After watching his side allow Stoke their first goal in 390 minutes of football which turned out to be the winner in the Midlands club’s 1-0 away victory, Rovers boss Tony Mowbray reflected on a deflating defeat which saw Rovers play without Bradley Dack in their matchday squad for the first time since the 4-1 defeat away at Bristol City, earlier on in the campaign, on the 2nd September.
“Ultimately, we’re left disappointed and frustrated after today’s game. The lads put in an amazing effort but unfortunately fell short. I said to them after the game, that their desire and work-rate to get a result was fantastic, and yet we failed to capitalise on the good positions we gained outside their box, particularly in the second-half. We created some good chances throughout, including Adam (Armstrong) hitting the bar in the first-half, but the ball didn’t seem to want to go in for us. It felt like another one of those days. We’ve had a few back-to-back 1-0 defeats at home, yet we’ve showcased the decent football we play alongside the desire and effort we have in the team, much like we’ve shown today, but we’ve again come out on the losing side. We’re missing the last pass, the ability to find the space in the box to pick out someone to score and a bit of individuality which makes the difference. We’re left a bit frustrated again, against a decent team in Stoke City who have some very good footballers, and yet I do believe the game was there for the taking, even after going 1-0 down.
“We need to keep going and keep striving to work hard, to get things to start falling our way. If this was the first time it had happened, (the lack of prolificacy in-front of goal), you’d put it to one side and concentrate on improving it in your next game, but it’s been an issue we’ve had for a while now and it’s resulted in us losing 1-0 a few times, whilst also having a number of opportunities to grab a goal ourselves. We do a lot of work in the video analysis room and yet on the matchday, the lads are the ones out there who have to pick the right pass and put the ball into the back of the net, no matter how much we help them in the video room. We got in behind Stoke a lot today and we kept putting balls into dangerous areas and yet we failed to put it into the back of their net. Sometimes, the best teams with the best players manage to find the net with nowhere near as many chances as we’re getting, and that’s ultimately how I see it. The lads have put in a brilliant effort today, and yet that means nothing because we live in a world of results.
“Today’s clean sheet has seen Stoke get their sixth in a row, and yet I didn’t think we found it tough to break them down because we kept getting into good areas and kept getting in behind them and yet their defenders kept getting on the end of our crosses and just kept pushing up back. We’re lacking the final touch, the final shot and the final bit of movement that would have opened them up today, so we have to put it behind us, now and move onto Tuesday at home, against Derby County.
“We have 6 games left in which we need to go out and be as positive and as hard-working as we have been today and, in the games prior and hope that things begin to fall in our favour. Of course, we need a win, we understand that, because it’s at that point in the season where every result is important. Although Rotherham got a good result at home against Nottingham Forest, there are still a lot of teams between us and the relegation zone, but we need a result that will give everyone a boost and allow us to enjoy the end of the season rather than panic about looking over our shoulder.”
