Albion's under-18s came from behind to beat Colchester 4-3 in a seven goal thriller on Saturday morning.
The Seagulls were 3-1 down at the break, but a magnificent second half fight-back saw Steve Brown's side secure their place in the knock-out phase of the Puma Youth Alliance Cup.
The U's made a blistering start, and although Lewis Dunk's bullet header cancelled out Jordan Sanderson's opener for the home side, the Seagulls soon found themselves trailing 3-1.
Jordan Lartey regained the lead for Colchester, before Dunk, on his return from a lengthy lay-off with a hip injury, headed into his own net from Sanderson's shot.
Dunk was withdrawn at half-time as a planned precaution, with Lewis Ide switching to right-back.
Despite moving into defence, makeshift full-back Ide proved to be the inspiration behind the comeback, surging through the middle before slotting the ball past Colchester keeper Shane Cusack.
Amazingly Ide then did it again, this time driving the ball past Cusack from a similar position to draw Albion level.
George Barker completed the turnaround with a sharp turn and shot from the edge of the box, leaving Brown delighted with his side's never-say-die attitude.
"We were 3-1 down at half-time," Brown explained, "but we had actually been playing well, so it was more a case of encouragement at the break, rather than harsh words.
"We made some terrible decisions defensively in the first half, but it was a totally dominant performance after half-time.
"We showed terrific character to come back and win the game."
Albion: (4-4-2) Godfrey; Strong, Sheriff, Dunk (Caskey 46), Smith; Hayward, Wilkins (Thomson 70), Ide, Redwood; Barker, Hider. Sub not used: James (GK).
