Championship: Gary Bowyer blasts rules on red cards after Blackburn's draw at Ipswich

Gary Bowyer hit out at the rules regarding appealing red cards after his 10-men Blackburn side rescued a dramatic point in a 1-1 draw at Ipswich.

Ben Marshall's 93rd-minute free-kick earned Rovers an unlikely draw after centre-back Matthew Kilgallon was shown a second yellow card in the 63rd minute.

Rovers' misery was compounded when David McGoldrick found the corner of the net from the resulting free kick.

Ipswich should have made the points safe with Stephen Hunt having a header cleared off the line by Shane Duffy and McGoldrick smacking a volley against the near post, before Marshall's moment of magic.

While hailing his side, Bowyer was angry about Kilgallon's red card, claiming his player was the victim after a tussle with Conor Sammon, which came 13 minutes after the defender was initially booked following a cynical foul on the same Ipswich forward.

Bowyer said: "Look how long it took the referee to consult on the first decision, but for the second yellow card, he didn't consult anyone.

"I thought he got the first one right but the second was a foul on Matt Kilgallon.

"Not only is there an injustice, but we can't even appeal because it was two yellow cards, yet you can appeal a red card. How crazy is that? It is something we will be taking up.''

Bowyer was more pleased with his side's reaction to the setback. They shaded the first half, Town keeper Dean Gerken denying Jordan Rhodes and then producing a wonderful save at his near post following Rudy Gestede's powerful drive.

The tide turned following the restart with McGoldrick following up his fourth of the season with an expert volley which smacked the inside of the post while Hunt's header was cleared.

Bowyer said: "I would rather talk about our spirit and never-say-die attitude in such a young group.

"Their energy and work-rate was great and it was a good lesson in how to play with 10 men.

"This group of men have the potential to be really special for this football club.''

Despite seeing his side stretch their unbeaten run to eight games, Ipswich boss Mick McCarthy was disappointed about the two points lost.

He said: "We had enough chances and really should have put the game to bed. We kept them interested but at the end of all that we should have had a penalty when McGoldrick was barged in the last minute.

"The first half was pretty ordinary with not too many chances, but we were the dominant team with or without 10 men.

"Blackburn stuck at it, but we let them off the hook. I have no complaints about their free kick (for the equaliser) though we did give the ball away twice.

"Still it's another point and if we end up in the play-offs by a point, it won't matter.''