A solid defensive, but lacklustre attacking performance saw Tony Mowbray’s men emerge from Derby County’s Pride Park stadium with a surprising point to their name after they withstood a barrage of Derby efforts to cling onto a 0-0 draw.
With the side coming off the back of conceding a last-gasp free-kick against Aston Villa on Saturday, Mowbray’s side headed into the game with some confidence, knowing that, had it not been for the set-piece, they would have taken all 3 points off a promotion candidate, a feat that they set out to do against Frank Lampard’s Derby side.
The line-up that began the game on Tuesday evening saw 3 changes to the starting 11 that drew against Aston Villa, as Charlie Mulgrew, Danny Graham and Elliott Bennett all missed out – with Graham and Bennett on the bench – whilst Derrick Williams, Kasey Palmer and Craig Conway, respectively, took their places.
Rovers got the game underway as they were roared on by 627 Rovers fans, who were placed in the corner stand which Rovers were attacking towards, in the first-half.
The first chance of the game came on the 10th minute, where a cross into the Rovers penalty area by Mason Bennett, was met by Florian Jozefzoon who couldn’t guide his header on target, as Rovers were awarded a goal kick.
A minute later, the host came forward again, as Mason Bennett again set-up a teammate. This time, the youngster set-up Chelsea loanee, Mason Mount, who tried his luck with a first-time shot from just inside the Rovers penalty area. Whilst the build-up was good, the finish was not, as Mount’s strike ballooned over Raya’s crossbar.
From Rovers’ goal-kick, they mustered enough men forwards to earn their first opportunity of the game, which came through star-man Bradley Dack. The midfielder picked up the ball inside Derby’s half, before turning and firing a shot that dragged wide of Scott Carson’s goal.
On the 15th minute, Rovers had shouts for a penalty waved away by referee Darren England, as Armstrong tumbled under challenge from Richard Keogh. Despite the appeals from the Rovers players and supporters, play continued as Derby looked to break forwards.
As the first-half wore on, Derby earnt successive corners which saw Rovers placed under immense pressure. Half-an-hour into the game saw a combination of Corry Evans and David Raya do brilliantly well to deny Derby the breakthrough. A Mason Mount corner was nodded into the air by Richard Keogh. The ball then fell down to Fikayo Tomori, who tried an audacious overhead kick from inside the 6-yard area, which both Raya and Evans did well to block, virtually on the line. The ball rebounded to Keogh whose stabbed effort at goal was denied by the flailing Raya, as Rovers soon cleared.
After the successive corners ended, Rovers made their first change of the game, which came on the 32nd minute. Craig Conway, who didn’t look to be struggling with an injury, was withdrawn and replaced by Danny Graham, as Rovers changed their gameplan in an attempt to cope with Derby’s threat.
A good give and go by Derby saw Bennett lay the ball into the path of Jayden Bogle, who was running into the box from deep. The full-back received the ball from Bennett before hitting a strong right-footed effort that Raya saved by diving to his right.
Derby were not done there, as on the 41st minute, Mason Bennett tried his luck from just outside the Rovers penalty area. After making a free run forwards with the ball, the former Burton Albion loanee cut onto his left-foot and released a shot towards goal that forced Raya into a fine save, as the ‘keeper conceded a corner, that came to nothing.
After 1 added minute of time was played, referee Darren England ended the first-half, as both teams entered their dressing rooms and awaited the words of wisdom from their managers.
Frank Lampard would have been the happier of the bosses come the break, as his side did everything right, bar finding the back of the net. With them coming off the back of a 1-0 defeat to Rotherham United on Saturday, the former Chelsea midfielder would have been praying that a similar scoreline wouldn’t be on the scoreboard, as a result of his side missing chances.
Tony Mowbray, in contrast, would have been frustrated with Rovers’ lack of ball retention and their failure to muster up any sort of goalscoring chance, bar Dack’s poor effort that tricked past Carson’s post. With the lack of attacking threat in-mind, despite the quality within the Rovers ranks, Tony Mowbray would have no doubt tweaked a few tactical aspects to his side’s game that would have seen them go more attacking.
The hosts restarted the game and soon earnt themselves a free-kick after Derrick Williams went into the book for a foul on David Nugent.
Minutes after Williams, Palmer also had his name taken, as a late challenge around halfway, saw referee Darren England brandish the yellow card.
From that foul, Derby earnt themselves a free-kick closer to goal, on the 50th minute, which saw Mason Mount take responsibility. The Chelsea loanee, who has been a bright spark for Frank Lampard’s side this season, dispatched a curling effort which saw the crossbar come to Rovers’ rescue, as the ball was soon cleared.
From the clearance, Rovers made their second change of the evening, as former Ram, Kasey Palmer, was replaced by Elliott Bennett.
On the hour mark, Rovers had their only clear opening of the game, as some good target man play by Danny Graham, saw the forward nod Darragh Lenihan’s long ball into Dack’s path, was through on goal. The number 23 bypassed the Derby backline and dribbled past Scott Carson, whilst trying to hold the retreating Bradley Johnson off. Despite the goal gaping, Dack was either tripping over his own feet, or put off by Johnson’s presence, as his left-foot shot was sliced wide.
4 minutes after Dack’s miss, Harrison Reed was brought on for Adam Armstrong, in a bid to add more energy into the game, with the final 20 minutes approaching.
Derby made their own substitution on the 69th minute, when Florian Jozefzoon was replaced by Harry Wilson.
On the 72nd minute, Danny Graham tried to put Rovers ahead with a shot of his own, but unfortunately for Rovers, Graham’s effort lacked the power it needed to test Carson, as the keeper easily claimed the ball.
Jayden Bogle became the first Derby player to enter the book, on the 76th minute after he committed a poor foul.
Whilst the booking was being given, Derby made their final 2 changes as Martyn Waghorn and Jack Marriott were introduced in-place of Mason Bennett and David Nugent, respectively.
A minute later, Harry Wilson was calling for a penalty after he thought he was fouled in the area by Ryan Nyambe. Darren England however, much like he did in the first-half for Armstrong’s appeals, waved the calls away, as play continued.
On the 86th minute, Rovers nearly saw all their hard work go to waste, after Mason Mount found some space to release a shot. Thankfully for Rovers, however, David Raya had the attempt covered, as Mount’s effort curled well wide of the upright.
In the dying embers of normal time, Martyn Waghorn’s late tackle on Richie Smallwood saw the former Ipswich man go into the referee’s notebook.
As 4 minutes of added time were added and played, the 91st minute saw Lenihan booked for Rovers, whilst the final act of the game saw Rovers have a free-kick which was cleared, as the final whistle blew to call an end to a game which Rovers struggle to put their offensive stamp on.
A couple of things that can be taken from this game. The first being the solid away point at a side who, for more than a few years, have been vying to get into the Premier League, with their substantial riches. The second, is the defensive solidness of the side, especially without Charlie Mulgrew. The defence tonight showed that they were more than capable of withstanding pressure with, or without their leader. Another highlight was the performance of David Raya, especially in the first-half, where he denied Keogh after joining Evans in denying Tomori. Additionally, his save to stop Bogle was also one of high quality. Although the Blues – or Yellows, if you prefer – could have snatched the game, had Bradley Dack put away his guilt-edged chance, the team’s play in possession was sub-standard and not what the fans are used to seeing from Mowbray’s side.
All in all, the point sends a message to the rest of the league, informing them that Blackburn Rovers are not here to make up the numbers. Speaking of the league, this point sees Mowbray’s men keep their 13th place and their -1 goal difference, as their points tally increase to 11.
The next game on the fixture list sees Rovers return to the Midlands to face Stoke City at the Bet365 Stadium, on Saturday 22nd September, with kick-off scheduled for 3pm. After that tie, they make the long journey down to Bournemouth on Tuesday 25th September, in order to compete in the 3rd round against Eddie Howe’s men, with kick-off set at 7:45pm. Their third game of the week sees the Blues return to Ewood Park as they host Aitor Karanka’s Nottingham Forest on Saturday 29th September at 3pm.
