A year has now passed without Rovers tasting defeat on their home patch.

Ewood Park, feared as a weight on their shoulders in the early weeks of last season after defeats to Doncaster and AFC Wimbledon, has become their firmest ally.

Roared on by an involved home crowd under the lights, they went toe-to-toe with last year’s beaten play-off finalists and came within seconds of what for many would have been a deserved three points.

But closing out games is something Rovers must work on, to stop points being frittered away.

It blighted their last Championship campaign and has cost them twice already this.

No bar has been set on what they can achieve this season, but as much as Rovers aren’t expected to struggle, and don’t look likely to on early season form, it is hard not to think of ‘what have might been’.

While football brings no guarantees, with this group of players you can almost as much hang your hat on them not being found wanting for effort. That is why the second half collapse at Bristol City was so out of character, and why a response was always likely.

Villa, like Rovers beaten 4-1 before the international break, settled the quicker but it was Rovers who threatened first.

The first of several inviting Charlie Mulgrew deliveries was met by Darragh Lenihan only to be kept out on the goal-line by the legs of Villa ‘keeper Orjan Nyland.

An imposing start from Lenihan, which saw him twice more win headers in the opposition box, then threatened to hand the visitors the initiative. His slip allowed John McGinn to race free on goal, and as Richie Smallwood tried to make up for the Irishman’s error, looked to have clipped the Villa man, with the referee waving away those appeals, but not deeming it to be a yellow card for diving, which would have seen McGinn to an early bath.

That meant both sides had reason to feel aggrieved with the officials as only moments before Bradley Dack got in front of his man to head in another excellent Mulgrew inswinger, but was denied, incorrectly, by the linesman’s flag.

It was left to the referee to take centre stage once again in the dying seconds, awarding a seemingly soft free-kick for a foul on the well-shackled Jack Grealish by Harrison Reed who packed plenty of action in to his Rovers debut.

What happened thereafter from a Rovers perspective was disappointing, as David Raya seemingly misjudged either the number of players in the wall, or the placing of it, as Conor Hourihane bent the ball around them and in to the corner.

In the Dack v Jack (Grealish) show it was largely the Rovers man who was stealing the limelight, a sumptuous piece of skill on the left touchline in the first-half showing his quality after a month out. But what Rovers have missed most is his predatory instincts inside the box as he scored his fifth of the season. Again it was neat wing play from Mulgrew which was kept alive, before Dack intelligently turned in Danny Graham’s goal-bound effort with a neat flick for a 23rd goal in 50 Rovers appearances.

Fourteen minutes, plus a surprising five added on, stood between them and a third victory of the season.  

Hourihane was part of a double Villa change, as Rovers moved to a back five, in a bid to see it out.

Tammy Abraham had squandered two early second half chances, first heading, and then shooting, wide of Raya’s left-hand post, before a speculative 89th minute strike straight at the Spaniard looked to be the visitors' final throw.

That was until Hourihane denied Rovers at the death, spark a frenzy in the travelling 4,000 fans who only moments before had been calling for the head of manager Steve Bruce.

Rovers still had a chance to snatch it late on, only for Reed to do just that as his shot ballooned over.

The home stands and players were deflated, but not bowed, after a barnstorming affair. They battled for promotion for occasions like this again, and while deflated now, can look forward with promise to many more.