Rovers cannot afford more injuries in survival scrap

[Shutterstock] How many times have you heard the phrase, "if this had been a boxing match, it would have been stopped"? Blackburn's goalless draw with Middlesbrough was one of those games where one side dominated for very long periods, with the other trying desperately to remain where they started. I'm convinced this was a game Rovers would have lost earlier this season.

But credit to them, they were solid. They were miles away from being spectacular, but who knows how important the point could prove to be on 2 May? The first half of Saturday was reminiscent of an FA Cup tie where it was teams from two different divisions going head to head.

That isn't intended to be disrespectful to Blackburn, who were again hit by injuries to key players. It's just the way it was. Boro were strong, athletic, full of running and had midfielders making intelligent third man runs - and almost getting there on a number of occasions.

Balazs Toth was forced into making a couple of high-class saves in the process. The second half wasn't quite a repeat of the same in terms of clear-cut chances, but Boro still called the tune for the vast majority of it. Rovers had fleeting forays into the opposition box, but when half-chances arrived, it didn't really look like the belief was there to take them.