Mark McGhee learnt some valuable lessons as Albion's first team friendly programme drew to an intriguing close.

Alarmists may view successive stalemates against clubs two divisions lower as vindication of bookmakers' gloomy outlook for the Seagulls in the Championship, but results are not what friendlies are about.

The exercise at the Abbey Stadium gave McGhee a final opportunity to assess, with the opening fixture at Reading in mind, the merits or otherwise of the two players he has already signed, the three trialists seeking a contract and team tactics. This Saturday is when the result really counts.

One message came through clearer than any other. McGhee will stick with a tried and trusted 4-4-2 formation after abandoning his tinkering at half time.

Albion began with more of a 4-3-1-2, David Lee operating in that no man's land between the midfield and strikers. They looked uncomfortably lopsided and were 2-0 down at the break, although the goals had more to do with individual errors than the system.

Once they reverted to type for the second half they looked a different side. Adam Hinshelwood and Maheta Molango, both among six changes made by McGhee at half- time, restored parity in the space of six minutes.

"In the first half we tried a different shape and I expected us to pass the ball better, but it wasn't convincing at all," McGhee admitted. "We changed at half time back to a more traditional shape and it was much better.

"It's something we understand, something we have done in the whole of last season before I even got here. The fact that we got two goals as well was a bonus."

The manner in which Molango took his fifth goal of pre-season in the 59th minute suggests McGhee may just have unearthed another forward gem for Albion.

It would be unfair and unrealistic to compare the Swiss-born 22-year-old with Bobby Zamora or Leon Knight. Molango has no experience of English football, yet alone the First Division, but there is a touch of Zamora about him at least in terms of height, build and the way he moves.

He also possesses that confidence bordering on arrogance in the way he plays, which defines goalscoring strikers.

Molango, fed by fellow substitute Albert Jarrett following an elusive run through the middle, took advantage of a kind ricochet as he ran at defenders before unleashing an angled left-foot drive.

Albion supporters responded with cries of "Argentina", which referred to the slightly lighter blue in the stripe of the new shirts. It could just as easily have been a reaction to the quality of Molango's finish.

"I think he has got something about him and his goal was a flash of brilliant finishing," McGhee observed. "He has an awful lot of work to do in terms of playing the position, but we can definitely make him into a player."

The same applies to Jarrett, the 19-year-old left-winger who signed a three-year contract straight after the match.

"Albert is direct and quick," McGhee said. "He gets behind people, gets crosses in, he's brave and I think he will eventually score goals as well.

"He is somebody who is going to play games, be on the bench, come off the bench, play well and have bad days. Hopefully we will improve him to the point where he will be a permanent fixture in the team next season."

Darren Currie impressed most of the trio of trialists trying to follow in the footsteps of Molango and Jarrett.

Introduced on the right side of midfield for the second half, the talented former Wycombe and Barnet playmaker linked up well with Hinshelwood, who nodded Albion back into contention after Danny Cullip flicked on a long throw from Kerry Mayo.

"Darren is a terrific passer," said McGhee. "He keeps possession well and picks people out brilliantly. That is his strength and we have got to decide if that is a strength we need." The answer is almost certain to be yes.

The case made by Alexis Nikolas, the 21-year-old central midfielder from Chelsea, in an encouraging second half is more complicated. Unlike Currie, he offers more of the same rather than something different.

"Alexis, like Charlie (Oatway), gets around the midfield winning the ball back and playing it simply, and gets up and down with loads of energy," said McGhee. "Again is that the type of player we need?" Probably not.

Serbian target man Zsombor Kerekes, withdrawn at half time, did little to suggest he is the answer to Albion's shortage up front. Significantly perhaps, McGhee referred to Molango as Albion's "only fit centre forward" for Reading, with Knight suspended, Chris McPhee injured and Chris Iwelumo departed.

Now McGhee has decisions to make. Doubts persist over the fitness of Ben Roberts, surprisingly beaten by a 20-yard shot from Daniel Chillingworth in the fifth minute as the Albion defence stood off.

Molango, Guy Butters, Cullip and Oatway, whose misplaced pass enabled former Albion striker Daniel Webb to double Cambridge's lead in the 40th minute, are the only guaranteed outfield starters at the Madejski Stadium.

Adam Virgo and Dan Harding, who operated on the left of midfield in the first half, are likely to retain the fullback berths from Hinshelwood and Kerry Mayo respectively, and Paul Reid remains the most obvious central midfield deputy for the injured Richard Carpenter.

That leaves Nathan Jones on the left, with Jarrett and Currie challenging for wide positions depending on the role McGhee has in mind for Hart and his verdict on Kerekes.

McGhee said: "Our intention is to see the game at Reading tonight (against Manchester City), then try to make a decision about the team so we can tell them tomorrow and work on it from then on in."

Albion: Roberts (Kuipers 46); Virgo (Hinshelwood 46), Cullip, Butters, Mayo; Reid (Nikolas 46), Oatway, Harding (Jarrett 46); Lee (Hart 62); Kerekes (Currie 46), Knight (Molango 46). Subs not used: Jones
Attendance: 1,058 (169 Albion)