Harrison Reed admitted he was ‘disappointed’ with his role in the Aston Villa equaliser but felt he made a positive impact on his Rovers debut.

Reed was adjudged to have fouled Jack Grealish in the final seconds and Conor Hourihane curled the hotly-contested free-kick around the Rovers wall and in to earn Villa a 1-1 draw.

It was an all-action debut off the bench for 23-year-old Reed who had a hand in Bradley Dack’s opener, as well as picking up a yellow card for a foul moments later.

Ewood boss Tony Mowbray was disappointed with the award of the free-kick which denied Rovers two points.

And Reed, who missed a chance to win it late on, said: “Grealish was clever at buying the foul and that resulted in them getting the equaliser which for us was disappointing.

“He saw me coming, took the contact and went down.

“I felt he went down easily but obviously the referee gave it.

“To see the ball go in the back of the net, I was really disappointed and felt that was partly my fault.

“I wanted to make amends for that at the other end and the ball fell to me but unfortunately it wasn’t to be.”

Reed will now be itching for his first start since signing on a season-long loan deal from Southampton.

And, asked to give his thoughts on his debut, he said: “I was happy with the impact I made.

“The manager said to go on and win the ball back and play.

“It was a scrappy game I thought, quite difficult to get the ball down and play but I felt like I played on the front foot and improved the team. I’m looking forward to playing more matches.”

Rovers have six more games before the next international break, starting with tonight’s trip to Derby County.

A Carabao Cup tie with Bournemouth next week could present an opening for Reed who hopes a congested fixture list will play in to his hands.

“There are a lot of games coming thick and fast and to keep up the intensity that we play with the manager may feel as if there’s legs needed in midfield and I’m ready to go when called upon,” he added.

“We will look to go again at Derby. Having watched on from the sidelines it is a brilliant team, brilliant individuals within the team and I feel as though we can go far this year.”