Brighton & Hove Albion rose back to the crucial top eight places in the UEFA Conference League at the midway point of the League Phase thanks to a Malick Yalcouyé header that saw them beat Getafe 1-0 in Madrid.

For long periods of the contest at an Estadio Coliseum that is currently under reconstruction, the feeling of another goalless draw - following a stalemate in Jablonec last time out - lingered too close for the Seagulls.

A moment of real quality in the 64th minute, with Costinha's brave header teeing up Yalcouyé to crash in off the crossbar, made a tremendous difference.

Getafe threw their lives at a late equaliser, fearing the impact of a winless first three games in the competition, but Brighton's solid defence held out for an 11th time in all competitions this season for the win.

Story of the Match: First Half

Brighton made their expected raft of changes for the trip, with five alterations to their starting XI from a momentous 1-0 win over Manchester City.

The additions were Conference League stalwarts at this stage: Jaouen Hadjam, Michael Svoboda, Malick Yalcouyé, Jack Hinshelwood and Georginio Rutter.

Uncertainty surrounded what shape the Seagulls would take, but it soon became clear these were straight swaps, with Hadjam asked to replicate Maxim De Cuyper’s nascent left-wing role.

Fabian Hürzeler knew Getafe loved attacking with width, and by introducing two of his non-traditional wingers, he added another element of unpredictability to proceedings.

A loud Estadio Coliseum - belying its below-par attendance, with the hosts failing to sell their full allocation of tickets - helped Getafe get on top early, with a penalty shout within three minutes as Nemanja Gudelj was felled from a corner.

Brighton had the better of the next 10 minutes, with Hinshelwood forcing David Soria into a low save, turning a deflected effort past his left post.

Rutter then drove low efforts wide of either post in a four-minute spell, before a pinball in the box left the Frenchman and Yasin Ayari frustrated, with no room to shoot.

Getafe roared back, spurred on by a sense of injustice from a couple of potential fouls, and forced Bart Verbruggen into a top-class save just after the half-hour.

A corner was pinged across the box and eventually squeezed to Iván Azón, who thought he had opened the scoring in front of the Azulones fans, only for the Dutchman’s big left mitt to get down quickly to save.

Brighton then flipped the script with an incredible counter-attack, breaking free of the hosts’ control as Hadjam came from nowhere to blitz into the home half.

The Algerian should have put the Seagulls ahead, but Soria got a touch on his poked effort to turn the ball onto the post, and when the rebound found Yalcouyé for a shot turned off the line by Sebastián Boselli, Brighton had the same sense of shock.

Azón found time for one more effort before the half was up, forcing a save from Verbruggen as he ran out of options and curled a shot from 20 yards.

Second Half

Brighton began the second half with a change in their defence, as Lewis Dunk - who had looked troubled at times - was switched for Luka Vušković.

The sides again traded chances in the opening stages after the restart, with Terrats spotting Verbruggen off his line from 40 yards but lacking enough power to convert, while Hadjam took aim from the left of the box and sent a swirling effort narrowly over the crossbar.

Satriano and Vušković then exchanged long-range efforts, with Verbruggen saving while the fans behind Soria’s goal ran for cover.

Eventually, this pressure had to result in a goal at one end.

Brighton created this decisive moment in the 64th minute, with an excellent cross finding Costinha on the right of the six-yard box and the Portuguese showing real strength to hold off his man and assist Yalcouyé, who burst into the area to head home.

The Albion did not look back from there, closing their grip with each passing minute.

Rutter should have doubled their advantage in the 70th minute, only to be denied by an excellent last-ditch Boselli tackle from the right of the six-yard box.

The stages after this were scrappy and desperate, but Brighton rode the wave.

Bookings for Svoboda and Rutter came in quick succession, and Getafe threw all their available strikers onto the pitch, but chances were a precious commodity.

Despite a full-throttle effort from the home fans and their players, nothing would work in front of the equally vociferous travelling support from Sussex.

With defeat leaving Getafe near the foot of the Conference League table with just a single point at the League Phase’s halfway point, the disappointment at full-time was painfully obvious.

For Brighton, who rise to 5th in the table, it was a momentous and memorable night in Madrid.

Player of the Match - Costinha

Brighton’s plucky Portuguese further underlined why he is such a bargain at around £11 million from Olympiacos.

Surprisingly physical for his unassuming frame, the 26-year-old had to show all of his strength to win the header that set up Yalcouyé’s winner.

He also had to be extremely disciplined to stay on the pitch after picking up a 33rd-minute booking, with the game becoming increasingly ill-tempered in its late stages.

With less support than Boscagli on the left - who had natural left-back Jaouen Hadjam ahead of him - Costinha worked with Yalcouyé and Diego Gómez to hold down the right flank.

That was no easy task, with Getafe’s most talented attacker Martín Satriano mainly stationed on that side, and then three centre-forwards to deal with late on, but the wing-back did everything in his power.

With composure in spades and a deft touch when needed, Costinha was the secret behind Brighton’s win.