Rovers made it 18 games unbeaten and moved up to 2nd in the League One table as they easily brushed aside a weak Walsall team who, themselves are now anxiously looking over their shoulder after picking up their 4th defeat in their last 5 games.
Prior to kick-off, Tony Mowbray had underlined the importance of forgetting about Saturday’s frustrating draw with Northampton Town and solely shifting the focus on to this game. The gaffer was also highlighting the importance of concentrated minds and a high work ethic, as Walsall had had a ten-day break since their last match which could have worked in their advantage.
The team that Rovers started out with saw three changes to the side that was held to a draw by Northampton, 3 days ago. Amari’i Bell, Jack Payne and Adam Armstrong all, came in for their first respective starts in Rovers colours. Those outgoing from the starting eleven were; the injured Charlie Mulgrew, Craig Conway and Dominic Samuel; the latter two being dropped to the bench.
The game was kicked off by Walsall, who were looking to potentially used the days they had had away from matches to their advantage, and it was the visitors who registered the first shot of the tie. George Dobson picked the ball up from a distance, about 30 yards from goal, and released an ambitious shot that was in no shape going to trouble Rovers’ ‘keeper David Raya, as the ball flew well wide of the intended target.
It didn’t take long for Rovers to find their gear as Danny Graham put Rovers ahead inside the first 5 minutes of the game, following some lovely fluid interplay by the Rovers midfield. Jack Payne, Adam Armstrong and Bradley Dack were all involved in the build-up which eventually allowed the ball to be slotted through into the path of Graham who managed to stroke the ball past the goalkeeper from a tight angle, to find the inside of the far post, in order to put the Blues a goal to the good.
The Rovers barrage did not stop there, as they were able to regain the ball straight from kick-off and push for a second. Adam Armstrong received the ball on the left-hand side of the visiting half and cut inside onto his stronger right-foot, leaving the defender for dead with his pace. The on-loan Newcastle United man eyed up his target before using the covering defender as a dummy to curl his shot, which was eventually well held by Liam Roberts in the Saddlers goal.
On the 11th minute, Walsall got their second opportunity to try and get on the scoresheet. Joe Edwards was given the space from the left-midfield position, to get forward and cut inside to have a crack at goal. Although the former Yeovil man did well to get beyond Ryan Nyambe, cut inside and release a shot, David Raya was once again, equal to the attempt as he made a smart save to deny the 27-year old.
It should have been 2-0 to Rovers by the 19th minute as Armstrong and Graham combined well to give the former a chance at doubling the Blues’ lead. The ball was played forward into Graham who did well to hold off his marker and head the ball into Armstrong’s path. The forward-turned-winger was able to latch onto the ball and strike a first-time effort that whizzed just wide of the mark, from around 10 yards out.
Rovers were becoming more and more dominant as the half wore on and this was evident by the 24th minute, when Paul Downing was superbly denied by Liam Roberts, from a header off of a corner. It was Adam Armstrong who delivered the ball into the area, after Bradley Dack took a quick corner, which allowed Downing to jump and make a solid connection, via the header. The ball looked destined to nestle into the bottom corner, but for the cat-like reflexes of Roberts who produced a world-class save to tip the ball wide for another corner, which led to nothing.
Immediately after the corner, Bradley Dack was on the ball again as he ran towards the Walsall defence with the goal in his sights. He positioned his body correctly before powering a shot towards goal, but unfortunately for Rovers’ joint top goalscorer this season, his effort flew past the net and into the Darwen End.
It only took 7 minutes after Dack’s attempt for Rovers to double the lead to 2-0, and for Danny Graham to double his goalscoring antics for the night, giving him 9 goals for the season in the league. Richie Smallwood played a pinpoint cross into the box, towards Graham from the right-wing. The forward then leapt above his marker and guided a header past Roberts in the goal, much to the delight of the home crowd.
3 minutes after the goal, Adam Armstrong was back at it again as he nearly made it 3-0. The on-loan forward, who was craving a goal this game, once again cut inside from the left and released a shot at goal that looked destined to nestle into the right-hand side of the net meshing, if not for the strong hand of Roberts in the Saddlers’ goal, who was having a stormer to keep the score down, despite already conceding two.
As the Saddlers’ re-grouped and regained possession back on the 37th minute, they made a rare foray towards the Rovers goal as Kory Roberts lumped the ball forwards into Joe Edwards’ path, who managed to nudge Ryan Nyambe to the ground and get on the ball. The midfielder then composed himself, shimmied in order to eliminate Paul Downing from the scene and drove the ball, past Raya, into the roof of the net to give the visitors a fighting chance of getting back into the game in the second-half.
Rovers were not going to lie down that easily, as on the 42nd minute, the attacks continued. Amari’i Bell used his pace well to skip ahead of his man and produce a low cross in towards Adam Armstrong who volleyed the ball first-time towards goal, however the forwards’ luck did not seem to be in this evening, as the volley narrowly missed the target.
As the first-half came to an end, the referee added on 3 extra minutes to the first 45 minutes, which saw Rovers take a narrow lead into the break, by the time the whistle was blown, despite having a plethora of chances to kill the game off in the first period. Tony Mowbray would have no doubt been pleased with a majority of the play that Rovers were producing, barring the fact that they had conceded, of course. Alternatively, the Walsall dressing room would not have presented the same picture, as their players would have been immensely disappointed at the two goals that they had conceded and looked towards the second-half to make amends.
During the break, the visitors made a double change in the hope that they could reinvigorate their chances of getting something from this game as they brought on Reece Flanagan and Justin Shaibu for Kory Roberts and Kieron Morris, respectively.
Once the sides had re-emerged for the second period, the game was kicked-off by Rovers through Bradley Dack, who did not take long to get himself onto the scoresheet and made himself the club’s top goalscorer in the league, as he restored Rovers’ two-goal margin within the first 2 minutes of the second-half being played. A lovely passing move involving four Rovers players; Bell to Payne, to Graham, to Dack, allowed the midfielder to coolly slot the ball into the bottom left-hand corner of the goal with his weaker left-foot, past the despairing Roberts.
10 minutes after the goal, Rovers nearly deflected their way into a 4th goal on the night. Armstrong again, in the search for his first goal for the club, sprinted onto a loose ball and stormed towards the Walsall defence. He then released a powerful shot that deflected off of a defender and looked destined to loop over Roberts, but the ‘keeper did fantastically well to tip the ball over the bar for a corner, which ultimately led to nothing.
4 minutes after Roberts’ save, Armstrong tried to put one past the Saddlers’ ‘keeper again. This time attacking the other goal in Ewood Park, the forward tried his patented cut-inside from the left and shoot manoeuvre, however much like his previous efforts, the ‘keeper was equal to Armstrong’s efforts again.
On the 64th minute, Walsall had their 3rd chance on goal all game, as George Dobson played through Amadou Bakayoko with an over the top through ball, in the hope of finding a route back into the game. Despite the frontman’s strength and physical presence, his shot flew over as a result of him being unbalanced, much to the dismay of the 227 away fans behind the goal that Walsall were attacking.
The break in play that followed from Bakayoko’s attempt allowed Rovers to make a change. Jack Payne’s first start for the Blues was cut short as he was replaced by Craig Conway on the 65th minute.
By the 72nd minute, Adam Armstrong’s frustrations were starting to show after Bradley Dack did well to turn and slot him through. Armstong’s subsequent effort on goal was denied by Roberts who produced another excellent stop to deny the loanee, for the 5th time in the match, from getting his name onto the scoresheet.
Walsall then made their 3rd and final change on the 77th minute as Erhun Oztumer – a Rovers target in the summer – was replaced by Maz Kouhyar. Rovers responded to this by making their final two changes on the 79th and 85th minute, in an attempt to fizzle the game out. The first change, on the 79th minute, saw the sponsor’s man of the match, Danny Graham be replaced by Dominic Samuel, whilst the second change, on the 85th minute, saw Richie Smallwood be withdrawn for Lewis Travis.
As the 90th minute approached, the officials added on 3 minutes to the half, much like they had done at the end of the first period.
On the 91st minute, Walsall nearly got their opportunity to alter each sides’ goal difference, as substitute Justin Shaibu looked destined to blast the ball into the back of the net from close range after being played through, but was superbly denied by Elliott Bennett who sprinted all the way back from the centre of midfield and put in an excellent challenge to block the substitute’s effort, from around 10 yards out.
The final kick of the game came, unsurprisingly, to Adam Armstrong who stood over a free-kick which from around 25 yards out. The forward struck the set-piece with venom and accuracy, as the ball fizzed over the wall and looked destined to dip over Roberts. Armstrong, however, was denied a brilliant first goal for the club, by the crossbar, as the referee blew for full-time after the ball was cleared.
Following this convincing win, which showed that Rovers had the ability to bounce back from a frustrating result at the weekend, the table sees Rovers climb above Shrewsbury into 2nd, one point clear of Salop. In terms of Wigan Athletic, their game with Rochdale, which was meant to be played at the same time as Rovers’ game tonight, was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch at Spotland, meaning that Wigan have two games in hand over Rovers and one over Shrewsbury. On the positive side from Rovers’ perspective, the Latics are only one point ahead and are still fighting in the FA Cup, having been drawn at home to Manchester City in the 5th round of the competition, which will no doubt cause Paul Cook’s side problems with fixture congestion and fatigue.
Rovers’ next league game is on Saturday 3rd February, as the Blues and over 1400 supporters make the long, arduous trip down to the south-west to play Plymouth Argyle. After that, Rovers return to Ewood Park on the 10th February to host Oldham Athletic, in the hope that Rovers can exact revenge on the side that last beat them in the league.
