Brown's speciality keeps Blades on course

Sheffield United 2 Brighton and Hove Albion 1

The mark of a good player is that he can find a match-winning touch when his side is not playing particularly well, and Michael Brown did just that to carry the Blades into third place in the First Division and keep the FA Cup semi-finalists on course for a play-off place.

The Yorkshire side's leading scorer, who is being linked with Premiership football next season whether or not United go up, seized his one opportunity to do what he is best at – striking a dead ball from just outside the penalty area.

The former Manchester City midfielder won the opportunity himself when he was hauled down in the D by the Brighton captain Danny Cullip mid-way through the first half.

Brown normally chips them over the defensive wall into the top corner, but with the Brighton goalkeeper Dave Beasant anticipating that manoeuvre, he cleverly varied his routine and drove the ball low to the left of the wall and into the bottom corner.

"He is a quality player. He has done it many times this season and I'm sure he will do it again," said the Brighton manager, Steve Coppell.

The goal – Brown's 17th of the season – restored United's lead, and they never looked like losing it again despite Brighton's desperate endeavours. Their second successive defeat plunged the Seagulls back into the relegation zone.

It had seemed like the likely outcome as early as the sixth minute when full-back Phil Jagielka released Dean Windass down the inside right channel and though Beasant got a hand to his angled drive he could not stop it going into the far corner of his net.

Brighton, knocking the ball about neatly, showed some of the spirit that had powered their recent revival, and were back on terms eight minutes later, their striker Bobby Zamora showing he is adept at creating goals as scoring them.

The ball seemed to be running out of play when he dragged it back and left both the United captain Robert Page and goalkeeper Paddy Kenny stranded before sliding it across the face of goal to allow Richard Carpenter to side-foot into an empty net. But a combination of poor finishing and good goalkeeping by Kenny meant they could not repeat it.

"Brighton fought for their lives and probably feel unlucky," said the Blades' manager, Neil Warnock. "We didn't play well but we worked our socks off."

Sheffield United: (4-4-2) Kenny; Jagielka, Murphy, Page, Kozluk; Tonge, McCall (Curtis, h-t), Brown, Ndlovu (Morrison, 69); Windass, Kabba (Peschisolido. Substitutes not used: Allison, Javary.

Brighton: (3-4-1-2): Beasant; Ingimarsson, Cullip, Blackwell; Watson, Carpenter (Oatway, 67), Rodger (Jones. 38), Mayo; Brooker; Zamora (Barrett, 47), Hart. Substitutes not used: Wilkinson, Packham.

Referee: M Fletcher (Worcestershire).