EWOOD Park may have been graced by a former Rovers favourite, an ‘I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here’ winner and an X Factor starlet yesterday.

But there was no doubt who the star of the show was of a fiercely fought encounter that could have gone either way.

For the second time this season Simon Eastwood came in from the cold against high-flying Boro to produce a man-of-the-match performance.

The recalled goalkeeper made a string of saves, including two stunning stops in the first half, and when he was beaten the post and bar came to his rescue.

But Gary Bowyer’s side also had chances of their own and when they did find a way past Dimi Konstantopoulos, they too were denied by the woodwork and, in injury-time, by Grant Leadbitter on the line.

The stalemate means Rovers will finish 2014 in ninth, five points off the play-offs.

In contrast it moved Boro up to third and within one point of the automatic promotion places.

Rovers, with five changes to the team that started the Boxing Day derby defeat at Bolto Wanderersn, hardly got a kick early on.

So when they did manage to wrestle the ball back from a Boro side backed by the biggest travelling support in the Championship so far this season, the last thing they needed was to give it away.

But that is exactly what Lee Williamson did in the seventh minute.

And it would have been to disastrous effect had it not been for the reactions of Eastwood.

Williamson’s blind and under-hit back pass gave Adam Reach a free run at goal.

But before Reach could get a shot off the Rovers goalkeeper raced off his line to smother the ball.

Eastwood was only back in the team as the rules of Jason Steele’s season-long from Boro prevented him from playing against his parent club.

But just as he did in the reverse clash between the sides at the Riverside Stadium last month, Eastwood was soon proving his worth.

Konstantopoulos was next in action, though, as he turned a 30-yard free kick from Ben Marshall around the post.

Rovers were beginning to see more and more of the ball. But a skewed clearance from Ryan Tunnicliffe would have landed them in trouble had Eastwood not been alert to deny Kike at his near post after the Spanish striker managed to get past Alex Baptiste and Craig Conway on the byeline.

Rovers were forced to bring on Tom Cairney for Markus Olsson in the 33rd minute after the Swede failed to recover from a bone-crunching challenge he had made on Dean Whitehead.

That meant Marshall switched from left-wing to right-back and Baptiste from right-back to left-back.

But the tactical changes did not stop Rovers from going closest to open the scoring in the 34th minute when Jordan Rhodes looped a header onto the bar.

Boro then hit the woodwork when Kike latched on to a weak header from Shane Duffy and played in Reach, whose curling shot was destined for the bottom corner until Eastwood brilliantly turned it against the post.

And the 25-year-old made an even better save before the first half was out.

After another misplaced pass from Williamson, Whitehead stood a cross up to the back post where Reach beat Marshall only to see Eastwood somehow prevent the ball from crossing the line.

It was a star turn that Rovers’ special guests at half-time, ex-winger Morten Gamst Pedersen and ‘King of the Jungle’ Carl Fogarty, would have appreciated. So too X Factor’s Reece Bibby, who entertained fans outside the ground before kick-off.

But it was Konstantopoulos who made the first stop of the second half when he dived low to his left to keep Baptiste’s curler from creeping in.

Boro went up the other end through Kike who, with Grant Hanley backing off, tested Eastwood.

Conway then fizzed a 25-yard daisy cutter inches past Konstantopoulos’ left-hand post.

But Boro went closer still in the 79th minute when Kike was allowed time and space to curl a 20-yard shot that beat Eastwood all ends up.

The ball smacked against the post and bounced up to substitute Patrick Bamford who, with the goal at his mercy, could only send his volley on to the bar and over.

Rovers responded to the double let-off through Conway who fired a drive straight down Konstantopoulos’ throat.

Konstantopoulos was beaten in injury-time.

But Boro captain Leadbitter was well placed to clear a header from the otherwise well-shackled Rudy Gestede off the line.