Albion booked their passage into the fourth round of the FA Youth Cup with a comfortable victory over National League outfit Woking.
Matt Everitt netted a hat-trick – including twice from the penalty spot – as the young Seagulls cruised to victory, while Cameron Peupion and Jack Leahy also found the target.
What happened
Albion showed their intentions from the start with some excellent passages of play, but came up against a solid and hard-working Woking rear-guard.
Everitt had the game's first effort on 12 minutes, but shot well wide of the target, while a sweeping Albion move down the left soon after saw the ball flash across the face of the goal.
The hosts continued to dominate and the inevitable breakthrough arrived on 22 minutes when good combination play down the left saw Leahy tee up Peupion – and the Australian under-17 international made no mistake from close range.
Leahy then doubled Albion's lead just four minutes later when he broke down the left before coolly drilling the ball low past Cards keeper Callum Backhurst.
Woking inevitably tired as they chased the game and they troubled the Albion goal on just one occasion in the opening half when keeper Fynn Talley dropped the ball following a corner, but gathered at the second attempt.
Todd Miller flashed an effort wide of the upright shortly after the re-start and Albion made it three on 53 minutes when Everitt scored from the penalty spot after Leahy had been brought down by Leo Hamblin.
Woking scored direct from a free-kick on 57 minutes through left-back Jake Rumble after Hamblin had been fouled on the edge of the box – and it gave the visitors the shot in the arm they needed.
The game became more scrappy thereafter, but any thoughts of a Woking comeback were erased on 85 minutes when Everitt headed home from close range after Backhurst had spilled a cross on his goalline.
The skipper then completed the rout three minutes from time with his second penalty of the half to put the gloss on a comfortable night's work for Mark Beard's side.
Easy on the eye
Albion impressed with an excellent performance in the opening half – putting together some crisp passing moves that left the opposition chasing shadows. The young Seagulls were worthy of their 2-0 lead and although they netted a further three times after the break, it was the first-half display which caught the eye.
Forwards impress
Everitt was the man of the moment with his goals, but Leahy also caught the eye, certainly in the first half, with his performance down the left flank. He linked up well with Zak Sturge on a number of occasions, showed flashes of individual excellence, and got himself on the scoresheet.
The line-up: Talley, Nilsson, Sturge (Kavanagh 55), Collyer, Jackson, Offiah, Miller (Ifill 72), Jenkins (Moran 55), Everitt, Peupion, Leahy.
Subs not used: Bull, Qureshi, Emmerson, Chouchane.
Referee: Anthony Andrews