Rovers were unable to capitalise on other results going in their favour, as the Blues fell to a late 1-1 draw against Bristol Rovers, on a sunny Saturday afternoon in the west country.
Tony Mowbray named an unchanged side, which meant that Rovers lined-up with the same starting 11 for the second time in 4 days. Due tp the unchanged team selection, Richie Smallwood was able to make his 200th career appearance, 46 of which, have come in Blue and White.
During the build-up, the gaffer seemed intent on keeping his side fully focused on the task that was at hand as he claimed that he was looking for his players to win all 5 remaining games of the campaign to ensure Rovers played Championship football next season. Despite such a claim, the manager was quick to laud the teams in League One, including opponents Bristol Rovers, by reaffirming that his side would have to remain at their optimum to walk away with maximum points from all the remaining games.
As the 10,029 fans – which included 1,303 from Lancashire – gathered inside the Memorial Stadium for the match, it was the hosts who got the game underway at the kick-off and provided the early pressure during the opening minutes.
With less than 120 seconds on the clock, Bristol earnt themselves a corner which was whipped in and cleared away by Rovers, who broke through Craig Conway. The Scot managed to get inside the hosts’ half before being taken down which saw Rovers earn a free-kick which eventually fizzled out to nothing.
Conway again showed his technique and good footballing brain to win a free-kick near to the corner flag on the 6th minute, which saw Mulgrew step-up in order to try and provide the Blues with a potential assist, early on. Despite Scotland’s captain delivering a reasonably pacey ball, it’s trajectory seemed to be away from anyone in red and black, as Bristol ‘keeper Sam Slocombe managed to tip it over the bar for a corner, which was cleared by the hosts.
On the 11th minute, Rovers showed the home crowd why they were so potent in attack and why their midfield had been continuously praised throughout the whole season. Richie Smallwood did the dirty work of dispossessing a Bristol man, before laying the ball off for Craig Conway to carry. Conway dribbled into the space down the hosts’ right-hand side before delivering an inviting cross which Danny Graham managed to connect with. Despite the quick change-over in possession however, Graham was unable to keep his header down as the Pirates were awarded a goal-kick.
6 minutes after Graham fired wide, Kyle Bennett – brother of Rovers’ Elliott – attempted to make his mark on the game as he ran at his brother – who was in Rovers’ right-back position – before cutting inside and unleashing a shot on the edge of the box, which ended up in the back of the stand, behind Raya’s goal.
On the 20th minute, Rovers nearly went ahead courtesy of Dack and Danny combining. The ball broke for Danny Graham in the box, and instead of shooting, he opted to loft the ball into Dack’s path, who couldn’t keep his volley down.
10 minutes later, Graham reverted back into his favoured position of cross-receiver rather than cross-supplier as he managed to latch onto Elliott Bennett’s cross, but unfortunately for the Rovers number 10, his header was once again miscued as the hosts were awarded another goal-kick.
On the 37th minute, Blackburn were nearly ahead thanks to a comedic error by Bristol ‘keeper Sam Slocombe. The former Blackpool shot-stopper tried to distribute the ball by throwing it out, but his brain and body seemingly forgot how to communicate as he forgot to let go of the ball, which nearly resulted in him dropping the ball over his own goal-line, but thankfully for the home crowd, his blushes were spared as he managed to retain the ball.
With the break 6 minutes away, Rovers piled on the pressure as Danny and Dack combined once more. A long pass was knocked down into Dack’s path by Danny allowing the latter to take control of the ball and burst into the home side’s box. Although the move seemed perfect and fluid, Bristol’s skipper, Tom Lockyer, did incredibly well to recover and get a block in, which denied Dack a chance to put Rovers ahead.
As half-time approached, Bristol mounted their final attack of the half during the 1 minute added on to the first period. Ellis Harrison – who was Tony Mowbray had spoken about as being a threat for the hosts – broke through towards goal, after seemingly impeding Darragh Lenihan. Although play continued, Corry Evans was able to get back in time, before Harrison pulled the trigger, and clear the ball.
Evans’ clearance of the ball signalled the end of the first-half, which saw Blackburn Rovers on-top for the majority, despite Bristol Rovers providing some nervy moments.
As both sides went into the break, neither manager would have been overly satisfied with the performance of their respective sides throughout the first 45 minutes. Tony Mowbray would have been frustrated with his sides’ lack of clinical finishing in-front of goal after Dack and Graham missed multiple chances during the first-half. Contrastingly, Darrell Clarke would have been pleased that the visitors weren’t on the scoresheet, thanks to some valiant defending, however, the Bristol manager would have been frustrated with his side’s lack of opportunities on an attacking basis.
As the two teams re-emerged for the second-half, Bristol came out unchanged in comparison to Blackburn. During the break, Tony Mowbray withdrew Corry Evans and introduced Paul Downing in his place; a change which saw Elliott Bennett move into midfield, and Darragh Lenihan slot in at right-back.
Despite Blackburn getting the half underway, it was the hosts who had the first opportunity at breaking the deadlock in the game, on the 56th minute, as Kyle Bennett and Ellis Harrison combined to nearly put the hosts ahead. Bennett did well on the wing to bypass Rovers’ defence with a chipped ball over the top, which landed perfectly into the feet of Harrison. The forward, who scored in the reverse fixture, did well to control the ball before striking at goal. Although everything prior to the shot was perfect, the former Hartlepool loanee’s attempt was superbly denied by the legs of the onrushing David Raya, who did well to spread himself and deny Bristol the lead.
13 minutes into the second-half, and Tony Mowbray decided to make a double change which saw Craig Conway and Bradley Dack depart the field and be replaced by Dominic Samuel and Jack Payne, respectively, as the Rovers boss looked to change into a more attacking approach in order to try and edge in-front.
On the 61st minute, Bristol Rovers responded with a substitution of their own, as James Clarke was withdrawn and replaced by Rory Gaffney.
Bristol’s substitution seemed to have been a bad omen as 3 minutes after the change was made, referee Kevin Johnson awarded Rovers a penalty after a foul occurred on Richie Smallwood. Following the awarding of the spot-kick, the responsibility to slot it home fell onto the shoulders of Rovers’ captain, Charlie Mulgrew. With the away supporters behind the goal and to Mulgrew’s left holding it’s breathe, the Rovers skipper placed the ball down on the spot, before taking his run and dispatching the penalty coolly and calmly to the keeper’s left-hand side, to put Rovers ahead, as the away end erupted euphorically.
With Rovers ahead on the 65th minute, they had a great opportunity to double their lead 5 minutes later through Derrick Williams, who latched onto the end of Adam Armstrong’s cross, but somehow managed to nod his attempt wide of the mark from a yard away from the goalline.
4 minutes after Williams missed his sitter, Rovers’ attack continued as Adam Armstrong blitzed past his defender and made his way into the box before slicing a shot wide of the target, as Rovers rued another missed opportunity.
On the 76th minute, Bristol exercised their final 2 changes as Mohammed Baghdadi and Dominic Telford were introduced for the departing Byron Moore and Ellis Harrison.
Time ticked past as Rovers desperately tried to fight off the waves of attacks from the home side and nearly succumbed to the pressure on the 84th minute when confusion within the Rovers ranks nearly allowed Bristol in, to score the equaliser, but the ball was eventually cleared to safety.
4 minutes later, the confusion continued as David Raya was forced into making a save from his own centre-back, as Paul Downing’s clearance was wildly miscued and ended up going behind him, rather than away from his own goal.
From Raya’s collection, Rovers countered through Payne and Graham as the former set up the latter inside the Bristol Rovers box, but this wasn’t to be Danny Graham’s day, as he missed his 3rd chance of the afternoon, thanks to Slocombe’s save.
As 4 minutes of added time were attached onto the end of the second-half, Bristol Rovers continued their barrage of attacks which saw Blackburn bodies fly across their box, as they managed to get every bit of their body in the way of the host’s attempts at goal.
Unfortunately for Rovers, heartbreak was to occur as their valiant defending was all for nothing as, with the final kick of the game, Chris Lines equalised for the Pirates with a volley from 20-yards which bypassed everyone in red and black, including Raya between the sticks. The volley, came from a throw-in which was only half cleared by Rovers, yet despite the shot not having the most power behind it, it’s accuracy saw it nestle into Raya’s bottom left-hand corner.
With Lines’ goal being the last kick of the game, Mr. Johnson, the referee, blew for full-time following Rovers’ kick-off.
Despite the frustration being evident from everyone who was of a Blackburn Rovers perspective, inside the Memorial Stadium, the race for the automatic promotion spots in League 1 is becoming more and more exciting by each game. With Rovers dropping 2 points in this game, they remain 2nd in the division, only behind Wigan Athletic on goal difference. Wigan, however, could only manage a draw with Rotherham United on Saturday, which will come as some relief to the Rovers fans hoping to lift the title, come 5th May. Shrewsbury Town, on the other hand, are 5 points adrift of the top 2, despite having 5 games of their season left.
In terms of remaining fixtures, Rovers are back in action on Thursday 19th April, when they host Peterborough United at Ewood Park, live on Sky Sports. After that, they travel over the Pennines to Yorkshire, where they play Doncaster Rovers on 24th, before another away trip to Charlton Athletic on 28th.
