Lewis Dunk believes Saturday's win over Brentford is emblematic of Brighton's rising maturity.
The Seagulls nabbed a late away win over Bees thanks to an injury time strike from Leandro Trossard.
Dunk told The Argus: "I think last year we don't win a game like that.
"Probably last year we might have gone on to lose that, concede last minute.
"It shows we are maturing, as a team we know what to do.
"We can't play pretty football every game, it is not going to happen in the Premier League and teams are going to come out against us and there are good sides.
"Great grit out there to see it out to the end."