Albion never surrender

How many times have you heard players and fans say it after a battling draw or dramatic win?

"We'd have lost that game last season."

It has certainly been the motto of the last two league fixtures, in which Albion have come from behind to equalise four times against teams who knew a win would leave them top of the table.

First it was Leyton Orient, then Carlisle.

Joel Lynch was the latest to offer such an opinion after the second of those games as the Seagulls snatched what was looking an unlikely point with ten men.

Dean Wilkins admits he is worried about conceding goals and rightly so.

But the fans heading to Withdean in modest numbers this season can have little complaint about the entertainment on view.

And that has to be a massive development since the dismal fare offered in the second half of last season.

Elation, frustration, anger, excitement and pleasure at some of the football being produced - the regulars have had plenty to get their teeth into since August.

Contrast that to some of the games between January and May this year, against the likes of Port Vale, Rotherham and Huddersfield.

Those were the matches which kicked off and quickly developed into midfield stalemate bereft of excitement.

And then they finished.

In fairness to Albion, at that time they needed to chisel out points to stay clear of the danger zone.

The diamond system, with Alexis Bertin protecting the defence, and what looked like a lack of attacking ambition helped them steady the ship.

But it was desperately dull.

These days, you get the feeling anything is possible, even when they go down to ten men and are 2-1 adrift.

Lynch, back in the side after injury for the battle with Carlisle, saw it that way.

Asked if he feared the game was going away from Albion, he said: "No. I think that would have been the case last year but this year, with the belief in the team and the confidence we've got, we think can beat anyone, even if we're losing.

"The team battled really well and showed great character and we got a good result in the end.

"I think the fans were our extra man. They did well, they were loud and got behind us and I think that gave us the extra encouragement.

"When you're knackered and got ten man and 2-1 down and there's ten minutes to go or whatever, they can give us the extra boost to get a goal back in the end."

So why are Albion's games now more entertaining?

First the bad news: They are conceding goals and giving themselves plenty to do at the other end.

As exciting as the double comeback was against Carlisle, a little more defensive care would have kept them on level terms at half-time with a chance to go on and win.

Now the positives. As Dean Hammond stressed last week, the younger Seagulls have become more battle hardened by last year's ups and downs.

They also have more playing options. The contribution of the subs this season has been well documented.

The bench was not a factor on Saturday but the fact they have a second striker who can burst into life was, as Bas Savage laid on the second goal.

When the Seagulls scored their second at Orient it was thanks to the extra touch of creativity in midfield, in George O'Callaghan, they did not possess last season.

There is the ever-present goal threat of Nicky Forster, whose goals tend to arrive in the later stages of games.

Seven of his nine have come in the last 22 minutes of games and four have come in the 84th minute or later.

And then all the above factors become self-serving.

If you show self-belief to salvage a result, you will have even more self-belief for the next time you find youselves in a hole.

The danger comes when you think you are bullet proof. That is why Wilkins has made defensive work one of his priorities at training this week.

But he has reason to praise the never-say die spirit of his side.

Speaking after the Carlisle game, he said: "We're not going to get it right every game.

"But players should have sore backs for the amount of pats on the back they got coming off at the end in such difficult circumstances."