Albion under-21s are out of the Sussex Senior Cup after going down 2-1 to Steyning Town on Wednesday night.
At the Shooting Field it was the home side, who are riding high near the top of the Southern Counties Combination League, who produced the goods in front of goal to progress to the quarter-finals.
They led 2-0 thanks to superb finishes from Joe Radley-Martin and Harry Shooman in the space of four minutes early in the second half before Albion went down to ten men after defender Kain Ryan picked up a second yellow card for a foul.
Luca Barrington pulled a goal back with 20 minutes to go and Albion had chances to take the game to penalties but Steyning dug in for a famous win.
They had been the more threatening side in the first period. Albion keeper Tommy Reid made a brilliant save when he tipped Radley-Martin’s early strike onto the bar and he denied the same player on 41 minutes, plunging low to his left to push away a free kick.
Benicio Baker-Boaitey dragged an early effort wide and Louis Flower had a shot blocked before racing clear early in the second half and hitting another shot off target, but Reid had been the busier keeper.
The deadlock was broken on 53 minutes and Reid had little chance when Radley-Martin hit a dipping volley from the left-hand corner of the box inside the far post. It was 2-0 when Shooman found the roof of the net from 20 yards with a perfectly placed shot.
Ryan saw red in the 62nd minute but thereafter Albion began to get on top and they pulled a goal back when Flower played Barrington in down the left and the slipped the ball into an empty net as keeper Lucas Szendela tried to narrow the angle.
As Steyning tired Albion piled forward. Baker-Boaitey found the side netting after Jamie Mullins played him in. Baker-Boaitey did the hard part by rounding the keeper but he couldn’t produce a finish to match.
Marcus Ifill’s header was cleared off the line and in the ninth minute of stoppage time Jacob Slater headed a corner wide from inside the six-yard box, but the home side held on.
Albion: Reid, Tasker (Jackson 67), Slater, Kavanagh, Ryan, Jack Hinchy ©, Peart (Mullins 57), Knight (Chouchane 67), Flower (Ifill 67), Baker-Boaitey, Barrington.
Subs not used: Lorenz Ferdinand.