An error from keeper Chris Dunn saw Brighton take victory at Sixfields to dump the Cobblers out of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy.

A 25-yard bullet from Kevin McLeod swerved past Dunn when the keeper looked to have the shot covered to gift Brighton a 1-0 victory.

The rookie had earlier made two top-class saves as he palmed Matt Richards' free-kick away before saving Glenn Murray's point blank header in front of the away end.

A dull first half saw no goals at half-time as the teams went in level.

Abdul Osman was dropped by boss Stuart Gray following the 4-1 defeat at Tranmere on Saturday, with Luke Guttridge and Alex Dyer coming in to the fold for the dropped Osman and injured Ryan Gilligan.

Adebayo Akinfenwa was missing from the squad as Gray decided to rest his star man, with strikers Colin Larkin and Leon Constantine leading the home attack.

There was little goal mouth action in the first half however, with little to shout about for either set of fans.

The best move of the first half for the Cobblers came after only two minutes, when good work from Guttridge saw him slide a ball through to Constantine, but his cross was too weak to reach Larkin who was arriving in the area.

A good tackle from Brighton's Tommy Elphick denied Andy Holt a shot at goal while in a promising position after 24 minutes, and Constantine failed to get the ball out of his feet when he looked to have a clear run at goal.

At the other end Dunn had little to do in only his second senior appearance at Sixfields.

Brighton upped the tempo in the second half however, with Leon Constantine heading off the line from Glenn Murray while Doug Loft and Nicky Forester also went close.

Brighton took the lead on 68 minutes through McLeod's shot, with the Cobblers on top thereafter.

Constantine headed wide as did Andy Holt in what was a frustrating time for the Cobblers, with little end product when in advanced positions.

A series of blocks further denied Stuart Gray's men, and they were unable to net the goal they needed, going down by a solitary strike.

Cobblers
Dunn, Jackman (Henderson, 78 mins), Hughes, Doig, Coke (Davis, 73 mins), Constantine, Larkin, Holt, Little, Dyer (Osman, 73 mins), Guttridge Subs not used: Dolman, Walker

Brighton
Kuipers, Whing, Lynch, Forster, McLeod, Richards, Livermore, Hawkins, Murray, Loft, Virgo (Cox, 15 mins) Subs not used: Mayo, Robinson, Fraser, Elphick

Attendance
2,047

Away Fans
258