Football's unwritten law of momentum suggests a rest is the last thing Albion require at the moment after seven points from the last three matches.

Yet the forthcoming break is exactly what Mark McGhee's flagging players need to breathe fire again while Sven's men try to slay the Welsh dragon.

A second home win of the season eluded the injury-hit Seagulls for one reason - they ran out of gas in the second half.

Darren Currie had also given them the lead in the previous home game against Queens Park Rangers but this was a different case entirely and this time they held on courageously for a point, rather than losing.

Michel Kuipers made sure of that with some fine saves once Paul Shaw had equalised for Sheffield just past the hour.

McGhee said: "We were very tired in the second half. Given the team we put out, the changes we had to make and the improvisations we can be reasonably pleased. We just ran out of energy towards the end.

"We had a game last Wednesday away to Nottingham Forest which we put an enormous amount of work into to get a result, so it was inevitable we were going to run out of energy at some point.

"Michel was there, as he was on Wednesday, to make some great saves."

A draw at home is usually considered to be two points dropped but this was one gained given the injury crisis which has suddenly engulfed Albion.

The defence has been worst hit. McGhee already knew he would be without Danny Cullip (hernia) and Adam El-Abd (ankle). He did not know until after training on Friday that Guy Butters' calf damage would also rule him out for the fourth match running and the problem was exacerbated by the absence in midfield of Richard Carpenter (knee).

McGhee said: "They could have scored another goal but, given we had a right-footed central midfielder (Paul Reid) playing at rightback and a leftback (Kerry Mayo) playing at centre half, we are happy to have conceded only one goal I suppose.

"We brought a 16-year-old boy (Joel Lynch) into the squad, who hadn't actually trained with us, as cover at centre half. That is how desperate the situation is."

Desperate enough for McGhee to contemplate a temporary signing prior to Albion's next outing at Crewe a week on Saturday.

"After the QPR game, if you had said we would take seven points from the next three games we would have been more than happy," McGhee added.

"We have now got a break and hopefully we can get some of the wounded and injured back and maybe look at the possibility of bringing someone in on loan to boost the numbers."

Currie's first goal from open play for Albion, midway through the first half, was superbly crafted by Leon Knight.

He escaped his marker, the equally diminutive Alan Wright, from an Adam Virgo throw-in before releasing the unmarked Currie with a square pass through the legs of Leigh Bromby.

Currie, with time as well as room, picked his spot to score, which meant even more to him because of the opposition. The nephew of former United legend Tony Currie was overlooked by the Yorkshiremen as a 16-year-old following a fortnight's trial.

There were two turning points in the second half. Virgo, who has done more running than anyone since switching up front, wilted, so the ball kept coming back at Albion's makeshift defence.

Neil Warnock also introduced Andy Liddell, a hat-trick wrecker of the Seagulls for Wigan a few seasons ago, and that gave the previously blunt Blades more of a cutting edge.

Liddell's impact was instant, Shaw controlling his cross to slot his second goal in as many games from point blank range.

Albion felt it should have been ruled out, the assistant failing to spot an offside in the passage of play leading up to Liddell's centre from the left.

After that it was another Kuipers show, a matinee which almost matched his heroics at the City Ground.

The Dutchman spared Currie's blushes when Shaw intercepted his backpass, Michael Tonge clipping the outside of a post on the follow-up.

He also blocked an angled drive from Liddell with his legs and denied Danny Cadamarteri a debut winner after Shaw put the former Leeds and Everton forward clean through.

A charitable Warnock said: "We had some great chances. The goalkeeper made a couple of good saves and we had one on ones so we are disappointed not to have got the three points, but you have got to give Brighton credit.

"They, like us, have been depleted and they worked their socks off for each other. In the end I don't think anyone deserved to lose."

Albion have only experienced that losing feeling twice in the Coca-Cola Championship since August. They can look back on the first quarter of the season from the safety of mid-table with great satisfaction.

  • ALBION (4-4-2): Kuipers 8; Reid 7, Hinshelwood 7, Mayo 7, Harding 7; Hammond 6, Oatway 6, Nicolas 6, Currie 7; Knight 7, Virgo 6. Subs: Jarrett for Hammond (withdrawn 67), Jones, McPhee, May, Lynch.
  • Booking: Kuipers (61) dissent
  • Scorer: Currie (22)
  • SHEFFIELD UTD (4-4-2): Kenny; Bromby, Jagielka, Wright, Harley; Black, Quinn, Thirlwell, Tonge; Shaw, Cadamarteri. Subs: Liddell for Black (withdrawn 60), Forte for Tonge (withdrawn 88), Montgomery, Barnes, Gabrieli.
  • Bookings: Tonge (32) foul, Quinn (42) foul
  • Scorer: Shaw (61)
  • Half-Time: Albion 1 Sheff Utd 0
  • Attendance: 6,418
  • Fans' View: THIMBLE KEEGAN (Worthing) A fair result with us having a deserved half-time lead and United taking one of the many second-half chances they had. Kuipers pulled off some good stops and it was an all-round quality performance considering Cullip and Chippy (Carpenter) were out. Also good to finally see the boys playing in a decent football strip again.

GARETH GLOVER (Southwick) Mark McGhee is starting to gel a very exciting side. We are now looking a solid Championship side and McGhee has discovered a real gem in Darren Currie. Every time we get the ball I want to shout out: "Give it to Currie!"

JAYNE TURNER (Hove) It was a point gained. We're not good enough to say it was two points dropped and we'd end up sounding like Jose Mourinho.

RON HERRIOTT (Seaford) When I saw the starting line-up for the game I thought a draw would be the most we could hope for, but the makeshift back four did amazingly well. Kerry Mayo had his best game for ages and Kuipers was excellent. We were unlucky not to get all three points.