David Yelldell will not forget his English League debut in a hurry.

Wolf-whistled by thousands of Yorkshiremen, the German-born giant helped Albion to another valuable away point with a combination of bravery and agility.

Yelldell showed great courage in the first half when he dived at the flailing feet of Brian Deane, whose reckless challenge was punished by a booking.

Midway through the second half the on-loan Blackburn custodian made a spectacular and ultimately crucial save to foil Gary Kelly.

His retreating tip-over from a volleyed lob by Kelly, reminiscent of Ryan Giggs' equaliser a few days earlier for Manchester United in the Carling Cup against Chelsea, rammed the good-natured taunting of the Leeds fans back down their throats.

The Elland Road faithful could not help themselves when Yelldell re-appeared after the break in a garish pink shirt, replacing the yellow one he had worn in the first half on the say-so of referee Mike Thorpe.

The Suffolk official decided his own black top too closely resembled Albion's navy. Thorpe and his assistants changed to yellow for the second half, so Yelldell had to change as well, to the obvious amusement of his new team-mates.

The whistling was followed by a chant too rude to repeat in a family newspaper. Suffice to say one of the words was one altered letter away from maggot.

Equalising hero Guy Butters saw the funny side of the whole episode. "I've been around a bit," he said. "What happened to goalkeepers wearing good old-fashioned green?

"I felt sorry for him (Yelldell) when he came out. Obviously people associate Brighton with certain things. Even the gaffer was laughing when I looked over. But fair play to him, he took it on the chin and didn't let it affect him.

"He came for that one in the first half when you knew he was going to get hurt. That was as brave as anything and it was a great save in the second half.

"We don't know the lad yet and I am sure once we do he will be a bit more vocal but he did superbly for his first game."

Yelldell, all 6ft 5in of him, was oblivious to the implications of wearing pink. The 23-year-old, whose father is American and mother German, did not even know where Brighton is following his hastily arranged month on loan, yet alone its reputation as the gay capital.

"It was a nice shirt," he said. "I kept a clean sheet in it in the second half, so I would wear it all the time if it meant not conceding a goal."

Manager Mark McGhee will not let that happen, although nobody will care too much what colour Yelldell wears if the replacement for the injured Michel Kuipers continues to perform like this. Rovers' third-choice did not put a foot or hand wrong, not bad for somebody more accustomed to playing in front of crowds of 200 in the reserves.

"It was a bit of a change," he said. "I only met the boys at the hotel on Friday night, so I hadn't even trained with them."

Yelldell was modest about his two key saves. "I just saw the ball coming down and he (Deane) caught me on the shoulder with his leg. I just knew I had to get the ball, that's my job.

"It was an unexpected lob (by Kelly). I think I did well with that one. It was just a reaction."

The reaction of McGhee and his players to falling behind just before half time was similarly impressive.

Clarke Carlisle's first effort following a corner was blocked by Adam Virgo, but the former QPR central defender's follow-up shot with the outside of his right foot from 12 yards in a packed area gave Yelldell no chance.

Gary Hart was introduced early in the second half at the expense of Mark McCammon who, McGhee conceded, looked unfit following a disruptive few days leading up to his return on loan from Millwall.

Albion looked much more of a threat after that and another substitution by McGhee paid off. Nathan Jones, on in place of Dan Harding, provided the cross from which Butters nodded a near carbon-copy of his winner at West Ham in November to ruin Leeds' first home game with Ken Bates as chairman.

Butters said: "I'm delighted with the goal. Now I'm wondering how many more big grounds we've got to go to.

"It was a great ball in from Jonesey. The banter in training is that every time he knocks a ball in it's a goal ball. This one was.

"We would have taken 1-1 before the game. It was a big day for them with the chairman. We knew there was going to be a big crowd and it was typical Brighton really, spoiling their day. That's what we are all about."

Albion's day was spoilt only by Charlie Oatway's late red card for kicking out at an opponent off-the-ball. Butters said: "I honestly didn't see it. There were a few niggly things going on the whole game.

"Chippy (Richard Carpenter) came in at half time with a bloody nose and that apparently was off the ball. Charlie said sorry to the lads but as far as I am concerned he hasn't got to apologise for anything. These things happen."

  • ALBION (3-5-2) Yelldell; Virgo, Hinshelwood, Butters; Reid, Oatway, Carpenter, Harding, Mayo; McCammon, Knight. Subs: Hart 7 for McCammon (withdrawn 51), Jones 7 for Harding (withdrawn 63), Nicolas for Knight (withdrawn 89), El-Abd, May
  • Sent off: Oatway (88) violent conduct
  • Scorer: Butters (81)
  • LEEDS (4-3-3) Sullivan; Kelly, Carlisle, Butler, Richardson; Einarsson, Gregan, Walton; Lennon, Deane, Healy. Subs: Spring for Lennon (withdrawn 78), Bakke for Walton (withdrawn 88), Harrison, Ricketts, Griffit
  • Bookings: Deane (40) foul, Bakke (90) foul
  • Scorer: Carlisle (43)
  • Attendance: 27,033.
  • Fans' View: STEVE KORTENS (Brighton) We were really up for the game, stuck at it and passed the ball a lot better in the second half. Adam Virgo played superbly at the back and troubled them a lot up front. It was a bit of a shock seeing David Yelldell in a pink shirt in front of the Leeds fans but he did very well in difficult circumstances.

STEVE DIPLOCK (Worthing) We battled throughout and I think fully deserved a draw. Even when we go a goal down these days, we always look like we're in with a chance of getting back into the match. I don't see any problems with us staying up because we're not conceding many goals and we'll get the 12 points quite easily.

JENNY RAVEN (Hove) It was interesting to hear the Leeds fans on their local radio station, describing Brighton as a second-rate team that they should be beating but we've taken four points off them this season.

JIM ALLISON (Portslade) Leeds caused us more problems in the first half than any side since Derby but some determined defending by Adam Virgo and Adam Hinshelwood in particular kept them at bay. We did well to stay in the game and came back strongly when Mark McCammon went off and we switched to 4-4-2.