By Tim Dudding, at the Galpharm Stadium

Albion had a night to forget in Yorkshire as the ten-man Seagulls were torn apart by a rampant Huddersfield side.

Michel Kuipers's red card shortly before the break came with the score at 2-1 to the Terriers, but when Lee Novak converted the resulting penalty, the home side never looked back and mercilessly dispatched Russell Slade's team.

Slade employed a 4-5-1 formation here, with Liam Dickinson again ploughing a lone furrow in attack, and Jamie Smith coming into the midfield to make his senior debut and increase Albion's creativity going forward.

And Albion looked solid and composed early on, although the travelling fans did watch in horror when Alan Navarro passed the ball straight to Jordan Rhodes, but fortunately for the midfielder Adam El-Abd tracked back to snuff out the danger. It was however, a sign of things to come.

The Terriers broke the deadlock after 21 minutes when Adam Virgo could only clear the ball out to Anthony Pilkington on the right. The midfielder curled an inviting cross straight back into the danger zone, and Anthony Kay dived bravely to head past Kuipers.

The Seagulls looked as if they might be overrun, but almost out of nothing, Liam Dickinson drew them level. Huddersfield only half-cleared their lines, and when Andrew Crofts played the ball back in, Dickinson unleashed an unstoppable volley that whizzed past Alex Smithies and into the back of the net.

Albion's euphoria was to be short-lived however, because shortly after the restart Lee Peltier crossed from the left, and Peter Clarke put  the home side back in front.

The match had really sparked into life now, and Kevin McLeod nearly drew the Seagulls level again with a delicate chip that was only just turned around the post by Smithies.

But when El-Abd played gifted Novak with a short back-pass at the other end, Albion's evening really began to unravel. Novak went down under Kuipers's diving challenge, earning the Dutchman his marching orders, and the Terriers a penalty.

Jamie Smith was sacrificed for Graeme Smith, whose first duty on his league debut for the Seagulls was to pick Novak's spot-kick out of the net.

Damage limitation would have been high on the agenda at half-time, but nine minutes after the break Andrew Whing caught Rhodes from behind, and referee Neil Swarbrick pointed to the spot for a second time. Rhodes won the argument with Novak to take the spot-kick, but Smith saved brilliantly, diving to his left, to keep out the striker's effort.

Smith could do nothing about Huddersfield's fourth however, when three attackers came charging at his goal with only El-Abd in the way, and Gary Roberts slipped the ball comfortably past the Scotsman to make it 4-1.

Albion's night kept getting worse; Terriers substitute Danny Drinkwater had hardly been on the pitch when he drilled the ball home from 20 yards after his initial shot had been charged down, and the Seagulls were now 5-1 down.

Drinkwater almost doubled his tally with a rasping effort from 25 yards that cannoned back off the post, and a few minutes later Huddersfield did make it six when substitute Theo Robinson raced through unchecked to clip the ball over a helpless Smith.

Robinson blasted the ball past Smith for his second of the night after McLeod had forlornly surrendered possession in the area, and Albion's misery was complete.

Huddersfield: (4-4-2) Smithies; Peltier, P Clarke, Butler, Skarz; Pilkington, T Clarke, Kay (Drinkwater 65), Roberts; Rhodes (Simpson 72), Novak (Robinson 59). Subs not used: Simpson, Glennon, Williams, N Clarke, Ainsworth.

Albion: (4-5-1) Kuipers, Whing, Virgo, Elphick, El-Abd; Cox, Navarro (Thornhill 74), Crofts, J Smith (G Smith 40), McLeod; Dickinson (Forster 71). Subs not used: Tunnicliffe, Dicker, M Wright, Davies.

Referee: Neil Swarbrick

Yellow Cards: Butler (Huddersfield); G Smith, Forster (Albion).

Red Cards: Kuipers (39, Albion).