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Blackburn Rovers and Stoke City missed a hatful of chances to claim all three points in a goalless Premier League draw at Ewood Park.

Home keeper Paul Robinson and opposite number Thomas Sorensen were in defiant mood as chances went begging at both ends.

Rovers defender Christopher Samba then missed a golden opportunity to win the game at the death, heading wide from close range.

The hosts were without manager Sam Allardyce, who is undergoing heart surgery on Friday, so assistant manager Neil McDonald took his place in the dugout.

The home side started the better, playing some incisive football amid a flurry of hard challenges. Had it not been for Sorensen, Rovers would have taken the lead inside the opening 10 minutes.

Republic of Ireland midfielder Keith Andrews lifted a clever ball over the top for Franco Di Santo, who deftly brought the pass down and shaped to shoot; Sorensen was out to the striker in a flash and blocked the shot.

Against the run of play the Potters almost snatched the lead, powerful striker Ricardo Fuller driving forward from the halfway line and shrugging off Ryan Nelsen before slipping a through ball to Dean Whitehead.

Robinson raced from his line to meet the advancing midfielder and did well to get down low to his left and save the side-footed effort. Andrews swept up the loose ball as Liam Lawrence looked to pounce on the rebound.

Rovers then suffered a huge blow when David Dunn, the conductor at the heart of the Blackburn orchestra, hobbled off with a calf injury.

As the game descended into a scrappy midfield battle, Tony Pulis's side nearly hit the hosts on the counter attack before the half-time whistle. Having repelled a Blackburn free-kick they stormed upfield, Lawrence played a one-two with Fuller in the box then smashed a ferocious shot goalwards from close range.

The midfielder was left with his head in his hands as Robinson beat it away.

Rovers' injury problems became worse when Andrews failed to appear for the second half after picking up a calf injury - but McDonald's depleted side edged an action-packed start to the second half.

However they almost found themselves behind when Andy Wilkinson exchanged passes with Whitehead and cut in from the right wing before firing a right-footed shot into the side-netting.

At the other end Nelsen struck a sweet volley at goal from eight yards, but yet again Sorensen was equal to it.

The post saved Stoke 10 minutes after the interval. El-Hadji Diouf sent in a corner which Pascal Chimbonda headed back to Steven Nzonzi at the far post and the Frenchman rattled the woodwork with a powerful drive.

Goalscoring opportunities continued to flow and in the 61st minute Fuller drove to the byline from the right wing and laid the ball invitingly into the path of the Whitehead; the former Sunderland player somehow managed to miscue his shot wide of the post just six yards out.

Brett Emerton flashed a shot inches wide of Sorensen's post before James Beattie squandered a great chance to break the deadlock for Stoke in the 74th minute: Fuller found the second-half substitute lurking on the edge of the six-yard box, but the former Everton hitman contrived to blaze over.

In the dying minutes Samba missed a fantastic opportunity to win all three points for Blackburn. Morten Gamst Pedersen picked out the big defender with a corner from the right and Samba looked odds on to score - but his towering header dropped past Sorensen's left-hand post.

Ben Welch / Eurosport