Adam Hinshelwood intercepted a last-gasp Scunthorpe attack and cleared with his right foot.

The ball came straight back and he whacked it away again, this time with his left.

And on that fitting note, referee Darren Deadman blew the final whistle on what could turn out to be a hugely significant afternoon for Albion.

The Seagulls are back in business and so is their young central defender.

But back to his best? Not yet. Just ask the man himself.

Hinshelwood won the vast majority of headers for which he competed but felt he could have been more dominant when Scunthorpe threw on battering ram (and that is all he was) Steve Torpey for the last half hour.

Albion's No. 4, making his first start of the season, said: "I was quite pleased in the first half but when the lad came on up front I thought my heading was poor.

"I didn't win as much as I would have wanted to. That's something I've got to look at. I will do that and I'll improve.

"That's just the way I am. There are always things I can look out and get better.

To get where I want to be I've got to improve all the time."

Even up to a couple of weeks ago, the prospect of Hinshelwood and Guy Butters playing alongside each other in the middle of defence seemed a remote one.

Joel Lynch was earning rave reviews, Georges Santos had some good games and Adam El-Abd was also in form while Butters and Hinshelwood completed their recovery from injuries and wondered why the reserves didn't have any games.

But things have moved on quickly since then.

The two of them were paired at Glanford Park on Saturday and the manner of the challenge proved right up their street.

As promised, they kept it very simple but that proved to be highly effective.

Hinshelwood, on the right side of the pairing, won his first three headers to set the tone, though a loose pass early on gave Ian Morris the chance to try a 20- yard shot which rolled wide.

Scunthorpe's front two of Billy Sharp and Andy Keogh looked to have a good understanding but they are not the quickest of pairings.

With just one exception, Albion kept a disciplined defensive line and backed themselves to deal with any balls played in behind them.

Hinshelwood was forced to do that on that one occasion and did so comfortably.

It all looked so good until a clever switch of play and a break by Marcus Williams led to Morris's cross which Hinshelwood headed against his own bar before Sharp finally beat Henderson from the rebound.

"Yeah, I almost scored with the header," he joked. "I was stretching for it a little bit. I thought it was going in for a second.

"I'll look at that. I could have done better there. I was disappointed we didn't get the cleansheet."

Albion rarely looked in danger of conceding in the second half as Scunthorpe attacked the end populated by their fans standing on an old-fashioned covered terrace.

That is not to say the backline were not tested.

It got very muscular at times but the Seagulls, who played the better stuff when the ball was on the ground, also met fire with fire when needed.

The giant Torpey was clearly sent on to try to disturb their afternoon however he could.

Albion replied by introducing Lynch to give them a few more defensive inches.

As at Southend, they made their defensive switch while preparing to face a corner, which worries some fans, though is not without its own logic.

After all, Lynch was sent on to help defend against the high ball so why keep him waiting on the touchline while Scunthorpe sent in a corner?

Lynch went straight into the chaos of the goalmouth, where Wayne Henderson and a couple of home players were jostling, and put himself right in the thick of it.

When Hinshelwood and an increasingly irate Sharp tangled a couple of times late on, Albion stood their ground.

As they did when tempers flared again briefly after the final whistle.

Michel Kuipers waded in to try to restore peace before highfiving every Albion player as they headed to applaud their fans.

Hinshelwood was delighted to see the home frustration build up.

He said: "For me that's the best sign. When their geezer wants to give you a bit of stick you know you've got them.

"It's all part of it and I'm big enough and ugly enough to deal with that."

So what now? Well, Albion look more solid at the back but fans will not get too complacent.

After all, various players and formations have looked good already this season but finding consistency of playing pattern and personnel has proved rather more difficult.

The great thing is the Seagulls now have two experienced, highly competitive central defenders back to fitness and playing well.

And there is better still to come if Hinshelwood is as good as his word.