April 21: Albion 1 Sheff Wed 1

Blaming the Seagulls for pricing him out of a move to the Premiership in a national newspaper at the weekend did not go down well with chief executive Martin Perry and supporters.

A few mutterings of discontent were aimed in Zamora's direction from the stands as Albion, consumed by anxiety, struggled in the first half and trailed to Grant Holt's early strike.

There was enormous pressure on the Seagulls' goalscoring talisman when, 11 minutes into the second half, Holt went from hero to zero for Wednesday by conceding a needless penalty.

The rookie frontrunner stuck up a hand as Danny Cullip challenged him for Kerry Mayo's cross.

Zamora, cool as you like, sent the rotund Kevin Pressman the wrong way from the ensuing spot-kick, his 12th of the season.

Boss Steve Coppell said: "That shows his class. In recent weeks he hasn't been at his best and I think he would be the first to say that.

"But he's still kept going and we knew in those kind of situations we can depend on him. He came up trumps."

Until then Holt had threatened to be the ace up the sleeve of Wednesday chief Chris Turner.

The muscular front man, plucked from non-League obscurity with Barrow, took only 16 minutes to make his mark on his full debut.

Leigh Bromby's cross was chested into his path by Paul McLaren and Holt, finding space inside the area, beat Dave Beasant with a crisp angled drive.

Albion are still in the First Division not just because of the stone cold temperament of Zamora but also the bravery of a man twice his age.

Beasant damaged his right leg in the first five minutes, diving on a firm playing surface to cover Holt's header from a free-kick which glanced just wide.

The 44-year-old keeper had to turn to Ivar Ingimarsson to take the dead ball kicks for the rest of the game, while demonstrating his dexterity by kicking left-footed out of his hands.

In the context of a predictably fraught relegation battle, bereft of quality and clearcut chances, Beasant made a crucial second-half save.

Within three minutes of Zamora restoring equilibrium, Wednesday sub Lloyd Owusu was released inside the box by Brian Barry-Murphy.

Owusu, free-scoring for Coppell at Brentford but horribly goal-shy for the Owls, saw his shot blocked by Beasant for a corner.

Had Albion fallen behind so swiftly their resolve may well have melted.

Instead they carried the fight throughout the second half to a Wednesday side curiously subdued once ahead, considering their even greater need for a victory.

Coppell handed Paul Kitson his first start for seven months at the expense of Gary Hart, probably on the basis that he offers more of a goal threat.

The injury-plagued Kitson, given few opportunities to shine, had a looping header from Richard Carpenter's centre tipped over by the excellent Pressman midway through the second period. In the last minute of normal time Kitson's back-heel set up Simon Rodger for a cross which Zamora headed narrowly wide.

I mention normal time because ref Keith Hill should have added much more than three minutes.

Dean Blackwell was down for longer than that in the second half after a bad tackle by Ashley Westwood which earned the Wednesday defender a booking.

Cullip was so incensed by the challenge he had to be wrestled away by ex-colleague Owusu. Albion's heart-on-his-sleeve skipper was eventually cautioned as well.

If the Seagulls join their opponents back in the Second Division next season they will surely reflect on their failure to beat any of the other sides in the bottom six.

That sequence might have been broken had Paul Brooker, man marked into obscurity and replaced soon after the restart, made more of a shooting chance in the opening minutes which Pressman saved.

Coppell said: "There is still life in us. The second 45 minutes showed the players' massive desire.

"In the first half we didn't get into a flow, but certainly in the second half there was more zip and zest about us and we were possibly unlucky not to have more opportunities to score."

Turner, who protested Holt was pushed before handling for the penalty, said: "The game was what I expected, a lot of long ball and anxiety from both teams and sets of supporters. It showed why the two sides are down at the bottom of the League.

"It was a battle and we were committed. I think four months ago it was a game we would possibly have lost, but we needed the win."

So Turner is contemplating a clash with his former employers Hartlepool next season, while Coppell hopes for a favour from his old club and Albion's arch adversaries Crystal Palace against Stoke on Saturday to stretch the tension to the final day.

The Seagulls surely cannot stay up now. Or can they?

• ALBION (3-4-1-2): Beasant (gk) 7; Watson (rwb) 7, Mayo (lwb) 6, Cullip (cd) 7, Blackwell (cd) 8, Brooker (m) 6, Carpenter (m) 6, Ingimarsson (cd) 7, Zamora (f) 7, Kitson (f) 6, Rodger (m) 7. Subs: Hart 6 for Brooker (withdrawn 57), Oatway, Jones, Packham, Barrett for Watson (withdrawn 87). SCORER: Zamora penalty (56).
• BOOKINGS: Cullip (74) unsporting behaviour.
• SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY (3-5-2): Pressman; McLaren, Bromby, Quinn, Haslam, Westwood, Maddix, Holt, Reddy, Barry-Murphy, Smith. Subs: Kuqi for Holt (withdrawn 73), Owusu for Reddy (injured 30), Stringer, Wood for Westwood (injured 73), Evans.
• SCORERS: Holt (16).
• BOOKINGS: Owusu (39) foul, Quinn (45) foul, Westwood (74) foul.
• Referee: K. Hill (Royston).
• Venue: Withdean.
• Attendance: 6,928.
• Pitch conditions: Firm.
• Weather: Sunny and breezy.
• Fan's view, by Matthew Perfect (West Worthing) "If we cannot beat Sheffield Wednesday at home do we deserve to stay in this division? A very jittery performance in the first half but a marked improvement in the second, although, it could not have got any worse. It obviously was not our day, a fact comfirmed by news of the manner of Stoke's winning goal versus Coventry. I cannot accept that we are down until it is mathematically impossible to stay up. Crystal Palace and Reading could do us a favour but in my heart of hearts I am accepting relegation."