After starting the campaign with a frustrating 2-1 defeat at home to newly-promoted Charlton Athletic, Rovers boss Tony Mowbray reflected on the unexpected defeat with the club’s media team.
“I think there were positives from today’s game, even though we ended up on the wrong end of the scoreline. We generally dominated the game, as we tried to get through their wall of players, but ultimately, we didn’t have enough quality in the final third, whether that was a pass through to allow for a simple tap-in, or a piece of individual brilliance from outside the area. I think in games like this, you’re almost waiting for one mistake, whether that being someone not concentrating on a set-piece that allows your player to get in-front and score, or a misplaced pass or a slip, but ultimately it was one of those days for us, really.
“I didn’t really feel threatened by them all game, but then they popped up and scored on the break with their first shot of the game after their lad broke through freely and was virtually in the 6-yard box without a defender near, which was frustrating. I was also annoyed with the nature of their second goal from the corner. We’ve conceded both goals due to some terrible defending, which is incredibly frustrating. Yet, for a vast majority of the game, we had the ball and our inability to break them down was evident, but that was a game that was there for us to win.
“I said to the lads at half-time, that they could end up winning by 3 or 4 goals if they managed to break through and get the equaliser, which in fairness, we did. Unfortunately, their second goal took all the air out of us. You have to make first contact on a defensive set-play, but we failed to do that and paid the price. It didn’t even seem like the lad who headered it was even trying to score, it seemed as if he was just trying to keep the ball alive, and it’s trickled in off the post after their unmarked centre-forward flicked it on.
“After their second, we became a bit too direct and played into the hands of their big centre-backs. Charlton were good at managing the game today, and they were helped by the officials, I think, who allowed them to slow things down and take their time, but that’s football at the end of the day. We have nobody to blame but ourselves. The opportunity was there for us to beat Charlton today, and we failed to do so. We have to put today’s disappointment behind us and work on what we did poorly, before travelling down to Craven Cottage to face Fulham, who are one of the favourites for the league. It’ll no doubt be a tough game, but let’s hope we can go down there, frustrate them and give them a battle.
“We should be looking forward to every game, yet, we’re allowed to be disappointed today, because it wasn’t good enough. It’s disappointing for the players, for myself and for all the supporters who came today, full of enthusiasm and noise, but we were unable to reward their efforts with the result to match.
“I’ve been making a point to the players that the first game of any season is usually the same. They’re usually close games, there’s a lot of fouls, a lot of contact, lots of stoppages in play, everyone’s playing with a lot of intensity, everyone wants to win every challenge and referees aren’t usually up to speed on the opening day. That’s why I prefer to be away on the opening day of the season, so that you can get back home, and you have a better opportunity to implement your styles and gameplans. Saying that, the first game is over now, it was a tight game as I had anticipated, and very stop-start, but we have 45 games left to right our wrongs from today and we’ll be doing our all to do that.
“Bradley Johnson was good today, he showed his ability, strength and composure on the ball and yet the result is what ultimately matters in football, regardless of how well the team, or a certain individual played, if the team loses, it’s relatively meaningless. The performance levels of a team usually gets you the results, but it didn’t today, which was down to our poorness in the final third and lack of creativity. We just have to keep going and keep working with the team, building upon the positives and working to solve the negatives that I can see and know are there.”
The interview was rounded off by Mowbray touching briefly on the transfer window, which is set to close on Thursday 8th August at 5pm.
“We’ve tried to strengthen and fix our negative aspects with new faces. It’s not easy to do, but let’s see what happens between now and Thursday’s deadline. I don’t know if we’ll add anyone, but I’m not going to definitely say ‘yes’ or ‘no’, as a lot of work goes into transfers. It’s tough to get the players that you want, and if you don’t get who you want, I don’t waste money by panic buying the wrong people, I try and improve the players that I’ve already got.”
