ALBION penalty shoot-out hero Mathew Ryan had to rely on instinct to keep the Seagulls alive in the FA Cup.

Ryan admits he had no idea which way Mahlon Romeo was going to go when he kept out the spot-kick from the Antiguan defender which would have put Millwall 4-3 up.

The Australian No.1 told The Argus: "We always try to take advantage of technology and do our homework but, the lad that came up, we didn't have any penalties on him.

"It was just a matter of trying to get a feeling in the moment. Thankfully I went one way but left a trailing leg and it was enough to keep it out."

Albion eventually won the shoot-out 5-4 when Romeo's team-mate Jake Cooper fired over.

Ryan saved two penalties in the shoot-out to send Australia through to the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup against Uzbekistan in January.

He also saved penalties in the Premier League last season from Everton's Wayne Rooney and Stoke's Charlie Adam in a vital relegation battle.

Ryan said: "Last season I saved two from three in the league. This year it's been a little bit frustrating.

"Between Butts (David Button) and I we are up to maybe zero from ten. We set high standards and like to back ourselves in those situations.

"Fortunately for me in the Asian Cup when it mattered I made two saves. That was my thought process even during the game at 0-0 and 2-2 - that it would be the vital time to pull off a penalty save.

"Sure enough I got one. The lad missed the other one and we got there to achieve our goal of getting to the semi-finals."