David Rodriguez has admitted he was thrilled to get off the mark in English football.

But he was just as happy when team-mate Dale Stephens also opened his Albion account – with a dramatic late leveller.

Rodriguez scored his first goal for the Seagulls in the 3-3 thriller at Blackburn.

He said: “As we say back in my country, I’ve ‘opened the can’ and it’s a great feeling.

“I’m delighted for myself but even more so because I helped us get an important point.”

Albion threw away the advantage given them early on by the ex-Celta attacker and trailed twice.

But Stephens secured a potentially precious point with his 88th-minute header in the Seagulls’ long-awaited game in hand.

Rodriguez added: “We wanted to win because this was a match which could have helped put us in a very good position.

“But, given the way the game went, a point is good for us.

“The fact we scored almost in the last minute will give us a real boost for the next match.”

Albion’s assistant head coach Nathan Jones said: “We started very well, we didn’t play particularly well.

“We didn’t defend as we normally do as a Brighton team.

“But we showed a lot of character.

“To come back and get a point here, that will be a big point – I guarantee it.”