Derrick Williams felt Leeds ‘were there for the taking’ only for Rovers to suffer more frustration on the road.

Williams scored his third goal of the season to haul Rovers back in to the game but a failure to find an equaliser saw them slip to a sixth defeat in eight away games.

Rovers conceded twice in five first half minutes, including a contentious penalty scored by Patrick Bamford, a decision that frustrated Williams.

Tosin Adarabioyo was adjudged to have fouled Luke Ayling, with referee Gavin Ward pointing to the spot at a time when Rovers looked to be comfortable.

“We’re very frustrated because we felt Leeds were there for the taking,” the 26-year-old said.

“I felt we could have nicked one towards the end in the last 20 minutes or so.

“It’s disappointing. It’s a tough place to come and we were solid in the first 20 minutes in particular.

“The penalty seemed to swing the momentum in their favour, but we dug in, managed to get a goal and unfortunately we couldn’t get a second.

“We felt comfortable at the start and we’re just disappointed by the penalty decision given against us.

“I thought Tosin got a touch of the ball and even the Leeds player didn’t think it was a penalty. It’s frustrating when things like that go against you.”

Rovers were leading 2-0 in their last away game at Preston, only to concede three second half goals to fall to defeat.

Williams felt his goal five minutes before half-time gave his side a lifeline, with the defender having Rovers’ best chance to snatch an equaliser, only to volley wide late on.

While disappointed with the result, Williams felt pushing a team in the top three in the Championship was a positive for Rovers to take, despite slipping to 18th in the table with 16 games gone.

“I think 2-0 is always a dangerous scoreline, so after we got a goal back I had a feeling we’d perhaps get a second goal,” he told the club website.

“But it wasn’t to be. I had a chance in the second half that went wide and it was a difficult day.

“Big decisions went against us, but I felt we did alright against a team in the top three of the division.”

Williams joined up with the Republic of Ireland squad yesterday ahead of their upcoming matches.

He made his competitive debut for his country last month, in a 0-0 draw with Georgia, and will look to add to his two caps when Ireland host New Zealand and Denmark.

Mick McCarthy’s side face New Zealand on Thursday in a friendly before a crucial Euro 2020 qualifier against Denmark on Monday.