chasing side a flattering lead just before half-time with a downward header wide from six yards.

Flinders was not alone in stemming the tangerine tide in the second half. Guy Butters and Joel Lynch were stoutness personified at the heart of the defence as Albion weathered heavy spells of pressure.

They were the better side in an untidy opening 45 minutes but, to Wilkins' frustration, were unable to make their control of possession and territory tell on a difficult pitch.

Wilkins was disappointed with the front pair, Bas Savage and Alex Revell, both of whom were substituted in the later stages.

He said: "I didn't think they competed well enough in the air. I had a pop at Bas in particular and as soon as I did that he wanted the next ball in the air.

"The way we are asking them to play they are probably not having to do as much work in terms of running and I've said to them if that is the case they have got to be ultra-competitive in terms of keeping possession and winning headers when balls come in and around them."

Revell, not back to his sharpest yet after his injury lay-off, spurned Albion's best chance early in the second half, firing over when well-placed at the far post at the end of a neat passing movement involving Savage, Jake Robinson and Dean Cox.

Robinson, playing for the second time at the head of the dimaond formation, had the Seagulls' best effort. A lung-bursting break by Savage and typical intricacy from Cox set him up for a shot with the outside of his right foot which Blackpool's on-loan keeper Paul Rachubka defied with a spectacular dive.

Robinson, like the rest of the team, worked tirelessly but Albion's play lacked the quality to get him into areas where he could do real damage.

In the end no goals and a point was just about what both teams deserved and it has done both of them a bit of good. The Seagulls are creeping ever-closer to safety, while it was enough to sneak Blackpool into the top six.

Wilkins admitted: "It was a pretty ugly game but you cannot always produce what you want to produce. It is not a bad sign to pick up a point when you are up against it and not playing well. At least we showed a real fighting spirit."

It is three wins, two draws and only one defeat in Albion's last six league outings on the road now, which is mightily impressive, and they have enjoyed a measure of revenge against Blackpool and Crewe for heavy home defeats earlier in the season.

Withdean is where the problem lies. Flinders and his defenders will have to be at their best again to negate a striker Sharp by name and nature when the surprise leaders seek retribution on Saturday for one of only two home defeats they have suffered throughout the campaign.

ALBION (4-1-2-1-2): Scott Flinders (GK), Adam El-Abd (RB), Joel Lynch (CB), Guy Butters (CB), Kerry Mayo (LB), Alexis Bertin (CM), Dean Hammond (LM), Jake Robinson (CM), Dean Cox (RM), Alex Revell (CF), Bas Savage (CF). Subs: Gary Hart, Nathan Elder (for Revell 82), Michel Kuipers, Joe O'Cearuill (for Savage 72), Nick Ward. BLACKPOOL (4-4-2): Paul Rachubka (GK), Shaun Barker (RB), Kaspars Gorkss (CB), Ian Evatt (CB), Danny Coid (LB), Adrian Forbes (RM), David Fox (CM), Claus Jorgensen (CM), Simon Gillett (LM), Ben Burgess (CF), Andy Morrell (CF). Subs: Keigan Parker (for Morrell 62), Wes Hoolahan (for Forbes 62), Scott Vernon (for Burgess 76), Rhys Evans, Marc Joseph.

Flinders or Kuipers? Who would you like to see in goal against Scunthorpe?