Following Rovers’ disappointing 2-2 draw at home to Birmingham City, which saw Tony Mowbray’s men throw away a 2-goal lead, in as many minutes, the gaffer spoke to the club’s media team, as he reflected on, what was ultimately a disappointing game, due to the result.
“Today, we’ve managed to drop points, because of some poor individual mistakes. We got our noses ahead in the first-half and talked about how we had to manage the second-half due to the weather conditions, but we never saw that end result coming from the break. I thought we did well to keep them at bay up until they got the penalty, because I think, they only had one shot in the first-half, up until their penalty which led to their first goal. We’ve fallen to a couple of mad moments and have all been left frustrated, as we should have comfortably won this game.
“The frustration for us, is that we handed them a point on a plate, because I don’t believe that Birmingham did enough to come away from here with a draw, although they’ll probably argue otherwise. We need to be better in the future, because I think, if we cut out those stupid errors, we win the game 2-0 and I’m here smiling and praising the performance, instead I’m stood here wondering how we’ve dropped 2 points.
“The plan to beat Birmingham, although sounds obvious, was always to score first because, as we saw throughout the game, they are capable of soaking up pressure and denying you from getting through their defence. We got ahead, and I genuinely thought, before the game, that a clean sheet guarantees us a victory, as I talked to the players about at half-time and yet, we’ve conceded 2 goals off the back of a pair of ridiculous individual mistakes. It’s very difficult for us to look at any reason why they ended up scoring, particularly the penalty which came due to a horrendous error by David (Raya), who’s decided to come charging out of his net and ended up clattering their player which gave them the penalty, the goal and the impetus to go on and grab a leveller. Although it feels like a defeat, we mustn’t dwell on it. We need to stay together and stay focused during our tough festive fixture list.
“You’re never safe at 2-0, really, because if the opposition score a goal they can build up a head of steam and potentially equalise, as was evident today. I thought, after their 2 goals, we reacted okay and although we had chances to score a third, it ultimately didn’t quite fall for us, which is disappointing. Overall, I’m disappointed for the lads because they’ve worked ever so hard on a day that is tough to play decent football in.
“I believe that we were worthy of a clean sheet today, even though the conditions made it hard for both teams to play their respective brands of football. We defended well over the course of the game, but I can’t legislate for their first goal, because it was a moment of madness from David, yet it’s happened and although we would have liked to go back into the mentality of keeping clean sheets, it’s a tough league. Their front pairing of (Lukas) Jutkiewicz and (Che) Adams are top forwards in this division and they were a handful, even though I felt we dealt with them well today.
“Craig Conway has a thigh strain. He said that he went in for a tackle and then tried to sprint after it but couldn’t move freely as a result. Hopefully it’s nothing serious, but he’ll have a scan next week in order to determine how long he’ll be out for. It’s disappointing for Craig, of course, because he’d just managed to get himself back into the team, and now it looks like he’s going to miss most of the festive period. Hopefully Elliott (Bennett) won’t be far off a return, but we do, of course, have other options available to us. Adam (Armstrong) took his chance today and I thought he did really well overall and added a goal to his game as well. Every player who sits on the bench has to be of the mindset they can come on and make a difference, as Adam showed today with his goal.
“I’m pleased as Adam got his goal today, however the overall disappointment for the team, overshadows it. It would have been much nicer to sit on 33 points, rather than 31, as we would have leapfrogged a couple of teams and would have been on the cusp of the top 6. The 3 points would have been important going into our tough festive period as before we know it, the top teams are going to end up pulling away from the rest of us.
“We need to move our attentions to Norwich City now. It’s another home game, of course, and we should take pride in our home record. We as a squad, need to be prepared for whatever they throw at us, because they’re playing very well at the moment and will be looking to remain in the top 3. We need to remain focused and try to do our best, in-front of our fans, to get another 3 points that will strengthen our position in the league.”
