Micky Adams can be a hard manager to please, but his players are doing a pretty good job of contenting him at the moment.

Adams paid generous tribute to their resilience after Paul Watson's 90th-minute free-kick made it 11 Withdean wins in a row.

Albion have a couple of Falmer-related problems to sort out off the pitch. There is still no sign of a planning application for a new stadium, while the poor condition of the training pitches means the players have been preparing for matches at Ardingly College.

"These boys keep surprising me, because the periphery of the club is not right by any means," said Adams.

"They have a lot to contend with, but that has brought them all together. They want to win matches for themselves and the fans. There is a great deal of passion there and long may it continue."

The players are not just surprising their governor, they are keeping him calm in tense situations as well.

"I'm learning to relax," he revealed. "I believe in the group of players I have got. We have turned Withdean into a bit of a fortress.

"To be successful you have got to win your home games and we are doing that at the moment."

The powers-that-be won't appreciate me saying so, but if results are used as a yardstick perhaps Albion's temporary home should become permanent.

Look up and down the country at the clubs with impressive new stadia and the vast majority have poor home records, probably because they are attractive places for visitors to play.

Withdean may be in an attractive setting, but it is a bewildering venue for Albion's opponents.

The Seagulls, after a shaky start, are used to it now and nobody likes it more than the irrepressible Bobby Zamora.

The goal which broke the stalemate midway through the second half on Saturday was his fifth in four home games this season and 11th in the last ten overall.

He has only failed to find the target in one match over that period, the championship clincher against Chesterfield at the end of last season.

Lee Steele, making his first home start of the season, deserves a pat on the back for instigating the continuation of Zamora's prolific sequence.

Hemmed in close to the corner flag, Steele's cute pass released Paul Brooker in the righthand side of the penalty area.

His cross to the far post was perfect for Zamora to head home unchallenged. He played it down afterwards, but Adams revealed how much it meant to his young marksman.

QPR boss Ian Holloway was, of course, the man who sold Zamora for £100,000 when he was in charge at Bristol Rovers.

"Bobby was pleased with the goal," Adams said. "I think the celebration showed that. Put the ball in the box and nine times out of ten Bobby will put it away, but it was a great cross from Paul Brooker. I think I could have scored that one!"

Five minutes earlier Adams had replaced skipper Paul Rogers with Kerry Mayo and switched from an unchanged 4-3-1-2 formation to a more orthodox 4-4-2.

With an uncanny sense of symmetry, a change by Holloway also took five minutes to have an effect, although Rangers' 79th minute equaliser was accompanied by controversy.

Charlie Oatway, a lifelong QPR fan, was lying injured inside his own half following a challenge by substitute Matthew Rose.

Referee Bill Jordan allowed play to continue and Andy Thomson, introduced with Rose in the 74th minute, tapped in his third of the season from Terrell Forbes' low cross.

Adams refused to blame Rangers or the ref, pointing a finger instead at his own players for not getting the ball out of play.

Rangers were poised to become the first side since York in February to take a point away from Withdean until their uncompromising propensity to concede free-kicks was clinically punished by Watson.

Dirk Lehmann, Steele's late replacement, was brought down in a central position 20 yards out and Watson's lethal left foot found the bottom corner.

Rangers failed to heed prior warning. Watson went close from a similar position early on, when he also provided an outswinging corner which Zamora headed against the bar.

The outcome might have been different if Marcus Bignot's fourth minute shot past Michel Kuipers had gone in instead of rebounding off the post.

Kuipers had an uncharacteristically uncertain afternoon but Danny Cullip, carrying hamstring and arm injuries for virtually the whole match, was a tower of strength again at the heart of the defence.

Adams said: "We are progressing nicely. We are not the finished article, but I've got a hard-working and professional group of players with tremendous team spirit who believe they can win matches, so we have got half a chance.

Holloway, who locked his players in the dressing room for 45 minutes, said: "I'm very disappointed to let in another late goal. Having got back into the game we should have won it and there is a lot to work on."