Brighton 1-0 Barnet: James Tilley strike sees Seagulls through

Teenager James Tilley scored Brighton's first goal of the season as they edged past League Two Barnet in the second round of the Carabao Cup.

The 19-year-old, making only his third senior appearance, broke the deadlock nine minutes after coming on as a half-time substitute for Anthony Knockaert.

When Liam Rosenior forced a rare save from debutant Barnet keeper Craig Ross, Tilley was on hand on to sweep the ball home and secure a 1-0 victory.

Seagulls manager Chris Hughton had named Knockaert as one of 11 changes to his starting XI in a bid to get his star winger up to speed.

Last season's Championship player of the year had been restricted to two substitute appearances following an ankle injury as Brighton began life in the Premier League with back-to-back 2-0 defeats.

Knockaert put in a lively 45 minutes, during which he was comfortably the best player on the pitch.

The Frenchman had Brighton's only shot on target during the first half, but also talked himself into a yellow card on the stroke of half-time for protesting a little too much about the rough treatment he felt he was receiving.

There was one particularly worrying moment when Knockaert went down clutching his ankle after losing the ball to Mauro Vilhete in midfield.

But he was able to continue and almost conjured up the opening goal when he skipped into the Barnet area, beating two defenders before firing too close to Ross.

Whether Hughton took Knockaert off at the break to save him from injury, a second yellow card, or merely for Saturday's trip to Watford, it proved a good decision.

In the 54th minute, Ross, pitched in for an unexpected debut after regular Bees number one Jamie Stephens pulled out in the warm-up, did well to palm out Rosenior's drive but it fell perfectly for Tilley to guide home.

Barnet almost forced extra-time when Jean-Louis Akpa Apro burst into the area, but his shot was deflected onto a post and wide.