Blackburn Rovers left to rue refereeing decisions after goalless draw with Huddersfield Town

Tony Mowbray and Blackburn Rovers will rue the decisions of referee Keith Stroud after their 0-0 draw with Huddersfield Town, despite moving into the automatic promotion places in the Championship.

After kick-off was delayed by 15 minutes due to issues surrounding COVID passes at a sodden Ewood Park, the hosts started the quicker of the two sides and could have been 2-0 up in just a matter of minutes.

Reda Khadra first slipped John Buckley through who saw an effort blocked before Khadra himself got on the end of a through ball only to hammer his shot against the crossbar rather than the roof of the net.

Huddersfield – who were without manager Carlos Corberan after the Spaniard tested positive for COVID – soaked up early pressure and went close midway through the opening 45 minutes as Duane Holmes stooped low to meet Daniel Sinani’s cross and forced a good stop from Blackburn goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski at close range.

Then came the big talking point of not only the first half but the entire game. Ben Brereton-Diaz’s 20 goals so far in the league this campaign have helped to turn Rovers into promotion contenders.

When he was bundled over in the box, referee Stroud denied the hosts a spot-kick which in truth, was a mightily confusing decision to most inside the ground.

Blackburn boss Mowbray was incensed and received a yellow card for his own protests on the touchline soon after.

Both teams went into the game on a winning run and occupied a play-off spot, yet, chances came at a premium for both sides in the second half.

Huddersfield striker Holmes was slipped in just after the hour-mark but failed to test Kaminski from a similar position to where Khadra had rattled the crossbar in the opening stages of the contest.

Joe Rothwell fired a free-kick narrowly over the bar at the opposite end before a challenge from Holmes caused more controversy.

The USMNT attacker chased down a long kick upfield by ‘keeper Lee Nicholls and after the ball had been cleared by a Rovers’ defender, appeared to scythe down his opposite number.

Only a yellow card followed from Stroud which enraged all of a Blackburn persuasion and replays showed that the tackle easily could have merited a sending off for the former Derby County man.

Brought on from the bench after signing a new contract with the hosts earlier this week, Sam Gallagher saw a header cleared off the line as the clock ticked into the 90^th minute, with the match eventually ending goalless.

Rovers did move up a place in the league table, going second, but they are now only one point in front of third-placed Fulham, with the Cottagers having played two games less.

Meanwhile, Huddersfield remain sixth and occupy the final play-off spot in the league at present. They sit on 40 points, one ahead of seventh-placed Middlesbrough though again, Chris Wilder’s side have a game in hand on Town.

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