Goal machine Robert Earnshaw is up and running - and thankful for the quality of Darren Huckerby. City's £3.5m marksman bagged two late goals in City's 3-0 win over Brighton on Tuesday, having finally got the service that his skills require.

Goal machine Robert Earnshaw is up and running - and thankful for the quality of Darren Huckerby.

City's £3.5m marksman bagged two late goals in City's 3-0 win over Brighton on Tuesday, having finally got the service that his skills require. It had taken a while for the penny to drop, with Earnshaw all too often left to go foraging for the ball, or looking towards the heavens for a hoof from defence.

That all changed three minutes from time after a Huckerby assist, while Paul McVeigh's vision provided the pass for his second three minutes later.

“That's the sort of quality we need to keep going,” said Earnshaw. “Earlier on in the game it wasn't dropping down for me to strike, but I am happy because we showed the quality at the end. That's what I feed off.

“When Hucks has gone down the left and pulled it across for me to tap in, that's what I want. Then Paul McVeigh has put in a great ball to spot me and set me through.

“That is what we need, the quality to put me through and look for the goals. We need to keep doing that and I am just grateful people have spotted me and I have got a couple of goals. That's the quality we have got to show.”

Earnshaw clearly believes that if his team-mates find him with the right kind of service, then he'll score the goals.

“Yes, it was brilliant - and I have got a good feeling now,” he said. “It is a nice feeling when you win games and score a couple of goals, brilliant.”

There was also the possibility that the longer it went the more pressure Earnshaw would be under to deliver the goods, but Tuesday's brace has eliminated that particular concern.

“You want to score every game, I wanted to score against Hull and Ipswich - it was just a case of when it was going to happen,” he said. “It does take a lot of time to settle in. People know what you're good at and what you want. Hucks is a clever player and McVeigh is a clever player and it showed when they spotted me.”

City had struggled to add to Huckerby's opener as 10-man Brighton battled to get back into the game in the second half.

“I think once they got a man sent off they started to play,” he added. “They thought they'd got nothing to lose and we let them play a little bit. They had 20 minutes when they had the ball all the time putting crosses in and you thought maybe they've got a chance.

“But I think quality showed in the end. We broke away quick and made the chances.”

Earnshaw's goals sparked the famous somersault celebration - delighting player and fans alike.

“It was nice,” he said. “I was speaking to some of the kids as I was coming into the ground before the game and they were saying 'we want to see the somersault', so I'm happy because of that.”