Dale snatched a late equaliser at the Withdean Stadium thanks to an injury time goal from captain Gary Jones.
Dale's midfield stalwart, who covered every blade of grass, instinctively struck in the 2nd minute of injury time after a mistake from Brighton 'keeper Casper Ankergren.
The first half was one short on quality as both sides were caught napping in possession, but the second was anything but that.
Just two minutes into the second period and former Dale striker Glenn Murray put Brighton ahead at the second attempt with his head, after his first effort cannoned back off Josh Lillis' crossbar.
Then came the introduction of summer signing Anthony Elding, and before a ball had been kicked after his substitution Dale were awarded a penalty and the home side were down to ten men. Albion captain Gordon Greer appeared to strike Elding, and was sent off by referee Danny McDermid. Gary Jones converted the resulting penalty for his first of the game.
Keith Hill's side were hoping to dominated from there on in, but Gus Poyet's men weren't giving up without a fight, and they restored their lead with twenty minutes to go when Elliott Benyon struck a great effort past Josh Lillis.
That seemed to rejuvenate Dale and the away side began to press and press in search for a second equaliser which evaded them on numerous occasions. However, when Brighton 'keeper Casper Ankergren needlessly punched clear a free-kick, captain fantastic Gary Jones was there to lob the ball over the home goalkeeper to send the Dale fans some 50 yards behind the goal into a frenzy.
Keith Hill named the same side that started both games against Hartlepool United and Barnsley. Josh Lillis was in goal, with Scott Wiseman, Marcus Holness, Craig Dawson and Joe Widdowson making up the back four. Captain Gary Jones was alongside Brian Barry-Murphy and Jason Kennedy in midfield, with Joe Thompson, Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro and Chris O'Grady forming the front three.
The opening fifteen minutes inside a very wet Withdean Stadium were edged by the home side, despite neither team being able to create a clear goalscoring chance. Both sides were sloppy in possession, with Dale guilty of dwelling on the ball on occasions.
The talking point of the opening stages was assistant referee John O'Brien's poor decisions, when he awarded Brighton two corners that shouldn't have been, much to the anger of the Dale players and fans alike.
Just two minutes later and it was Dale who had a great opportunity to take the lead. A Gary Jones effort from outside the box was deflected into the path of Joe Thompson who was all alone at the back post. However, the Dale winger couldn't get the ball out of his feet and was closed down by Albion 'keeper Casper Ankergren, causing him to lose the ball as the attack came to an end.
This was certainly the liveliest part of the match so far and a minute later it was Brighton's turn to scare Dale. A couple of blocked efforts were defended well by Dale before the ball fell to Jamie Smith just inside the area, but his weak effort was easily picked up by Josh Lillis.
The Seagulls had another few efforts from distance through former Bury loanee Elliott Bennett and Ashley Barnes, but they both flew wide of either post. Joe Thompson then had a shot on target for Dale but his tame effort was picked up easily by Ankergren.
With less than ten minutes to go until half-time and the Withdean now covered in sunshine, Glenn Murray almost surprised Josh Lillis when he shaped to cross a ball which ended up with the Dale 'keeper turning the ball over the bar. Only Murray will know if it was intentional or a poor cross.
Keith Hill's side played out the closing moments of the half very well, and with a bit more urgency in the final third they could well have taken a half-time lead. One minute of added time failed to produce anything and the sides went into the dugouts at the break goalless.
Dale were hoping for a strong start to the second half, but they got off to the worst possible start when after just 90 seconds, Brighton took the lead. An Elliott Bennett free-kick was floated in towards Glenn Murray who headed against the crossbar. However, the ball bounced straight back to him and with Josh Lillis on his knees, the former Dale man had the easy task of nodding the ball into the unguarded net.
That was certainly a shock to the system for Dale and just minutes later Keith Hill made his first change, with Anthony Elding coming on for Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro. Elding would have been hoping for the same sort of impact that he had against Barnsley on Tuesday, but even he couldn't have predicted the impact he would have.
As everyone was waiting for a free-kick to come in, Elding appeared to be elbowed by Brighton captain Gordon Greer as he fell to floor. The referee saw this and dismissed Greer as well as awarding Dale a penalty. It was a bizarre sequence of events, but Gary Jones remained the coolest head on the south coast and he slotted the penalty to the bottom right of Casper Ankergren's goal.
The home fans were far from happy with the referee's decision, but you can't raise your hands to an opponent in football, especially in the penalty area.
Dale's attacking play in the first half was reminiscent of a wasp with a cork on the end of its sting, but now with the man advantage they were hoping to have a bit more dominance on the game.
However, the home side were retaining possession very well for a side a man down, and this prompted Keith Hill to make a second change and bring Matt Done on for Joe Thompson, who hadn't had a great game by his standards.
With Brighton retaining possession well they were always likely to create goalscoring opportunities, and after a couple of missed chances, they re-took the lead in fine style. Elliott Bennett found himself in space outside the area and unleashed a shot which swerved away from Josh Lillis and into his bottom left corner to make it 2-1.
Dale desperately needed to find a way back into the game as this was an ideal opportunity to pick up some valuable points, and Keith Hill made his third and final change with twenty minutes left when he brought on Jack Redshaw for Brian Barry-Murphy.
As the game approached the final ten minutes, Dale were certainly the team doing the pressing as they went in search for a leveller. Chris O'Grady almost provided that superbly when he brought down a Joe Widdowson cross before turning and just pulling his shot wide of the Brighton far post.
But with Dale going in search of that goal, it left them suspect at the back and neat interplay between Glenn Murray and Ashley Adams led to the former having a shot well saved by Josh Lillis as the Seagulls looked to put the game to bed.
Then came the golden opportunity for Dale to draw level. Joe Widdowson did superbly down the left before cutting into the area and playing a cutback to Anthony Elding. Elding shot first time and with the ball looking destined for goal, a Brighton head popped up and forced the ball over the bar for a corner kick.
With the game about to enter four minutes of stoppage time Dale had numerous chances to draw level. Again, Widdowson did well down the left to cut into the area before playing a ball across the face of goal which found Wiseman, but the right-back's effort was very poor and directed back across goal.
Then, just seconds later, Matt Done whipped a ball in on his left foot from the right with Elding the target. All it needed was a touch from Dale's number nine, but he failed to make contact and Casper Ankergren was able to parry.
But with time seeming to escape Dale, captain fantastic Gary Jones popped up to equalise in dramatic style for Dale. A free-kick from Josh Lillis was hit in towards the Brighton goal. However, everyone stepped out and with everyone inside the Withdean expecting Ankergren to grab the ball, he elected to punch. However he could only find Gary Jones who instinctively popped the ball up over Ankergren who was off his line and into the back of the net.
The Dale fans were ecstatic behind the goal at grabbing a late point, but there was still a few minutes left for someone to find a winner. However, neither side could produce and the referee blew his final whistle to the delight of the players and fans of Rochdale AFC.
