Blackburn Rovers 0-0 Cardiff City: Top scorers Blackburn have strong form checked

Cardiff City playmaker Lee Tomlin (right) was starting a game for the first time this season

Championship top scorers Blackburn Rovers had their strong early-season form checked with a goalless draw at home to 10-man Cardiff City.

Cardiff's Junior Hoilett and Blackburn's Adam Armstrong had the best chances in an even first half.

Armstrong was denied again by Bluebirds keeper Alex Smithies after the break, before Lee Tomlin was sent off for a second booking with 20 minutes left.

Blackburn dominated possession from that point but did little with it.

It was a frustrating afternoon for Rovers, who stay sixth in the Championship with seven points from four games, whereas Cardiff will have been satisfied with their resolute late defending which secured a point to take them up to 14th.

The Bluebirds became the first team this season to keep a clean sheet against Blackburn, who had scored 11 goals in their first three matches, with nine of those coming in 5-0 and 4-0 thrashings of Wycombe and Derby in their most recent outings.

And as Tony Mowbray's entertainers had also won 3-2 at Cardiff in July, there were hopes of another free-scoring encounter at Ewood Park.

However, it soon became apparent that would not be the case, with both sides struggling to play with much fluency as torrential rain made for tricky conditions.

Cardiff were the first to threaten, former Rovers winger Hoilett cutting in the from the left and whipping an excellent shot towards the top corner, which Thomas Kaminski did well to palm away.

Blackburn did not create their first chance of note until the final minute of the first half, when Armstrong ran into the Cardiff penalty area but saw his shot smothered by Smithies.

When Armstrong was thwarted by the Cardiff goalkeeper again after an hour, it was beginning to feel like Blackburn were taking hold of the game.

That was certainly the case when Tomlin inexplicably got himself sent off. Sam Gallagher was in his own penalty area when Tomlin came charging in, leading with his elbow and sending the Blackburn substitute tumbling to pick up a second yellow card.

From that point for Cardiff, it was simply a case of defending.

Blackburn kept possession almost exclusively but genuine scoring opportunities were relatively scarce, Gallagher mis-hitting from an Amari'i Bell cross and Bradley Johnson having a shot blocked.

The hosts attacked with increasing desperation as time ticked away but they could not find a way through against stoic opposition.

Blackburn boss Tony Mowbray:

"It was a difficult game, we knew it was going to be difficult because we couldn't play to our strengths and yet when we got asked in the last 20 minutes to break down a packed defence, we didn't have the answers really.

"We got into lots of good positions but considering the way we've been scoring goals, it was frustration for us that against a really deep block, it was hard to get through. But that's the challenge for a lot of clubs.

"The positives are the clean sheet, the work ethic, the desire is there to do well, to run and work for each other. At the top end of the pitch, we're a young football team. We lacked a bit of nous at the top end to break them down when we had to try and break down a deep block."

Cardiff City manager Neil Harris:

"In the circumstances, playing the last 20 minutes with 10 men, a clean sheet was a resilient point. I'm really proud of the players for their backs-to-the-wall bit of defending at the end.

"I think a point was probably fair. The best chance of the game was Adam Armstrong one-on-one and Alex Smithies made a great save but a lot of the pressure was from us."

On Tomlin's red card: "I need to see the second one [yellow] from a different angle because I saw it from distance and didn't have any complaints at the time. If he's caught the player, I understand.

"The first one is never a yellow card. I thought the referee was abysmal at best, for both teams.

"But Lee is a really experienced player and should know he can't put himself in that situation with the second one."