Ben Marshall netted an injury time freekick as 10-man Blackburn grabbed a 1-1 draw against Town at Portman Road. David McGoldrick curled home a freekick in the 65th minute after Matt Kilgallon had been dismissed having picked up two yellow cards and the Blues looked well on their way to their fourth successive home win until Marshall’s late sucker punch.
Skipper Luke Chambers, who signed a new contract on Friday, was a surprise absentee due to illness, with Christophe Berra taking over as skipper and Tommy Smith returning to the centre of the defence, unusually on the right of the pairing.
Daryl Murphy (achilles), Luke Hyam (hip flexor) and Teddy Bishop (ill) also missed out but Jonny Williams was OK to start despite suffering an ankle problem while away with Wales.
Stephen Hunt came into the side for the first time this season as part of a front three with David McGoldrick and Conor Sammon, while Williams was on the left of the midfield trio alongside Cole Skuse and Kevin Bru.
Former Blue Jordan Rhodes skippered the visitors, while former Town loanee Ryan Tunnicliffe was on the bench.
Aside from Dean Gerken clearing ahead of Rhodes on the edge of his area, neither keeper was tested in the opening 10 minutes. On 11 Lee Williamson saw a shot deflect wide off McGoldrick after a long throw had deflected out to him on the edge of the area.
On 13 a deft McGoldrick flick sent Hunt away on the left but the Irishman’s cross was behind Sammon. Bru won possession back and exchanged passes with McGoldrick but the Mauritian international’s cross was easy for Rovers keeper Jason Steele.
The Blues were starting to gain control of the game and in the 17th minute McGoldrick played in Mings on the left and September’s Championship Player of the Month sent over a superb cross to Jonny Parr deep on the right but the Norwegian screwed his volley high and well wide.
Rudy Gestede headed wide from a Craig Conway cross in the 24th minute as the visitors began to threaten.
Three minutes later, the Lancastrians were close to a goal when keeper Steele’s freekick was flicked on to Tom Cairney by Gestede. The former Hull man’s cross found Rhodes, but his effort was kept out by a combination of Gerken and Parr, who got in one another’s way, the ball somehow avoiding Shane Duffy at the far post and away to safety.
Williams touched a freekick short to McGoldrick on the left in the 33rd minute after Bru had been fouled, but the striker’s shot was held by Steele under pressure from stand-in skipper Berra.
Gestede threatened again on 36, twisting and turning before hitting a low shot which Gerken did very well to save down to his right.
The action quickly moved to the other end and McGoldrick forced Steele to punch into the air and wide with a curling left-foot strike from 25 yards. From the resultant corner Smith headed into the Rovers keeper’s arms.
The 0-0 scoreline at the break was a fair reflection of the first half overall. After a quiet start the Blues had begun to get on top but the visitors had come back into it again and had had the better chances.
McGoldrick was only able to find Steele’s hands with a low cross from the right having been sent away by Skuse shortly after the restart with Hunt making a lung-bursting run into the area.
There was controversy in the 51st minute when Skuse flicked the ball into Sammon’s path and the striker broke forwards before being tripped very deliberately by Kilgallon a couple of yards outside the penalty area.
The Town crowd called for a red card but after consulting with his linesman referee James Adcock showed only a yellow, much the frustration of home supporters. However, Sammon still had a lot to do and it would probably have been harsh for the officials to have deemed it an obvious goalscoring opportunity.
McGoldrick curled the freekick only just wide with Hunt not far away from adding a final touch. Moments later, McGoldrick fed Sammon in the area but his shot from a tight angle on the right deflected over.
The Blues had been very much on top since the break but right on the hour Cairney got away down the Town left but Smith got in a toe to divert his low cross behind.
The red card the Blues fans had been calling for earlier in the half finally came in the 64th minute. McGoldrick played in Sammon, who managed to get goal side of Kilgallon, the defender’s challenge bringing the striker down as he bore down on the edge of the box, although with Blackburn claiming that the Town striker was the one committing the offence.
Referee Adcock showed Kilgallon his second yellow card - after having shown the red - and the former Leeds man was on his way.
McGoldrick was handed the ball for the freekick 20 yards out towards the left of centre and made no mistake, curling a superb strike to Steele’s right and into the corner of the net before celebrating his fourth goal of the season in front of the Sir Bobby Robson Stand.
Hunt was close to making it 2-0 on 67, the Irishman heading Parr’s right-wing cross goalwards but Duffy blocking on the line. Hunt’s subsequent effort was charged away.
The Blues continued to dominate, as they had from the start of the second half, with a couple of dangerous crosses from the right deflecting only just past the far post.
Former Blue Rhodes’s afternoon ended when he was replaced by Adam Henley in the 75th minute. Four minutes later, Williams made way to applause from the home fans and Jay Tabb took over for the remaining minutes.
McGoldrick was inches from making it 2-0 in the 81st minute when found by Bru’s delightful chip from the right. The Blues frontman struck it on the half volley and his powerful shot cannoned off the post and away.
The Town frontman saw another effort deflect wide a minute later, then from Hunt’s right-sided corner Smith nodded over.
Ex-Blues loanee Ryan Tunnicliffe was introduced by Blackburn on 83, then as the game moved into its final five minutes Paul Anderson replaced the again impressive Bru, who received a warm ovation as he left the field.
Sub Anderson played McGoldrick in on goal in the 89th minute but his shot was under-hit and Steele saved down to his left. The striker will have been tiring but will feel he should have done better.
There had only been one side in it in the second half but in injury time - as was the case at Forest a fortnight ago - the visitors levelled. Berra was penalised for fouling Duffy and Marshall curled a freekick to Gerken’s left and into the net.
Town went looking for a winner in the remaining moments and had what looked a fairly decent shout for a penalty when McGoldrick was bundled over as he sought to get onto Sammon’s flick. But despite protests referee Adcock was unmoved and soon after the official blew his whistle.
The scoreline was very harsh on the Blues who would have been well worth a win having dominated the second half even before Rovers were reduced to 10 men.
However, Town had had more than enough opportunities to increase their lead before Rovers’ late sucker punch but failed to take them with McGoldrick unfortunate with his strike against the post.
Nevertheless, the draw extends Town’s unbeaten run eight games - four wins and four draws - and they remain sixth in the table.
Town: Gerken, Parr, Mings, Smith, Berra (c), Skuse, Bru (Anderson 85), Hunt (Ambrose 90), Williams (Tabb 79), McGoldrick, Sammon. Unused: Bialkowski, Anderson, Bajner, Tabb, Henshall, Clarke.
Blackburn: Steele, Marshall, Duffy, Kilgallon, Olsson, Cairney (Tunnicliffe 83), Evans, Williamson, Conway (Baptiste 68), Gestede, Rhodes (c) (Henley 75). Unused: Eastwood, Taylor, Dunn, Varney. Referee: James Adcock (Nottinghamshire). Att: 16,972 (Blackburn: 379).