Luca Stephenson continued his comeback from injury and John McAtee also made a goal-scoring appearance as Wanderers hit back three times before almost winning a thrilling cup tie at the death, writes Pete Oliver.
Stephenson – out since the opening game of the season – added to the minutes he gained in a friendly during the international break with an hour of an action-packed encounter at the County Ground as he moved nearer first-team contention.
There were also run-outs for goalkeeper Nathan Broome, midfielder David Watson and forward McAtee as over-age players in the Group A tie Wanderers could have won in injury time through Harry Leigh’s penalty.
McAtee earlier struck a wonderfully-taken goal, perfectly floating the ball over Rovers’ keeper Jack Thompson to claim the first of the three equalisers scored by Julian Darby’s side as they bounced back from a first Professional Development League defeat of the season last week.
Rovers play their football at a higher level as a Category One academy and were ruthless in punishing mistakes in a five-goal first half.
Harry Lister pounced to put Blackburn – who reached the semi-final of the competition last season – into an early lead, while Jayden Sergeant twice finished superbly after Wanderers lost possession.
This was a major test for the Whites, who had lost one and drawn one of their opening two games to prop up the group, but they responded impressively each time.
Following McAtee’s fine finish, Toby Ritchie made it 2-2 with half an hour gone, robbing Levi Ball of the ball and coolly lifting the ball over Thompson, moments after he had almost turned in an excellent McAtee cross.
After falling behind again, the Whites needed a couple of excellent saves from Broome early in the second half to keep them in the contest.
Lucas Kirkpatrick then went close at the other end and with just over a quarter of an hour to go Wanderers levelled for a third time as substitute Tom King claimed his first goal for the club when collecting a lay-off from Watson to curl the ball into the bottom corner from the edge of the penalty area.
In a dramatic finish the fightback was then almost complete when Leigh had a chance to win it from the penalty spot. Former Rovers’ full-back Finn Wilkinson earned the opportunity when he was fouled in the box and although he struck his effort well, Leigh saw Thompson dive to his right to touch the ball onto the post with a fantastic stop.
The result further dented Wanderers’ chances of a second-place finish in the group and a possible place in the knock-out stages but the performance again underlined the progress being made on a big night for Harrison Rice, whose appearance off the bench weas his first in 15 months after a long-term back injury.
Wanderers: Broome, Stephenson (Wilkinson 62), Oliver, Lamb, Paye (Mawditt 72), Irwin (Kirkpatrick 62), Lewis (Rice 72), Watson, McAtee (King 62), Ritchie (Clement HT), Leigh. Substitutes: Shillinglaw.
Rovers: Thompson, Mullarkey-Matthews, Wharton, Houghton, Decanda, Dunn, Sergeant, Ball, Higgins, Lister, Powell. Substitutes: McIlroy, Taylor, Rice, Leatherbarrow, Outtara, McCoy.
Referee: Niall Smith