Striker Alan Lee notched his seventh goal of the season to fire Rotherham to victory at Millmoor and heap more pressure on under-fire Brighton boss Martin Hinshelwood.

The livewire forward chipped home after 20 minutes to give his side just reward for a confident performance as The Millers ran the show.

But that was the limit of his afternoon's work as he was forced off with an injury in the closing stages of the first half.

In a bright start for the home side, Lee got his first sight of goal after just 13 minutes when he leapt highest to glance Darren Garner's corner inches over the crossbar.

He made no mistake seven minutes later when he fired home the opener in controversial fashion.

Good work from Chris Sedgwick in midfield carved out the chance and despite the referee's assistant raising his flag for offside when the ball was chipped over the top, the referee waved play on.

Lee raced through and lobbed the advancing Andy Petterson.

It was not until the 36th minute that the Seagulls offered the first real test for the Rotherham defence as Paul Watson's long-distance piledriver forced Mike Pollitt to make a smart save.

Despite the loss of Lee the home side continued to dominate and they went close again before the break when Garner's corner was hacked clear by defender Danny Cullip with Darren Byfield waiting to pounce.

Sedgwick continued to orchestrate from midfield and after 56 minutes he fired in a right-footed drive that slipped just wide of the post.

Against the run of play, Brighton almost snatched an unlikely equaliser when Gary Hart unleashed a stinging volley from just inside the box that forced Pollitt to tip the ball over the crossbar.

Hart was unlucky again a few minutes later when his curling free-kick was cleared away to safety by Martin McIntosh.

Rotherham boss Ronnie Moore introduced Andy Monkhouse in place of Byfield with 19 minutes left.

And that seemed to steady the ship as the Millers shut up shop to hold out for the win.

Rotherham: Pollitt, Scott, Swailes, McIntosh, Hurst, Sedgwick, Daws, Garner, Warne, Lee, Byfield. Subs: Gray, Robins, Richard Barker, Beech, Monkhouse.

Brighton: Petterson, Watson, Cullip, Butters, Mayo, Piercy, Oatway, Carpenter, Jones, Hart, Marney. Subs: Rogers, Wilkinson, Packham, Melton, Hammond.

Referee: M Pike (Cumbria).