ROVERS 2

(Armstrong, 64) (Dack, 74)

FOREST 2

(Grabban, 51, pen 79)

Rovers were denied a second home win of the season as they shared the points with fellow draw specialists Nottingham Forest at Ewood Park.

Lewis Grabban was at the thick of the action for the visitors, missing a seventh minute penalty, before finding the back of the net from a hugely debatable spot-kick with 11 minutes to go.

In between, he had given his side a 51st minute lead before Rovers roared in to action and deservedly led after some enterprising football.

They levelled through an Adam Armstrong strike and looked set for all three points until the referee adjudged Jack Rodwell to have tripped Joe Lolley and Grabban, at the second attempt, found the net.

It was another rip-roaring game involving Rovers who have lost just one of their opening 10 matches.

Rovers were once again without Charlie Mulgrew as the skipper missed his fourth consecutive, the last three having been from a calf problem.

That saw a first league start of the season for Paul Downing as Derrick Williams served his one match ban following his red card in the Carabao Cup defeat at Bournemouth.

So it was a new central defensive pairing for Rovers who looked edgy in the opening stages.

From Forest’s first corner of the afternoon they lined all their players up at the far post, with referee Andrew Madley adjudging Darragh Lenihan to have pulled back Michael Hefele as he pointed to the spot.

Lewis Grabban stepped up and blazed over the bar, with relief for Rovers and Lenihan who conceded a penalty for the third game running.

There was a nervousness about Rovers at the back as they pondered in possession and were twice fortunate that Forest breakaways failed to lead to anything substantial.

All of the back four were culpable at some point for poor touches on the ball before Rovers eventually worked their way in to the game.

It was hoped that it wouldn’t take Rovers going 1-0 down for them to click in to the gear, and it didn’t as a neat 25th minute move saw Bradley Dack pick out Danny Graham at the far post where his left foot volley was kept out Costel Pantilimon.

That was the start of an excellent spell for Rovers who threatened again three minutes later, this time down their left as Elliott Bennett’s cross found Dack, but his header from 12 yards was directed too close to the Forest keeper.

Harrison Reed, on his first start at Ewood, was enjoying a good spell and was almost in on the half hour as he chased down a Graham knockdown which sent him clear, but Pantilimon was off his line quickly to gather.

The Southampton then nicked the ball off Danny Fox with some excellent pressing which almost brought the opener. Richie Smallwood, who had flown in to several tackles before, took up the charge to feed Graham who lofted the ball over the advancing Pantilimon, but denied by an excellent flying headed clearance by Jack Colback.

Colback, booked for pulling back Dack just before the break, hadn’t left his side for much of the half. But the Rovers man found room in the 39th minute after being teed up by Reed, only to see his effort come crashing back off the bar.

So for a half they started poorly, Rovers ended it with a possible sense of frustration they weren’t ahead.

Though the linesman’s flag came to their rescue on the stroke of half-time, adjudging Grabban to be offside as he pulled off the shoulder of Downing to fire beyond Raya when the decision had long been made.

The second half started at a pace, Pantilimon’s poor kick almost seized upon as Smallwood intelligently headed in to the path of Dack, but his first touch took the ball away from him, allowing Hefele to clear behind. Graham won the header from Reed’s corner, but it bounced wide of the target.

Forest weren’t without a threat though and threatened in the 50th minute as Joe Lolley found himself free at the far post to meet Matty Cash’s cross. He tried to cushion it in to the path of the unmarked Grabban, but Raya read the situation to gather at the striker’s feet.

But the Forest striker wouldn’t be long in waiting for his chance as he opened the scoring a minute later. Space opened up in the middle of the pitch and was quickly spread out wide to Lolley whose deep cross was this time headed in to the path of Grabban by Joao Carvalho, with Grabban needing no invitation to head in from inside the six yard box.

Adlene Guedioura then blasted wide from 25 yards as Rovers sarted to lose their composure at the back, with Mowbray making his move to send on Adam Armstrong in place of Downing.

Nyambe then limped off before play could even take place, with Jack Rodwell on for his home debut.

Rovers were looking rather ragged, guilty of giving the ball away in their own half as Guedioura tested Raya from distance.

Armstrong had only been on the pitch for a matter of minutes however, before drawing Rovers level. Dack expertly took down a Bennett crossfield ball to find Armstrong whose left-foot chip was more than likely a cross, but nestled in to the far corner after flicking off the bar.

It was very much game on as the encounter tipped in to the final quarter, with Dack furious at not winning a penalty for his side when going down under contact from Colback.

Dack was purring, as he curled a free-kick over the wall, only to be kept out by an excellent Pantilimon save. From the resulting corner floated in by the excellent Reed, Lenihan thumped a header goalwards which forced another fine save from the Romanian.

It was terrific stuff from a rejuvenated Rovers, as Graham pulled in to the left channel, and beat the keeper with his shot, but lacking conviction as Danny Fox got back to clear.

But in the next attack Graham assumed a similar position down the left and squared for Dack who couldn’t miss from two yards out.

Rovers were good value for the lead and the turnaround, but were halted in their tracks by another penalty. It looked contentious as Lolley went down under the challenge of Rodwell, but referee Madley was quick to award. Grabban, having missed one earlier, stepped up again and found the bottom right corner, despite the best efforts of Raya.

That swung the momentum again as Forest broke quickly down their left, with Raya forced in to a flying save to keep out Lolley’s thumping effort, before holding on to a Fox header from the resulting corner.

The game was going Forest’s way in the dying embers, as Hefele somehow failed to turn the ball home after Jack Robinson fired goalwards.

Rovers: Raya, Nyambe (Rodwell, 58), Lenihan, Downing (Armstrong, 57), Bell, Reed, Evans (Rothwell, 74), Smallwood, Bennett, Dack, Graham.

Subs: Leutwiler, Travis, Conway, Palmer.

Forest: Pantilimon Janko, Hefele, Fox, Robinson, Guedioura, Colback, Cash (Dias, 70), Carvalho (Osborn, 80), Lolley, Grabban (Murphy, 85)

Subs: Steele, Watson, Dawson, Darikwa