I’m writing this from Brighton station awaiting a typically delayed Southern train back to the big smoke. It might be two days since Manor Solomon’s superb late winner sparkled some of the best ever scenes in a Fulham away end, but the mere memory is enough to raise a smile. Marco Silva’s side have fearlessly played on the front foot since returning to the Premier League and that boldness has brought rewards but Saturday showed that Fulham, who have endured some late, late heartbreak at the hands of the top sides this season, can grind out one of those ugly away wins efficiently.

Silva, Solomon, Tim Ream and Harrison Reed were honest in their appraisal of what was a below-par performance from the Whites. At one stage in the first half, it seemed as if staying in the game as Albion dominated possession was the best Fulham could manage. But the visitors toughed out a tricky period and looked livelier on the break, the longer the game went on. The visitors were distinctly second best but Ream’s reading of the game, the peerless positioning of Issa Diop, a couple of sharp saves from Bernd Leno and two offside flags kept things level.

While it is goalless there was always a chance. Silva’s two changes transformed the shape of Fulham’s attack and the winning goal was a testament to the manager’s principles. With the AMEX becoming restless, a misplaced Brighton pass gave Ream the opportunity to nip in and gain possession. The American’s first instinct was not to seek respite but drill a ball into the feet of Carlos Vinicius, in a cross between the distribution of Bobby Moore and an ice hockey player propelling the puck down the rink. Vinicius, derided by two fans behind me as being worse than useless, than turned Joel Veltman, perhaps still embarrassed by his pathetic dive in the Fulham penalty area, and produced the perfect pass from which Solomon pilfered all three points.

Under Silva’s predecessor, who already appears to be clinging on for dear life to his new job with Club Brugges, there would have been no such sense of ambition with two minutes to play. It almost requires something stronger than a ‘robbery’ to describe the heist. One passenger on my train back to Lewes afterwards took extreme exception to my using that term in a discussion with a fellow Fulham fan. I don’t think burglary is better, but the local constabulary might be producing posters with Solomon’s face on them given the gravity of the crime.

It was heavily ironic to read and hear all the barbs from the Brighton fans in the aftermath of their defeat accusing Fulham of being ‘anti-football. I don’t know where all those vloggers were during Chris Hughton’s time in charge of Brighton, but they couldn’t have been at the AMEX as Albion produced a pair of smash and grabs against the Whites in the space of two months and then hardly played expansive football for the remainder of Hughton’s time on the south coast.

Those of us who have been following Fulham for a while remember when both of these two teams were crisis clubs rather than European contenders. You still have to pinch yourself to check if the current top flight table is accurate. Brighton lost the Goldstone Ground, almost went bust and were exiled to the soulless Withdean for a while. Famous Fulham figures like Glenn Cockerill, Paul Brooker, Danny Cullip, Micky Adams and Bobby Zamora played a part in their revival. The Albion are now arguably one of the best clubs in the country, under the stewardship of chairman Tony Bloom and chief executive Paul Barber, but some of the entitlement from the Twittersphere was worryingly devoid of a sense of perspective.

This game was a crucial yardstick for Fulham’s development. They eeked out a fortunate win without Aleksandar Mitrovic and recorded a third consecutive clean sheet in the Premier League. That the Whites were resilient and spirited was almost as pleasing as Solomon’s magical late impact. It is only natural to start dreaming in these circumstances – but Silva will demand his players keep their feet on the ground. His mantra remains we will collect as many points as possible. That’s absolute fine by me – the Fulham faithful will enjoy the ride.