Brighton 1, Leicester City 1

Gus Poyet has substitute Kazenga LuaLua to thank after his late goal snatched a point against a resilient Leicester City side.

LuaLua, who replaced Will Buckley after just 10 minutes, struck in the 88th minute to deny the Foxes a win after a Matty James opener in the second half.

The draw means Albion retain their place in their play-off places with today’s visitors sitting just behind in seventh.

The away side started brightly and threatened to puncture the Albion defence on numerous occasions. Michael Keane, Andy King and David Nugent all fired at goal inside the first 25 minutes, the former two falling wide and the latter kept out by Tomasz Kuszczak.

Inigo Calderon then fired wide from a good position inside the Leicester box, and David Lopez struck straight at Kasper Schmeichel shortly afterwards.

Leonardo Ulloa had an opportunity to hit the net when he headed from close range, but the Argentine was unable to get under the ball and it ballooned harmlessly over.

Jeffrey Schlupp also had a fierce snapshot pushed away on the stroke of half time.

The Foxes pounced out of the blocks in the second half, with Liam Moore skewing his shot wide within a minute of the restart and Schlupp striking twice within a matter of seconds, but Albion stood firm.

The goal would soon come, though, and it was a result of the Seagulls’ sloppy defending. Matthew Upson and Dean Hammond failed to clear a Leicester throw in, and Matty James took advantage with a neat finish inside the near post.

Albion were struggling to conjure any real chances in the second half but it was Kazenga LuaLua who looked the likeliest with a number of ambitious strikes. So when the winger found himself with an inch of space on the edge of the area, it was no surprise when he fizzed the ball through Schmeichel and into the back of the net.

A vital point for Brighton, and perhaps a wasted two points for Nigel Pearson’s men.

Follow Patrick on Twitter @PattyGlee