On Halloween, Rovers were given an almighty scare by Fleetwood Town as the Cod Army twice came from behind to snatch a point at Ewood Park, which dampened the spirits over Rovers’ automatic promotion push.
Rovers boss Tony Mowbray had said how difficult he anticipated the game against Fleetwood to be due to their defensive capabilities as well as their strength on the counter-attack, which proved, more than once, to be a thorn in Rovers’ backline.
The team selection that started the game only saw one change to the side that gained a point away at Wigan Athletic on Saturday as Danny Graham was added to the starting line-up at the expense of Elliott Bennett, who as a result of his controversial dismissal for a second bookable offence on Saturday, was forced to sit this game out, additionally, Dominic Samuel was also serving his 2nd game of his 3 match ban. The bench also saw two changes from the one at Wigan as Sam Hart came in to replace Graham and Joe Nuttall – who had re-signed with the club after previously being on trial at Ewood during the 2014-15 season. Nuttall has also, so far, scored 10 goals in 8 games for the u23s, including a goal against Stoke’s u23s for the first team in the Checkatrade Trophy, which sees his seasonal tally go up to 11 goals in 10 games – came into the team to replace the injured Harry Chapman.
Rovers, who kicked off the game, were certainly up for the tie as they began on the front-foot by winning two early corners inside the first 5 minutes which were safely dealt with from a Fleetwood perspective. The first opening of the game, however, was to fall to Rovers through Derrick Williams, on the 7th minute, who had stayed in the box following a corner that was only partially cleared by the visitors. After the ball was cleared, Rovers recycled possession and managed to play the ball out wide back to the set-piece taker Charlie Mulgrew who whipped the ball in towards the far-post where it met the head of Williams who was unable to keep his header down.
The second chance of the game came to the visitors, two minutes later, who were looking rather lethal on the break. The ball was well worked by Fleetwood into the Rovers half and played to Town’s number 11, Bobby Grant, who struck a deadly shot towards goal, however David Raya, between the Rovers posts was able to produce a wonderful diving save to keep the scores level.
Despite Rovers having the lion’s share of the possession, they were unable to create enough chances to break the deadlock as a result of them being unable to draw Fleetwood’s 10 men out from their own half. Fleetwood’s main goal threat so far, Bobby Grant had another opportunity to put the Cod Army, 1-0 up on the 25th minute as he replicated his previous strike on goal from around the same position of 20-yards, however much like the first attempt, Raya was equal to it as he comfortably caught the ball.
6 minutes later, Rovers had another chance to break the deadlock through on-loan striker Marcus Antonsson. The Swede, who was playing out on the left, rather than up-front, was well found by Craig Conway who leathered a diagonal ball in his direction. The striker did well to control the ball on his chest however his finish was left to be desired as he blazed his attempt over the crossbar from around 10-yards.
Rovers then came close to going in-front, 5 minutes from the break as Bradley Dack and Antonsson combined to create a chance on goal in which the latter was denied by a great save by Alex Cairns in the Town goal.
Minutes before the whistle blew for the interval; the referee Darren Drysdale – much like Darren England who was Saturday’s referee against Wigan – decided to become the target of Rovers fans’ discontent and ultimately, the centre of attention, as he booked Richie Smallwood following the midfielders’ clean tackle on a Fleetwood midfielder. The official then added an extra one minute prior to the break, then decided to spend it stopping the game in unusual circumstances in order to speak to both sides’ respective captains, which was then proceeded by a dropped ball, much to the bemusement of Ewood Park.
Both teams entered the break knowing that either of them could have been ahead, however despite all of Rovers’ possession, they were unable to make it count as they were being tamed by a defiant Fleetwood defence. The break also saw Fleetwood make a change as Bobby Grant, who had just about covered every blade of grass on the pitch and looked like Fleetwood’s only hope of scoring a goal, was replaced by on-loan Burnley midfielder, Aiden O’Neill.
The second half was started by Fleetwood and they wasted no time in creating the period’s first chance. Jordi Hiwula was denied as the former Manchester City man was played through on goal but David Raya once again proved his worth to the Rovers side by making a fine save to keep the scores level.
The deadlock was finally broken in the 53rd minute as the goal went Rovers’ way after Bradley Dack netted his third goal in as many home games to nod the home side into the lead. Derrick Williams floated in a superb cross towards the back-post where Danny Graham had ghosted in behind the defence, his subsequent volley from close range was saved, however Dack was on hand to head the ball into the back of the net from 2-yards out.
The visitors then retaliated on the 61st minute mark as they brought on Devante Cole – son of former Rover Andrew Cole – in order to try and fight back and take something from the game. Three minutes later, it looked like Uwe Rösler’s half-time change had worked as Fleetwood equalised through substitute Aiden O’Neill. Ashley Hunter was played through on goal and his attempt was well saved by Raya, however the keeper wasn’t quick enough to get up and deny the rebound as the O’Neill followed up the strike by stroking the ball into an empty net from close range.
Rovers made two substitutions of their own, on the 69th minute following the equaliser, as Richie Smallwood made way for Corry Evans and Danny Graham was withdrawn and replaced by Joe Nuttall, who was making his first league start for the club.
A minute after the changes, Rovers were nearly ahead again, as Marcus Antonsson’s goal-bound effort was well blocked by a Fleetwood defender, which led to a series of Rovers corners. In the midst of the corners, Fleetwood’s final substitution saw Jordy Hiwula be replaced by Wes Burns, as Rösler used his final throw of the dice in an attempt to snatch all three points from Rovers.
Rovers were nearly able to go back ahead as a result of a volley from 20-yards out. Fleetwood only managed to clear Craig Conway’s cross as far as Paul Downing who headed the ball back into the box. The ball landed on the chest of Derrick Williams who did well to control the ball, with his back to goal on the edge of the area, only to then release a volley which just crept passed the post, as half of the ground was already in celebration.
These celebrations however were only the rehearsal for the real goal, which was to come two minutes following Williams’ narrow miss, on the 77th minute. The left-back was once again involved in the build-up as he headed a delivery back across the face of goal, only for it to land at the feet of Joe Nuttall, who was able to blast the ball home from close range in order to put Rovers 2-1 up, despite being surrounded by Fleetwood defenders.
Rovers’ final change came a couple of minutes after the goal as Sam Hart replaced Marcus Antonsson for the final 10 minutes.
5 minutes after Rovers’ goal however, elation was to turn to despair for the home side as Fleetwood once again found themselves level, this time as a result of a goalkeeping error by David Raya. The corner was played in by Fleetwood and the keeper completely missed the ball as he came out to claim it, which saw the ball cannon off of Wes Burns, who was stood on the line and into the net. This goal was Burns’ first goal since signing permanently with Town following a successful loan spell in 2016.
The game petered out into a disappointing draw for Rovers, following the completion of the 5 added minutes at the end of the half. Rovers’ improved defensive efforts over the past few weeks, since the introduction of Paul Downing alongside Charlie Mulgrew, have seemingly been damaged following this result due to the nature in which the two Fleetwood goals were conceded, despite being able to keep Wigan out on Saturday.
This draw – Rovers’ second in as many games – does see the Blues extend their unbeaten run to 4 games, which stretches back to the 17th of October. In terms of their positioning in the table, Rovers have climbed back into 6th, which is the final playoff spot. Their points total has increased to 25, whereas their goal difference has remained at a positive of 9. Rovers’ next game sees them deviate from action in the league, to focus on the start of their FA Cup campaign, which kicks off on the 4th of November at Ewood Park as they entertain League 2’s Barnet in the first round of the competition.
Additionally, the home fixture against Walsall was originally scheduled to be played on the 11th of November, however due to both sides having to deal with international call-ups; this fixture has since been postponed, with a new date to be announced in due course.
