James Wilson scored in the 94th minute to earn a dramatic 1-1 draw for 10-man Brighton & Hove Albion in their crucial Championship clash against Derby County this afternoon.
It looked as though the Rams were going to cause an upset at The Amex as the clock ticked down following Andreas Weimann's second-half goal, but Wilson struck in the fourth minute of stoppage time.
The result means that the winner of next weekend's clash between Brighton and Middlesbrough will earn automatic promotion to the Premier League.
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The Seagulls began on the front foot when Beram Kayal picked the ball up on the edge of the area before unleashing a low shot, which trickled just wide of the post.
Derby responded with a counter-attack when Craig Bryson lofted the ball forward for Tom Ince, who aimed from close range, but the winger ended up smashing the ball into the side-netting.
At the other end, Anthony Knockaert came close to opening the scoring after a quarter of an hour of play, but Jason Shackell intercepted the shot, which was heading into the net.
The home side continued to knock on the door, and were denied a first-half penalty when Sam Baldock went to ground after turning away from George Thorne, but the referee waved away his claims.
Brighton were a constant threat, but Derby were dangerous on the counter and they came close to taking the lead with a scrambled effort when Thorne aimed for goal after collecting the ball from a corner kick, but it was cleared off the line by Dale Stephens.
After the break, Derby had the earliest chance when Will Hughes laid the ball off to Ince, who fired from the edge of the box, but a deflection slowed down the pace of the ball and it was taken by the goalkeeper.
Brighton responded down the other end from a free kick, but Tomer Hemed's close-range header was kept out, and seconds later, Lewis Dunk's attempt drifted over the crossbar.
The hosts tried their luck on the break, which ended with them appealing for a penalty after Knockaert went to ground following a challenge from Thorne, but once again, the referee was not interested.
Kazenga LuaLua almost made an instant impact when he came off the substitutes' bench as he aimed a volley at goal from 25 yards out, but goalkeeper Scott Carson managed to grab the ball.
Another substitute, this time for Derby, had a decent opportunity as well, and unlike his opponent, he managed to find the back of the net.
Andreas Weimann met the end of Hughes's pass and his first shot was saved by David Stockdale, but the keeper could only parry the ball back into the path of the forward, who buried it on the rebound.
Matters became worse for Brighton when Dunk was sent off after receiving a second yellow card for a poor challenge on Bryson, meaning that the defender will be out of next week's must-win game over Middlesbrough.
The dramatic moment came four minutes into stoppage time when Wilson, who is on loan with the Seagulls from Manchester United, lashed a shot into the back of the net after Derby failed to clear their lines from a corner kick.
Danielle Joynson
