As the run of consecutive home wins ended at four, the unbeaten run stretched to seven, as Rovers shared a 0-0 draw with Wigan Athletic.

Both goalkeepers made excellent saves, and while Rovers will see a point against the side bottom of the league as a missed opportunity, given their below-par display, they could have been staring at defeat.

They stepped things up in the second half, after a desperately poor first, and tried to force the issue, but Christian Walton put in his best display in a Rovers shirt to claim a fourth clean sheet in six matches.

Rovers reverted more to type with their team selection, making seven alterations, with Tosin Adarabioyo unavailable because of injury.

The distribution of the Rovers back four is something that has been such a strength in recent weeks, but without Adarabioyo, they were struggling to build up any sustained pressure.

Instead, they were playing themselves in to trouble, with both Lenihan and the returning Williams struggling to find the target with their passes. Playing their way in to trouble, Rovers were on the back foot.

Williams took one chance off the foot of Josh Windass whose movement in behind was a persistent threat, with the attacker having earlier glanced a header wide of the target.

And the opening 20 minutes certainly belonged to the visitors who were failing to make the most of their promising openings. They came none better than for Michael Jacobs, teed up by Jamal Lowe, only to shoot straight at Christian Walton from 12 yards.

Lenihan, so often Rovers’ dependable man at the back, was having a difficult spell, gifting the ball to Wigan whose break ended with Windass firing well wide on his left foot.

And he was the culprit again, this time Jacobs the man to intercept and again Windass the man to get the shot away, with Walton well positioned to hang on.

The Rovers ‘keeper was by far the busier, with Jamie Jones at the other end waiting 26 minutes before being called in to action, tipping away a Lenihan header from a Downing cross.

He would deal much easier with a Dack daisy-cutter in what proved to be a rare period of pressure from the hosts in a lacklustre first-half showing.

Adarabioyo’s distribution, more than his defending, was being missed as another Williams misplaced pass allowed Gavin Massey to profit, with defensive partner Lenihan heading away from underneath his own crossbar.

While the opening 45 minutes was a tough watch, the hope was that Rovers could step things up after the break, but continued stoppages made a lack of flow almost impossible.

Corry Evans was forced off on the hour, with Lewis Holtby following Bradley Johnson on to the pitch as Rovers looked to their subs to provide a spark.

Spaces were opening up for Wigan still, Lowe curling a shot wide of the target from 20 yards.

But a huge concern for Rovers was the sight of Bradley Dack being stretchered off, his right leg in a brace, and screams of pain could be heard in front of the Riverside Stand as he received several minutes of treatment.

As the crowd sensed their side needed them, Rovers turned up the ascendancy. There was a sense of irritation at the numbers of fouls the visitors were committing, and going unpunished, with Joe Rothwell staying on his feet to feed Armstrong whose cross was glanced on to the underside of the bar by Graham.

Walton would keep his side in it though with two fine saves, first tipping away a dipping Morsy effort before expertly tipping over a Cedric Kipre header from six yards out.

Back came Rovers though, with neither side settling for a point. Holtby teed up Rothwell whose shot wasn’t all that convincingly palmed away by Jones, who, with a combination of Nathan Byrne, kept out Lenihan’s header from the resulting corner.

Downing, via a deflection, flashed an effort just wide, while Williams bailed out Lenihan’s poor pass with an excellent block from Morsy’s shot while Lowe headed just wide from a Windass cross. Lowe headed wide a Windass cross before seven added minutes gave both sides hope of an injury time winner.

And that would have come were not for a fine save by Jones, getting down to Holtby’s low strike at his near post.