Onuoha piles the pain on ill-fated Rovers

NEDUM ONUOHA’S thumping header rescued a point for Queens Park Rangers and prolonged Blackburn Rovers’ wait for a first win this season.

The Rangers captain rose at the back post to meet Daniel Tozser’s corner 11 minutes from time to secure a draw the home side barely deserved.

Onuoha had earlier been left red-faced by a sublime piece of skill from Jordan Rhodes that looked to have won it for Blackburn. Jason Steele’s goal kick was flicked on by Bangali-Fode Koita and Rhodes controlled the ball expertly on his chest, lifted it over Onuoha and finished past Alex Smithies for his second goal of the season.

It was precisely the assuredness of touch and clinical finishing that made Rhodes a prime target for Middlesbrough over the summer. Blackburn boss Gary Bowyer, whose side remain second-bottom, said: ‘I was delighted by the performance in the first half, we were outstanding and should have been three or four up at the break.

‘There was naivety for the first goal but then the response was terrific. A wonderful, outstanding finish from Jordan got us back in front. But then you have to be accountable and responsible for marking players at set plays.’

Rangers manager Chris Ramsey believed his team deserved more. ‘I think we shaded it on the play but they were very resilient,’ he said. ‘I’m gobsmacked because most of the goals against us are not coming from us being torn apart tactically, they are from individual mistakes. But we can only work and improve.’

Rovers suffered a sickening early blow when Tommy Spurr was knocked out following a collision with an opponent’s knee at a corner.

he laid still on the turf and received treatment for six minutes before being lifted on to a stretcher and carried off breathing into an oxygen mask. Luckily by half-time the defender was sitting up in the dressing room and responsive. It did not knock Blackburn off their stride and when Craig Conway’s free-kick was lofted to the back post, goalkeeper Smithies misjudged the flight badly. The ball dropped to the feet of Shane Duffy (below), who will not score an easier goal in his career, trundling it home from all of a yard out. Rovers bossed the first half but failed to take their chances and Charlie Austin made them pay 30 seconds after the break. Massimo Luongo lifted a ball forward that struck Duffy’s shoulder and the alert Austin nipped in. After Steele saved his first effort, the striker’s follow-up from a tight angle was helped over the line by Rovers defender Adam henley.