ROVERS will count themselves unfortunate not to have won a game in which they almost lost, requiring a late Bradley Dack goal to draw 1-1 with Rotherham United at Ewood Park.

ROVERS 1 (Dack, 80) ROTHERHAM 1 (Smith, 74)

Dack scored his 10th of the season with 10 minutes to play, four minutes after Michael Smith had handed the visitors a shock lead with a neat header.

A dull first half was followed by a second period in which Rovers dominated from the off, only to be denied by some excellent goalkeeping by Marek Rodak.

He denied Rovers time and again, making smart stops to deny Dack and Armstrong, as the hosts hammered at the doors late on, only to be left frustrated in taking a point.

Rovers were boosted by the return of goalkeeper David Raya who received a warm reception when he took to the field in a protective mask.

With Rotherham boasting several players well in excess of six feet tall, he was always likely to be tested from set pieces.

Whether from the long throw of Zak Vyner, corners, or the wide areas, Rotherham were swinging the ball in to the Rovers box at every opportunity.

However, first halves at Ewood Park haven’t been the place to go for goals so far this season, Rovers having scored just once in the opening 45 minutes at home this season.

Their man threat was coming down the left, with Amari’i Bell looking to get up in support of Adam Armstrong.

The latter had dragged a 14th minute shot wide, before playing in his overlapping full back for Rovers’ best opening of the opening quarter. Bell showed fleet of foot to get beyond the Millers backline, only to be denied by the feet of Marek Rodak.

Either side of that though, the plucky Millers went close and were very much in the game.

Unsurprisingly both came from set plays, Richie Towell seeing a dipping effort land on the roof of the net before Joe Mattock squandered a golden opportunity.

A Joe Newell corner to the far post saw Michael Smith head back in to the mix where an unmarked Joe Mattock headed over from just three yards out.

Harrison Reed hadn’t shaken off the effects of a collision on halfway and wasn’t moving freely as the half hour ticked by.

Rovers were desperately needing to show more patience and tempo in their play, and finished the first half on the front foot.

Armstrong skipped free of the attentions of Vyner, before curling a shot on to the underside of the bar from the left edge of the box, with Rodak possibly getting a fingertip to it.

Outnumbered in the aerial department, from a corner four minutes before the break, Reed pulled the ball back for Bradley Dack whose shot was well blocked.

Dack’s every move was being tracked by the giant Semi Ajayi as the teams went in to the break level.

Reed had failed to shake off his first half knock which saw Ryan Nyambe make his first appearance since September 29 after his own injury absence.

Captain for the day Elliott Bennett moved in to midfield and Rovers looked to the second half on the front foot.

Within 60 seconds they carved an excellent opening, Dack teeing up Graham from Armstrong’s pass, but the striker shot too closely to Rodak who saved comfortably diving away to his left.

Bennett was looking to make the most of his more advanced role as he chased a first of the season.

He took aim from 25 yards twice in the space of a minute, the first seeing Rodak palm it away to his right, with his second lacking power and allowed the ‘keeper to hold on.

While Rovers were pouring forward, there was no allowing for mistakes at the back. And Bennett was almost made to pay as a loose touch on the edge of the box allowed Manning to shoot goalwards. Although his shot was blocked, the resulting cross found Michael Smith, who took a touch before firing across Raya, with Darragh Lenihan well placed to clear off the line.

Suddenly the game had come alive. Lenihan overlapped Nyambe and fizzed in a near post cross which almost caught out Rodak, with the keeper just scrambling across his line to clear.

Rovers had gone from politely knocking at the door to hammering at it as the game reached the hour mark.

Nyambe was getting in to oceans of space down the right, and saw a shot blocked at the end of a promising move, before Bell failed to fully test Rodak after a good flick from Armstrong set him away down the opposite flank.

Rodak was keeping the Millers in it as he dove at the feet of Dack to deny the Rovers attacker who beat two men after pouncing on the loose ball as the net looked set to bulge.

It felt like a matter of time before Rovers would score, but chances continued to come and go. Armstrong skipped beyond Vyner and rolled the ball across the six yard line, only for Clark Robertson to be well positioned to clear.

Graham was  next to go close, meeting a right wing Bennett cross to nod just wide of the far post and out of reach of Dack as the game ticked in to the final 20 minutes.

Having defended manfully for much of the second half though, the visitors would take a shock lead with 15 minutes from time. Ryan Williams hung up a cross from the right with Smith holding off his marker to guide a header out of reach of Raya and in to the bottom corner.

Mowbray responded with a double change, sending on Joe Rothwell and Ben Brereton in a bid to find a way back in to a game in which they somehow found themselves behind in.

Armstrong continued to be the main threat for Rovers, with Rodak again there to deny him. Drifting in from the left, he fired another dipping effort which the ‘keeper parried away, with his defenders coming to his rescue to clear the danger.

The man to Rovers’ rescue once again though came good with 10 minutes to play. A deflected cross found its way to Brereton who squared for Dack applied the necessary finish from inside the six yard box.

He was soon looking to get the winner, holding off Ben Wiles and Towell to shoot goalwards, only for it to be deflected through to Rodak.

Dack was unselfish, and possibly wrong, with four minutes to play as he opted to allow Palmer to strike at goal after collecting Lenihan’s pass. The Chelsea loanee had to steady himself, as bodies came flying out, with his shot well wide of the target.

Rodak had looked convincing all game, but didn’t deal too well with a dipping Bennett effort, getting just enough of a touch to turn over the bar under pressure from Dack and Palmer.

Bennett went within inches of a winner as his deflected shot drifted wide, before on the turn Armstrong could only shoot wide on the turn. 

Rovers: Raya, Bennett, Rodwell, Lenihan, Bell, Smallwood (Brereton, 77), Reed (Nyambe, 46), Palmer, Dack, Armstrong, Graham (Rothwell, 77)

Subs: Leutwiler, Downing, Travis, Conway

Rotherham: Rodak, Vyner (Wiles, 69), Wood, Robertson, Mattock, Ajayi, Williams (Vassell, 90), Manning, Towell, Newell (Taylor, 60), Smith

Subs: Price, Forde, Palmer, Proctor