Swansea 1, Albion 2: Albion came from behind to reach the second round Southern Section of the LDV Vans Trophy.

Lee Steele was the hero for the makeshift Seagulls with an 89th minute winner, his fourth goal of the season.

Jonathan Coates gave crisis club Swansea a ninth minute lead. German striker Dirk Lehmann levelled on the stroke of half time with his first goal for Albion and Steele made it two victories out of two for acting manager Bob Booker and his assistant Martin Hinshelwood.

Booker made eight changes to the team which kicked off his caretaker reign with a 2-1 win at Huddersfield on Saturday.

Goalkeeper Kuipers, fullback Watson and striker Steele were the only survivors of the victory at the McAlpine Stadium as Booker rested a number of players ahead of Saturday's home game against Oldham.

Watson switched from the right to the left to accommodate Pethick.

Skipper Rogers, on the bench at Huddersfield, returned to a starting line-up containing many senior pros who have not been first team regulars, with a quintet of youngsters as substitutes.

The Swansea side included several players whose contracts were controversially breached last week by new chairman Tony Petty.

A notable absentee was top scorer Stuart Roberts, who had talks yesterday over a £100,000 move to Wycombe.

Fans of the Third Division strugglers staged a march from the city centre before the match in protest at the way Petty, an Australian-based English businessman, is handling the club.

Supporters have launched a bid to buy him out and Petty and his fellow board members stayed away from the game.

Referee Ray Olivier took charge of Albion for the second time this season.

The Sutton Coldfield official sent off Blackpool boss Steve McMahon and one of his players at Withdean in August but subsequently rescinded the punishments.

Swansea, fired up by a noisy crowd, chanting "we want Petty out", started positively.

Watson was caught in possession in the sixth minute by Sidibe, the Welshmen's lanky French forward. He raced away from Wicks and had an angled drive from eight yards diverted for a corner by the diving Kuipers.

The Seagulls failed to heed that early warning and they fell behind just three minutes later.

Coates latched on to Howard's low cross from the left, with the Albion defence slow to react. He skipped around Crosby's challenge and, as the space opened up, tucked the ball past Kuipers from ten yards.

The goal shook Albion into action, Pitcher ending a promising run with a shot straight at Freestone from 20 yards.

Albion's former Kingstonian kingpin, playing on the right side of midfield, was off target with another effort from outside the area minutes later.

Albion continued to look suspect at the back. Bound and Williams both had low shots saved by Kuipers, while Crosby produced an important tackle to foil Todd.

Lehmann should have done better for the Seagulls midway through the half when he directed a header at the far post from Pitcher's cross too close to Freestone.

Swansea were looking the hungrier side, but Pitcher was proving influential for Albion and they almost equalised on the half hour.

Steele's fierce left foot shot from the edge of the box from Jones' short pass was beaten away for a corner by the agile Freestone.

Coates threatened again for Swansea as half time approached when an exchange of passes with Williams left him in space inside the box.

He tried to pick out a team-mate, when a crack at goal seemed the obvious option, and Crosby was able to clear.

Little had been seen of the Seagulls as an attacking force in the opening 45 minutes, although Steele hooked over on the turn from 15 yards after Jones' centre from the left eluded several players.

Albion had the unexpected bonus of an equaliser on the stroke of half time, Lehmann breaking his duck for the club with a glancing header at the near post from Pethick's cross which sped past Freestone.

Both teams made a change for the second half, Virgo replacing Watson for Albion and Swansea introducing Romo in midfield.

Virgo joined Crosby and Wicks at the back as the Seagulls switched to a 3-5-2 formation.

Pethick and Jones were now operating as wingbacks, with Pitcher pushed into a more central role alongside Rogers and Melton.

Virgo went close for Albion three minutes later with a firm header from a corner by Jones which Freestone did well to grab.

Pethick collected the first caution of the contest with 18 minutes left for a foul on Coates on the right hand edge of the Albion area. Coates struck a post shortly after with a shot from an acute angle following Howard's free-kick.

Lehmann spurned a great chance to put the Seagulls ahead on 79 minutes. Swansea keeper Freestone slipped as he tried to reach Pethick's low centre from the right, but Lehmann spooned over from close range.

With the prospect of golden goal extra time looming, Steele struck the decisive blow. Wicks' shot from a Jones cross rebounded off the bar for the former Shrewsbury marksman to slot in from point blank range.