Brighton & Hove Albion’s £2.5 million summer signing got off the mark from close range to secure Saturday’s 1-0 win at Portsmouth.  It completed a memorable week for Mackail-Smith following his second cap for Scotland in a friendly against Denmark three days before.

South Africa International Aaron Mokoena, one of the men in the firing line on Saturday, was honest enough to admit afterwards, ‘He makes fantastic runs.  You don’t breathe as a centre-back when he is around – and that is one thing you hate!’

Albion certainly passed a major test of character in their win at Portsmouth.  They kept the ball, restricted the hosts to few chances and had a large slice of good fortune when Liam Lawrence hit the post with a last-minute penalty.

Manager Gus Poyet praised his side's character after the impressive win against a powerful Portsmouth side at Fratton Park.  Poyet, whose side have taken six points out of six, said, ‘It was a South Coast derby and Portsmouth is a very tough place to come to.  It needed some character and I think we showed that. We kept our identity as a football club intact and we showed great strength.’  Poyet is proud of the manner in which his players achieved the win but believes there is more to come from the Seagulls.  He is very pleased with the character the Albion showed on Saturday because the team defended very well right until the end.

Poyet also paid tribute to Mackail-Smith, ‘I don't want to take anything away from the rest of the players but Craig deserved that today.  The amount of work that he put in is unbelievable and he makes it so difficult for all the defenders he plays against.’