BENIK AFOBE and Brighton both left Withdean with happy memories.

While the Championship- bound Seagulls celebrated even though they lost their last match at the ground ahead of the switch to their new £93m AMEX Stadium, Town’s 18-year-old strike ace will always associate the venue with his first league double.

True, the on-loan Arsenal teenager who now has seven goals opened his Town account with two in the 5-2 Johnstone’s Paint Trophy win at Rotherham, another athletics stadium, back in November.

But the league matters even more, and the 18-year-old Londoner who is hoping his West Yorkshire learning curve will peak with promotion was delighted to be able to reflect on another big contribution to another big win.

“It was great to get those goals,” said Afobe, who having twice put Town ahead, then provided the assist for Danny Ward to blast the last-minute goal which clinched a 3-2 win over the champions and a sixth double of the season.

“The gaffer (Lee Clark) always tells me that strikers sometimes have to gamble, and that’s what I did.

“My first goal was really down the Gary Naysmith, who had the ball for a free-kick. Often he would send it up for our two big centre-backs (Peter Clarke and Jamie McCombe) to go for, but he saw me in some space and signalled to push out wide.

“When I received the ball, I thought about laying it off, but I also knew that if I could turn the defender (Gordon Greer), I would put myself in one-on-one with the keeper (Peter Brezovan), which was the way it turned out.

“The second goal came from a slip by their full-back (Spaniard Inigo Calderon). I saw him shape to chest the ball back to the keeper, so I made the run just in case it fell short, which it did.”

Ward’s winner was the 19-year-old’s first goal for Town since moving on loan from Bolton in March.

He had come on as a 54th-minute replacement for Jack Hunt, signalling a first appearance in four matches, and said: “I haven’t had much gametime in the last few weeks, so it was great to get on and even better to get the goal.

“You have to take your chances when they come along and I was delighted to help us get the win.”