Lee Steele has revealed it took a mis-kick to open his goalscoring account for Albion.

The busy little striker, signed from Shrewsbury recently, needed just seven minutes at Longford on Monday with an overhead shot which looped gently inside the far post.

One or two Albion fans were talking about a Premiership quality goal and it certainly looked a great strike.

But Steele came clean and admitted: "I meant it to be a proper overhead kick and it didn't really come off.

"My legs were still really stiff from training in the morning but luckily it still went in.

"It was a little boost for me because I was really tired at the time and I was delighted to see the second one go in as well."

Steele's legs are unlikely to be much fresher at Crowley Park tonight as Albion tackle Premier Division outfit Galway United on the back of two training sessions yesterday.

But fatigue did not prevent him catching the eye at Longford, not just because of his two goals and a couple of near misses but also with his neat close control and lay-offs which gave his midfield men something to aim for when they looked to get the ball forward.

It may be early to reach conclusions as to the line-up Micky Adams will send out at Southend next month, but there were plenty of early points of interest for Albion's followers.

Kerry Mayo and Nathan Jones, expected to be rivals for a place in the League side, started the match together on the left of a 4-4-2 set-up, though that flank offered more enterprise in the second half when Jones dropped to left back and Paul Brooker came on ahead of him.

Scott Ramsay enjoyed his physical contest with big home defender Paul Perth while Danny Davis caught the eye with his darting breaks and accurate passing when he came on for the last half hour.

There were signs however that Albion are someway from finding their feet defensively, as Longford scored twice and were afforded a handful of very presentable opportunities.

That is one area where Seagulls will look to sharpen up when they tackle their second fixture of this gruelling week here tonight.