Sam Szmodics admits he felt a sense of relief after leading the comeback against Rotherham.

The attack-minded midfielder missed a penalty in the first half and also lost possession cheaply for Hakeem Odoffin’s opener.

But Szmodics showed his inner steel after the break to respond with a quickfire double, getting his side back on level terms.

The first was slightly fortunate, with Viktor Johansson wrong-footed after a deflection off a defender, but the second was a moment of composure to go round the goalkeeper and fire past the defender on the line.

“I feel relieved,” he said after the game. “The first half wasn’t good enough and I would like to apologise for the penalty miss and then the stupidest pass I have ever played for Rotherham to score.

“It was sort of a nightmare first half and I knew I needed to pick myself up and go again in the second half.

“I have scored two and we have come away from a point so it is a different feeling to what I felt at half time.”

The former Peterborough man admits his head had “completely gone” at half time but was pleased he managed to “get out of that rut” after the break.

“I was scared of getting sent off and thought I was going to get subbed off,” he continued.

““I was not fussed about the penalty. I back myself from the spot and I sent the ‘keeper the wrong way and hit the post, these things happen.

“The annoying thing for me was giving the goal away because I know when you are dropping deep into that full-back position, you have to keep the ball.

“It was a stupid mistake and you saw on the pitch, I held my hands up straight away and apologised at half time. I needed to get myself out of that rut and I feel like I did that in the second half.”

Rovers showed character to come back from two goals down after Fred Onyedinma’s red card and had chances to win the game during the final stages.

“It was really enjoyable to show how good of a team we are,” said Szmodics. “We fight, get players in the box and run forward.

“We shouldn’t be 2-0 down before we start playing like that, we know can play like that from the first whistle.

“We were slow today in our play and we didn’t get on the ball as much as we could. That is just not us.

“We had a bit of a wake-up call with the first goal and conceding early in the second half doesn’t help. But we showed a real determination to get back into the game.”

The 27-year-old hopes the squad can build on their momentum from the second half ahead of Saturday’s clash with Hull City.

“Three points would have been brilliant,” he added. “But we can’t start slow like we did in the first half and my mistake, it can’t happen.

“We would have definitely taken a point at half time, especially when you are 2-0 down away from home.

“You have got to look at the positives. We showed real character and fight to get back into it. We will rest and recover now and look forward to Hull at Ewood.”

Onyedinma received his second yellow card for gesturing to referee Robert Madley to book a Rovers player.

Szmodics had sympathy for the Luton loanee and says the new rules will take time to get used to for all players.

“It is tough,” he explained. “I don’t agree with some of the rules, but they are the rules and they have come into play.

“I think it was a really ‘light’ red card. He has jumped in the crowd for the first yellow and waved his hand for the second.

“But these are the rules and officials are clamping down on it. The referee made that decision. It is difficult but we have to learn that they are the rules in place.”

He added: “You do sort of change how you act. Sometimes I used to get told to stand on the ball and stop the quick free kick but know if you do that, you are booked straight away.

“Some of the rules I think will need adapting or looking at. But for now, they are in place and we have got to abide by them.”

The increase in stoppage time has also been a major talking point since the start of the new campaign, with nine minutes added on at the end of the second half at the New York Stadium.

“It is perfect for a team like us because at 2-2, we are going for the winner,” Szmodics stated.

“It is horrible for a team like Rotherham who are protecting their draw so it makes the game more exciting.

“I don’t mind it because teams do time waste, and I think adding on the exact amount of time is fair enough because we do miss out on valuable minutes.”