TOP-SCORER Rudy Gestede scored a dramatic and controversial 95th-minute equaliser to earn resilient Rovers an unlikely draw that moved them within four points of top spot in the Championship.

Man-of-the-match Simon Eastwood made a series of superb saves, the best of which is destined to be shown over and over again, on his first appearance since January 18.

But the Rovers goalkeeper was eventually beaten in the 83rd minute by Patrick Bamford via the aid of a deflection.

As heartbreaking as it was, Gary Bowyer’s battlers, who are now unbeaten in nine games, could have no complaints.

But, not for the first time this season, they refused to lie down and die.

Instead they went on to enjoy their most sustained period of pressure of an otherwise largely one-sided match.

And that pressure paid off in the fifth minute of injury-time when substitute Chris Brown challenged Dimi Konstantopoulos for a corner and the ball broke for Gestede to net his 11th goal of the campaign and send the inspirational 794 travelling supporters into rapture.

Boro boss Aitor Karanka, whose side remain two points but now just one position above sixth-placed Rovers, was furious.

The former Real Madrid star felt Konstantopoulos had been fouled and, just before controversy-hit Premier League Mark Clattenburg referee blew his whistle for the final time, he was sent to the stands.

Clattenburg, to the sounds of ‘you’re not fit to referee’, had to be escorted of the pitch.

Before kick-off former Boro favourite, World Cup winner Juninho, was paraded on it.

And the Brazilian would have been delighted by the way his old club performed in the first half.

Rovers actually started the stronger of the two teams, forcing a succession of early corners.

But after the 15-minute mark the hosts did all the running and only Eastwood and some brave defending denied them the half-time lead they deserved.

With on-loan Boro keeper Jason Steele ineligible to face his parent club Eastwood was brought in for his first appearance in 10 months.

And he was certainly busy in an opening period when the hosts rained down 13 shots on his goal.

The first came in the seventh minute when he flew to his right to prevent a pile-driver from Boro captain and top-scorer Grant Leadbitter from arrowing into the top corner.

But the confidence Eastwood would have garnered from that stop was so nearly eroded in the 12th minute when he spilled a fairly tame Bamford effort into the path of Jelle Vossen, who would have turned in the rebound had it not been for a brilliant block by Shane Duffy.

At that stage Rovers were also threatening with Jordan Rhodes sending an overhead kick into the arms of Konstantopoulos before Ryan Tunnicliffe, in for the suspended Tom Cairney, side-footed over from the edge of the box.

But after that wasted opportunity Boro dominated with Eastwood saving comfortably from Vossen before he saw another Leadbitter long-ranger drift harmlessly wide of his post.

The Riverside Stadium outfit were finding joy between the lines of midfield and attack, the excellent Bamford, in particular, who twice forced Eastwood into action before Clattenburg signalled for half-time.

But only after Daniel Ayala, wearing a bandage after a mid-air clash with Gestede which left the Rovers forward with a large lump on his forehead, flashed a header wide from a corner.

The break came at just the right time for the under-fire visitors, who had lost captain Grant Hanley to an ankle injury in the 41st minute.

Boro continued in the ascendency after the restart, too,

And, after Alex Baptiste,  who moved to centre-back after Adam Henley came on for Hanley, misjudged a deep cross into the area, Eastwood did well to gather a snap-shot from Bamford.

Rovers went straight up the other end and Marshall made Konstantopoulos scamper to his left to stop his well-struck shot from hitting the corner of the net.

Eastwood, however, made an even better save, and a genuine save-of-the-season contender, on the hour.

George Friend broke free down the left and swung over a cross that begged to be converted.

Vossen seemingly obliged when he met it with a firm close-range header but Eastwood, somehow, managed to turn the ball over the bar.

It was simply breathtaking.

Rovers, with Craig Conway on for Rhodes, then missed an excellent chance.

Marshall drove at the Boro defence before waiting for Olsson to make a run on the overlap.

The left-back did just that and his cross was a good one but Gestede could only it head straight down Konstantopoulos’s throat.

Seconds later and first-half substitute Emilio Nsue nearly punished Gestede when he let fly with a stinging volley that Eastwood blocked away.

Eastwood then pushed another fiercely struck effort, this time from Lee Tomlin, behind.

But he was finally beaten seven minutes from the end of normal time when a bout of head tennis in the box led to the ball falling for Bamford whose shot nicked off Baptiste and flew into the net.

Henley claimed he had been fouled.

Undetered Rovers went desperately close to equalising within the space of two minutes when Duffy headed on to the woodwork before seeing the ball travel agonisingly across the goal line and behind.

Duffy, pushed up front, then tried his luck from distance, but Konstantopoulos was equal to it, while Conway dragged horribly wide after being teed-up by fellow sub Brown.

But Brown, on his long-awaited first-team debut, was to make a bigger impact at the death as his attempt to connect to a Marshall corner led to the last-gasp leveller.

Boro would have gone top with a victory.

Middlesbrough:  Konstantopoulos, Fredericks (Nsue 45), Omeruo, Ayala (Gibson 84), Friend, Adomah, Leadbitter, Whitehead, Bamford, Tomlin, Vossen (Kike 75). Subs not used: Mejias, Reach, Veljkovic, Wildschut.

Booked: Tomlin.

Goal: Bamford 83.

Rovers: Eastwood, Baptiste, Hanley (Henley 41), Duffy, Olsson, Tunnicliffe, Evans (Brown 86), Williamson, Marshall, Gestede, Rhodes (Conway 68). Subs not used: Kean, Dunn, Varney, Taylor.

Booked: Evans.

Goal: Gestede 90.

Referee: Mark Clattenburg.

Attendance: 18,152 (794 away).