A cagey affair in the sun at Ewood Park saw Rovers extend their unbeaten home run, after being held to a 0-0 draw by a valiant, well-drilled, well-organised Millwall side.
During his customary pre-match interview, Tony Mowbray called on his players to put on a show that the fans could enjoy, whilst simultaneously doing what they could in order to fight for the badge and get the 3 points that were on offer.
The 18 selected for Rovers’ return to Ewood saw 2 changes to the side that drew 2-2 with Ipswich Town, 7 days ago, as Amari’i Bell and Kasey Palmer came in for Derrick Williams and Dominic Samuel respectively, both of whom were ruled out of the tie with injury. After signing for the Blues on a permanent basis on Monday, Adam Armstrong came into the matchday squad in the hope of coming off the bench and grabbing his first goal since re-signing for the club.
With the anticipation building, it was Rovers who kicked off the game with the sole aim of coming away from the tie with the 3 points, which would have made their late heartbreak at Portman Road, less frustrating.
The first-half was 45 minutes of possession failing to be retained, despite both sides having the opportunity of breaking the deadlock. The first chance of the game, came inside 3 minutes, as the ball fell to the visitors after Rovers failed to clear. A lump forward from Millwall saw Charlie Mulgrew fail to clear his lines, as the ball dropped to Steve Morison. The Lions captain wasted no time in hooking the ball out to the right-hand side which led to Jed Wallace striking a first-time volley, which zipped past David Raya’s post and went behind for a goal-kick.
6 minutes later, on the 9th minute, Wallace found himself with another goal scoring opportunity, as he picked the ball up from 20-yards before striking at goal again, but this time, despite his effort being on target, David Raya did well to deny the former Wolves man.
On the 11th minute, Millwall ramped up the pressure, leaving Rovers’ defence looking fragile, as some lovely interplay saw the move end with a shot by George Saville, which clattered off the post, as Lee Gregory was unable to turn home the rebound, despite being called offside by the linesman.
Rovers then began to come into the game on the 13th minute, which is when they registered their first semi-decent chance at goal. Elliott Bennett’s good work down the left saw him cross a ball into Danny Graham, whose unselfish nature saw him lay the ball off into the path of Bradley Dack. Unfortunately for the reigning League 1 Player of the Season, he was unable to make any solid contact on the ball, as his effort sailed over the bar.
As 27 minutes ticked onto the clock, Millwall would have been disappointed not to have had at least 1 goal by this point, as Steve Morison was the latest to fall short of finding the back of the net. The visiting skipper was passed the ball midway into the Rovers half, before driving towards the penalty area and releasing a low and powerful drive from the top of the box. Unluckily for Morison however, his shot cannoned off Rovers’ left-hand post and was subsequently dealt with by the home side.
On the stroke of half-time, Dack was inches away from putting Rovers ahead, as his free-kick from the edge of the area forced Jordan Archer, who was between the visiting posts, to make a good save to deny the Rovers number 23.
During the only minute of added time at the end of the first period, Rovers once again came inches from heading into the 15-minute break with the lead, as Dack’s cross flew towards the back-post and found Darragh Lenihan, whose header crashed off the bar and went behind for a Millwall goal-kick.
As referee Gavin Ward blew for half-time, both sides left the field of play knowing that they could have easily had goals to their names, despite the continued ongoing battle for possession that plagued the first 45 minutes.
From the perspective of the managers, visiting boss, Neil Harris, would have been undoubtedly frustrated that his side failed to make their chances and their early spell of dominance count, as Rovers began to slowly edge their way back into the game, prior to the half-time break.
Tony Mowbray, on the other hand, would have been annoyed that his side were being overrun in the centre of the park, despite his side’s insistence to try and stretch the narrow play of Millwall, by utilising the flanks. Despite having 3 central midfielders in the middle of the park, in Corry Evans, Richie Smallwood and Bradley Dack (whose role was to drop deeper when Rovers were out of possession), Mowbray would have been frustrated that his side had conceded an excessive number of successive chances, which could have so easily led to a Millwall goal.
The game was restarted by the visitors at the start of the second-half and it took Rovers 6 minutes to show their quality, as they were the receivers of the first chance of the half. Danny Graham got on the end of a combination of Danny Williams’ tackle on Dack, and the playmaker’s pass, which saw the onside forward, played in behind the Millwall backline. Graham managed to drive into the box and hold-off Shaun Hutchinson before releasing a shot that produced a good save from Jordan Archer, as Rovers earnt a corner, which came to nothing. This chance could have seen Rovers go 1-0 up, had Graham spotted Dack who was making a late unmarked run into the box, as, had the number 10 spotted his strike partner, Dack would have had an open goal to aim at.
As Rovers increased their tempo and gained a solid foothold in the game, Charlie Mulgrew was the next to have an attempt on goal, which came courtesy of a free-kick on the 56th minute. 25-yards out from goal, Dack was fouled, which gave Mulgrew the perfect opportunity to try and open his seasonal account. Frustratingly for Rovers, however, Mulgrew’s effort lacked the correct amount of dip as it skimmed the top of the crossbar and landed on the roof of the net.
With an hour gone, Dack and Graham continued their partnership from last season by combining, as the former set the latter through on goal, but Jordan Archer once again stood firm to deny the 32-year old forward, as the prospect of an opening goal appearing, without any drastic changes to either side’s personnel or tactics, was becoming unlikely.
3 minutes after Graham’s attempt, he and Kasey Palmer combined well to create the space for Elliott Bennett’s shot which came from around 20-yards out, but failed to hit the target, as Archer was left untroubled.
With over 20 minutes remaining, Tony Mowbray decided to ring in the changes as Joe Rothwell and Adam Armstrong were given their home debuts – Armstrong’s home debut as a permanent Rovers player – as the impressive Kasey Palmer and the tireless Richie Smallwood made way for the respective pair.
Before Neil Harris could make a change of his own, Joe Rothwell wasted no time in introducing his set of skills to the Rovers crowd, as he drove a powerful strike towards goal, which stung the fingertips of Archer, as the ‘keeper could only tip the ball behind for a corner.
On the 72nd minute, Harris was able to make his substitution, which saw winger Jiří Skalák replace Aiden O’Brien, in an attacking switch for the Lions.
With 10 minutes to go, Rovers were forced into their final substitution, which saw Elliott Bennett, who had received a gash to the leg, come off for the feisty, but impressive Lewis Travis, who brought some extra energy into Rovers’ midfield during the closing stages, which allowed the attacking players more freedom.
Prior to the 3 minutes of added time beginning, Millwall made their second change of the game as Jed Wallace was withdrawn for former Newcastle United full-back, Shane Ferguson.
With the 3 minutes of added time not leading to any chances, the game petered out into a stalemate that, in truth, either side could have come away from as the victor, if they had just been a bit more composed and clinical.
Looking back on the game, without relying too much on clichés, it really was a game of two halves, as Rovers only really came into their own in the second-half, once they had withstood the barrage of early Millwall attacks. There’s no doubt that Tony Mowbray would have expressed his disappointment to the players at half-time, however, they should be given credit for rallying back from, not only a disappointing end to the Ipswich Town game, but from the shaky start that they produced in this game; something which can only be described as a hangover from last Saturday. Despite there being no goals to speak of at Ewood, the attacking intent, especially following the introductions of Adam Armstrong and Joe Rothwell, are encouraging signs for the future, as they added to the attacking quality and intent, after Danny Graham and Bradley Dack had already knocked on the Millwall door.
One positive during the game, which hasn’t been touched upon during this piece, is the skill and confidence of Chelsea loanee, Kasey Palmer. Although the former Huddersfield Town loanee was lacking in match fitness, having not played a part in his parent clubs’ pre-season, his raw talent and ability to take on a man and pick out a pass or a cross, was evident for all to see. If he is able to gel with the group and create an almost telepathic understanding between himself and his attacking comrades – similar to how Graham and Dack operated last season – then there’s no doubt that Palmer’s presence in the side will come good over the course of the campaign.
Following the second round of games in the league being played – with the exception of a few teams who have notched up 3 games – Rovers’ opening 2 draws, sees them in a respectable 15th place, on 2 points.
Looking ahead to the upcoming fixtures, Rovers now face the near, 100-mile journey up north, as they travel to Brunton Park to face Carlisle United in the 2nd round of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday, 14th August, (KO at 19:45pm). After their midweek clash, next Saturday (18th August) sees Mowbray’s men travel to the KCOM Stadium, where they lock horns with Nigel Adkins’ Hull City, (KO at 3pm), who have begun the season with only a point to their names, after drawing to Sheffield Wednesday and losing to Aston Villa, on the opening day.
