Albion made it a magnificent seven wins on the trot at Withdean against struggling Exeter last night.

Goals in each half by captain Paul Rogers and Gary Hart kept the Seagulls on course for promotion before a record crowd of 6,758.

Exeter had no fewer than ten players booked in a bruising battle, including all three substitutes.

Hart, Charlie Oatway and substitute Darren Freeman also had their names taken for Albion and Oatway now faces a one match suspension.

Albion made one change, Brooker making his first League start since early September at the expense of Jones.

Brooker replaced Jones at half time in last Saturday's 2-0 defeat at Mansfield.

Exeter, desperate for a result to arrest their slide, made four changes to the team beaten 3-0 at Blackpool.

Out went Ampadu, Roscoe, McConnell and Francis.

In came Ashton, Tomlinson, Zabek and Rapley.

Francis was among three strikers named on the bench by boss Noel Blake.

Stadium managers Ecovert South have spent thousands of pounds on the Withdean pitch since the Seagulls' previous home game on December 5, but it still looked very patchy.

Albion abandoned their 4-3-3 formation, opting instead to play Brooker in the hole behind front pair Zamora and Hart.

The same system worked well for a makeshift Seagulls side in the LDV Vans Trophy victory against Cardiff.

Ashton's long throw-ins caused concern twice for Albion in the early stages.

The first was headed on by former Seagull Campbell and fisted clear by Kuipers.

Albion's big Dutch goal keeper then produced a fine reflex save from Rapley's swiveling snapshot from eight yards.

Albion almost went in front in the 12th minute.

Van Heusden, under pressure from Hart in a goalmouth melee, punched clear only as far as Cullip, but he fired just wide from 15 yards.

After an untidy opening it was skipper Rogers who made the breakthrough for Albion in the 18th minute.

Oatway's diagonal pass was miskicked into the path of Zamora by Hart.

Campbell's timely challenge foiled the young marksman, but Rogers drilled in the loose ball from inside the box.

It was Rogers' second goal against Exeter at Withdean this year, having also scored in Albion's 4-2 victory against the West Countrymen in January.

The Seagulls were a touch fortunate to be ahead on the balance of play, but, their captain's knack of scoring from the centre of midfield had once again served them well.

Zamora and Burrows were both injured in the build-up to the goal.

Zamora continued after treatment, but Burrows was stretchered off and replaced by Flack.

Referee Paul Rejer, who took charge of Albion's FA Cup win at Aldershot, booked two Exeter players in the space of one minute.

Zabek had his name taken for upending Zamora and Rawlinson followed suit for a foul on Oatway.

Albion suffered a blow in the 32nd minute, Wicks limping off to be replaced in the centre of defence by Crosby.

Hart went close to doubling the Seagulls' advantage a minute later with a diving header into the side netting from Watson's cross to the near post.

Exeter's robust approach led to another caution five minutes before the break, this time for substitute Flack for a clumsy challenge on Brooker.

The scrappy pattern of the contest continued, with Albion's front men frequently caught offside by a disciplined visiting defence.

Power became the fourth Exeter player to be booked in the 44th minute for a foul on Brooker.

Watson, making his 65th consecutive appearance after shrugging off a neck injury, swung the ensuing freekick from wide on the right flank narrowly over the crossbar.

Oatway collected Albion's first caution in first half stoppage time for a tackle from behind on Flack and with it an automatic one match ban.

The tenacious midfielder now misses the home game against Lincoln on January 6.

The caution count continued to rise in the second half. Ashton picked up Exeter's fifth booking on 53 minutes for a foul on Zamora and Hart Albion's second for an illegal challenge on Rawlinson three minutes later.

Exeter introduced the 6ft 7ins Francis upfront in place of Rapley with half an hour left.

Hart doubled Albion's lead on 61 minutes with a cross which was deflected by Campbell past Van Heusden.

Exeter's yellow card tally increased to eight, Whitworth, Rawlinson and substitute Francis all having their names taken in the space of five minutes.

Read collected Exeter's ninth caution with 15 minutes left, shortly after replacing Tomlinson.

The booking count rose again when substitute Freeman became the third Albion player to be cautioned.

There was one more to come, though, as Exeter's Paul Buckle became the tenth Exeter man to see the yellow card on a night when referee Rejer seemed to be compiling his own special Christmas card list.