Brighton & Hove Albion have moved six points clear of the Championship relegation zone courtesy of a 2-0 victory over Leeds United.
The Whites were going in search of a fourth successive victory in this evening's meeting at The Amex, a feat last achieved back in 2001, although it was not to be as goals from Sam Baldock and Inigo Calderon condemned them to just a second defeat in seven outings.
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Some early pressure from the visitors led to both Sol Bamba and Rudy Austin coming close to making a breakthrough, but neither could quite get their attempts on target in the opening 10 minutes.
Luke Murphy was the next United player to try his luck with a shot from range which deflected behind for a corner kick, but it was to be Brighton who opened the scoring on 26 minutes.
Some good work from Craig Mackail-Smith down the left paved the way for Baldock to tuck away his fourth goal of the season with an instinctive finish from inside the box.
Marco Silvestri, who was on top form in Leeds's last outing at Middlesbrough, produced a fine save to deny Mackail-Smith doubling his side's lead as the first half wore on, while Calderon saw his effort ruled out for offside.
The Seagulls were asking plenty of questions of their opponents following the restart as Calderon and Mackail-Smith both fired shots wide of goal following positive attacking moves.
Leeds continued to soak up the pressure with Silvestri keeping out Joao Carlos Teixeira's low drive on two separate occasions, although Calderon finally added a second shortly after the hour by finding himself in the right place at the right time to deflect Silvestri's save into the back of the net.
Bamba was unable to keep his header down as the Yorkshire outfit searched for a route back into the game, and substitute Edgar Cani also failed to find the target with his headed attempt at the back post.
A solid stop from David Stockdale with 13 minutes remaining denied Souleymane Doukara a route back into the game for Neil Redfearn's side, although it was Brighton who perhaps should have added a third goal of the match when both Dale Stephens and Chris O'Grady failed to get the better of Silvestri late on.
Teixeira also saw his shot cannon back off the post and into the welcoming hands of the opposition keeper as the game ended in a rather comfortable 2-0 win for the hosts.
The defeat leaves United sitting in 14th place in the Championship table.
Daniel Lewis
