Rovers fought off their mid-season dip in form and made it back-to-back victories for the first time since January, in addition to mathematically securing their safety in the division, as they battled hard against a Nottingham Forest side, who fell to their third defeat in a row which consequently saw them fall out of the playoff picture for this campaign.
Tony Mowbray made a double change in Rovers’ team selection as Adam Armstrong and Corry Evans were both introduced into the starting line-up at the expense of both Harrison Reed and Craig Conway, who were both omitted from the squad due to respective ankle and thigh injuries. Whilst club captain Charlie Mulgrew was deemed fit for this encounter, he was forced to watch from the bench as Mowbray continued with the centre-back partnership of Darragh Lenihan and Derrick Williams – who was playing his 250th career club appearance – that had kept a clean sheet midweek against Derby County.
With both sets of fans ready for the encounter, it was the home side who started the game as they looked to bounce back from back-to-back defeats, first a 2-1 disappointment against Rotherham United on Saturday, which was followed by a 3-0 defeat away at Hillsborough against Sheffield Wednesday, on Tuesday evening.
As Forest took the kick-off, they were able to maintain enough possession in order to craft the first opportunity of the game, after 3 minutes. A Matty Cash free-kick from the edge of the area spun out to Arvin Appiah who tried his luck from close-range, but some good Rovers defending saw the ball fly over the ball for a corner which was soon cleared.
Rovers were able to try their luck after 6 minutes as Bradley Dack and Joe Rothwell continued their good play from Tuesday by creating a chance that had Forest ‘keeper Costel Pantilimon scrambling. Rothwelll picked the ball up centrally, before fizzing it into the feet of Dack who was around 25-yards out from goal. The playmaker then swivelled before trying his luck from range, but thankfully for the nervous Forest fans, their Romanian shot-stopper was equal to the effort.
On the 11th minute, Rothwell again pulled the strings from midfield as he nearly set Adam Armstrong away and through on goal, however the move was well cut out by on-loan West Ham full-back Sam Byram.
As the game fizzled out into a scrap for chances, the next opportunity at goal came on the 23rd minute when Judilson ‘Pelé’ Gomes slalomed through Rovers’ midfield before releasing a shot from the edge of the away side’s area. Fortunately for Rovers, their sub-standard defensive efforts were spared by Derrick Williams who was on hand to block the shot away from goal and turnover possession back in his side’s favour.
On the 28th minute, Danny Graham used his body strength well to hold-up the ball as he waited for runners which materialised in the form of Elliott Bennett, who had gotten forwards from right-back. The forward did about enough to tee-up the midfielder-turned-full-back, however Bennett’s strike deflected wide for a Rovers corner.
From the corner, which Joe Rothwell took, Derrick Williams saw his header cleared off the line by Jack Colback, before the ball was cleared back only as far as the taker Rothwell. The in-form midfielder, who opened his account for the club on Tuesday night with a wonderful chipped effort against Derby County, was able to make it 2 goals in as many games, as he hit a wonderful curling effort from the corner of the penalty area, which curled over all the Forest heads, flew past Pantilimon and nestled into the top right-hand corner of the goal, to make it 1-0 to Tony Mowbray’s side.
The restart by Forest saw them burst into life, as they had a chance to equalise straight from the kick-off. Lewis Grabban picked up the ball halfway into Rovers’ half, before slipping through Cash who was ahead of him. Although the move was good, however, the finish was not as Cash’s effort flew wide as Rovers were awarded a goal-kick.
With 37 minutes gone, Forest continued their pressure as Ryan Yates saw his effort from close distance well blocked by Lewis Travis, before the follow-up by Appiah was skewed wide of the upright.
The late Forest pressure continued into the final stages of the first period as referee Darren Bond called for an extra 3 minutes of play to be added onto the half. Thankfully for Rovers, that pressure ended with the whistle for half-time, rather than the equaliser.
With the break in full-flow, the away changing room would have no doubt been the happier of the pair as Rovers and Mowbray would have been rejoicing in the first-half that had just passed. Mowbray would have been reassuring the players that the tie was not over, however, and that they would still need to go out there with the intent to grab a second, rather than resting on their laurels and hoping for a ‘simple’ 1-0 victory.
On the other hand, Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane would have been fuming at their team’s display, especially following the goal which could have been avoided had someone closed Rothwell down quickly enough. Although there was still a full half of football to play, the pair would have no doubt been tinkering with their tactics in order to find the perfect formula that would allow them to avoid falling to their third consecutive defeat for the first time since they took charge.
As both sides returned for the second period unchanged, it was Rovers – who were backed by over 1,000 fans – who restarted the game with the hope of capitalising on their solid first-half performance, in order to grab the second goal that would offer them relative comfort.
That goal nearly came directly from kick-off as Travis fed Amari’i Bell who tried to find Graham, but saw the ball deflected behind for a corner, which Corry Evans soon slashed wide.
The fine form which continued from the first-half soon shone through on the 49th minute, as Danny Graham notched his 150th career goal, as well as his 14th of the league campaign. A ball out to Bell was touched into Graham’s path, who failed to properly control as his touch fell to Dack who saw his shot deflect off a defender and fall into Graham’s path who had the simple task of poking home past Pantilimon to double Rovers’ lead to 2-0.
The Rovers celebrations were soon cut short however, as 3 minutes later, on the 52nd minute, Ryan Yates managed to half the deficit after he managed to nod home Pelé’s cross from close-range past the on-rushing David Raya, to get Forest back into the game at 2-1, with most of the second period remaining. Although Yates wheeled away in celebration, the goal was officially credited as an Elliott Bennett own-goal, due to the ball hitting the defender last, before finding the net.
Yates again was part of the action as he was soon booked for a poor foul on Elliott Bennett on the 56th minute.
A minute later, Matty Cash again had an opportunity to get his side back into the tie, but saw his back-post free header towards goal, fly over.
The Forest pressure increased as the second-half wore on, as Bell did well to block a certain goal by Grabban, who tried to level the scoring from inside the area.
Rovers were able to counter on the 59th minute to create a chance of their own, as Travis saw his shot deflect out to Adam Armstrong. Unfortunately for the highly-rated forward, his curled effort veered inches away from the target, as it settled behind the goal, as Forest were awarded a goal-kick.
The first change of the game soon came on the 62nd minute as Danny Graham was withdrawn and replaced by Joe Nuttall.
Forest soon retaliated with a change of their own 3 minutes later as Daryl Murphy was introduced in-place of Arvin Appiah, who left the field.
On the 67th minute, Dack had a brilliant chance to make it 3-1, but to no avail. The number 23 won back possession on the edge of the Forest area before trying to beat Pantilimon with an effort that the former Manchester City ‘keeper could only parry back into the path of the midfielder. Dack then took a second bite of the cherry but saw his effort deflect onto the crossbar before being cleared.
A minute later, both Bennett and Evans were booked for separate fouls as Forest tried to counter.
The 69th minute came, as did Rovers’ second change, as Jack Rodwell was introduced in-place of Corry Evans.
On the 73rd minute, Bennett denied Grabban an opportunity as he blocked his effort behind for a corner, which was soon cleared.
From the Rovers break, Byram was booked after he hacked down the marauding Armstrong.
Forest soon made their second and final changes together as Lewis Grabban and Ryan Yates were removed as João Carvalho and Ben Osborn were brought on for the final quarter of an hour.
On the 80th minute, Dack and Armstrong combined for the latter to try his luck on goal. Although the move was good, the effort by Armstrong was tame as Pantilimon claimed easily.
When the 81st minute came, so did another booking, this time to Derrick Williams who was cautioned for bringing down Cash.
The Rovers fans in the away end had their hearts in their mouths on the 82nd minute, as Forest somehow missed an almost certain equaliser from close-range. Joe Lolley burst forward and managed to lob the ball over David Raya, into the path of Daryl Murphy who only seemingly had to poke home to equalise, however the former Newcastle United forward somehow managed to scuff his shot behind as the chance fizzled out.
That same combination occurred on the 84th minute as Lolley’s free-kick was met by Murphy’s head, but this time, the Rovers defence were well played to deny Murphy the potential equaliser.
On the 86th minute, former Forest forward Ben Brereton was introduced for the closing moments as he was brought on to replace Bradley Dack.
The 89th minute came with 2 chances that could have easily seen the game end with a different scoreline. The first opportunity came to Lolley who struck a low free-kick just wide of the Rovers goal. The second chance came to Joe Rothwell on the counter-attack, but he saw his right-footed effort well blocked by the 6’8” frame of Pantilimon.
As the 90th minute approached, referee Darren Bond added on an extra 5 minutes, as Rovers looked to hold on to secure their first back-to-back victories since they beat Ipswich Town and Hull City.
The final effort of the game fell to Lolley as he struck over from the edge of the area after Lenihan’s clearance fell to him.
That missed opportunity proved to be the final act of the game as the referee called time on another solid performance by Rovers which allowed them to mathematically secure their safety in the division following other results at the bottom falling in their favour.
The most impressive part of this victory was the fact Rovers were able to continue their good play and relatively solid defensive display that earnt them a clean sheet in their last outing against Derby. Although there was no clean sheet this afternoon, the defence did brilliantly to continue putting their bodies on the line in order to deny Forest the equaliser, despite the numerous chances that the home side had.
Another positive from this tie, was Joe Rothwell, who dispatched a superb goal. Despite Rovers fans calling for his inclusion for many games now, the former Manchester United youth player has really shown the fans and his manager what he is capable of with his goals in back-to-back games, including his all-round impressive performances. Furthermore, with the midfielder securing only his sixth full 90 minutes on the field, he has now been able to cement himself as an important figure within the Rovers setup, which will certainly help him when looking forwards to Rovers’ potential setup next season. Additionally, there is a degree of sympathy for the 24-year old following this game, as the Goal of the Season voting has already begun, with his goal today almost being a certainty to win, had it been included within the voting.
As mentioned, with Rovers having secured their status as a Championship side for next season, the relevance of the table is now not as important as it was during the poor run during February and March. Despite that, Tony Mowbray’s men currently sit 15th with 53 points and a -7-goal difference from the 42 games they have participated in this season. With 4 games left, it will be interesting to see whether the team can achieve their boss’s points target of 60 points before the season is out.
Speaking of the final 4 fixtures, Rovers now look ahead to Good Friday, (19th April), where they face Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road at 3pm. Following on from that affair, they host local rival Bolton Wanderers on Easter Monday, (22nd April), at 3pm. After that derby, the Blues are back on their coach as they make their way down to Norfolk for the final away game of the season, which is set to be broadcasted live on Sky Sports, as they battle with Norwich City on Saturday 27th April at 7:30pm, who by that time could well have secured a place in next season’s Premier League. Following such an extensive run of fixtures, the season will be wrapped up on Sunday, 5th May at 12:30pm, as Swansea City visit Ewood Park for the final outing of the campaign.
