Albion crash to Vale defeat

Albion's play-off hopes suffered a massive blow as they fell to a surprise 3-2 defeat to relegation-battlers Port Vale at Withdean.

A Marc Richards brace and Danny Whitaker goal gave Vale victory as Dean Cox and Glenn Murray hit back for the Seagulls.

Ian Westlake, his loan spell from Leeds now extended to the end of the season, returned from a two-match absence for Albion at the expense of Frenchman David Martot.

Westlake missed the goalless draws at Nottingham Forest and Leeds, the former through injury and the latter as a condition of his temporary move to the South Coast.

Vale made two changes to the team which came from behind to beat Leyton Orient at home.

Joe Cardle was handed his first start and there was also a place in the side for New Zealander Dave Mulligan, with leading marksman Luke Rodgers and Kyle Perry ruled out by injuries.

The big worry for Albion manager Dean Wilkins ahead of the match was complacency creeping in against a side doomed to the drop but showing improved form of late.

Wilkins' worst fears were confirmed by his team's lethargic start to the match.

They could have fallen behind in the eighth minute when the unmarked Simon Richman met Mulligan's corner with a header straight at Michel Kuipers.

Vale packed the midfield and gave Albion no time to settle, closing down Therry Racon in particular at every opportunity.

The visitors' bright start was rewarded with a 12th minute goal for Marc Richards.

The former Barnsley centre forward scuffed his first attempt from Danny Whitaker's cross to the far post but he still had time to regain his composure and beat Kuipers with a left-foot shot.

It was the first goal Albion had conceded in more than four and a half hours, although you would never have guessed considering the way Vale were cutting them open.

Tommy Elphick had to make a saving tackle inside his own penalty area to deny Dave Howland before Richards increased Vale's advantage only 19 minutes into the contest.

He burst through the heart of Albion's uncharacteristically fragile rearguard to prod in his fourth goal in three games as Kerry Mayo challenged.

It was a stunning scoreline requiring a touch of inspiration from somewhere to bring the Seagulls back into contention.

Dean Cox provided it, reducing Albion's arrears in the 26th minute with his first goal since November.

Glenn Murray flicked the little playmaker into freedom through the inside right channel. Cox initially passed up the chance to shoot, instead cutting inside Howland to score with a low left-foot drive.

If that was meant to launch an Albion recovery then Vale had not read the script. They could, with better finishing, have been out of sight by the interval.

Whitaker produced an immediate response to Cox's strike, skipping around Joel Lynch to force Kuipers into a fingertip deflection at full stretch with a low shot from just outside the box.

Richards should have completed a quick fire hat-trick when he headed over from a Mulligan free-kick, with the Albion defence caught out again.

They had another escape after Richards' first-time shot from a cross by Cardle was parried by the stretching Kuipers, Richman scuffing the opportunity to convert the rebound.

Goodness knows what former captain Steve Foster and Albion's other 1983 FA Cup Final heroes made of the marking at the back.

It was non-existent once more on the stroke of half time when another Mulligan free-kick was headed over by on-loan Birmingham youngster Krystian Pearce.

The single redeeming feature of the first half for the Seagulls was Cox's overdue effort, their first goal in open play for seven hours.

He should have equalised three minutes into the second half when Murray put him clean through but Cox slotted the wrong side of Joe Anyon's left-hand post with the Vale keeper already committed to diving the wrong way.

That was a let-off for Vale but they kept on creating and squandering chances to put the game to bed.

Richards could have capitalised on more uncertain defending when he fired over the upright, a shot from Mulligan was deflected inches wide and another free-kick from the Kiwi glanced off the head of George Pilkington as he escaped goal side of Elphick.

Those close shaves were nothing to the misfortunes of Whitaker.

Incredibly, the bald-headed Vale midfielder hit the woodwork three times in as many minutes, first the outside of the post and then the bar twice from passes by Howland and a cross from Adam Eckersley.

The ease with which Vale exploited gaping holes at the back bordered on the embarrassing for Albion. Elphick was almost left red-faced as well when he headed a Mulligan free-kick against his own crossbar.

The only surprise at that stage was that Albion were still in the match. Vale had already wasted 2-0 leads away from home in defeats at Carlisle and Hartlepool earlier this year and they almost paid for their profligacy.

Anyon pushed to safety a swivelling volley by Nicky Forster from a cross by Steve Thomson.

Albion's skipper and talisman also wasted an opportunity to equalise by volleying over Andrew Whing's cross at the far post.

Joe Gatting, watched by his father Steve, nearly provided salvation with his first contribution four minutes from time. His header from fellow substitute Jake Robinson's centre was parried for a corner by the diving Anyon.

It would have been cruel on Vale if that had gone in and justice was done for them and Whitaker in particular with two minutes remaining.

All his previous frustration was wiped away by a swivelling shot from 30 yards which dipped over Kuipers into the roof of the net.

It was a spectacular effort, worthy of winning any game although, amazingly it almost wasn't enough.

Murray headed in Cox's cross in the second minute of stoppage time and staged a repeat a minute later, Mayo the supplier this time, but referee Paul Armstrong disallowed it for pushing and there were no complaints from the Albion players.

Nor could there be about the result, which was misleadingly close. It could easily have been a landslide.

Albion: Kuipers, Whing, Lynch, Elphick, Mayo, Cox, Thomson, Racon, Westlake, Murray, Forster. Subs: Rents, Robinson, Gatting, Fraser, Martot.

Port Vale: Anyon, Harsley, Pilkington, Pearce, Eckersley, Richman, Howland, Whitaker, Mulligan, Cardle, Richards. Subs: McGregor, Glover, Danny Edwards, Lawrie, Prosser.

Referee: Paul Armstrong (Berkshire)