Albion manager Micky Adams was full of praise for his players last night after an unfortunate exit from the Worthington Cup.

The Seagulls frightened Second Division Millwall with a stirring display in the return leg at the New Den.

Nathan Jones' third goal in two games midway through the second half cancelled out a stunning strike by Christophe Kinet to earn them a 1-1 draw.

It wasn't quite enough to overcome the Lions' 2-1 lead from the first leg, but they were hanging on at the end.

Adams said: "I thought we were terrific all around the pitch. It was a determined performance by all the players. Our fighting spirit shone through.

"We weren't too bothered when they scored, because we still needed to score two. I told them to be positive in the second half and they were.

"We were unlucky. It is disappointing to be out of the competition, but we gave it a go."

Jones followed up his two goals in the 6-2 win against Torquay by converting a cross from substitute Paul Brooker, brought on in place of skipper Paul Rogers.

"Paul Brooker has not been very positive this season," Adams said. "Hopefully this will give him renewed confidence. I think Nathan Jones is a little bit gutted not to have negotiated a goal bonus in his contract!.

"We brought the confidence from that victory against Torquay to the New Den, which can be a daunting place to play.

"We can take a great deal of credit from the game and hopefully we can build on that.

"It was disappointing not to keep a clean sheet, but we were determined in our defending. Matthew Wicks looked a lot more accomplished and I was pleased with all my back four."

Millwall's joint manager Alan McLeary admitted: "We are very relieved to get through a tricky tie.

"Brighton played extremely well and posed us a lot of problems. They put on a tremendous show over the two games and all credit to them."