This was a tale of the goalscorer and the goalkeeper.

At one end Rovers have, in Adam Armstrong, a striker who can’t stop finding the back of the net, while at the other, in Thomas Kaminski, a ‘keeper who is producing some excellent saves to keep it out.

That proved to be the difference, with Armstrong’s emphatic and clinical finish putting Rovers head at the end of a first half in which they struggled to find any fluency.

In the second, at 1-0 and 2-0, Kaminski produced two top drawer saves to keep out a Mads Anderson header and Dominik Frieser strike.

A late Romal Palmer strike denied him a sixth clean sheet in 11 games, and made for a more anxious end to the match than it seemed. But with Kaminski around, there's an aura and a level of calm.

When it comes to a discussion over Rovers’ recent recruitment, the big-money buys of Ben Brereton and Sam Gallagher will be close, if not top, of the agenda.

Neither enjoyed the start to their Rovers career they would have hoped, but with Brereton now the only player to have started every match so far this season, and Gallagher backing up with his equaliser at Luton with what turned out to be the winner here, they are starting to have the influence their outlay always suggested they would, with still more to come.

While the pair seemingly required a period of bedding in, Kaminski has needed nothing of the sort, and already looks to be a real find.

The Belgian looks assured with both the ball at his feet, his handling is solid, and although there will undoubtedly be bumps in the road, he fills everyone around him with confidence. With change from £500,000, he seems something of a steal.

The same too for Armstrong, whose value in the current market has increased more than tenfold on the £1.75m they paid for him two years ago. With the January window on the horizon, talk over his future will undoubtedly become a hot topic.

However, if Rovers are to stand any chance of getting out of the division, they simply must keep him at the club, and  fit.

Not only has Armstrong scored more goals than any player in the Championship, he’s managed more than seven teams in the division. It’s now 25, and counting, in the calendar year.

He had an sighter just before his 14th of the season in all competitions, his shot on the turn saved by Jack Walton from Brereton’s cut-back, before from an almost identical position, Ryan Nyambe rolled the ball into his path after bursting clear of Anderson, before a clinical finish into the roof of the net.

That came at the end of a first half in which he’d been starved of service. Barnsley took the option that no side has yet at Ewood, to press Rovers high. It came with the risk of knowing that if Rovers could find a way through the first line of their press, spaces would open up for the likes of Armstrong to play.

However, by playing with a diminutive frontman at the head of their attack, Rovers weren’t afforded the luxury of going over the press, and with no fluency or rhythm to play the one-touch football necessary to navigate their way through, they found themselves passing it between their back four.

The visitors felt encouraged by their gameplan and had the best chances of the first half, Conor Chaplin having a shot deflected wide from eight yards, and another saved by Kaminski.

Rovers lost Barry Douglas to injury just 14 minutes, and the issue of the number of muscle injuries being picked up is something they need to eradicate, however difficult that may be in the schedule.

They improved in the second half, Brereton passing up a good chance when played through, before Gallagher, unlucky to lose his starting place, doubled the lead with 12 minutes remaining, arrowing a shot into the bottom corner after good work again down the right flank by Nyambe.

That wasn’t before the pick of Kaminski’s saves, to keep out Anderson’s header, but Barnsley weren’t done, Frieser denied by another smart stop at his near post.

That looked set to see Rovers over the line, and with a clean sheet, but not before Palmer made for a nervy five additional minutes as he rifled home from eight yards out.

Rovers weren’t to be denied, and now here we are again. Like 12 months ago, a positive November has moved Rovers into top six contention.  They are now within a result, and deserve credit for closing that gap so quickly, having been as many as seven points a week ago.

Consistency is one of the biggest question marks surrounding this team, another is the ability to keep players fit, within a challenging schedule, and will need to cure both during the course of a packed December.

Having ended November unbeaten, they sit ninth in the table, but With the visit of 11th-placed Millwall on Wednesday followed by three of the current top six we will likely know more about this side and their prospects during the nine December games.

Can they break through their ceiling and into the top six and rid themselves of the peaks and troughs of form we’ve seen throughout their previous two campaigns?

With men in form at both ends of the pitch, and the feeling of an open division, they have a strong chance.