Rovers went from politely knocking at the door in the first half, to trying to hammer it off its hinges in the second but Rotherham goalkeeper Marek Rodak continued to slam it in their face.

And while it was left ajar at the other end, Rotherham sneaked in, and almost snatched an unlikely three points.

In the end, Bradley Dack, well shackled for much of the afternoon, came up with his 10th goal of the season, six minutes after Michael Smith headed the Millers in front, to hand Rovers a share of the spoils.

But they would count themselves unfortunate not to have won a game in which they almost lost.

For the eighth time in nine home matches, Rovers failed to find the net in the first half.

But attacking the Blackburn End in the second period seems to bring out the best in them, as after finding the necessary tempo and intensity required to trouble a Rotherham side who were fighting for their lives to keep the scores level, before the game turned on two goals in six minutes.

Amari’i Bell had Rovers' best chance of the first half, only to be denied by the legs of Rodak after being played in by the lively Adam Armstrong who was denied by the keeper's outstretched arm as he tipped a curling 35th minute strike on to the underside of the bar.

In the Rovers goal, David Raya, with the aid of a protective mask, made a welcome return two weeks after his injury at West Brom.

Keen to test him out, and boasting several players in excess of six feet tall,via long throws, crosses and corners, Rotherham swung the ball in to the Rovers box at every given opportunity. 

It was no surprise their best chance of the first half came from a Joe Newell corner, headed across goal from Michael Smith before Joe Mattock nodded over unmarked from four yards.

Danny Graham, and Elliott Bennett twice, drew saves from Rodak inside four minutes of the re-start, before a Darragh Lenihan cross almost sneaked in at the near post, only for the Rotherham ‘keeper to scramble it away on his goal-line.

He would have been powerless to keep out a far post Graham header from Bennett’s cross, had it not drifted wide of the post as it seemed inevitable that Rovers would score during a period of dominance.

That looked set to come as Dack pounced on the loose ball, left two defenders in his wake, only to be denied by the sprawling Rodak.

The visitors' ambition was diminishing by the minute, manfully holding out to keep the scores level. But from a rare break, they stunned Ewood Park with a well taken opening goal.

Ryan Williams hung up a cross to the far post where somehow Smith managed to get enough purchase to his header to guide it out of the reach of Raya.

From chasing three points, it became about saving one for Rovers as Tony Mowbray responded with a double change.

Both Joe Rothwell and Ben Brereton played their part in the closing stages.

But it was Dack who came to Rovers' rescue once again. 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, but unselfishly allowed Kasey Palmer to take aim from the edge of the box when Dack looked to be the better placed of the pair.

As Rovers laid siege to the Millers goal late on, Bennett saw a left foot strike deflected narrowly over, as Armstrong fired wide on the turn in the dying stages.

The perceived time-wasting of the visitors, for the second successive week, angered many in the home stands, but having found a way to lose games from improbable positions in their relegation campaign of two seasons ago, this group are made of sterner stuff, and still head in to the international break handily placed.