Gary Bowyer admitted his Blackburn Rovers side were aware Watford struggle to defend crosses into their penalty area and said his players were left disappointed following the 2-2 draw at Ewood Park.

The Hornets were in control of the game at the interval after strikes from Matej Vydra and Daniel Tozser put the Golden Boys two goals in front.

However, Rovers hit back 20 seconds after the restart as Rudy Gestede powered a header past Heurelho Gomes following a cross from Markus Olsson.

Blackburn dominated the majority of the second period and created numerous chances. They finally equalised with 13 minutes remaining as Ryan Tunnicliffe nodded home from inside the six yard box after Ben Marshall’s clipped pass.

After the contest, Bowyer was asked if Blackburn had indentified Watford’s defending at crosses as a weakness.

He replied: “Yes, very much so. The quality of the ball from Markus Olsson is outstanding and Rudy has put a great header in.

“He’s had several chances in the second half as well. The second goal is an outstanding team goal as well. If it was on Match of the Day tonight in the Premier League it wouldn’t be out of place.”

He continued: “I thought we played well in the first half and Gomes has made three or four saves. But we find ourselves 2-0 down after two fantastic strikes from their players.

“At half time I thought the score was harsh but the reaction, character, passion and commitment didn’t surprise us with the comeback.

“It was an outstanding response, 20 seconds in the second half we have scored and we created numerous chances to win the game against a good Watford side.

“We’ve done everything bar win the match, the players are disappointed they didn’t take all three points.”

Bowyer said he didn’t feel his side would’ve had the belief to have come back from two goals behind a couple of seasons ago but added their fight-back was reflective of the resilience amongst his players.

The result leaves Watford third and Blackburn tenth in the Championship table. Rovers narrowly finished outside of the play-off positions last season and Bowyer says that is something they are looking to improve on.

He explained: “We spoke with the players when they first came back and it was about continuous improvement. Last season we finished two points off the play-offs, so we know we’ve got to do better than that.

“We’ve started off ok and feel we should have a few more points than we actually do. It’s a long old season but the quality and strength we have got means we have a good squad and hopefully we will have a good go at it.”