Jake Robinson and Chris McPhee as a front pairing to face West Ham at Withdean on Saturday would have been almost unthinkable three days ago.

Suddenly their names must be at the forefront of Mark McGhee's mind as he tries to plot the victory Albion need from one of their remaining three matches to turn the possibility of Championship survival into a probability.

A variety of attacking options are open to the manager, with Leon Knight and Gary Hart both available again after two-match bans.

They probably do not include Mark McCammon, whose fit of pique after justifiably being substituted at half-time at Turf Moor, was inappropriate and ill-timed. Albion's Musketeer spirit has never been needed more than now.

McGhee has, by his own admission, not demonstrated as much faith in Robinson as sections of supporters, but his decision to send the teenage prospect out on loan to Conference club Aldershot has clearly been of benefit.

Robinson was a revelation after replacing the ineffective McCammon for the second half.

A Burnley defence which had the cigars out in the opening 45 minutes was reduced to a panic-stricken mess by the zest and fearlessness of youth.

Robinson was not afraid to run at them, to take them on and more often than not beat them.

McPhee was the perfect foil, a mutual understanding derived from developing through the same youth system and playing together in the reserves. It was chalk and cheese compared to his lumbering partnership in the first half with McCammon.

Robinson and McPhee's pivotal part in an improbable second-half recovery was acknowledged by another youth team product, Dean Hammond, whose equaliser ranks comfortably as the most valuable goal of his career.

"Jake was magnificent," said Hammond. "He just gave us a different dimension in the second half. His movement was great and Chris McPhee was brilliant as well. Those So here's to you, super Robinson two up front played really well."

Hammond's close-range volley into the roof of the net seven minutes into the restart, following a probing run and cross from Paul Reid, was only the second League goal of his career, a poor return for a tall and gifted midfielder.

"I don't get many goals and I should get more with the amount of chances I get in the box," Hammond admitted. "Hopefully I can improve that part of my game.

"I just thought I would get myself in the box like the gaffer has asked me to. Reidy put a great ball in and I just tried to get on the end of it. I was so glad it went in.

"I had a couple of other chances, a header and a left-foot shot, and I should have done better with another one, so maybe I should have got another goal but we'll take the point."

The header Hammond referred to, from Richard Carpenter's free-kick three minutes after he had equalised, brushed the far post. It was the nearest of a number of close shaves for Burnley in the second half as Albion threatened an unlikely win.

How different from the first half. The Seagulls, with McPhee in for Joe Dolan and Adam Virgo reverting to the heart of a fiveman defence, were dreadful. Chairman Dick Knight must have been inclined, at that stage, to demand an early Saturday morning start for the final away trip to Rotherham after the club splashed out on a two-night break for the players last week at a luxury hotel near Chester.

It prompted a change in formation, Reid pushing on into midfield, and McGhee's version of the Fergie hairdryer at halftime.

"It was a major roasting," he revealed. "I thought the centre forwards in particular did not do well enough in holding the ball up. Reidy looked in a bit of a daze, but in the second half he had a really good game, as did Chris McPhee. I wasn't prepared to wait for Mark, so I took him off."

Part of the reason for Virgo dropping back was to keep tabs on Burnley's willing workhorse, Ade Akinbiyi. Albion's top scorer did that reasonably well, despite being inhibited by a well-concealed cartilage injury which will require surgery in the summer if he can last that long.

Akinbiyi escaped midway through the first half to nod in when Graham Branch headed Dean Bowditch's cross into his path, his second goal for Burnley and second against Albion this season for different clubs after scoring Stoke's late winner at Withdean before Christmas.

The unsung hero of the Seagulls' comeback was Alan Blayney. Burnley would have been out of sight but for four key saves by the on-loan Southampton keeper, the best a smothering stop to deny Branch.

McGhee said: "I thought he was fantastic, not only the saves but the way he dominated his 18- yard box. He caught the ball, he came on top, in-between and through people.

"One time he even landed on Adam Virgo. I love to see that, when goalkeepers are prepared to come through even their own players to get the ball. He played a major part, particularly in the first half, in us getting a result."

Unfortunately for Albion, most of their main relegation rivals got a result of one kind or another as well, with the exception of Cardiff who still have a game in hand at Leicester tomorrow night.

Watford emphasised the value of three points in the congested quest for survival, their victory at Rotherham easing them away from immediate danger.

Albion have fought back of late four times from 1-0 down, the latter examples at Leicester and now Burnley yielding precious points. How they could do with taking the lead and then clinging onto it against the Hammers, just as they did at Upton Park earlier in the season.

  • ALBION (5-3-2); Blayney 8; Reid 7, El-Abd 7, Virgo 7, Butters 7, Harding 7; Oatway 7,Carpenter 7, Hammond 8; McPhee 7, McCammon 5. Subs: Robinson 8 for McCammon (withdrawn 46), Mayo, Dolan, Nicolas, Shaaban.
  • Albion booking: Reid (44) foul.
  • Albion scorer: Hammond (52).
  • BURNLEY (4-5-1) Coyne; Duff, McGreal, Cahill, Camara; Bowditch, Grant, O'Connor, Hyde, Branch; Akinbiyi. Subs: Roche for Duffy (withdrwan 75), Oster, Jensen, Pilkington, Valiois.
  • Burnley booking: Cahill (54) foul
  • Burnley scorer: Akinbiyi (22).