Blackburn Rovers have held Manchester City to a 1-1 draw at Ewood Park in their FA Cup third round tie, with City playing the final 10 minutes with 10 men after the dismissal of Dedryck Boyata.

The Premier League side were on top throughout the first half, although Blackburn remained a threat on the counter attack. Alvaro Negredo scored the opening goal with a close range header at the back post following an Edin Dzeko header from a David Silva on the stroke of half-time. The Spaniard lost his marker and his clever movement was awarded with a simple finish to break the deadlock.

City went in at the break ahead and looking good to seal what would have been expected to be a straightforward win. They returned to the game with energy and purpose, looking to administer the killer blow before Blackburn had the opportunity to get back into the game.

There were only 10 minutes gone in the second half, however, when Costel Pantilimon dropped a header from Rudy Gestede’s header, allowing Blackburn Rovers captain Scott Dann to finish from close range. The goal was a defensive disaster for City, with Joleon Lescott first being beaten to the ball by Gestede, before Pantilimon’s costly fumble.

In the moments following the equaliser the temperature edged up a few degrees with Blackburn nearly adding a second as Chris Taylor shot wide, before Alvaro Negredo wasted a good chance at the other end.

City applied pressure as the half wore on but Blackburn were not to be cowed, bringing on Jordan Rhodes and DJ Campbell as a sign of intent to continue pushing forward.

Campbell was the victim of a Boyata kick with 10 minutes to go and the subsequent yellow card saw the City man dismissed for a second bookable offence.

Rhodes and Campbell proved to be a danger to City’s defence in the closing stages and came close to finding the winner, while also confirming that Blackburn had been well worth the draw.