Martin Hinshelwood was absent from last night's match at Gravesend but Bob Booker is not concerned about telling the new Albion manager that his 100 per cent record has gone.

Hinselwood was at another game scouting an unidentified player with a view to bolstering his squad so Booker took charge of the Seagulls.

Following four successive victories against non-league opponents Worthing, Sutton, Crawley and Bognor, many Albion fans travelled to the Garden of England expecting to see more of the same.

Although those hopes withered away following the Conference side's early goal, Albion recovered to assert their supremacy and put in a promising performance.

The visitors deservedly equalised through Danny Marney 13 minutes after the re-start to cancel out Gravesend's third minute opener.

It was no more than the visitors from Sussex deserved and Booker was content.

He said: "Martin wasn't around to see his 100 per cent record go but it is all about the performance and the lads were superb. We still haven't been beaten.

"We were disappointed with the goal to start with but we got ourselves back into the game and created the better chances.

"We got in a lot of crosses and got our just rewards with the equaliser. We were probably good enough to win and although we didn't, we are pleased overall.

"The lads got a good run out and most of them played for 90 minutes. They worked really hard and we'll take that on to Brisbane Road on Saturday.

"Danny Marney took his goal well and it is not less than he deserves after all the injuries he has had."

Booker used just four players from the Albion side that featured in the 3-0 win at Bognor.

Gary Hart got his second run-out in three days after scoring in his first outing on Monday since breaking his leg at Peterborough in the penultimate game of last season's Division Two campaign.

Paul Watson, Michel Kuipers and Adam Hinshelwood also got another taste of the action in a 4-3-3 formation. Hinshelwood and Adam Virgo formed an inexperienced centre back partnership against the Ryman Premier Division champions.

Albion's young defensive partnership were immediately under pressure and the home team took the lead in the third minute.

Austin Berkley swung the ball out to the left touchline with an excellent cross field ball and Jimmy Jackson broke down the wing before hitting a pin-point cross to Paul Booth who volleyed in the opener from well inside the box high to Kuipers' left.

The goal shocked Albion but the visitors regained their composure and went on to dominate the rest of the half. Indeed, with the exception of the effort from which Gravesend scored, Albion's goalkeeper had little else to do.

The Division Two champions almost equalised in the fifth minute when Paul Rogers played in Marney but although the young striker put the ball in the back of the net it was ruled out for offside.

There was more drama in the Albion box on nine minutes when Julian Charles squared up to former Dutch marine Kuipers and the referee had to separate the two.

Steve Melton did a lot of running in the midfield alongside skipper Rogers and he was only denied an equaliser in the 25th minute by a last-gasp clearance from Nick Burton on the line after the Albion midfielder toe-poked an effort goalwards.

Moments afterwards Chris May came on to replace Kuipers who was perhaps taken off as a precaution following his spat with Charles.

David Lee, playing on the left of attack, shot wide from the left-hand corner of the box before Hart spurned the best chance of the opening period.

The diminutive striker wriggled free in a central position in the area and dithered on his right-foot shot allowing keeper Jamie Turner to make a comfortable save to his right.

Albion's only other opportunity of note during a frustrating first 45 minutes saw Watson curl a left foot free-kick in from the left of the area which Turner pushed away high to his right.

The hosts emerged for the second half in a new yellow strip and with a virtually all-changed line-up. It made little difference to the pattern of the game however as Albion continued to fashion the better opportunities and they deservedly equalised in the 58th minute.

Marney picked up the ball on the left byline and he sprinted from the halfway line to just outside the home team's box from where he curled a delightful right foot shot with the inside of his foot into the top left corner of Scott Ward's goal.

With parity restored, Booker chose to tinker with his team in the final half an hour.

Dean Hammond came on to replace Watson and Hinshelwood dropped into the right back position to accommodate the substitute in the middle of defence.

Hart, who worked tirelessly for an hour, was replaced by Danny Beck.

In the closing stages Gravesend rallied and came closest to snatching a winner.

First Hinshelwood had to be alert to deflect Paul Booth's shot wide and then Liam Hatch almost capitalised on a blunder by May.

Hatch robbed the keeper on the edge of the six-yard box but rolled his right foot shot the wrong side of the post.

Gravesend's Steve Searle had a goalbound header nodded over the bar by Hammond at the end.

Gravesend first half: Turner, Skinner, Burton, Jackson, McKimm, Watts, Bentley, Berkley, Coyle, Charles, Booth. Second half: Ward, Lee, Barnett, Smith, Owen, Wilkins, Watts, Sprouts, Charles (Hatch 61), Booth, Philipps (Searle 61).

Albion: Kuipers (May 25), Watson (Hammond 60), Mayo, Virgo, Hinshelwood, Carpenter, Melton, Rogers, Hart (Beck 61), Marney, Lee.