Doncaster Rovers stretched their unbeaten league run to nine matches but had to settle for a point from a drab encounter with Brighton.
Both sides are in the promotion reckoning and they paid each other plenty of respect as they cancelled each other out in most departments.
The home side badly missed the midfield skills of the injured Brian Stock and they were unable to control that area of the field as Brighton gained a grip in the first half.
But neither keeper was seriously tested in the first period as defences remained on top with the game largely confined to midfield.
Rovers suffered a blow just before the interval when lively left-back Sean McDaid had to be substituted after being hurt by a bad tackle from Tommy Fraser ten minutes earlier.
Fraser was shown the yellow card for the challenge and some felt he was fortunate to remain on the pitch.
McDaid had earlier been Doncaster's liveliest attacker with his raids down the left and he set up a great chance for Lewis Guy with a brilliant defence-splitting pass in the seventh minute.
But the Rovers' striker's touch let him down when he could have burst clean through and the opportunity went begging.Martin Woods fired into the sidenetting following a corner five minutes later, while the dangerous Bas Savage hit a shot on the turn off the mark in the 25th minute.
The hardworking Savage was a handful throughout but the Doncaster defence - like the visitors - was seldom troubled in the first period.
The game needed a goal to bring it to life and Joel Lynch raised Brighton's hopes when he had a bullet-like header cleared off the line following a 59th minute corner.
Guy failed to make the most of another chance four minutes later when his glancing header was well saved by Michels Kuipers, after quick thinking from Paul Green and Mark McCammon.
Neither side really looked like breaking the deadlock, although Dean Hammond went close when he had a powerful header saved at full-stretch by Neil Sullivan ten minutes from time.