The referee was the same and so was the result, but it was not just the weather which was markedly different from that sunny May day in Cardiff when Albion clinched promotion.

The Seagulls have come a long way under Mark McGhee since the play-off final victory against Bristol City.

I am not referring to the stature of the opposition either, all be it that a year ago Albion were beaten at home by Stockport while Leeds were losing at Anfield.

It is the manner in which McGhee's young side have moved above big city clubs like Nottingham Forest, Cardiff, Coventry, Wolves and now Leeds too which is so uplifting.

Passing football, combined with grit and determination, has encouraged the belief that Albion truly belong in the Coca-Cola Championship.

The latter qualities were also evident in bundles last season, but McGhee openly admits not much football was played to win promotion. Now Albion are passing their way to mid-table security.

Richard Carpenter, who made his first home start of the season in a notable victory, revealed: "It's something the manager encourages us to do in training every day. We have taken it into games now and it is working.

"The young boys are really doing well. The England call-ups show we have got good quality players."

At the same stage in this division two seasons ago Albion were where Rotherham are now, tailed off at the bottom, and they were just about to be humiliated 5-0 at Selhurst Park by arch-rivals Crystal Palace.

The team is a lot different than it was then and at the start of the season, when Carpenter watched them struggle as he recovered from summer knee surgery.

"It was a confidence thing earlier in the season," he said. "The game that struck me was against Bristol Rovers (Carling Cup). We played them off the park for half-an-hour, got a goal, then they scored and we went to pieces.

"Since then everybody has rolled their sleeves up and we've had some good results. Maybe the League is not as strong as we thought it was, maybe we are better equipped than we were before.

"That was a learning curve for us. We don't want to be known as the whipping boys now. There is a long way to go, but this gives us something to build on."

McGhee is a realist. If the League table was based on wages Albion would be in Rotherham's position and it is still the distance between his side and the relegation zone which is uppermost in his mind, even though they are currently within four points off the play-offs.

But the belief within the Albion camp that they can defy the odds by staying up is growing by the day.

Tellingly, McGhee said: "We believed we could win this game, even with the players that were missing. That in itself is a massive step forward.

"It was especially pleasing for me that we had a couple of players missing from the Cardiff game last Tuesday night (Alexis Nicolas and Paul Reid), but we didn't dwell on that or worry about it.

"The nature of the performance, passing with mettle, football with resilience, is exactly what we are trying to do here. That wasn't the case in the first few games. It is evolution and progress."

Indeed it is. And it is all the more enjoyable when supposed giants such as Leeds are sent packing with their tails between their legs.

Their manager, Kevin Blackwell, bleated afterwards about the weather, the ref and lack of funds to re-enforce his punchless attack. Too many of his players, particularly red-carded captain Paul Butler and midfielder Sean Gregan, spent most of a wet and windy afternoon whining at Richard Beeby, who awarded the late penalty which Leon Knight converted against Bristol City to take Albion up in the Welsh capital five months earlier.

Their efforts would have been better reserved for redressing their own mediocrity.

The goal which settled the match was as untidy as the match itself. Darren Currie, who toe-poked wide the best chance of the first half, delivered a curving free-kick in towards the near post.

Adam Virgo challenged Clarke Carlisle and the ball was diverted at speed by the former Queens Park Rangers centre half past his own keeper Neil Sullivan into the bottom corner.

Leeds finished with nine men, courtesy of two contrasting red cards in the final three minutes.

Matthew Kilgallon, like Albion's Dan Harding, a blonde-haired England under-21 leftback, had been a little unlucky to be booked at the start of the second half for a 50-50 challenge with Charlie Oatway which eventually forced the combative midfielder off with a foot injury.

Kilgallon could have no complaints, though, when he was sent-off for a second bookable offence, a reckless tackle from behind on Oatway's replacement Gary Hart.

Butler, beaten 4-1 on a previous visit to Withdean with Wolves, had only just been cautioned for dissent when he received a straight red card deep into stoppage time for what Beeby described as "foul, abusive and insulting language" towards female assistant Wendy Toms.

There were two more bonus points for Albion. They held onto their lead this time, in contrast to the previous two home games against Cardiff and Sheffield United, while the clean sheet was their first at Withdean since the only other home victory against Preston at the end of August, which they also won 1-0 with an own goal.

Sunderland and the Stadium of Light awaits, but Albion will not be daunted. They have already seen the light in the style with which they are tackling survival.

  • ALBION (4-4-2) Kuipers 7; El-Abd 7, Hinshelwood 8, Butters 8, Harding 7; Hammond 8, Oatway 7, Carpenter 7, Currie 7; Knight 7, Virgo 7. Subs: Hart for Oatway (injured 62), Mayo, Jones, Jarrett, May
  • Booking: Carpenter (12) foul
  • Scorer: Carlisle (59) own goal
  • LEEDS (4-4-2) Sullivan; Kelly, Carlisle, Butler, Kilgallon; Richardson, Walton, Gregan, Pugh; Ormerod, Ricketts. Subs: Deane for Ricketts (withdrawn 46), Spring for Walton (withdrawn 70), Lennon for Richardson (withdrawn 70), Carson, Woods
  • Bookings: Kelly (11) dissent, Sullivan (43) dissent, Walton (60) foul, Butler (90) dissent
  • Sendings off: Kilgallon (49) foul and (87) foul, Butler (90) foul and abusive language
  • Fans' View: BILL SWALLOW (Hurstpierpoint) Of all the players on the field, there was no one I wanted to score our winning goal more than Clarke Carlisle. Leeds were the most physical side since QPR and the fact we won with some flair shows how far we've come since the season began. Leon's getting better by the game.

BOB PHIPPS (Preston Park) It was a superb performance in the second half when we grew in confidence and passed the ball about. It's nice to win 1-0 and not have Kuipers as man of the match, but I don't think any of our players had a bad game. Leeds were very poor and completely lost the plot.

JOHN COWEN (Beckenham, Kent) It was mightily reassuring to see Albion matching Leeds in most departments, with the bonus of some cool and confident ground-play. Yet another 1-0 nailbiter that Darren Currie could - and should - have transformed, though it was an excellent team performance by an Albion side that quite simply wanted it more.

RAY PARKER (Leeds fan) An awful view, a bit of a soaking, an own-goal and two players sent off. I've had better days out Christmas shopping with the mother-in-law. Brighton deserve a decent stadium and I'm sure every Leeds fan hopes they get it as soon as possible.