Rovers avoided a cup upset and a third consecutive defeat to start the season, after some inspired substitutions and a late alteration in playstyle saw Tony Mowbray’s men, come from behind twice, to book a place in the Carabao Cup second round, following a 3-2 win at home to Oldham Athletic.
Following their consecutive league defeats to start the season, with losses at home to Charlton and away at Fulham on record, Rovers boss Tony Mowbray made wholesale changes to his side for their game against their League Two opponents, with 11 fresh faces starting the tie.
Jayson Leutwiler, Ryan Nyambe, Matty Platt, Joe Grayson, debutant Greg Cunningham, Richie Smallwood, Corry Evans, John Buckley, Stewart Downing, Ben Brereton and Danny Graham all came into the side, with the hopes of potentially putting in a performance that would further exaggerate Tony Mowbray’s selection headaches. The bench that was named saw a strong attacking quartet available with Bradley Dack, Joe Rothwell, Sam Gallagher and Harry Chapman all available.
With 686 Oldham fans making the 28.5-mile journey, it was their side who began the game from the kick-off as they hoped to potentially provide their fans a distraction from their opening two defeats of the season in the league, with a potential higher division scalp in the cup.
There was little action during the opening 10 minutes of the game, that got either set of supporters excited, bar when Christopher Missilou struck wide of the mark, from the edge of the penalty area, showing Rovers early signs of a potential threat from the visitors.
Mowbray’s men had their first opportunity on the 11th minute, as some good build-up play by the Blues saw Downing’s cross flicked on by Buckley that allowed Cunningham to strike first time. Unfortunately, the debutant, his attempt at grabbing a debut goal failed as his poor connection saw the ball hit the back of the stand.
Rovers’ poor start to the campaign seemingly continued in the 14th minute as Gevaro Nepomuceno found the bottom right-hand corner of Leutwiler’s goal, from 20-yards out, after the winger broke beyond Rovers’ midfield and hit a low strike, with the centre-backs pinned down on the edge of the box, that found the back of the net, beyond the despairing Leutwiler to give the League Two side a surprising 1-0 lead.
Rovers’ second chance of the evening came on the 27th minute, where an almost clear-cut opportunity was well blocked by some valiant Oldham defending. Downing’s cross fell to the feet of Brereton who saw his scuffed effort rebound back into the path of Corry Evans, whose first-time half-volley was blocked on the line by a combination of Oldham defenders, before being cleared.
4 minutes after Evans’ attempt, Downing was again providing Brereton, but this time, the 20-year old’s nod fell off-target, as Oldham were awarded a goal-kick.
The first booking of the game fell the way of Oldham’s skipper on the night, Mohammed Maouche, who hacked down Rovers’ forward, Ben Brereton.
Brereton was again involved, on the stroke of half-time, after he was expertly slid through on goal, by Danny Graham. Despite the young forward’s pace, he was unable to get the ball out of his feet quick enough, before he was lost his footing under pressure from Oldham defender, Alex Iacovitti.
After Oldham managed to regain possession of the ball from Brereton’s advance forward, the game fizzled out after 2 minutes of time was added onto the end of the half, which led to referee Tom Nield, soon blowing for the break.
With Rovers heading into the break behind, there would have been no doubt that Tony Mowbray would have been frustrated with what he had seen from his side during the first 45 minutes. Despite offering opportunities to most of the youngsters who have impressed for the under-23s side in recent years, there was little to shout about, regarding their performance, with both young and old within the side, failing to live up to expectations.
In the opposite changing room, recently appointed Oldham gaffer Laurent Banide’s reaction to his side’s performance would have been positive, however the former AS Monaco manager would have been cautiously reminding his players of the potential quality that Rovers possessed within their ranks, both on the pitch and on the bench, whilst also simultaneously warning them that any potential sloppiness or loss of concentration could punish them.
Rovers kicked-off the second period with Mowbray’s words ringing in their ears, and within 5 minutes of the whistle, got their first opportunity to try and level the scoreline.
On the 50th minute, Buckley and Brereton combined, with the former teeing up the latter with a low cross, however Brereton’s second header of the game ended up like his first, wide and off-target.
Over the space of 11 minutes, between the 52nd minute and the 63rd, no chances appeared for either side, but Rovers made all of their permitted subs in an effort to turn the game around. Matty Platt, Richie Smallwood and Corry Evans all came off, with Joe Rothwell, Harry Chapman and Bradley Dack all replacing them. This saw a change in positions at the back for Rovers, as Ryan Nyambe moved into centre-back alongside Joe Grayson, whilst John Buckley moved into an unfamiliar right-back position.
Soon after the Rovers subs were over, the fresh legs made an instant impact as Chapman and Dack combined to set Brereton up for a chance. Dack played Chapman in, who backheeled the ball back to the talisman who lofted in a deep cross towards Brereton, whose header towards goal was seemingly blocked by a combination of the woodwork and the hand of Zak Mills, but despite protests, Oldham cleared, as referee Tom Nield waved away Rovers’ protests.
Oldham made their first change on the 65th minute as the Latics’s goalscorer, Gevaro Nepomuceno was replaced by Johan Branger-Engone.
Branger-Engone soon made an instant impact, as he tried to catch Leutwiler out from distance, with the ‘keeper off his line, however the Canadian shot-stopper was equal to the substitute’s effort.
The leveller soon came on the 70th minute, when Danny Graham and Bradley Dack combined to execute a move that Rovers fans have become so accustomed to, so often, over the past few years. Joe Grayson’s ball into the box was fumbled by Oldham’s defence, before falling to Danny Graham, who touched the ball into Dack’s path, who swept the ball past Oldham’s ‘keeper Gary Woods, to level the scoreline at 1-1,
A minute later, Graham nearly put Rovers ahead with an effort that the Oldham shot-stopper was equal to.
Ashley Smith-Brown was soon booked for a tackle on Harry Chapman, prior to Dack’s goal, which the referee returned to following the advantage.
After the 75th minute, Rovers thought they had completed the turnaround, but were ruled out by the offside flag. A Joe Rothwell free-kick from the wide area somehow found the back of the net at the near-post, after it flicked in off an Oldham head, with Dack wheeling away in celebration. Despite the relieved cheer around the home stands, the officiating team ruled the goal out due to supposed interference from Dack at the near-post.
A few minutes later, Woods in the Oldham goal, inadvertently set-up Stewart Downing for a half-volley, which the former England international skewed wide.
Although Rovers’ domination on the ball continued, Oldham hit Rovers on the break to go back ahead, following some less than impressive defending, as the young Rovers centre-backs failed to clear their lines. After Joe Grayson failed to clear his lines, the ball dropped kindly for Oldham’s skipper, Mohammed Maouche, who side-footed the ball past Jayson Leutwiler to give the League Two minnows the lead back at 2-1.
After the goal, Oldham made their second change of the evening as Désiré Segbé Azankpo was replaced by Scott Wilson.
With time running out, Chapman and Dack again combined, but to no avail, as Dack saw his first-time effort denied by Woods in the Oldham goal.
A second chance in as many minutes fell Dack’s way as Graham nodded the ball into the playmaker’s path, who somehow missed from just inside the penalty area, with the Rovers crowd already in mid-celebration.
The final Oldham change saw Dylan Fage removed, as defender Tom Hamer took his place in an attempt to stifle Rovers’ attacking threat.
On the 89th minute, debutant Greg Cunningham was booked during the dying stages of the game.
With 90 minutes on the clock and Rovers set to bow out of the competition, referee Tom Nield added 6 minutes of time at the end of the game, which saw the Rovers faithful roar their team into action, as the players upped their performance levels during the final stages.
That backing from the fans soon paid off, as Stewart Downing grabbed his first goal for Rovers, and his first goal since October 2018, to level the scoring in the 92nd minute. The experienced midfielder played the ball into the feet of Dack, who was fouled on the edge of the area. Although the referee had the whistle in his mouth, he played advantage as the ball broke back to Downing who whipped in a shot through the statuesque Oldham defence, which ended up nestling into the bottom right-hand corner of the net to make it 2-2, as Woods was well beaten by the pace on the ball.
The drama did not stop there, however, as the winner soon came in the 94th minute, courtesy of Joe Rothwell’s tap-in. A long-ball by Cunningham, saw Graham nod the ball down into Dack, who tapped the ball first-time, past the despairing Oldham ‘keeper, into Rothwell’s feet, who only had to prod home into an empty net to seal Rovers’ advancement into the second round, completing the comeback at 3-2.
Despite some late long-balls into the box by Oldham, Rovers managed to withstand their late pressure in order to see off the League Two side, in a game which was not pretty to watch, or as comfortable as the final result may suggest to neutrals.
Whilst the cup is by no means Rovers’ top priory this season, this victory and the manner in which it was achieved, after going behind twice, will surely act as a blessing in disguise for everyone within the club walls. The passion, desire and quality that Rovers had on the pitch is no doubt something that has been on show against both Charlton and Fulham, however the luck, which is at times needed, was not.
Saying that, however, the performance and manner of the game from a defensive perspective, is something nobody should be proud of, despite there being some young heads at the back for Rovers. Whilst the advancement into the second round was expected prior to kick-off, a lot of people would forgive fans – the manager included – for not being happy with that performance.
Hopefully, this win and confidence can kickstart Rovers’ league season and help them start building the required momentum that they need in order to churn out the required results that sees them climb up the table. One minor positive that some would infer from this game, was the game-changing performance of Bradley Dack, who seemed non-existent in the opening games of the season. With a goal and 2 assists under his belt, the Rovers faithful will be hoping that their talisman will be both mentally and physically ready for Saturday’s home tie against Middlesbrough.
Speaking of Rovers’ next game, as mentioned, they host the North East side on Saturday 17th August at 3pm. Following that affair, Hull City are next on the Rovers calendar, with the KC Stadium set to be the venue on Tuesday 20th August at 7:45pm, in-front of the Sky Sports cameras. Once the trip to Yorkshire is complete, Rovers return to Ewood Park to play another of the relegated Premier League teams in Cardiff City on Saturday 24th August, at 3pm.
