March 13: Port Vale 1 Albion 1

Avoiding defeat was very much a case of mission accomplished, as it has deprived Vale the opportunity of using their game in hand to go above them.

Manager Mark McGhee admitted as much by revealing: "I said to the players before we came here it would be fantastic to win but we mustn't lose.

"It is a very important point because we have kept Port Vale at arm's length. They now have to win two more games than us to catch us.

"We are also four points above the team in seventh, so we are starting to make progress."

Indeed they are. Albion are unbeaten for five matches now, three wins at home and two draws away.

If they can maintain this solid trend for the remainder of the season they will exceed McGhee's play-off target of 74 points with something to spare.

McGhee claimed, with some justification, that Albion could have returned from the Potteries with a first victory on the road since November if Trevor Benjamin had still been playing for them.

Benjamin, recalled by troubled Leicester last Thursday almost two months into a loan McGhee wanted to last for three, was an unexpected starter in the Foxes' shock success at Birmingham on Saturday after former Vale player Steve Guppy injured himself in the warm-up.

McGhee said: "It's not a mystery. The difference between us coming here and drawing or winning was probably Trevor.

"If he had been playing, the way he did the other night against Tranmere, I think we would have won but we didn't have Trevor so we had to improvise."

McGhee plumped for John Piercy to partner Leon Knight but he was withdrawn early in the second half.

"He did not look as if his energy levels were high enough yet to make a big contribution," said McGhee.

Piercy had been restricted to six minutes of action, as a substitute, against Tranmere since hurting an ankle against Plymouth six weeks ago.

Chris McPhee's absence from the bench was a little surprising considering the limited forward options. Instead it was Jake Robinson who came on for Piercy to form a diminutive strike force with Knight.

McGhee acknowledged: "In the second half, without the outlet of a centre forward who was really going to keep it for us, it was difficult to build play."

That was no reflection on Knight, whose workrate McGhee described as "terrific". Knight is just a different type of player, both in stature and style, to his predecessor Bobby Zamora, who would have been perfectly suited to playing alone up front.

Knight had George Pilkington, a colleague at the National School of Excellence at Lilleshall, to thank for his 23rd goal of the season. The ex-Everton defender needlessly handled a Richard Carpenter cross inside his own area and Knight converted the penalty with customary aplomb.

The early lead lasted only 15 minutes as Albion were punished for their one piece of slack defending.

Billy Paynter, switched from the forward line to the right side of midfield, was not marked tightly enough as he headed his second goal in as many games from a free-kick by Marc Bridge Wilkinson.

Vale carried more of a threat from that moment on but Albion defended with commendable resilience to restrict their sights of goal to a minimum.

The dependable Guy Butters and the rapidly maturing Dan Harding were particularly impressive. Harding is making it very difficult for Kerry Mayo, a replacement for Nathan Jones in the second half, to regain the leftback berth.

Ben Roberts did his bit too with a diving deflection from Steve McPhee's angled drive in the final minute, which denied Vale's dangerous marksman his 20th goal of the season.

A satisfied McGhee said: "In the first half I thought we could have won but we ended up with a point and we are happy with that. We were not thinking of holding on once in front. We were thinking of going further ahead and had a few shots in the first half that we could have done better with."

Danny Cullip, modest as ever, shared the credit around. "It wasn't just the defence," said the captain. "It was the whole team, starting from the front.

"John and Leon worked hard in the first half, Jake came on and worked hard and the midfield were different class, so it was a good team performance.

"Port Vale have a good home record so it was a good result. They are fighting to get into the play-offs, we are in the play-offs and fighting to stay in there, so there was a lot at stake. They are five points behind us, so it was imperative we didn't lose."

The same applies tomorrow night at rejuvenated Chesterfield. McGhee added: "The first thing I said to them after I heard the results was that Chesterfield won away from home (3-2 at Tranmere Rovers), something we have not been able to do, so we have got to give them every respect."

Cullip left the Potteries with a wish. "We saw against Tranmere that Trevor and Leon worked very well together," he said. "Hopefully we will get another big fella in."

Transfer target Chris Iwelumo is certainly that. He towered over me when I found myself behind him in the queue for a half time cuppa in the Vale Park restaurant.

Iwelumo has already shown he can score goals in the Second Division, as Albion know to their cost. He was on target with a header when the Seagulls were beaten at the Britannia Stadium two seasons ago on the way to winning the title.

• ALBION (4-4-2): Roberts (gk) 7; Cullip (cd) 7, Knight (f) 7, Hart (rm) 7, Oatway (cm) 7, Carpenter (cm) 7, Butters (cd) 8, N. Jones (lm) 6, Virgo (rb) 7, Piercy (f) 6, Harding (lb) 8. Subs: Mayo for N. Jones (withdrawn 66), Lee, El-Abd, S. Jones, Robinson for Piercy (withdrawn 55).
• Bookings: Carpenter (19) dissent, Virgo (58) foul.
• Scorer: Knight (11) penalty.
• PORT VALE (4-4-2): Brain; Pilkington, Walsh, Collins, Cummins, Brooker, McPhee, Bridge Wilkinson, Rowland, Paynter, Littlejohn. Subs: Brisco, Delaney, Armstrong for Littlejohn (injured 61), Burns, Birchall for Paynter (withdrawn 83).
• Bookings: None.
• Scorer: Paynter (26).
• Half-time: Port Vale 1 Albion 1.
• Attendance: 5,646.
• Fans' View: DAVE FOSTER (Brighton) A useful point but it was painful to watch hoof after hoof in the general direction of Knight, Piercy and Robinson. If McGhee really believes in a passing game, he will have to replace our midfield to prove it. The end-of-season clearout and midfield signings will be the manager's real test.

GARY MARTIN (Nottingham) It is the first time I've seen the team this season and I was disappointed. If you are going to play two small players up front, it is probably a good idea to pass the ball along the ground. Young Harding looked very good and Roberts was fairly solid.

JENNY RAVEN (Hove) It was a good point away from home. We really missed Trevor Benjamin but the team didn't seem to be aware he wasn't there as we played a lot in the air. Hart did well and most of the players showed spirit but our midfield wasn't as effective as in the last couple of games.

JON IRESON (Vale fan, Derby) We needed to win this one and we probably should have done better against an ordinary Brighton side. They defended well against the lively Steve McPhee but their only tactic appeared to involve whacking loads of high balls up to Leon Knight. Two points dropped.