Rovers’ 18-match unbeaten run came to an end on Saturday after they were dumped out of the FA Cup in the 3rd Round by Championship side, Hull City, who capitalised on Rovers’ poor defending on set-pieces through Ola Aina, to advance to the 4th Round of the Emirates FA Cup.
Prior to the game, Tony Mowbray said that Rovers were not going to sit down just because Hull were from a higher division. Despite the manager confirming that the league was his main priority, it didn’t stop him from admitting that he would set his side up to attack and unsettle the visitors.
There was some rotation to the side that drew 1-1 with Rotherham United on New Year’s Day as David Raya, Paul Downing, Bradley Dack and Danny Graham all dropped to the bench. Whilst Richie Smallwood, who was not in the matchday squad, was replaced by Willem Tomlinson. Jayson Leutwiler, who replaced Raya between the posts and Joe Nuttall, who had recovered from illness, also came into the side. Rovers’ changes saw Ryan Nyambe slot in at centre-back, whilst Scott Wharton and Lewis Travis also made the bench.
It was the visitors who kicked the game off as they aimed to bring their own run of 5 matches without a win, to an end. Despite Hull’s ambitions however, it was to be Rovers who began the livelier as they managed to fashion a chance only two minutes into the game. Dominic Samuel managed to wriggle his way through the visiting defenders and tried to get a shot away, but was intercepted. Hull were then unable to regain possession following the interception as it fell to Craig Conway who curled a first-time effort over the bar.
On the 11th minute, Rovers were only inches away from going ahead early on as Paul Caddis’ volleyed effort cannoned off the crossbar. A cross by Derrick Williams missed Samuel and Nuttall in the box and broke to an unmarked Paul Caddis who had made the run forward on the opposite flank. The full-back was able to control the ball with his chest before releasing a venomous strike that looked certain to end up in the top corner of David Marshall’s goal, however the volley was a bit too high which saw it hit the bar and bounce back into play.
Ten minutes later, on the 21st minute, Hull had their first opportunity at breaking the deadlock through on-loan Chelsea defender, Michael Hector. Jon Toral floated in a corner towards the back-post which saw Hector connect with it as he headed towards goal, however Leutwiler in the Rovers goal was able to keep hold of the ball at the second attempt, after first dropping it.
Hull soon began to found their rhythm as on the 26th minute, Adama Diomande released a shot on goal from the edge of the area, only to have it blocked by the deputising centre-back, Ryan Nyambe.
Rovers were soon made a substitution on the 41st minute as Lewis Travis was brought on in place of Corry Evans who didn’t look like he was in any pain, leaving the home support in some confusion as to why the substitution took place so close to half-time if Evans wasn’t seriously hurt, however with Corry Evans’ injury record, it was better to be safe than sorry, in-terms of removing the Northern Irish international, to potentially avoid risking further injury.
The drab first period soon fizzled out into half-time after the referee added on two extra minutes to the half. Despite there being not a lot to talk about in the first-half, Rovers could have gone into the break with some element of confidence, knowing that Hull were there for the taking, especially after their shaky start to the game.
After both sides emerged from the dressing rooms with no changes made, it was Rovers who began the second period with the hope of potentially turning up the pressure on Hull.
It only took 13 minutes after half-time for Hull to break the deadlock in the game, which came through a corner that was swung into the far-post and met by the head of Ola Aina, who leapt highest in the Rovers box to nod the visitors in-front. The corner was taken by Jon Toral, who aimed for the back post, much like he had previously done in the first-half. With Rovers not learning from the warning signs in the first 45 minutes, Ola Aina managed to break free from his marker and leap highest to reach the ball and nod it into the bottom corner past the despairing Leutwiler.
After the restart, Hull soon had another corner, two minutes after the goal which saw the same scenario occur, yet this time, it was Hull’s top scorer, Jarrod Bowen who got on the end of the cross, but he only found the side-netting.
Following this missed opportunity by Hull, both sides made changes as Hull brought on Jackson Irvine for Evandro, whilst Rovers introduced Danny Graham and Bradley Dack in place of Willem Tomlinson and Joe Nuttall, respectively.
With the introduction of Dack and Graham, Rovers soon sprung into life and this was seen as Dack was involved in the game, minutes after coming on. On the 64th minute, Dack’s cross from the right-hand side deflected and found its way into the feet of Craig Conway, who had time to take a touch and steady himself, but the 32-year old decided to strike the ball first-time, yet he saw his effort comfortably saved by Marshall.
As Rovers piled on the pressure in search of a goal with 20 minutes left, it was Danny Graham who had the next chance to draw Rovers level. Craig Conway played Graham through on goal, who was on the edge of the area with acres of space to turn into. The former Sunderland man took a touch and turned on the spot before striking the ball, yet his effort lacked accuracy as it was powered over the bar.
Hull soon made their final two changes of the evening as former Manchester United striker, Frazier Campbell was introduced in place of Adama Diomande, who proved to be a handful for Rovers’ defenders throughout the game. Nigel Adkins also brought on David Meyler for Kevin Stewart in an attempt to sure up his sides’ midfield for the anticipated barrage of attacks that Rovers had planned.
As the game ticked over into the final few minutes, Rovers came close to equalising on the 84th minute mark through Derrick Williams, after he somehow managed to blaze over the bar, only yards away from the goal-line following Charlie Mulgrew’s free-kick. The Rovers skipper lofted in a ball which bounced around in the box – as Hull failed to clear – before falling to the feet of Derrick Williams who failed to poke the ball home from close range.
As the referee added on three minutes to the second-half, Rovers began to pile men forward in search of an equaliser that would take the game to a replay. Rovers were soon awarded a free-kick which Charlie Mulgrew, again, floated into the area. The set-piece was easily punched away by David Marshall, whose punch only went as far as Paul Caddis, who lined-up an effort, similar to the strike he had in the first-half, but this time, his strike was blocked by Max Clark, who put his body on the line to defend his sides’ lead.
The Rovers attacks did not stop there as they were soon awarded another free-kick, which saw every Rovers player in the Hull box, barring Jayson Leutwiler, who loitered on the half-way line, and despite calls from the crowd calling for the goalkeeper to make his way forwards, there was an obvious reluctance from Tony Mowbray as he thought it was best to try and avoid a replay, due to Rovers’ hectic fixture list, at such a crucial time in the league season. The free-kick was subsequently cleared away for a corner, which saw continued calls from the crowd for Leutwiler to be in the Hull box, however Rovers were unable to take the corner as referee, Oliver Langford called time on the game.
Despite the game not being a classic by any means, this defeat – although it sees the 18-match unbeaten run end – may potentially be a blessing in disguise for the Blues as they can now solely focus on the league, having been knocked out of all three cup competitions. Additionally, with the avoidance of the replay away at the KCOM Stadium, it allows Tony Mowbray and his side extra days off to focus, train and prepare for the league fixtures during future FA Cup weekends, which will no doubt help Rovers’ league form.
Rovers’ next game sees them return to league action in a weeks’ time – on 13th January – as they play hosts to 2nd in the league, Shrewsbury Town, in what will be a must-win game for the Blues if they want to continue their mission on finishing the season in the automatic promotion spots. With Bournemouth forcing Wigan into a replay, this will see Wigan’s fixture list get busier which will also help Rovers. Similarly, if Shrewsbury manage to hold West Ham to a draw on Sunday, or beat the Premier League side, they will also continue in the competition, which will also see their games pile up.
Regardless of whether Shrewsbury advance or not, there is no doubt that next Saturday’s game will be massive in-terms of how the League One promotion places look.
