Middlesbrough wasted an opportunity to tighten their grip on second place as they were held to a 0-0 draw at Blackburn.
With fellow promotion hopefuls Ipswich and Millwall also cancelling each other out in a 1-1 stalemate, Kim Hellberg’s side had the chance to steal a march on their rivals but it was a familiar story as they failed to capitalise on their dominance.
Boro bossed the first half and should have been a couple of goals to the good, but Aidan Morris passed up a gilt-edged early chance and David Strelec’s effort at the end of the half was wonderfully saved by Balazs Toth.
The pattern continued in the second half but battling Rovers stemmed the tide and, despite being roared on by more than 7,300 fans, Boro could not find a way through.
As a result, it remains as you were in the race for the Premier League but Boro are now winless in three, having scored just once.
By contrast, Blackburn were well worth the draw which could be vital in the relegation shake-up as Michael O’Neill’s men made it four points in a week against teams chasing promotion to sit four clear of danger.
No team has taken more points on the road than Middlesbrough, so it was no surprise they started on the front foot and by the time Luke Ayling forced Toth into a fine low save after four minutes, they were well on top.
They should have taken the lead in the 13th minute when a slick move played in Morris on the right but he slammed against the side netting with just Toth to beat.
Alan Browne was then played through by Riley McGree on the half hour as Boro pushed forward again but his shot was blocked.
Blackburn were second best but certainly committed, and Ryoya Morishita gave them a sight of goal two minutes later when a corner was headed into his path and his low strike was parried by Sol Brynn.
Dominant Boro created another glorious chance on the stroke of half-time when Tommy Conway glided into the area and crossed for Strelec, but Toth produced a stunning reflex save to tip over the first-time effort.
Boro picked up where they left off after the restart and carved an opening when Conway crossed from the right for Morris, but he could not generate enough power and it was straightforward for Toth.
Rovers enjoyed a rare foray forward just past the hour when Moussa Baradji found space on the left to drive into the box but was eventually crowded out and poked harmlessly into the side netting.
They continued to frustrate the visitors, whose only other chance arrived five minutes before the end but Browne’s shot was blocked and Rovers claimed a deserved share of the spoils.
The managers
Blackburn’s Michael O’Neill:
“Very proud of the effort of the players. It was a real club effort today.
“I think the supporters were fabulous today when we needed them, especially in the second half. We knew we’d have to go long periods without the ball today. It’s always harder when you’re doing that at home but the fans reacted in the right way to that.
“I thought we had our moments. We could have been better a little bit with the ball, we know that. But in terms of desire to make sure we weren’t beaten and get over the line and take something from the game against one of the top two teams in the league and you can see why they’re in the position they are.
“I thought we limited it. First half, we needed the goalkeeper to make a couple of good saves which you expect. I thought we could possibly have done better on transition ourselves we know that. But overall, the effort of the players was magnificent.”
Middlesbrough’s Kim Hellberg:
“I think the first half is one of our best halves in creating opportunities because often it’s tricky because everyone is fresh and it’s difficult to break them down. We did it very good today.
“Everyone can see we should, of course, be ahead in the first half. It’s a top performance away from home in this league in the first half. That’s disappointing.
“Then the fans want us to score goals and then it gets, in the second half, frustrating at not doing it and we try to do different things.
“It’s something you need to handle in a better way because I think, partially in the second half, you try to take care of those things and it could be a problem for us, because the second half is not as good after the first 20 minutes and that’s something I need to handle and work with.
“If we don’t score more, we’re not going to win so many of those last seven games, so that’s something we need to work on.”
