First the good news. Leon Knight and Trevor Benjamin were back on top form at Withdean as Albion swept aside a Tranmere team with other matters on their minds.

Knight and Benjamin were both on target in a comfortable fifth straight home win over the FA Cup quarter-finalists, which has eased the Seagulls back up to fifth in the table.

Now the bad news. The little and large front partnership could be broken up, if only perhaps for one match.

Micky Adams, seeking solace from Leicester's pain in Spain, was back at Withdean to run the rule over Benjamin's form.

He may need him to bolster his squad against Birmingham at the weekend, with three of his players still incarcerated and several others out on loans from which they cannot yet be recalled.

It is rotten timing for Albion. Manager Mark McGhee said: "I have been critical of the strikers in recent weeks, but they were the difference.

"It was their work ethic, the movement, the holding up of the ball and the physical side of things.

"I thought Trevor was fantastic. He won everything in the air, competed for every ball, laid it off and got himself a goal.

"Leon's finish was terrific. I took him off in the last home game against Brentford and I was very disappointed with him then, but he was back to his best."

Knight's recovery from tonsillitis afforded McGhee the luxury of naming an unchanged team while Brian Little's selection suggested he had one eye on Tranmere's FA Cup quarter-final replay at Prenton Park next Tuesday.

Four of the side were missing from last Sunday's goalless draw at Millwall and only one of them, Ian Goodison, was due to injury.

Albion took only six minutes to do what McGhee's former club Millwall couldn't manage and find a way past Tranmere's Dutch keeper John Achterberg.

Gary Hart escaped beyond the far post to head in his second goal in the last three home games from Richard Carpenter's free kick.

Tranmere clearly bring out the extraordinary in Hart. He does not score many goals with his head or with his left foot, but such an effort divided the teams on Rovers' only previous visit to Withdean a couple of seasons ago.

Achterberg, whose late penalty save from Millwall's Kevin Muscat kept Tranmere in the Cup, went from hero to zero in the 17th minute as Albion doubled their advantage.

Knight's free kick from 25 yards should have given him a comfortable save, but he spilled the ball by the foot of his righthand post to leave Benjamin with a simple tap-in.

Strange as it seems, the score could have been 3-3 by then. Achterberg had saved well from Knight in the early stages, but it was far from being one-way traffic in terms of chances.

Danny Cullip headed a lob from Dadi off the line at the expense of a corner and Guy Butters headed against his own post from a corner by Taylor.

Hay also went close at the end of a sweeping move by the visitors, when he headed a cross from Ben Roberts inches wide.

It was Albion making hay though as Tranmere's defensive discipline, so evident at the New Den three days earlier, continued to desert them.

The Seagulls went further ahead on 31 minutes, thanks to an exquisite finish by Knight.

The little marksman, latching onto a clearance from Taylor which rebounded into his path, spotted Achterberg stranded off his line.

A left foot chip into the vacant net gave Knight his 22nd goal of the season, 21 of them in the League.

The half-time break did not inhibit the open nature of the contest.

Benjamin almost scored an own goal, diverting a cross from Taylor narrowly over the bar and then at the other end provided a cross from which Knight had a header held.

Tranmere's frustration got the better of them.

Taylor was booked for a late tackle on Dan Harding as he cleared up the line and Dadi was also cautioned for dissent in the ensuing melee.

Little sensibly decided to substitute the pair. There was no point in Tranmere suffering more self-inflicted wounds.

For Albion there were further opportunities to boost their goal difference.

The rejuvenated Knight was unlucky with a volley from a deep, diagonal cross by Nathan Jones which struck the base of a post.

Jones later had his name taken for a supposed dive just inside the Tranmere area, when he appeared to have reasonable claims for a penalty.

Referee Mike Thorpe did not endear himself to a Withdean crowd reduced in number by the counter-attraction of the Champions' League Attention now turns to Albion's search for a first away win since November at Port Vale on Saturday.

As McGhee pointed out, they will need at least one more away win to reach his target of 74 points, even if their invincible home form is maintained.

  • ALBION (4-4-2): Roberts (gk) 7; Cullip (cd) 7, Knight (f) 8, Hart (rm) 7, Oatway (cm) 8, Carpenter (cm) 7, Butters (cd) 7, N Jones (lm) 7, Benjamin (f) 8, Virgo (rb) 7, Harding (lb) 7. Subs: Mayo, Piercy for Hart (withdrawn) 84, El-Abd for Virgo (withdrawn) 60, S Jones, Robinson.
  • Scorers: Hart (6), Benjamin (17), Knight (31).
  • Bookings: Virgo (23 foul), Jones (67 diving), Cullip (79 unsporting behaviour).
  • TRANMERE (3-5-2): Achterberg; Connelly, Roberts, Sharps, Hume, Mellon, Dadi, Taylor, Navarro, Hay, Linwood. Subs: Loren, G Jones, Nicholson for Taylor (withdrawn) 62, Howarth, Onuora for Dida (withdrawn) 62.
  • Bookings: Taylor (59 foul), Dadi (59 unsporting behaviour), Roberts (80 foul), Connelly (84 not retreating).
  • Half-Time: Albion 3 Tranmere 0.
  • Attendance: 5,994.
  • Fans' View: JAMES DANIELS (Denton) Oatway played pretty well, Cullip and Butters were solid, Benjamin's workrate was very good and Harding showed good touches, but I don't think anyone had a bad game. We should have had a penalty for the foul on Jones and Knight hit a post so it could have been more.

PETER OLIVER (Chobham) It was an important early goal by Hart, who contributed his normal workrate, and Knight's goal was a real quality strike. Harding was given man of the match by the sponsors and I agree with that as he used the ball constructively and hardly made a mistake.

DAVID HABIB (Finsbury Park) The first half was excellent and Benjamin showed why he's at Leicester. Harding, Hart, Oatway and Carpenter did well and Knight's finish was exceptional Tranmere were pretty inept, but it can't be easy to come down to Withdean after playing in an FA Cup quarter-final.

SUE DAWES (Tranmere fan, Birkenhead) There weren't many of us here to see it, but that was not an acceptable performance and it looked like the players' minds were on the Cup. About the only good news is that no one got sent off. Brighton are certainly one of the top six sides in the division.