Evan Ferguson scored his first senior goal for Brighton on Wednesday night as the Seagulls defeated Forest Green 3-0 in the Carabao Cup.
The former Bohemians forward, 17, started the game, scoring his goal in added time after assisting the first, while fellow former League of Ireland youngsters Andrew Moran and James Furlong both came off the bench for Brighton.
Deniz Undav marked his full debut with a goal while strikes from Steve Alzate and Ferguson sealed the second-round win at the New Lawn.
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But the scoreline somewhat flattered the visitors and they were made to fight by resolute Rovers with Jason Steele denying Josh March and Kyle McAllister.
Graham Potter made 11 changes from Sunday’s 2-0 win at West Ham and there was little early rhythm from the Seagulls.
League One Rovers pressed without any end product and were unable to test Steele before Brighton came close when Undav’s flick from Julio Enciso’s corner bounced off the post after 27 minutes.
That chance aside, the hosts were cool at the back and, in truth, Brighton rarely looked like finding a route through until Undav struck eight minutes before the break.
The Seagulls managed to wriggle behind Rovers for the first time and Undav latched onto Ferguson’s ball to hold off Oliver Casey and fire in.
If that was harsh on the hosts a second, which came in first-half injury time, was even harder for them to take as Alzate scored his first goal for 18 months.
The midfielder collected the ball and drilled into the bottom corner from 20 yards to give Forest Green – who were never outclassed – a mountain to climb.
Steele superbly denied March after Baily Cargill’s excellent pass sent McAllister away just after the break.
Undav wasted a fine chance for a third when he headed wide after 64 minutes and Brighton needed to ride out some uncomfortable moments as Forest Green pushed to find a way back.
It needed Steele to be alert to stop McAllister from making it a nervy finish when he denied the substitute after he burst through with four minutes left.
Yet Brighton added gloss to the scoreline when Ferguson squeezed in his first Seagulls goal in injury time.
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