This match was moved to Sunday so it could be broadcast live in India, yet those tuning in across Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and elsewhere would have been forgiven for turning off early given the true English nature of what was on show: lots of huff and puff but little quality. For Ronald Koeman it also made for grim viewing up until the very final stages. Everton were losing again, with their Dutch manager having to endure taunts of “You’re getting sacked in the morning” from the home supporters, but then came salvation – a penalty scored by Wayne Rooney that provided Koeman with some respite on a difficult afternoon.

Not that he saw it that way afterwards. Koeman was more interested in focusing on the positives, namely the “commitment and belief” shown by his players in their pursuit of a draw which, the 54-year-old insisted, they deserved. On the balance of play he was probably right, but for a club that spent close to £150m on recruits during the summer this was another largely unconvincing display, particularly from an attacking point of view. In that regard it was telling that it required a 90th-minute set piece for Everton to avoid what would have been a fifth defeat in eight Premier League matches, after they went behind to Anthony Knockaert’s close-range finish.

Everton had created very little until the 88th minute, with Idrissa Gueye’s low drive in the first half and Mason Holgate’s angled strike after the interval the best they had to offer. Both efforts were saved with relative ease by Mathew Ryan and the Brighton goalkeeper was set for a second successive clean sheet at this venue only for Bruno to spoil that by thrusting his elbow into the neck of Dominic Calvert-Lewin as the home captain attempted to stop the 20-year-old connecting with Gylfi Sigurdsson’s free-kick.

It was a reckless as well as unnecessary challenge given Sigurdsson’s delivery was almost certainly drifting over Calvert-Lewin’s head. Chris Hughton did not offer a defence of his player. “I have no problems with the penalty,” said the Brighton manager.

After a hold-up in play, up stepped Rooney. Back in the team after being dropped for the 1-0 loss to Burnley before the international break, the former England captain kept his nerve and sent Ryan the wrong way to score his fourth goal since returning to his boyhood club in July.

“World-class” is how Koeman described Rooney’s contribution and, while that was rather over the top, his gratitude was understandable. Koeman was visited by Everton’s major shareholder, Farhad Moshiri, and chairman, Bill Kenwright, at the club’s Finch Farm base on Friday, and although there is little sense that they are planning to sack the former Holland defender 16 months after he was appointed, his survival chances would hardly have been helped by another loss, particularly to a team still adjusting to life in the top flight.

Instead Koeman has a point that takes his side to 16th – two places behind Sunday’s opponents – and something to build on, at least, ahead of Thursday’s visit of Lyon in the Europa League. There is no doubt his players showed more fight and togetherness than they displayed in that morale-sapping defeat to Burnley. The visitors were particularly impressive at the very start of this contest, forcing Brighton back and moving the ball quickly and purposefully.

Deployed in a 4-2-3-1 formation, Everton also had the width that has been severely lacking from their play this season, and following Gueye’s drive it seemed only a matter of time before they took the lead. But instead they lost their way, with passes increasingly going sideways and nowhere and Sigurdsson, deployed in his favoured No10 role, struggling to make an impact.

Brighton began to assert themselves and on 31 minutes thought they should have had a penalty after Lewis Dunk’s shot appeared to hit Michael Keane’s arm. Michael Oliver waved away the appeals and replays showed the referee was right to do so.

In general this was a frantic affair, with players hurtling left, right and centre and showing little care when in possession, and it would have surprised no one in attendance – or those still watching in India – if it had ended goalless. And that seemed the way it was going only for Knockaert to change everything in the 82nd minute.

Bruno got away from Calvert-Lewin with ease and was able to pick out José Izquierdo with a right-sided cross that the forward struck towards goal. Keane was on hand to put in another important block but as the ball ran loose, Pascal Gross was able to poke it past Morgan Schneiderlin’s weak challenge and into the path of Knockaert, who reacted fastest to score his first goal of the season.

Brighton seemed set for a third successive top-flight home victory for the first time since 1982, especially as Everton arrived here having scored only six times in their previous 12 games. But, as Koeman said, they kept going, kept believing – perhaps in part fuelled by a sense of injustice over Oliver’s decision not to send off Davy Pröpper on 56 minutes after he stamped on Gueye’s calf – and eventually they got their reward.

Everton could even have won had it not been for a brilliant double save by Ryan in stoppage time but, given the circumstances, they will undeniably take what they were given.