One of the finest forward performances you could wish to see helped Albion to another priceless point in their fight against relegation.

It is not so much a question of if as when Bobby Zamora ends up in the Premiership.

He may not have got on the scoresheet himself, but he was instrumental in a remarkable recovery by the Seagulls which maintained their impressive revival under Steve Coppell.

This kid has practically everything: pace and presence, movement, skill, awareness, a sweet left foot and a rapidly improving right one.

Craig Brown, Steve Sidwell and Simon Rodger were unanimous in their admiration for Albion's talented talisman.

Brown coached Scotland before taking charge of Preston, Sidwell had a close-up view of some of the top performers in the country at Arsenal and Rodger played in the Premiership during his long spell with Crystal Palace.

The Shoreham-born midfielder has no doubt where Zamora is heading.

"He is going all the way to the top," said Rodger. "I just hope Brighton keep hold of him. You have got to hold onto your star players and Bobby is one of them.

"If we lose Bobby it's going to be a big loss to us. We would have to spend a lot of money to bring in someone of his quality.

"We don't want to lose him, but that is obviously down to the chairman and the club."

Chairman Dick Knight has made it clear all along he has no intention of selling Zamora. Coppell has also made it clear he does not want to lose him.

It's odds on a Premiership club will come in for him when the transfer window re-opens in January but I think Albion will hold on to him for the rest of the season unless they receive an offer they cannot refuse.

Beyond that, who knows? As Rodger acknowledged, Zamora's own wishes will have to be taken into account.

"He is playing in the England under-21's, he will have seen those players are there playing at the top level and he wants to be there himself.

"He's a young lad and he is ambitious. He wants to play at the highest level and if he gets that chance I am sure he will take it."

Zamora's majestic display at Deepdale was all the more praiseworthy considering his injury difficulties.

He was a doubt before the match due to ankle, heel and hamstring problems which forced him to pull out of an England under-21 get-together at Burnham Beeches last week.

Bob Booker, Coppell's assistant, revealed: "He had a tough week. He hadn't trained much and he was carrying a couple of knocks.

"That says even more about his character. He went out there and worked himself into the ground."

Preston captain Chris Lucketti and Northern Ireland international Colin Murdock, returning from injury and suspension respectively, can rarely have endured more uncomfortable afternoons.

As early as the sixth minute Zamora flicked the ball over Murdock's head with his left foot before shooting with his right, forcing David Lucas into a full-length save.

Later in the first half, Zamora totally outwitted Lucketti close to the corner flag. Sidwell's header from the resulting pinpoint cross was helped onto the roof of the net by Lucas.

Albion, for all their early ambition, were two behind at the break to the kind of elementary set piece concessions they seemed to have eliminated since Coppell switched to a back five.

In the 17th minute Lucketti powered home a header from a corner by Eddie Lewis, a member of America's World Cup team. Another corner after 36 minutes, delivered this time by Scottish international rightback Graham Alexander, wasn't properly cleared and Richard Cresswell found plenty of space to slot his ninth of the season from close range.

In-between, Dean Blackwell had hobbled off with a recurrence of hamstring trouble, prompting Coppell to introduce Nathan Jones at left wingback and move Kerry Mayo into the middle again.

Few would have predicted Albion extending their undefeated sequences to four matches at the interval.

Emulating Preston's own knack of coming from behind to get a result owed much to Zamora's class and a rare half-time roasting from the placid Coppell.

Sidwell, on loan to Coppell's Brentford from Arsenal for the whole of last season, said: "It's the worst I've seen him but he had every right.

"We did no one proud in the first half, not ourselves or the fans, and we knew we had to buck our ideas up to get something out of the game."

Eight minutes into the second half Zamora outpaced Murdock down the right to deliver a high, hanging cross. Gary Hart, continuing to deputise up front for knee victim Graham Barrett, did well to head the ball back for Rodger to score with a fine left-foot volley into the bottom corner.

With 18 minutes left, Zamora picked out Sidwell's run from midfield and he finished with aplomb into the roof of the net.

Preston's frustration at letting the match slip was epitomised by a 64th minute incident which outraged the home fans.

Creswell appeared to be brought down by Michel Kuipers. The crowd expected a penalty and a red card for Albion's keeper, but Creswell was booked for diving by busy ref Howard Webb and now faces a ban.

Even luck at last seems to be going Albion's way.

  • Albion (5-3-2): Kuipers (gk) 7; Watson (rwb) 7, Mayo (lwb) 7, Cullip (cd) 7, Blackwell (cd) 7, Hart (f) 7, Carpenter (cm) 7, Pethick (cd) 7, Zamora (f) 9, Rodger (lm) 7, Sidwell (rm) 8. Subs: Oatway, Brooker, Jones 7 for Blackwell (injured 28), Packham, Webb.
  • Scorers: Rodger (53), Sidwell (72).
  • Bookings: Blackwell (18) foul, Mayo (42) foul, Rodger (55) foul.
  • Attendance: 13,068.
  • Fan's View: Richard Eddy (Shoreham).
  • A nightmare drive way, way up north but a very satisfying journey back.

It was very disappointing to give both Preston goals away at set pieces but such is my confidence in both Steve Coppell's managerial skills and the all-round ability of the squad, at half time I was still convinced that we could get something from the game.

Dick Knight's tie-up with Arsenal has again reaped dividends, everything must be done to make sure both Sidwell and Barrett, when he comes back from injury, stay here for the rest of the season.

By the time Santa arrives the Albion could be off the bottom of Division One.

Who would have predicted that a month ago?