Rovers extended their winning run to four games following their 1-0 win over Scunthorpe on a wet and windy Tuesday evening at Glanford Park.
There were 2 changes to the starting eleven that took the field away at Rochdale on Saturday, with Charlie Mulgrew returned from his ankle injury to captain the side, whilst Rekeem Harper came in for his debut on the left hand side of midfield. They replaced Paul Downing, who dropped to the bench, and Craig Conway, who dropped out of the side altogether due to an injury he had picked up on Saturday’s victory at Spotland.
Scunthorpe got the game underway and it was the hosts who had the better of the game inside the first 10 minutes. Paddy Madden’s strike on goal was comfortably saved by David Raya in the Rovers goal. 6 minutes later, Rovers had their first opportunity as Richie Smallwood headed the ball down to Dominic Samuel, whose shot was blocked additionally, his attempt at striking the rebound failed as a result of a Scunthorpe challenge, which forced him to the ground leading to Rovers appealing for a penalty, which was waved away by the referee.
David Raya was tested again soon after as Duane Holmes struck a swerving shot from distance which forced Raya into action. However, the Spaniard spilled the ball, forcing Elliott Ward into making a clearance which kept the scores level. On the 24th minute mark, Rovers had their second attempt at opening the scoring as Elliott Bennett whipped in a corner which landed on the head of the returning captain Mulgrew, however the Scunthorpe defending, combined with the poor weather conditions saw the ball skid off his head and fly past the far post.
Former Rover Josh Morris was in the hosts’ line-up and he showed the Rovers fans what they were missing as he had 2 shots at Raya’s goal in as many minutes. The first was a free-kick which saw the Rovers keeper palm over the crossbar for a corner and the second was off the back of a Paddy Madden cross, which was poorly cleared by Paul Caddis. The midfielder then struck a venomous shot which went straight down Raya’s throat as the keeper held onto the attempt.
Rovers went up the other end ten minutes later to produce two great chances of their own. Corry Evans picked up the ball and played it through to Dominic Samuel, who got the better of the Scunthorpe defensive line for pace as he got himself into the box and shot on goal, only to see his strike comfortably saved by the experienced Matt Gilks. The second chance for Rovers was arguably a missed sitter by debutant Rekeem Harper who was on the end of a precise cross by Elliott Bennett from the right-hand side. The 17-year old was found at the back post unmarked, but failed to convert his header from only 10-yards out.
The teams went into the break with the score goalless despite the balanced score-line, it could have been argued that the hosts were the better team come the interval. There was a change for Rovers at the break which saw Rekeem Harper – who had the best chance of the first half – being replaced by Bradley Dack and it was Dack who got the second period underway for Rovers.
Despite the dominance from Scunthorpe in the first period, it was Rovers that broke the deadlock on the 58th minute as Marcus Antonsson got his second goal for the club in as many games. The assist came from Elliott Bennett who was once again causing Scunthorpe problems with his clever wing play and his pinpoint crossing. His cross, which was aimed towards the far post, was met by Antonsson who side-footed the ball home in-front of the travelling support to send them wild and to put Rovers 1-0 up. Despite his goal however, Antonsson was substituted 6 minutes later as Danny Graham – who scored in the last fixture from the bench – replaced him.
Graham’s impact on the game was instant as he led the penalty appeals for Rovers in the 71st minute has his header seemingly struck the arm of a Scunthorpe defender in the box, however for the second time in the game, the referee waved Rovers’ appeals away.
Scunthorpe’s spirits were dampened in the second half, however they nearly put the game back on level terms in the 74th minute as Neil Bishop’s header – who previously scored for the hosts in a 1-0 victory at Ewood Park in 2014 where the sides met in the EFL Cup – from a corner was cleared off the line by Derrick Williams who kept Rovers’ hope of gaining all three points and extending the winning run alive.
Rovers’ third and final change saw Dominic Samuel being replaced by Harry Chapman. The substitution immediately led to an opportunity for Rovers to potentially double their lead as Bradley Dack cut in from the left hand side and cut the ball back to Danny Graham who saw his effort at goal saved by Matt Gilks. Scunthorpe’s need to salvage something from the game saw them desperately get the ball forwards in an attempt to at least draw level. Funso Ojo had a long range effort superbly tipped over the bar by David Raya in order to keep Rovers in-front and the pressure increased in the 3rd minute of added time as Paddy Madden’s shot deflected off a Rovers defender and looped over the crossbar, which cemented the thought that it was going to be Rovers’ game rather than the hosts’.
The game ended in heartbreak for Scunthorpe as despite all their effort and their attempts at goal, Rovers walked away from Glanford Park with the three points, courtesy of Marcus Antonsson’s second goal in the Blue and White of Rovers.
With this victory in the bag, Rovers see themselves remain in 10th by virtue of a point between themselves and Wigan Athletic, who are in 6th; Rovers are also 7 points off the early pacesetters Shrewsbury Town. Additionally, with this win, Rovers have extended their winning record to four in a row, which is the first time since 2007 – where Rovers beat Sunderland, Birmingham, Reading and Tottenham in the process.
