Darren Moore hailed the work rate of his players who kept pushing for their last minute equaliser against Sunderland.
Fejiri Okenabirhie got his sixth Rovers goal of the season which helped the side snatch a point from the promotion-chasing Black Cats.
Moore said: “We expected it be a tight game like it was. Both teams had half chances and both teams created one or two opportunities. The way the players kept at it made it more rewarding in the end. So I am really pleased for them.
“You have to give credit to Sunderland, they set their stall out and they were very strong and hard to break down. That’s why it makes our equaliser more impressive because it’s a testament to the lads on how they kept going and kept probing.
“Lets not discredit what Sunderland are about – they are a good team. If you look at the players on the pitch we’ve come up against a good team. It was the same last season when we came up against them. I knew today would be tight with real small margins and that’s exactly how the game panned out.”
The game saw Joe Lumley make his Rovers debut after joining the club on an emergency loan deal from QPR, where he is a teammate of former Rovers goalkeeper Seny Dieng.
He added: “We want to keep continuity with goalkeepers so we will be looking to keep Joe Lumley for as long as we can.
“When you sign an emergency goalkeeper you have to play them. So I have spoken to Louis Jones and he is understanding of the situation. We can’t go through the season with just one goalkeeper.”