Skipper Paul Rogers shared in Albion's first defeat of pre-season last night, then insisted: "We are still making progress."

The Seagulls went down 2-0 at Irish Premier outfit Galway United whose first goal came from a 47th- minute penalty conceded by Kerry Mayo.

It was a bruising encounter not helped by fussy refereeing from local official Peter Flaherty, who booked Warren Aspinall, Keith McPherson and Lee Steele.

But Rogers, one of five Albion men to play the full 90 minutes said: "It was another good test for us.

"It was more of a competitive battle than the game at Longford the other night because they are a stronger side.

"We've still got enough games to bed down our pattern of play.

"A few of the lads looked a bit jaded and Galway were strong and physical but its all about getting our fitness."

The match was switched from Galway's tidy little Terryland Park at home to the local Rugby club and Rogers and boss Micky Adams expressed some disatisfaction about the state of the pitch.

Rogers said: "You can see it's a rugby pitch.

"We had to play more direct than we like to."

Paul Watson (groin) and triallist Steve Melton (ankle) were both taken off with minor injuries but Darren Carr came through 60 minutes in his first outing of pre-season.

Albion conclude their tour with a trip to Athlone Town tomorrow evening.