Albion did not just pick up a valuable point with a stirring second-half comeback, the players also proved a point to themselves.

They can cope without Bobby Zamora and that realisation is important whether or not they escape relegation.

The Seagulls are obviously a much better team with their goalscoring talisman but there is a pretty good chance they will be without him next season.

Although Spurs have been sniffing around for some time, my hunch is Zamora will be reunited with Micky Adams at Premiership-bound Leicester.

There is a tendency to think Albion are a one-man band, an impression enhanced by nine League defeats out of nine this season in the absence of Zamora prior to the trip to Portman Road.

Now that supposed bogey has been banished, much to the relief of not only the players but the manager as well.

Quizzed on the subject after watching his patched-up side give one of the classiest outfits in the Division a goal start then almost beat them, Steve Coppell offered a sarcastic response.

"We thought about not turnin up because without Bobby it was a foregone conclusion," he said.

"At the last minute we decided to have a go."

Anthony Rougier, the hamstrung Zamora's replacement, was determined to go with a bang.

His pivotal impact on his farewell appearance was further proof of Coppell's ability to get the best out of players.

Rougier has never been much of a goalscorer, yet in six games for Albion he has found the net twice and directly caused two own goals.

He revealed to The Argus on Friday a desire to play for the club again next season and he is not exactly relishing his return to Reading, even though they are at the right end of the table.

"It's hard to be leaving," Rougier said. "I've done all I can to try and stay.

"It's sad to leave Brighton in the position they are in, because I said I wanted to leave them better off.

"I am sorry to say they are not but as a team I think they are. To get a result at Ipswich was unexpected, but now they believe in themselves."

That self-belief was tested to the full after a first half in which Albion were comprehensively outplayed.

The surprise was that Ipswich, with their crowd-pleasing brand of pass and move football, went in only one goal to the good and had to be presented with their advantage.

Marcus Bent seized on Danny Cullip's mis-hit backpass to Dave Beasant to slot his eighth of the season.

It was an uncharacteristic error by the captain and he is so passionate on the pitch that he rather harshly remonstrated with Beasant for failing to come off his line quicker.

To Cullip's great credit he did not allow it to affect another typically inspirational performance and he owned up afterwards.

"I was just playing it back but did not get enough on it," he said. "You just have to get on with it. It's no good sulking for the rest of the game."

Whatever Coppell said to his troops in the confines of the dressing room at the break did the trick. They showed much more conviction in an eventful second half.

Midway through they were level. Gary Hart's left wing cross from Paul Brooker's crossfield pass was met by Rougier with a header which thumped against the underside of the bar.

The ball bounced down close to the goal line and rebounded in off the back of keeper Andy Marshall.

Albion should have been behind again two minutes later. Carpenter tripped Chris Makin but Ipswich's 16-goal sub Darren Bent blazed the penalty over the bar.

The Seagulls made the most of the lef-off, Brooker's run and cross giving Rougier the simplest of tasks from four yards.

A truly remarkable victory was in sight until, with five minutes left, Martijn Reuser levelled with a low 25-yard drive struck so cleanly that you wondered why it was only his first this season.

Coppell said: "The result is everything at the moment. Looking at the fixtures before the start I thought we probably had the hardest and to come away with a point is pleasing, even though we were in a strong position.

"The performance was good. At times in the first half they looked a very good side but we held it together when earlier in the season we might have capsized.

"We regrouped at half time and it never ceases to amaze me how they dig in and fight."

The problem for Coppell is that he is without both Zamora and Rougier, who Cullip could be marking when Albion visit Reading a week on Friday.

"Tony has been fantastic," Cullip said. "He makes it hard for defenders to play against him but somebody else will come in and take over the mantle.

"It was a great comeback from the boys. I was probably happier than anyone when we got the equaliser and then the second goal."

Now it's Palace, "just another game," according to Coppell.

Given Albion's League position and their drubbing at Selhurst Park in October it is, of course, much more than that.

Albion (3-4-1-2): Beasant (gk) 7; Watson (rwb) 7, Mayo (lwb) 7, Cullip (cd) 7, Blackwell (cd) 7, Ingimarsson (cd) 8, Brooker (m) 8, Carpenter (m) 7, Rodger (m) 7, Hart (f) 7, Rougier (f) 9. Subs: Jones for Watson (withdrawn 78), Barrett for Hart (withdrawn 88), Oatway, Wilkinson, Packham.

Scorers: Marshall (66) own goal, Rougier (81).

Bookings: Beasant (67) unsporting behaviour, Cullip (78) foul.

Ipswich (4-4-2): Marshall; Wilnis, Magilton, Holland, Counago, Naylor, Wright, Makin, M. Bent, Gaardsoe, Reuser. Subs: D. Bent for Counago (withdrawn 58), Miller for Magilton (withdrawn 82), Bowditch, Pullen, Richards.

Scorers: M. Bent (20), Reuser (85).

Bookings: None.

Half-Time: Ipswich 1 Albion 0.

Attendance: 26,078.

Fan's View: Mike 'Gullhanger' Ward.

Maybe it's daft to come away feeling miffed with a draw, given that Ipswich are a useful side challenging for the play-offs.

And maybe, if we look back on our performance, rationally, 2-2 was a fair result.

But who wants to be rational when we were that close, THAT flippin' close, to heading back down the A12 with all three points?

With just seven minutes left on the clock, it looked as if the magnificently gutsy Tony Rougier, in his final match before having to trudge back to measly old Reading, had performed a miracle.

Sadly, it wasn't to be. But, hey, there's always tomorrow. I'm sure Tony will be with us in spirit.