Gary Bowyer: Blackburn Rovers must use last-gasp Ipswich Town draw as springboard to kick start season

Ten-man Rovers looked to be heading to defeat after David McGoldrick fired the Tractor Boys, who are now unbeaten in their last eight games, into a 65th-minute lead, immediately after Matt Kilgallon had been shown a controversial second yellow card.

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But three minutes into injury time Ben Marshall scored a stunning free kick of his own to ensure honours ended even at Portman Road.

“We’re delighted with the quality Marshy showed with the free kick and in my opinion a point is no more than we actually deserved,” said Rovers boss Bowyer.

“We came to a very difficult place, to face a team who have been on a fantastic run, and we matched them and might even have taken the lead in the first half.

“We withstood a bit of pressure at the start of the second half and then started to get into it again before the big moment from the official.

“We’ve seen it again and it’s a foul on Matt Kilgallon and not the other way round.

“We were disappointed and the disappointment was even more so when McGoldrick put in a hell of a free kick.

“But our resilience, character, team spirit and togetherness – all the words people use in adversity – came to the fore.”

Rovers, unbeaten in two after successive draws but now without a win in four, welcome fourth-bottom Birmingham City to Ewood Park on Tuesday

“We’ve got to use this as a catalyst now and use it as a springboard to have a right good go on Tuesday,” said Bowyer, who told Alex Baptiste to warm up after Kilgallon’s first booking, 15 minutes earlier.

“It’s a tough week in the Championship but we’ll be ready for Birmingham.”

Ipswich boss Mick McCarthy, whose team would have moved within two points of top spot with a fourth successive home victory, said: “Blackburn stuck at it but we let them off the hook.

“Still it’s another point and if we end up in the play-offs by a point, it won’t matter.”