Adam Virgo's star sign is rising by the day but he was upstaged by another of Albion's young prospects.

Virgo's first senior goal, a towering header, secured a scruffy point from a dour encounter at Edgeley Park.

He was, however, the first to acknowledge the polished contribution of his close friend Dan Harding.

Mark McGhee kept faith with Harding at leftback, even though Kerry Mayo was available again after suspension.

Harding followed up an impressive full home debut against Bournemouth with an outstanding display encapsulated by a couple of brave clearing headers from crosses in the second half, which prevented Stockport regaining the lead.

Virgo said: "Kerry Mayo is a great name at the club and there is probably a bit of pressure on Dan to succeed Kerry but all credit to him.

"He is doing really well and hopefully he can keep going. They were two headers which saved the game for us."

Harding's nickname is Mister Tickle, after one of the Mister Men characters, because of his long arms and legs. McGhee was tickled pink with his performance and not just because of those headers.

While Virgo was being tested by the lively Andy Welsh on the other flank, Stockport's 4-5-1 system left Harding up against experienced ex-Preston winger Lee Cartwright.

McGhee said: "I thought Dan did brilliantly. He really defended well in one-to-one situations. Because of the way they played he was quite often a little bit isolated and he coped with it ever so well."

Harding was at the centre of the incident which overshadowed only Albion's second point from the last 21 away from Withdean.

A late tackle in the second half by Stockport scorer Fraser McLachlan, which left Harding writhing on the floor, had already angered his team-mates when all hell broke loose with seven minutes left.

Harding, pushed into the Stockport dugout by a challenge, doubled up after County manager Sammy McIlroy threw the ball into his stomach.

Players, substitutes, the managers and their backroom teams were all embroiled in the ensuing rumpus, which resulted in a caution for Ben Roberts.

"Any little skirmish involving one of their players and they got ten people around it," remarked McIlroy.

McGhee was not happy with the reaction of his players, particularly Roberts, although he described it as "handbags".

Perhaps McGhee meant sandbags given the state of the pitch after Jason Robinson and and his colleagues from the groundsharing Sale Sharks had been on it the night before. Virgo said it was "like playing on a beach.

Virgo's version of the fracas emphasised a Musketeering togetherness first fostered by Micky Adams. "I just saw Dan lying down in the dugout," he said. "We don't need that, the club will maybe get fined now but you could see us all sticking up for each other.

"There is a great team spirit and if someone gets injured or there is a bad tackle we will all support him."

McGhee clearly felt it went a little too far on this occasion but such unity will serve Albion well during the promotion run-in.

Their continuing away struggles are another matter. Stockport, with the worst home record in the Second Division, looked like a team starved of confidence and haunted by relegation, yet the Seagulls could not emulate Luton's win at Peterborough.

They fell behind five minutes before the break to McLachlan's header from Danny Jackman's cross, which bounced beyond Roberts.

Had the keeper stayed on his line, instead of scrambling back in vain after advancing for the cross, he would probably have saved it but he redeemed himself after the break by holding a ferocious drive from Cartwright.

Parity had been restored by then, Virgo meeting Nathan Jones' corner to the far post with a thumping header.

Jones nearly scored himself shortly afterwards with a header from a Gary Hart centre which Dave Walton cleared off the line but a draw was a fair result.

The most encouraging aspect, apart from the rarity of Albion coming from behind, was the hope offered for the future. There were four youth team products on the pitch when Jake Robinson replaced the labouring Trevor Benjamin at the start of the second half, although the recalled Chris McPhee was subsequently substituted.

His withdrawal had nothing to do with an alleged dive inside the area, for which he was booked. The combination of McPhee and Benjamin did not gel and Albion finished with an unlikely forward line of Robinson and David Lee.

McGhee will be pleased to have banned top scorer Leon Knight back against Brentford. "Once again we lacked an edge up front to win the game," McGhee said. "The spirit was good, the attitude was fine and there was a lot of endeavour without a great deal of quality."

McGhee had the players in for training at nine o'clock yesterday morning. Harding said: "He knows there is room for improvement and so do we."

Not much room in Harding's case on this form.

  • ALBION (4-4-2): Roberts (gk) 6; Cullip (cd) 7, Hart (rm) 7, Oatway (cm) 7, Carpenter (cm) 7, Butters (cd) 7, N. Jones (lm) 7, Benjamin (f) 6, Virgo (rb) 7, McPhee (f) 6, Harding (lb) 8. Subs: Mayo, Lee 6 for McPhee (withdrawn 64), El-Abd, S. Jones, Robinson 7 for Benjamin (injured 48).
  • Scorer: Virgo (52).
  • Bookings: McPhee (63) diving, Roberts (83) unsporting behaviour.
  • STOCKPORT (4-5-1): Anthony Williams; Clare, Lambert, Griffin, Jackman, Walton, McLachlan, Robertson, Daly, Welsh, Cartwright. Subs: Barlow for McLachlan (withdrawn 84), Wilbraham, Ellison, Ashley Williams, Goodwin.
  • Scorer: McLachlan (40).
  • Booking: Robertson (59) foul.
  • Half-Time: Stockport 1 Albion 0.
  • Attendance: 5,038.
  • Fans' Views: ANDY RUMBLE (Haywards Heath) We need to beat teams like Stockport, Wycombe and Grimsby. Dan Harding had another fantastic game at leftback and looks like he can fill the position for many seasons.

MARC COOPER (Brighton) Dan Harding was terrific and Mayo will struggle to get his place back. Jake Robinson's movement is far better than any other forward at the club, including Leon Knight, and his control was exceptional on a very poor pitch. Now it's time to bury the Brentford jinx.

MOYA JACKSON (Huddersfield) It was difficult to pass accurately because the pitch was so bobbly. Virgo, Robinson and Harding had great games while Butters did some solid defending and stopped a certain match-winner. I reckon it was a point gained from a side who are determined to try and beat the drop.

MICHAEL ROSE (Blackpool) The pitch didn't help as it had more sand than Blackpool Beach. It's the first time I've seen Harding and Robinson and they both look fabulous prospects for us. Harding was impressively assured, Robinson is an exciting player and Adam Virgo deserved his goal.