Rovers achieved the reaction that Tony Mowbray called for in his pre-match interview with a deserving 2-0 victory over free-scoring Rotherham United who were unable to add to their goal-tally at Ewood Park.
Tony Mowbray came into the game with two changes to his starting eleven in comparison to the one that managed to snatch a late point away at top of the league Shrewsbury Town only 3 days ago. Paul Downing came into the defence to replace Elliott Ward, whilst Danny Graham was swapped for Marcus Antonsson; which left Ward and Graham on the bench.
Rovers kicked-off the game and like against Wimbledon and Shrewsbury were immediately within touching distance of putting themselves 1-0 up, only 90 seconds into the game. Elliott Bennett’s crossed ball in from the right-hand side was met by the head of Dominic Samuel, who failed to guide his attempt anywhere other than the crossbar. The ball subsequently crashed against the woodwork and fell to the feet of Marcus Antonsson whose follow-up went wide.
Rotherham however knew were the back of the net was, having scored 15 goals in their last 5 games and were up the other end 5 minutes after Rovers failed to go in-front. Rotherham found the ball loose on the edge of the Rovers area and it had popped up nicely for Anthony Forde to attempt a volley. His strike viciously sped wide of David Raya’s left-hand upright, much to the surprise of the home fans who thought their team had gone behind.
By the 15th minute mark, Rovers had hit the woodwork for a second time in the game. Bradley Dack found space in the Rotherham half and drove forward towards goal, eventually playing through Dominic Samuel whose attempt was once again denied by the frame of the goal. Despite Rovers’ near misses, the 9,713 Rovers fans were encouraged by what they had seen so far by their team as they continuously roared the players on as they searched for a goal that would put the hosts in-front.
On the 20th minute, injury forced Rotherham into an early change as their left-back Ben Purrington was replaced by Joe Mattock who assumed his position in the left-back role for Rotheram. This change however, did nothing to calm the Rovers advances as 6 minutes after the substitution; Samuel came close to breaking the deadlock for the third time in the game. Rovers’ number nine seized upon a bad back-pass by Darren Potter and steamed towards goal before rounding goalkeeper Marec Rodák, and took a shot on goal from an acute angle. Rodák, however, did extremely well to save the shot as he managed to get up and quickly re-compose himself in-front of goal to keep the scores tied.
Rotherham’s resolve would only take them until the 27th minute before Rovers found the back of the net. Following a clear handball outside the box, that none of the officials were able to spot, by a Rotherham defender; Rovers were awarded a corner after the ball was cleared. The resulting corner was whipped in by Charlie Mulgrew and was met by the head of Marcus Antonsson, who put Rovers 1-0 to the good as he scored his first goal at Ewood Park, which took his total Rovers tally up-to three for the club.
Rovers were then allowed to take their game up to another gear as Rotherham were forced to withstand continued waves of Rovers attacks. The next wave of attack came 6 minutes before the interval as Rovers crafted two back-to-back chances inside one minute. Paul Caddis was able to provide a stunning cross towards Samuel who headed the ball across the box to an on-rushing Bradley Dack; the former Gillingham man struck the ball cleanly, however Marec Rodák in the Rotherham goal was able to make a comfortable save. The next attempt was a carbon-copy to the first as the ball came in and was once again knocked down by Samuel to Dack, however this time, the 23-year old left stretching to the ball as Rotherham cleared their lines.
The final chance of the first half fell to the goalscorer Antonsson as he was able to free himself from the defence and close in on goal in order to once again test the keeper. His strike, although crisp, was smartly tipped over the bar by Rodák.
Rovers went into the break with their tails high, whilst Rotherham entered the dressing room with a lot of thinking to do if they wanted to get back into the game as, bar their half-chance with Anthony Forde in the 7th minute, they were unable to assert control of the ball.
Rovers, much like the first half, came out all guns blazing in the second half as some clever link-up play between Dack, Antonsson and Samuel in the 52nd minute led to Samuel once again missing the target as he put his shot over the bar from close range.
Bradley Dack then had another attempt at goal, following his first in the first half, two minutes later as his header – which he latched onto from an Elliott Bennett cross – was seen wide by the Rotherham goalkeeper, Rodák.
Rotherham then crafted a rare opportunity at goal as substitute Joe Mattock attempted a 25-yard volley towards goal, which was impressively palmed away by Rovers’ keeper David Raya in order to keep his side in-front. The attempt was followed by a change in personnel for the away side as Richie Towell replaced Anthony Forde.
This substitution sparked something positive for Rotherham as 3 minutes later, on the 68th minute, they were able to fashion two creditable chances at goal; one more controversial than the other. The first attempt was a volley by Lee Frecklington, who latched on the end of Rotherham’s deep corner to try and level the scoring, however this was an attempt that Raya was equal to, as the Spaniard was able to get down low and make a save. The second, more controversial, attempt at goal was also from a corner, seconds later. The ball was crossed into the box and latched onto by Richard Wood whose header found the back of the Rovers net, however to Rotherham’s dismay, was ruled out as the officials had deemed that the ball had gone out of play once the corner had been taken.
Rovers then retaliated with this near-miss by making a change as Bradley Dack made way for Harry Chapman, who played a vital role on Saturday when the two combined for Dack’s late equaliser. The substitute once again made an instant impact seconds after being introduced as he skipped past two Rotherham players on the counter attack and eventually took a shot on goal that was saved by the Rotherham keeper. On the 74th minute, Rovers used their second substitution to bring on Peter Whittingham in place of Corry Evans who had been booked minutes before.
Marcus Antonsson came within inches to putting the game to bed for Rovers as he missed out on the opportunity to grab his second goal of the night. The Swede broke the Rotherham offside trap, which was placed just after the halfway line and raced through on goal, before putting his shot over the bar after the goalkeeper offered no real threat to stop him. Rovers made their final change moments later as Dominic Samuel was replaced by Sam Hart, who came off the Rovers bench to make his debut for the club after signing permanently on transfer deadline day.
Rotherham’s final chance of the game came with 10 minutes – plus stoppage time – to go. Kieffer Moore found himself in the Rovers box and was able to get a header on goal; however his attempt was cleared off the line by Charlie Mulgrew as it compounded a poor night in-front of goal for the team who had scored 20 league goals this season. Rotherham made their final change as Jerry Yates came on for Joe Newell in what was final throw at the dice for the visitors.
Their misery however, was to get worse 5 minutes later as Rovers doubled their lead courtesy of Harry Chapman, the substitute. The winger played a quick short corner as a one-two and drove into the box. His initial shot was saved by Rodák; however he was on hand to slot the ball home at the second time of asking as he scored his first goal for the club whilst also putting the contest to bed at 2-0 in Rovers’ favour.
Despite going 2-0 in-front, Rovers had no intention of taking their foot off the pedal in terms of creating chances. A minute after Rovers doubled their lead, Antonsson once again found himself inside the Rotherham box. He took a left-footed shot towards goal, however it trickled wide of the mark. Rovers ended the game as they started it – on the attack. Substitute Peter Whittingham found himself free of any Rotherham defenders as Rovers counter-attacked in stoppage time. The former Cardiff man ran through on goal and left the keeper for dead as his shot flew wide of the far, left-hand post.
The full-time result, matched the performance from a Rovers perspective as they ran out comfortable 2-0 winners at home. This victory saw them climb up one place in the table to 8th as they hold 16 points and a positive goal difference of 6, with a game in hand over the teams above them. Additionally, they leave themselves 2 points off of the playoffs, whilst they trail league leaders Shrewsbury Town by 10 points. However, despite the table, the performance and result was one that sent all 9,713 Rovers fans home delighted with how their team applied themselves and they will be hoping for a repeat on Saturday when they face Gillingham at Ewood Park.
