Chances came and chances went but Tony Mowbray stressed the positives of his side’s display in the 0-0 draw with Millwall at Ewood Park.
Joe Rankin-Costello, John Buckley and Sam Gallagher all had opportunities to open the scoring but failed to find the back of the net as Rovers’ frustrations continued infront of goal.
Rovers have now have scored only three times in 12 Championship games, the goals drying up at a crucial stage of the season as they look to cement their place in the top six.
Mowbray took positives from the performance, and how they dominated against a Millwall team who had won their previous five matches to mount their own push for the top six.
Rovers claimed a 15th clean sheet of the season, with Millwall failing to register a shot on target, but they left with the same points as the hosts who failed to make the most of their chances.
“Footballers know they played well, the players know we played well and dominated against a team that had won five on the bounce,” Mowbray explained.
“For long spells we didn’t even let them near our goal.
“They’re a dangerous team and we dominated, the game-plan generally worked, but you have to score.
“Rankin-Costello, it’s a one-on-one, he has half the goal to put it in and he tried to be too precise and put it past the post.
“Sam Gallagher, another brilliant Buckley cross, and all he needed was to get a decent contact, I think it skimmed off his studs.
“The ‘keeper made an amazing save in the second half and we could have been sat here talking about a 3-0 win and that we’d done well.
“We missed the chances, but we have to keep going, we have everything to play for.
“We are a good team in this league, Millwall have just won five on the bounce and we can beat anyone in this league.
“That’s what we have to aim to do. We’re not free-scoring at the moment because we don’t have those individuals and that’s no coincidence.
“You need good players to take the chances when they come.”
Rovers’ struggles have coincided with the injury to top scorer Ben Brereton who won’t feature before the international break.
Home matches against Bristol City and Derby County, and a trip to Reading, before the break are an opportunity for Rovers to put points on the board, but they will need to be more ruthless in attack if they are to hold off the chasing pack in the race for the play-offs.
“Performance, really good,” Mowbray added.
“Dominated, I don’t think they had a shot at our goal and we missed three amazing opportunities to score a goal.
“We dominated in all areas against a team who had won five on the bounce and are really dangerous and limited them to nothing.
“We’re left frustrated, but we have to be ruthless. The chances came and the chances went.
“On another day it could have been 3-0 and they wouldn’t have complained.
“We’ve got two more opportunities at home over the next week to secure three points.”
Mowbray says spirits remain high in the camp despite the lack of goals and believes the positives are there to focus on.
He added: “We always believe we’re going to score, particularly kicking that way in the second half.
“How the scramble on the six-yard box didn’t go in is another story.
“I’ve talked to them about the positives, we have to keep pushing, keep believing.
“We have to keep going, keep believing, keep the energy and all the positive things that were on show.
“I think there’s no doubt we deserved to win.”
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