El-Abd will be back

But do not go feeling sorry for the strapping No. 6 for too long.

Those who follow the Seagulls with much interest will know full well that El-Abd will come bouncing back stronger than ever from his dream afternoon which turned sour.

Beaten 2-1 and sent-off having earlier conceded a penalty?

Those bare facts do not look too good for a man playing for the first time at a ground where he used to be a fan.

But El-Abd has suffered setbacks before and come back.

On his League debut, on the the other side of the Trent, he was penalised for an off the ball shove, leading to a Notts County equaliser, then got forward to lay on the winner for Leon Knight.

He was sent-off in a local derby while on loan to Bognor for an enthusiastic challenge that looked terrible.

But he went straight up to manager Jack Pearce to apologise after the game and went on to use his non-league stint to benefit him as a player.

So do not be surprised if he learns from the two or three moments which have tarnished two basically sound, tremendously committed displays against Forest and Brentford in the last nine days.

After his late misfortune against the Bees, El-Abd admitted he was brave enough to watch the goal on TV and felt "suicidal" afterwards.

How will he have felt yesterday? Pretty depressed no doubt, maybe aggrieved at a couple of refereeing decisions and probably impatient to get back to work this morning.

What made Saturday so cruel was that it happened against the club he used to cheer on from the City Ground stands.

That is why Saturday's game was supposed to be so special, especially as he missed Albion's previous trip to Forest with an ankle injury.

El-Abd's mother is from Nottingham and he used to take advantage of trips to visit relatives by going to watch Forest.

For an hour or more, the young defender looked rock solid on the ground were he used to applaud the defensive feats of Stuart Pearce.

Albion looked to get the ball down and pass from the back, something with which El-Abd was comfortable, hence the high number of completed passes in his stats.

Most of those were simple square balls under no pressure though, on a handful of occasions, he carried the ball forward to commit a tackler before laying it off.

He won his first two headers, settled well and made a very important challenge on Jack Lester after Kerry Mayo's corner had been cleared to leave the Seagulls short-handed at the back.

It started to go wrong ten minutes after the break when he was booked for an aerial challenge on Grant Holt.

Of the three key decisions to go against him, that looked the most surprising from afar as he went in for a routine high ball and was adjudged to have challenged dangerously by referee Mark Clattenburg, who was right on the spot.

From the resulting free-kick, Holt beat El-Abd to the knock down and volleyed over.

Skipper Richard Carpenter was quick to go across to the No. 6 and offer a few words after that. The decision to award a penalty against El-Abd looked a fair one.

He had been left on his own in the middle after Nicky Southall got past Kerry Mayo and Lynch was forced to go out to the left of the penalty area to try to intervene.

El-Abd was in the right place when Forest threatened again three minutes later, clearing for a corner from in front of goal after Holt got away from Paul Reid and crossed low from the byline.

Then came the final insult as the game moved into added time and Albion sensed time ticking away from them.

El-Abd seemed to get a handful of Neil Harris's shirt as they tussled right in front of the main stand.

Strictly speaking that is a bookable offence though there was something unsatisfactory about seeing a player who had enjoyed a good, wholehearted battle with some talented strikers shown red after such a trivial incident.

El-Abd probably felt like a driver who has been fined for going just over the 30mph limit as he was shown his second yellow.

But much of the art of defending comes down to experience. And how do you gain experience?

Well, trying to protect a lead against a team like Forest beneath the gaze of the Trent End is not a bad way to start.

What he will wonder now is where does he stand in the pecking order when he returns from suspension, with Keith Lowe and Georges Santos both keen to play and Adam Hinshelwood and Guy Butters on their way back from injury.

That is for the short term, though.

El-Abd remains a young player with a few lessons to learn but with lots more to offer. He will be back more determined than ever after this.

So do not rule out the idea of him going back to have a 90-minute blinder at the City Ground one day.