SECOND DIVISION PLAY-OFF SEMI FINAL
Brighton go into tonight's play-off semi final second leg with a slender 1-0 advantage over Swindon but Seagulls boss Mark McGhee admits his side were fortunate to come away from the County Ground with the lead.
McGhee said after the first game as Swindon twice hit the woodwork, once in each half: "I would have settled for a 1-0 deficit going back to our place but we've done enough to get a victory."
Brighton's win came courtesy of a goal from midfielder Richard Carpenter and he looks set to play despite a long-term knee problem. Alongside him will be Gary Hart, who set up the winner, as he is likely to stay in the side instead of Paul Reid, who he replaced on Sunday.
Manager McGhee looks set to name an unchanged side but his opposite number, Swindon boss Andy King, has no such luxury.
The Robins, who finished one place and just five points behind Brighton in the regular season, will be without David Duke who injured his ankle in a challenge with Leon Knight in the first leg.. But King is optimistic that midfielder Stefani Mizlioranzi will make the staring line-up tonight.
The Brazilian missed the first leg with an ankle injury, picked up against QPR, but he has returned to training this week and the Swindon boss is keeping his fingers crossed that he will be okay and will leave a decision until the last possible moment before making his selection.
King was certainly in typically defiant mood after losing on Sunday, saying: "I'm not too disappointed because we were the better side so as far as I am concerned it's far from over and we're far from giving up."
It promises to be a close game between two teams who are well matched but it may well come down to who makes best use of the scoring power available.
Swindon's main strike thrust will come from the experienced Tommy Mooney, but Brighton do have the edge with Leon Knight, the Second Division's highest scorer. Knight's darting runs and explosive finishing were the biggest factors behind the team's success in reaching the play-offs and if given a yard of space he can exploit it with devastating effect.
Swindon will obviously be aware of that but doing something about it is a different prospect. Home advantage
may also be significant so I have to go for a Brighton win.
