Two goals in two minutes from Kazenga LuaLua and Tomer Hemed have given Brighton a 2-0 half-time lead over the Blues at Portman Road.
Josh Emmanuel, 18, was handed his home debut at right-back with Christophe Berra absent with a hamstring injury. Skipper Luke Chambers moved to the centre of the defence.
Dean Gerken continued in goal with Bartosz Bialkowski on the bench having returned from Poland following his father’s death last weekend.
Brett Pitman and Freddie Sears started up front with David McGoldrick amongst the subs having played the full 120 minutes at Doncaster on Tuesday.
New signing Piotr Malarczyk’s international clearance came through in time for the Polish defender to take a place amongst the subs. Brighton included former Town loanees David Stockdale and Liam Rosenior.
Within a minute of the start Pitman and Brighton defender Uwe Hunemeier both required treatment after clashing heads but both were OK to continue.
The visitors began the game brightly and in the fifth minute LuaLua hit a low shot which Gerken got down to save.
Brighton continued to look the more threatening side and in the 10th minute they went in front. Gaetan Bong played a long ball down the Blues right in behind Emmanuel and Chambers couldn’t get across to cover before LuaLua hit a low shot across Gerken and into the corner of the net.
The former Newcastle youngster celebrated with a somersault which ended with him falling over, although he probably didn’t care too much about the jeers from the Town support having scored his fourth goal of the season.
Two minutes later, it was 2-0. Ainsley Maitland-Niles, celebrating his 18th birthday, picked up an wanted card of the yellow variety for a foul on LuaLua midway inside the Town half on the left. Dale Stephens floated a freekick into the area and Hemed claimed the merest of touches with his head as the ball beat Gerken to his left.
The Blues began to get into the game more as the 20-minute mark approached, Pitman should have found Sears with a pass on the edge of the area but Hunemeier cut it out.
Two minutes later, after former Blues loanee Rosenior had scraped a shot wide, Maitland-Niles played in Sears on the right of the area following Emmanuel’s quickly taken freekick but no one was running into the area to get on to the striker’s low cross.
Town should have found themselves 3-0 behind in the 23rd minute when Sam Baldock got in behind the Blues backline from another long Bong ball from the back but the former West Ham and MK Dons man shot wide when he ought to have scored.
In the 36th minute Hunemeier joined Maitland-Niles in referee Keith Hill’s book for catching Sears with an elbow.
Gerken did well to punch Hunemeier’s header from under his bar as two Brighton players ran in to add the final touch on 39 before Sears hit Town’s first shot of the afternoon from a tight angle on the right, Stockdale claiming comfortably.
Hunemeier will have counted himself lucky to still be on the pitch in the 42nd minute when he caught Fraser with a studs-up, very high boot on the right, not far outside the penalty area. Referee Hill somehow avoided showing a second yellow card to the already-booked German.
From the freekick, Fraser laid the ball across to Pitman, who left it for Sears but the former Colchester man’s powerful shot flew wide.
As the half moved into injury time Bong blocked off Emmanuel and was booked for an offence which was nowhere near as serious as Hunemeier’s a few minutes earlier. Shortly before the whistle, Bruno scuffed a shot wide from just outside the area.
The scoreline was a fair reflection of the half as a whole and the Blues really ought to have been three goals behind, Baldock having missed a golden opportunity.
The visitors had controlled the game for long spells with LuaLua always a threat. When the Blues did have the ball all too often it was lost before a chance could be created and Stockdale hadn’t been forced to make a serious save.
However, Town will feel that the Seagulls ought to have been reduced to 10 men with Hunemeier’s foul on Fraser well worthy of a second yellow card.
Just prior to the end of the half McGoldrick ran along the touchline to the dressing room and it would be no surprise if the Blues number 10 was introduced for the second half.
Town: Gerken, Emmanuel, Chambers, Smith, Knudsen, Skuse, Douglas, Fraser, Maitland-Niles, Pitman, Sears. Subs: Bialkowski, Malarczyk, Kenlock, Tabb, Coke, Touré, McGoldrick.
Brighton: Stockdale, Bruno, Greer, Huenemeier, Bong, Rosenior, Stephens, Kayal, LuaLua, Hemed, Baldock. Subs: Maenpaa, Dunk, Ince, Murphy, March, Forster-Caskey, Zamora. Referee: Keith Hill (Hertfordshire).