Championship leaders Brighton & Hove Albion have been held to a 1-1 draw by a stubborn Cardiff City side at The Amex.

The South Coast side found themselves trailing within five minutes when Scott Malone played a low cross to Joe Mason in front of goal, and the striker made no mistake from close range.

Brighton responded well to falling behind, quickly forcing Cardiff onto the back foot as Sam Baldock's half-volley forced a save out of Simon Moore in the seventh minute.

Cardiff had Moore to thank for maintaining their lead in the 20th minute as the stopper pulled off a double save to deny first Baldock, then Liam Rosenior on the rebound.

Brighton were level seven minutes before the break when Beram Kayal's lofted pass was volleyed into the back of the net by Dale Stephens.

The Seagulls almost went into the interval with a slender lead but Hemed could only find the side-netting from a tight angle after being put through on goal by Baldock.

Chris Houghton's side pressed for a second in the opening stages of the second period and almost found one in the 50th minute when Kayal's volley proved too hot for Moore to handle, but the Cardiff stopper collected it at the second attempt.

Brighton were dominant in the second half and they almost got the breakthrough they deserved just after the hour mark when Solomon March collected the ball from Kayal and struck one towards goal, forcing a reaction save out of Moore.

Cardiff almost snatched a cheeky winner 10 minutes from the death when Sammy Ameobi's last-ditch effort was cleared off the line by Lewis Dunk, but unbeaten Brighton were unable to turn their dominance into a winning goal.