The Blues were unable to capitalise on a poor display by Wigan Athletic on Friday night, to move within 3 points of the Latics and stake their claim for the League One title. Rovers were only able to gain a draw against Scunthorpe United, despite a very positive display which saw Danny Graham make the headlines by scoring two goals.
During the build-up to the game, Tony Mowbray praised Scunthorpe’s efforts so far, this season, claiming that Rovers would have to be at their very best in order to beat them, as the visitors had some ‘strong, technical players’, that could cause Rovers problems.
There was only one change to the side that started the 2-0 win over Rochdale on Boxing Day, as Peter Whittingham replaced Corry Evans, who had played poorly on Tuesday and as a result, dropped to the bench. The rotation also saw the return of Dominic Samuel, who came onto the bench in place of Joe Nuttall, who dropped out of contention altogether after suffering from an illness throughout the week.
Prior to kick-off, all the players, staff and supporters of both teams stood for a minute’s applause in memory of all the Rovers supporters who had passed away during 2017. After that was impeccably observed, the match was started by Scunthorpe, who, like Rovers, were bidding to try and catch the top two.
The first attack of the game led to the first shot on target for the visitors as Duane Holmes found some space in the area and released a shot which troubled David Raya, as he palmed it behind for a corner, which led to nothing.
Rovers soon found themselves in-front on the 7th minute mark, through the experienced Danny Graham. Bradley Dack picked up the ball in the centre of the Scunthorpe half before turning to find Ryan Nyambe who was on the overlap. The full-back wasted no time in producing an accurate delivery that allowed Graham to simply sweep the ball home to put Rovers a goal to the good.
Scunthorpe were having none of it however, as it only took them 5 minutes to create and score and equaliser, through their coveted forward, Kevin Van Veen. Funso Ojo collected the ball off of a throw-in and then played an inch-perfect pass through to Van Veen who collected the ball and fired at goal from a tight angle. Unfortunately for David Raya, he got his angles all wrong as the ball crept inside his near-post which drew the visitors level.
The Iron created the next chance of the game on the 27th minute when Hakeeb Adelakun’s effort on goal flew over the bar. The left-midfielder found himself on the edge of the area with the ball before trying his luck on goal, however unfortunately for him, his shot was nowhere near David Raya’s crossbar.
Rovers soon stepped up a gear and created a chance at goal two minutes later. Elliott Bennett – like Adelakun – found himself in a more central position with the ball and drove towards goal. Bennett’s strike was better than Adelakun’s however as it forced a save from Matt Gilks which helped lift the atmosphere within the stadium.
This atmosphere certainly helped Bennett who created his second chance in as many minutes on the 31st minute mark. After some good play by Rovers, the ball went out wide and was played in towards the head of Elliott Bennett who powered a header towards goal, which Matt Gilks was equal to. Had Bennett’s header gone either side of the goalkeeper, his name would have been on the scoresheet.
Rovers then ended the half after having two attempts within the last 5 minutes of the period. The first fell to Derrick Williams whose header looped over the bar and dropped onto the roof of the net. The second attempt fell to Richie Smallwood, who was looking to score against the club that he spent a season on loan at. He picked the ball up from around 25-yards out and ploughed an effort towards goal, unfortunately for him, the ball was always rising.
With the game evenly balanced on a knife’s edge, both sides entered the break with their eyes set on the three points that would aid their respective promotion pushes. Despite the first-half not being fruitful in-terms of chances at goal, the goals, for both sides, had provided them each with the confidence that the opposition was there for the taking.
The second-half was started by Rovers, and like the opening minutes of the first period, it didn’t take long for Rovers to find the back of the net as on the 47th minute, Danny Graham capped off a wonderful piece of play by Marcus Antonsson and Bradley Dack to fire Rovers ahead for the second time in the game. Dack was again instrumental in seeking out players on the run, and he found Marcus Antonsson out wide with a perfect ball. The Swede judged the flight-path of the ball well enough to head the ball down into the path of Danny Graham who only had to hold off his marker and stroke the ball home with the side of his foot to put the Blues back in-front.
With Rovers in-front, they seemingly looked in control of the game, as on the 53rd minute, they nearly increased their lead to three courtesy of Marcus Antonsson. Bennett dispossessed Murray Wallace before sparking a counter-attack in which he had Dack in support. Bennett’s over-hit pass saw Dack create space for Antonsson to run in to, which allowed him to play in the Swede, who’s subsequent shot deflected wide.
With the corner being claimed by Gilks, Rovers were soon on the attack moments later as Bradley Dack was played through on goal, however he forced the former Blackpool goalkeeper into a save, which should have really seen Rovers go further ahead.
Rovers would have been ruing the missed chances come the 56th minute as another Scunthorpe attack led to their second goal of the evening following a defensive mistake by Elliott Bennett. Duane Holmes crossed the ball in towards the far-post which saw the ball headed on by Charlie Mulgrew, into the path of Elliott Bennett whose clearance was completely mistimed as he missed the ball, allowing Conor Townsend to poke Scunthorpe level.
With the scores level at 2-2, Rovers cranked up the pressure and intensity as they went forwards in the hope of finding a third that would help close the gap on Wigan. On the 60th minute, Dack once again found himself with a goal-scoring opportunity as his volley deflected behind for a corner.
Minutes later, Rovers decided to change the dynamic of their attack as they brought on Dominic Samuel in-place of Danny Graham, who had been awarded the man of the match, by the club’s sponsors.
Tom Hopper almost found himself through on goal after a good run, however he was stopped by Paul Downing, as the defender did well to track-back and stop the forward from shooting on goal.
On the 69th minute, Derrick Williams and Marcus Antonsson combined well to create a chance on goal for the latter. Williams threaded Antonsson through with a defence-splitting pass which allowed the Swede to cut inside and weigh up the shooting angle, which he took, but unfortunately fired wide.
As the game opened up, it became more end-to-end and Rovers were soon under the cosh straight after Antonsson’s attempt went wide. On the resulting turn of play from the goal-kick, Scunthorpe managed to make their way up the field and try their luck from close range. Duane Holmes once again fired a shot on goal, but David Raya did well to get down and push the American’s attempt behind the post for a corner, which led to nothing.
Both sides soon made changes as Rovers replaced the injured Marcus Antonsson, who was assisted off the field following a collision with an opponent, with Sam Hart who added some fresh legs down the Rovers wings. The visitor’s change saw the scorer of their first goal, Kevin Van Veen, be replaced by Lee Novak.
On the 80th minute, Rovers hit the post through Bradley Dack as they gradually increased the pressure onto Scunthorpe in a bid to find a late winner. Dack cut inside on his man after latching onto Smallwood’s pass, and lined up a shot which went to Gilks’ near-post, rather than the more common far-post. The shot had the power, but not the accuracy as it crashed off the post and back off Gilks’ back as the ‘keeper reacted quick enough to keep the ball under his grasp.
As the closing stages of the game approached, Hakeeb Adelakun was subbed off for Levi Sutton, as the visitors looked to have settled for a point.
As four minutes appeared on the board of the fourth official, the Rovers crowd increased their support in the hope of helping their side find a winner.
Rovers created two chances in the final 3 minutes of added time, which saw them come agonisingly close to going ahead for a third time in the game.
The first chance fell to Dack, who did his best to shrug off any defenders before turning and firing, however his shot was less than impressive as it was shanked wide for a goal-kick.
The final chance also came to Dack, who had lined-up a free-kick on the edge of the area after Sam Hart was fouled. Following some lengthy discussions between Bennett, Mulgrew and Dack, it was the latter who won the argument as he successfully managed to beat the wall, but not the keeper as Gilks was once again equal to an effort from Bradley Dack.
As Gilks dropped to the floor following the save, the referee called time on what was an exhilarating game for both sets of supporters, and was a real advert for League One football after some end-to-end play.
With the draw being, points dropped from Rovers’ perspective, the position that they find themselves in now; 3rd with 48 points and a +22 goal difference from 24 games, is by no means a bad one considering Shrewsbury are 2nd on 51 points following their 2-1 win over Southend today, and Wigan are 1st on 53 points after their 0-0 draw with Charlton on Friday night. With around half of the season to go, and the games coming in thick and fast, Rovers will surely make up for their early season errors by snatching a couple of wins before the season is over.
Rovers now turn their attentions to their away game on New Years’ Day, which is a short-trip to Rotherham United, who find themselves in 7th, only a couple of points from the playoffs. With them also looking for a swift return to England’s second tier, the game promises to continue the fireworks of the festive season.
