Seagulls Scene: Railwaymen hit buffers after Murray makes his mark

In head-to-head games we had won only twice (three now) out of 15. So the Railwaymen are truly our bogey team. Beating them 3-0 at Withdean went some way to putting matters right.

The win and three points was much needed, helping the Seagulls to soar back into the top half of League One. With an all-important three games in hand over most above the Albion a nine-point haul would get us back into the play-off zone.

This isn't just wishful thinking, as five of our next six games are at home! After Cheltenham away on Saturday (one we can win), there is a run of five home games: Tranmere, Cheltenham (again!), Oldham, Leyton Orient and Gillingham all come to Withdean. February will be the pivotal month of our season.

It was a great first half. The Albion attacked from the start, forcing many corners. Andrew Whing came close to scoring with an overhead kick in the sixth minute.

After 20 minutes the pressure told. Guy Butters was up and got his head first to the corner. New boy Glenn Murray was in the right place to knock in from close range. It was Murray's debut full game for the Seagulls and there were long celebrations when he opened his account so early. He did go on and notch up his second and in fact could have had a first half hat-trick.

The Albion players ran together to congratulate Murray and uniquely performed a celebratory "Ring a Ring of Roses" complete with "All fall Down". We laughed - but I'm not too sure if this will catch on, especially away from home. Travelling Seagulls are already accustomed to being told "We can see you holding hands" but I wonder about the players actually doing it!

Murray went close with a smart run through on the left when his shot narrowly missed the right post. The second goal came from another corner when big Guy Butters lashed in a shot past Ben Williams in the Crewe goal.

The third followed quickly just before half-time and was the best of the bunch. Hard working Dean Cox sent in a cross from the left. Nicky Forster headed on to find Murray. His timing was superb taking the ball on the volley and firing past Williams. A brace of goals in his home debut went a long way to repaying the 300,000 spent on the new Albion striker.

There wasn't a lot to say about the second 45 minutes! The fact that my five-year-old companion fell asleep says it all. Crewe were disappointing and failed to get a shot on target. At least in the first-half Eugen Bopp forced a good save out of Michel Kuipers and hit the bar with a long range shot. Brighton did enough to keep a clean sheet and the three first-half goals were always going to be enough to ensure the win.

The most encouraging outcome was the new partnership between Nicky Forster and Murray. Obviously they will need time to get to know each others play but this was a bright start. Forster is fast on the ground and always a threat. Murray is strong in the air and on holding-up the ball. They just might be prolific in this Division.

It is the midfield where manager Dean Wilkins has his work cut out. With Dean Hammond gone and Paul Reid and Tommy Fraser injured his options were limited. Steven Thomson from Falkirk had his best game yet for Brighton. Wilkins pushed Adam El-Abd up to midfield and he put in a strong performance. This enabled Jake Robinson and Dean Cox to be the two wide midfielders. It worked against Crewe but Chairman Dick Knight is still looking to bring another in.

Only time will tell if Knight has done some shrewd business in the January transfer window. I believe he was right in letting Hammond go to Colchester.

If Murray and Jonny Dixon from Aldershot turn out as hoped for the departures of Alex Revell and Nathan Elder will also be for the best. Certainly everybody wishes the ex-Seagulls well. It was good to hear that Elder scored the winner for Brentford '“ after scoring one in his own net!

It should be an exciting February and I hope a few more wins will get the fans into Withdean to help the push to the play-offs.