On a cold and snowy evening in the south of England, Rovers extended their run to 4 unbeaten, as they stretched their lead at the top of the League One table to 4 points after a convincing 3-0 win over AFC Wimbledon at Kingsmeadow.
In his interview before the game, Tony Mowbray had challenged his squad to continue the fine form that they had picked up in recent weeks, in order to continue their unbeaten run and increase their lead at the top of the table. The manager was also wary of some illness within the camp and had hoped that it had worn off in time for the game on Tuesday.
All of Mowbray’s wishes were to be true as he was able to recall Bradley Dack into the starting line-up, which was Rovers’ only change to the side that beat Walsall at the weekend. The midfielder replaced Corry Evans, who had dropped to the bench. In terms of changes to the bench, Dominic Samuel was replaced by Joe Nuttall as the former had picked up an ankle injury during training.
With the players out on the icy pitch that had been covered all night, the game was eventually kicked-off by Rovers as they looking to continue their fine form against a side who were beginning to look over their shoulders in terms of potentially falling into the bottom three.
The first effort of the encounter fell the way of the hosts inside the first 2 minutes of the game, as Jon Meades struck a shot from some way out, which ended up causing David Raya no trouble, as the ball trickled wide of the mark.
Rovers had their first chance of the match, 4 minutes later as Adam Armstrong did well to find space and cross a ball in from the left-hand side which saw the ball fall onto the head of Bradley Dack. With Dack getting to the ball before the Wimbledon ‘keeper did, there was always a better chance of the midfielder scoring, however on this occasion that did not occur as his header whistled wide of the upright and went behind for a goal-kick.
On the 21st minute, Darragh Lenihan tried his luck from distance, but his ambitious effort flew high and wide of the home side’s goal.
8 minutes later, Rovers were able to gain a corner off the back of some good play by Danny Graham, who was able to bring his partner-in-crime, Adam Armstrong into the move with a lovely lay-off. The loanee was then able to win the corner which led to the opening goal of the game, which was in Rovers’ favour.
With the corner being delivered towards the back-post, Jack Payne was able to get on the receiving end of it on the opposite side of the field and deliver a high ball into the box which caused the Wimbledon backline some issues. Dack, who originally took the corner, was on the receiving end of the header as he connected with the ball and sent a looping header towards the goalline. Although the hosting defenders were scrambling to clear, they eventually cleared the ball. Despite believing they had cleared the danger, the linesman on the far side must have had eagle-eyes, as he had spotted that the ball had fully crossed the line, thus leading to the awarding of a goal, much to the delight of the Rovers players and their 778 travelling fans.
With the Blues 1-0 to the good, it took them until the 38th minute to craft another opening at goal, this time through their captain Charlie Mulgrew. Rovers were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the area which the skipper stood up to take. The Scot’s strike looked destined for goal, but it took a deflection and went out for a corner, rippling the side-netting along the way.
A minute after the corner was taken, Payne had an effort on goal which was well saved by George Long in the Dons’ goal. The Huddersfield loanee’s strike was a well hit effort which Long did well to get down and save.
With 2 minutes of added time being allocated at the end first 45 minutes, Rovers were able to close out the half and head into the break with the lead, despite some late Wimbledon pressure.
With both sides receiving some words by their respective managers, the happier camp would have certainly been Rovers, as Tony Mowbray would have been pleased with the efforts that Rovers partook in, during the first-half, both offensively and defensively. Mowbray’s counterpart, Neil Ardley on the other hand would have been frustrated to see a controversial goal awarded; however, from another view, his frustrations would have been compounded by the fact that his side had created little to nothing in the first period.
With the sides out for the second period, it was the hosts who restarted the game from the kick-off. Alongside the kick-off, the home side also made a change at the break which saw Joe Pigott replace Andy Barcham, as the Dons looked to get themselves back into the tie.
Within seconds of the play being restarted, Adam Armstrong found himself in-front of goal with the chance to shoot at goal, which he obliged with. Although his effort was seemingly well struck, it’s accuracy was not on the same level, as the strike deflected into the path of the Dons ‘keeper, who claimed an easy pick-up.
3 minutes after Armstrong’s effort, Rovers almost utilised the counter-attack to full effect. David Raya sprayed the ball out to the left-hand side into the path of Derrick Williams, who was in acres of space. The full-back was then able to bring the ball forwards and play it into the path of Danny Graham who let the ball run across his body before trying his luck from an acute angle. Although the build-up had been good, the finish was not of the same ilk, as the ball ended up in the side-netting, rather than the back of the net.
On the 55th minute, the home side had their first chance of the half, as the ball fell to Lyle Taylor on the edge of the area, however the home side’s star striker was unable to keep his effort down as it ballooned over Raya’s crossbar.
Following Taylor’s effort, Rovers decided to make a defensive switch which would edge them closer to victory. Jack Payne, who picked up a knock in the first-half was replaced by Corry Evans, which saw a tweak in the system, as Elliott Bennett moved from the centre of the park, onto the left-hand side.
With 63 minutes gone, Wimbledon started cranking up the pressure and they were able to craft an attempt through Harry Forrester. The midfielder positioned himself on the left corner, at the top of the box and released a curling effort which looked like it had levelled the scoring. Although the striker had originally looked good, it ultimately saw the ball not dip enough as it ended up behind Raya’s goal, rather than in it.
Directly from the goal-kick, Rovers were able to go on the attack and get themselves a second which surely secured them the three points. The second goal came courtesy of Elliott Bennett who grabbed his first goal of the season with a stupendous strike from 25 yards out. From the goal-kick, the ball found its way into the feet of Adam Armstrong who dribbled past a couple of players in the Wimbledon half before laying it off to Bennett who took on a man before lining up his shot and striking the ball into the bottom right-hand corner of the Dons’ goal.
Minutes after the goal, Rovers had two chances blocked which could have seen them go even further in-front, but for some well positioned home defenders.
Although the Blues were denied by some valiant blocks, two soon became three for Rovers as on the 69th minute, Bradley Dack and Danny Graham combined to give the former, his 14th goal of the season. Graham, who was unusually out on the left-hand side, did well to get past his man prior to whipping in an inviting low cross towards the near-post. With Graham’s ball played, Dack’s movement in the box was delightful as he got ahead of his man before connecting with a cheeky dink over the despairing Dons ‘keeper to make it 3-0.
With the clock winding down, Rovers made a change on the 76th minute, which saw Danny Graham come on and be replaced by Joe Nuttall. Furthermore, the home side made a double change allowing Dean Parrett and Tom Soares to enter the field in-place of Liam Trotter and Lyle Taylor, respectively.
On the 81st minute, with the game virtually at an end, Marcus Antonsson was brought on for Rovers, in-place of Adam Armstrong.
2 minutes of added time was allocated by referee Graham Scott at the end of the game, and with next to nothing, bar a battle for possession occurring, the 2 minutes flew by, similarly to how the last 20 did, as Rovers ran out the winners in the 2nd ever encounter between the two sides.
As Rovers ran out comfortable winners, they were able to firmly cement themselves at the top of the League One table, as Wigan’s game against Bristol Rovers was postponed, and Shrewsbury aren’t in action until Saturday. With this being the case, Rovers are currently top of the league with 72 points, whilst Shrewsbury and Wigan trail behind with 68 and 66, respectively. Additionally, with Wigan’s game – which was supposed to be played tonight – postponed, that gives them 4 games in hand in the league, with their next fixture coming at Ewood Park. With their cup exploits to be accounted for, Wigan’s March sees them play 6 games in the space of 31 days, which will no doubt cause them to rotate and play weakened sides or risk injuries to their senior players due to fatigue.
Turning attention back to Rovers, as noted, the Blues’ next game is at home to their Lancashire rivals Wigan Athletic at Ewood Park. With the kick-off being scheduled for 12pm due to the coverage of the game being on Sky Sports, the fans of Rovers, Athletic and Town will be eagerly anticipating this heavyweight clash as, by 3 o’clock on Sunday 4th March, if a winner is determined, the fans will have a clearer idea of where the League One title will be heading come May. Following the tie at home to Wigan, Rovers’ next game sees them host another Lancashire neighbour, in Blackpool, 6 days later on Saturday 10th March at 3pm.
