Tuesday night's Johnstone's Paint Trophy win over Notts County was easily one of the most exhilarating endings to a game at Glanford Park for some time. The 2-1 victory, courtesy of two stoppage time Paul Hayes headers, means that United are into the draw for Round two of the competition. It also means that they have won three consecutive games, something that, as Hayes pointed out post-match; they failed to do all last season.

And the fact that United made changes to their side, and still so convincingly dominated the game is a very good sign for Iron supporters. Josh Lillis, Martyn Woolford, Ian Morris and Ben May all came into the starting X1, and all played their part in United's bombardment of the Notts County goal.

This Saturday, it's back to league football however. And it is probably fair to say, that United will face a much sterner test when they visit Brighton and Hove Albion at the Withdean Stadium. The Seagulls, who finished in seventh position in League One last season, currently occupy a play-off position in the table. From their opening four league fixtures, they have collected eight points.

And to collect those eight points, Brighton have score five league goals; and conceded only two. Three of their goals scored have come from former Hull City man Nicky Forster, a player United will need to watch closely on Saturday. On the cup front, they remain in both the Carling Cup, and Johnston's Paint Trophy.

In their last match, Brighton played away at Northampton Town in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy Southern Section; winning 1-0 thanks to a Kevin McLeod goal. Their most convincing win of this season, came in The Carling Cup, when they thumped Barnet 4-0 in early August.

The last time that Scunthorpe played Brighton, was in the 2006-07 season. On that occasion, the sides drew 1-1, with Jermaine Beckford scoring for Scunthorpe. Earlier in the season, Brighton had defeated ten-man Scunthorpe 2-1 at Glanford Park.

On Saturday, should the Iron win, they would leapfrog Brighton in the early League One standings. But one would expect that after Brighton's near miss of a play-off spot last season, they will only be, if anything, more determined this season.

And although the season may be in its formative days, Brighton manager, Micky Adams has a team that is obtaining results, and is high on confidence. Their unbeaten start, in all competitions, would imply that come May, Brighton will be in the mix for promotion.

On Saturday, United will probably recall keeper' Joe Murphy, forward Gary Hooper and midfielders Sam Togwell and Garry Thompson into the starting line-up. Brighton will be without midfielder Adam Virgo, who has a knee injury; but will be boosted by the return of fellow midfielder Steven Thomson - who will be hoping for a starting berth.

The game will be refereed by Mr. P. Crossley of Kent. It will be an all-ticket affair, and United have an allocation of 894 seats.