Rovers extended their unbeaten run on home soil to 24 games whilst simultaneously placing their names into the hat for the 3rd round draw, as they eventually brushed aside League 2’s Lincoln City, 4-1, following a nervy first-half, which saw the away side match Rovers in every department.
As Rovers geared up for their 2nd round tie, Tony Mowbray, in his pre-match interview, warned his squad, that whoever was to be picked for the game, would have to be at 100% in order to conquer a solid Lincoln City side, who have a positive history in cup competitions.
With the game coming 4 days after his side’s impressive 1-0 win over Brentford, Tony Mowbray, despite warning against mass changes to his side, made 6 alterations to the starting 11 that beat Dean Smith’s side, as Paul Downing, Craig Conway, Lewis Travis, Paul Caddis, Danny Graham and Joe Grayson all came in to the start the game. Mowbray also included academy graduates, Willem Tomlinson and Daniel Butterworth on the bench, alongside substitute goalkeeper, Jayson Leutwiler and first-team regulars, Richie Smallwood, Darragh Lenihan, Kasey Palmer and Elliott Bennett.
Grayson – another academy graduate and son of former Rover and former Preston North End manager Simon Grayson – made history on his debut, as he became the first player in 89 years, to follow in his father’s footsteps in making a senior appearance for the club, since Wilfred Crompton, followed in father, Bob Crompton’s footsteps in 1929.
As a result of the changes in the side, a formation switch came along with them, as Mowbray reverted from the 4-2-3-1 that had served him well in the league, to a 5-3-2, which saw Grayson and Nyambe fill in alongside Downing as the centre-backs. Additionally, with Graham and Nuttall leading the line, the centre of midfield saw Joe Rothwell combine with Craig Conway and Lewis Travis, as the remaining wing-back spots were occupied by Amari’i Bell and Paul Caddis. An interesting side note to the squad Mowbray picked for this clash, is that 7 of the 18 players who were available for Rovers, played for the clubs’ various youth teams, before this fixture.
After both sides made their way out onto the pitch, engaged in the pre-match formalities and readied themselves for the start of the match, it was the away side, who won the coin toss, as they kicked-off the tie in the hope of continuing their recent cup exploits, which, over the past 2 years has seen them get to the 2016-17 FA Cup Quarter Final, along with victory in the final of the 2017-18 Checkatrade Trophy.
The first opportunity of the match, came through Rovers’ debutant, Joe Grayson, who lined-up a free-kick on the edge of the area, after Craig Conway was fouled. The 19-year old, who is known in the youth setup to have a good free-kick in his locker, had the confidence to step up and try his luck at goal, but unfortunately, Grayson couldn’t make it a dream start as his effort bounced off the wall and went out for a Rovers throw-in.
From the throw-in, Rovers retained possession and built-up an attack which eventually led to an early 5th minute goal, which came courtesy of Joe Nuttall. A deep cross by Craig Conway, fell to Joe Nuttall whose first shot hit Jason Shackell, before the number 24 pounced on the loose ball to power Rovers ahead in the opening stages of the game.
From the kick-off, the perceived domination of Rovers began to fade, as Lincoln increased their tempo and their pressure which eventually led to their first attempt at goal, on the 10th minute. Ellis Chapman managed to break free of the Rovers backline and fire a shot at goal, which didn’t trouble David Raya, who was between the Rovers’ goalposts.
Although Chapman didn’t trouble Raya, Joan Luque certainly did on the 15th minute, when the 2 Spaniards faced-off against each other, with Luque trying his luck from close-range after breaking free of the Rovers defence. Lincoln’s Spaniard then released a shot that forced Rovers’ Spaniard into a good save, as Raya conceded a corner, which eventually was cleared by his defence.
Rovers, on the 21st minute, nearly doubled their lead through Danny Graham, who was played the ball by Caddis, however the forward saw his shot blocked behind for a corner, which like Lincoln’s on the 15th minute, came to nothing.
14 minutes after his first attempt at goal, Luque brought some truth to the saying ‘second time lucky’ as his second attempt at goal, on the 29th minute, resulted in the equaliser that brought Lincoln level. A long-ball forwards wasn’t dealt with by Caddis, as Matt Rhead did well to nod the ball into the path of Luque, who, as a result, was through on goal. The number 19, who had been a thorn in Rovers’ side throughout the opening half an hour, wasted no time in taking a touch, as he powered the ball past David Raya’s near-post to level the scoring at 1 each.
With half-time only 2 minutes away, Rovers, who had been below-par ever since Nuttall’s goal, thought they had found a second, through Danny Graham. Joe Nuttall’s fancy footwork and brute strength saw him hold off a challenge, before threading through Danny Graham, who at first glance, looked onside. Nevertheless, the ball got through to the number 10, who did well to slot the ball past the on-rushing Sam Slocombe, before referee, Geoff Eltringham, pulled play back for a Lincoln free-kick.
With Graham’s disallowed goal being the final act of the first-half, Geoff Eltringham blew for half-time, which ended a rather lacklustre Rovers performance, despite the early goal. Simultaneously however, the half-time break also brought an end to Lincoln’s positive play, as it staggered any momentum they would have been building.
During the half-time interval, Rovers unveiled new signing Ben Brereton, who had signed for the club amidst the action of the match. Brereton was announced, before walking onto the pitch, applauding the fans and holding his newly-printed shirt for photographers.
Whilst there was good news on the field, the Rovers dressing room must have had no good news in sight, as Tony Mowbray would have no doubt been fuming at his side’s lack of ball retention and their inability to take the game by the scruff of the neck and put Lincoln to bed. Mowbray’s frustrations were evident, as he sent his side out early for the second period.
In contrast, Danny Cowley would have been pleased with his side’s efforts as they had come away from home to a Championship side in good form and were holding their own. Whilst being backed by over 1,200 fans, Cowley would have no doubt used them as an inspiration for his side to go out for the second-half and try and take Rovers out of the game, once and for all.
The second-half was restarted by Rovers, who, with Mowbray’s words ringing in their ears, looked to capitalise on their good home form, in order to try and put the game to bed during the second 45 minutes.
2 minutes into the second period, Rovers would have taken the lead, had Joe Nuttall’s header been more accurate. Ryan Nyambe’s cross was aimed centrally, as Nuttall ghosted into the area, before meeting the ball. His jump was timed to perfection, but the same could not be said about the header as his effort found its way into the Blackburn End, rather than the Lincoln net.
Although Nuttall couldn’t make it 2 for Rovers, Danny Graham did, on the 50th minute, after some good work by Lewis Travis, saw Graham have the easy opportunity of slotting the ball home. Travis showed his work-rate by tracking down the Lincoln midfield and dispossessing them of the ball, before using his speed on the counter. He then did well to coolly pick out Danny Graham, who was making the run alongside him, before the forward struck a right-footed effort, underneath the despairing Slocombe and into the net to put Rovers back in-front.
On the 53rd minute, Lincoln’s Michael O’Connor became the only player to go into the book on the night, following a rash challenge on Joe Rothwell, which resulted in the Rovers midfielder being given treatment by the medical staff.
After Rothwell got up from the challenge, he then, 6 minutes after receiving treatment, drove at goal and struck an effort from the edge of the area, which was well held by Slocombe.
Rothwell’s effort, was his final contribution to the game, as he was then replaced, on the hour mark, by Kasey Palmer.
Following the substitution, Rovers tripled their goalscoring exploits by making it 3-1, as Paul Downing contributed, with his first goal of the season, on his first game of the campaign. A Rovers corner was only cleared as far as Paul Caddis, who picked up the ball and drove himself out wide, into a crossing position. From that position, he had the vision and the technical ability to spot Downing on the edge of the area, as he cut the ball back for the central defender, who then hit a sweet, first-time drive, into the bottom corner, before wheeling away to celebrate with Caddis.
Off the back of that goal, Danny Cowley reacted by making all of his substitutions. Michael O’Connor, Matt Rhead and Joan Luque all came off for Tom Pett, John Akinde and Bruno Andrade, respectively.
Craig Conway nearly made it 4-1 on the 67th minute, as he struck an effort from the edge of the box, that looked destined to nestle in the top corner, but for a good save by Slocombe.
On the 72nd minute, Rovers made their second change of the game, as Mowbray withdrew Danny Graham and replaced him with Dan Butterworth, who was making his senior debut for the Blues.
It took only 2 minutes for Butterworth to get in on the action as he showed a glimpse of why he was in the squad. He picked up the ball, before zipping past a defender and releasing a first-time effort from the edge of the area, which would have gone in, had Sam Slocombe not intervened and denied the debutant.
Rovers’ fourth goal didn’t allude them for long, as substitute Kasey Palmer grabbed his second in as many games to make it 4-1, after a magnificent free-kick was curled into the top corner of the goal, from around 25 yards out.
With 20 minutes left on the clock, Paul Caddis nearly got himself in on the act, as he almost rounded off his solid performance, with what would have been, a well-deserved goal. After charging down the right-hand side, the Scot cut into the box, on his left-foot and curled in a shot at goal, which had Slocombe scrambling to deny him.
The final action of normal time, saw Rovers make their final substitution as Lewis Travis departed to a standing ovation and was replaced by fellow academy graduate, Willem Tomlinson for the final 10 minutes
With the 2 minutes of added time being played, there was nothing else to report on, as Rovers came back from a shaky first-half performance, to totally dominate the game and run out deserved winners, as they now march onto the next round.
As Rovers roll onto the 3rd round of the Carabao Cup, as ball number 3, they will be hoping to draw a Premier League side, preferably one that is in Europe, at Ewood Park, in order to try and test themselves against the best calibre of opposition in the country. Although Tony Mowbray has talked about wanting to progress as far as he can, in all the domestic competitions, there’s no reason why the boss would snub the chance at playing one of the top 7 teams in the country – and as we saw in pre-season against Everton and Liverpool – Rovers have more than enough within their ranks to go toe-to-toe with them.
With the Carabao Cup now shelved until mid-September, Rovers’ focus now returns to the league, where they next play Bristol City, away from home at Ashton Gate, on Sunday, 2nd September, at 1:30pm. After that, the players break up for the international break, which sees Charlie Mulgrew, Darragh Lenihan and Corry Evans jet off to play for their respective nations. Once the trio have returned, Rovers will host Aston Villa on Saturday 15th September, at 5:30pm. The second game following the international break, will see Rovers travel to Pride Park, to face Frank Lampard’s Derby County on Tuesday, 18th September, with kick-off scheduled for 7:45pm.
