Danny Cullip pointed out after this cruel defeat that he is a good diver.

Put him on a board overlooking water and Albion's captain will produce a perfectly acceptable "front flip".

But a grassy area bordered by white lines? That is a different matter altogether. Centre halves do not dive, they do not know how to.

No wonder Albion left Portman Road boiling over the performance of the referee. Perhaps we should have guessed trouble was brewing from a certain T. Kettle.

The Berkshire official denied the Seagulls a blatant 53rd minute penalty when Cullip was brought down by Kevin Horlock, then compounded his mistake by cautioning Cullip for a supposedly theatrical attempt to persuade him.

Why is it referees nowadays seem to feel obliged to give a penalty or a booking for diving? There are circumstances in which it can be neither, although this was not one of them.

Replays shown on the monitors in the press box immediately after the incident confirmed my first impression - Cullip was robbed.

That was by no means the end of Albion's tale of misfortune. Kettle, a not so clever Trevor, was in hot water with them on two further occasions.

Leon Knight, dropped to the bench for the second time in three matches to accommodate Cullip's return from suspension and a return to the 3-5-2 system which paid off at West Ham, was the victim in both instances.

Knight, on as a 70th minute replacement for Alexis Nicolas, delivered a cross from the left flank four minutes later which Fabian Wilnis appeared to handle as he cleared.

Darren Currie, the Albion player closest to the incident, pointed tellingly to one of his mits as he protested to Kettle's unmoved assistant.

Knight had more cause for complaint ten minutes from time. Wilnis impeded him but, rather than going down as he has been accused of doing too easily in the past, he stayed on his feet to strike an angle shot from close range which Kelvin Davis kept out one-handed.

The irony was not lost on manager Mark McGhee as he reflected on the injustice of it all.

"I think we deserved at least a point," he said. "We needed a little bit of luck to come here and get a result but not just luck. The ref has made a couple of diabolical decisions.

"First of all Danny Cullip doesn't go down easily. I think it was a penalty and to book Danny just adds insult to injury.

"Leon then stays on his feet. He spends the whole time being criticised for going down too easily. If he goes down the way he usually does it's a stonewall penalty.

"Instead of that he struggles to try to stay on his feet, even though he gets interfered with. He gets his shot away, so I think the referee has got to play an advantage and then he has to give a penalty. There's absolutely no doubt in my mind about that."

Believe it or not, that is not all the bad luck Albion suffered. Ipswich's decisive goal in the 21st minute was flukey in the way it was created as well.

Ian Westlake's shot from outside the area was blocked in tandem by a couple of Albion players, only for the ball to deflect obligingly into the path of Skefki Kuqi eight yards out.

The Finnish international calmly lifted his ninth goal of the season over the sprawling Michel Kuipers to stretch his side's unbeaten home run to 12 matches, dating back to the end of last season.

It was doubly galling because just a minute earlier Albion's two birthday boys had combined to almost give them the lead.

A cross from the excellent Charlie Oatway, 31 yesterday, found Darren Currie, 30 today, sneaking in front of his marker Drissa Diallo. Currie, preferred up front to Knight as Steve Claridge's partner, was stretching as he toe-poked over the bar.

Ipswich's victory was enough to lift them above Wigan but you would fear for Joe Royle's side in the Premiership on this performance.

Kuqi hustles and bustles and Dan Harding's prolific under-21 team-mate Darren Bent was lightning quick and lively in flashes but Jim Magilton had an off day in midfield and they looked uncertain at times at the back.

Even in the second half, when they played much better, the series of saves made by Michel Kuipers were mainly of the routine variety apart from a diving deflection deep into injury time to foil Tommy Miller, just after Oatway had headed inches wide following a Currie free-kick.

McGhee said: "They didn't really create anything. I was totally satisfied with our strategy and performance. I'm just disappointed with the result."

Disappointment in losing so narrowly and unluckily away to the team on top of the table emphasises how tight the Championship is.

Albion just need a bit more punch up front as they approach arguably their most important match of the season so far against doomed Rotherham at Withdean.

Bringing in Millwall's Mark McCammon on loan, McGhee's preferred choice, or Arsenal prospect Quincy Owusu-Abeyie, could just make all the difference in the absence for one more match of the banned Adam Virgo.

  • ALBION (3-5-2) Kuipers8; Hinshelwood, Cullip, Butters; Reid, Oatway, Carpenter, Nicolas, Harding; Currie, Claridge. Subs: Knight 7 for Nicolas (withdrawn 70), Jones for Harding (withdrawn 78), Hammond for Carpenter (withdrawn 75), Roberts, Mayo
  • Bookings: Cullip (53) diving, Butters (61) foul, Knight (87) dissent.
  • IPSWICH (4-4-2) Davis; Diallo, De Vos, Naylor, Wilnis; Miller, Magilton, Horlock, Westlake; Bent, Kuqi. Subs: Supple, Richards for Magilton (withdrawn 81), Counago, Bowditch, Garvan
  • Bookings: Diallo (69) foul, Miller (88) foul, Richards (90) foul Scorer: Kuqi (21)
  • Attendance: 26,269
  • Fans' View: ASHLEY BRADLEY (Brighton) Michel Kuipers made a few good saves and Danny Cullip put in his usual total effort but the referee was appalling and the linesmen were no better. We are defending okay but not making much of our attacks and we need a new striker without a doubt. I'm 100 per cent confident we're going to stay up.

JON WRIGHT (Eastbourne) We deserved a draw but possibly paid for leaving Leon Knight on the bench too long. McGhee clearly has concerns about Leon so I think we should sell him and give Jake Robinson an overdue chance to add some spark alongside a bigger player. Our attacking play is too predictable and too slow.

STUART PENFOLD (Hove) Ipswich weren't that brilliant and we played reasonably well, although no one was really outstanding. Darren Currie isn't the best to play up front and we could probably do with someone a bit speedier in the team. We should have had at least two penalties but the referee was pretty diabolical.

JENNY MAY (Ipswich fan) Three points are three points, however you get them. We were a long way below our best and couldn't really have complained if Brighton had gone away with a point. They looked to have a decent claim for at least one of the penalty appeals but those sort of things even themselves out over a season.