The final fixture in the top four divisions of English football before Christmas 2019 was overshadowed by a potentially season-threatening injury to Rovers playmaker Bradley Dack, as the Lancashire derby between Blackburn Rovers and Wigan Athletic ended in a goalless stalemate. Whilst both sides saw their respective unbeaten runs continue, with seven being tallied for Rovers as Wigan extended theirs to three, the game failed to live up to the pre-match expectations of both sets of fans, the spectators on Sky Sports and the several international broadcasters covering the tie.
As Rovers headed into this game off the back of nine days of rest since their magnificent 2-0 win away at Bristol City, Tony Mowbray, with the upcoming four games in 10 days in mind excluding this tie, made seven changes to the side that emerged victorious at Ashton Gate. Derrick Williams, Stewart Downing, Corry Evans, Joe Rothwell, Bradley Dack (who was set to make his 250th club career start), Adam Armstrong and Danny Graham all returned for the Blues. Whilst Tosin Adarabioyo, was one of seven dropped – he was removed from the squad completely, due to injury – whereas the likes of Amari’i Bell, Bradley Johnson, Lewis Holtby, Elliott Bennett, Ben Brereton and Sam Gallagher all dropped to the bench hoping to potentially impact the game positively later down the line.
With just over 2000 Wigan supporters stifled into the Darwen End, it was their side who began the game at the kick-off. The Latics fans came into this derby hoping that their team, who were unchanged from their previous outing, which was a 1-1 draw against fellow relegation candidates Huddersfield Town, could go one result better and claim a victory that would take them off the bottom of the table on Christmas Day and potentially give them a chance of avoiding the Christmas curse of ‘the team bottom on Christmas Day has gone on to get relegated in nine of the last 10 years’.
Rovers created the first half-chance of the game after only three minutes, as they looked to extend their fine form of scoring inside the first 15 minutes of games, from eight – which is the division’s highest – to nine for the season. Stewart Downing received the ball in his – now familiar – left-back spot before picking out the run of Danny Graham with a delicious through ball that the forward connected with. Unluckily for Rovers however, after referee Gavin Ward initially pointed for a corner after makeshift centre-back Kal Naismith had poked the ball away from Graham, the official overturned his decision to award Wigan a free-kick, following an apparent handball by Graham in the build-up.
Despite Rovers’ solid form of late, which was of contrast to Wigan’s away form, with the Latics having not kept an away clean sheet in the Championship since the backend of August 2018, which came 32 away games ago, in their only win in that run – a 3-0 away triumph over Stoke City – it was Paul Cook’s side who had the better opportunities inside the first 25 minutes of the tie.
The first of Wigan’s plethora of chances came after only six minutes of play, through midfielder, Lee Evans. The 25-year old midfielder picked the ball up from around 30-yards out from goal and tried his luck, but saw his shot deflect off the chest of Darragh Lenihan and into the path of onside teammate Josh Windass, who was unable to connect with the ball before Derrick Williams got ahead of him to clear the danger.
Minutes later, former Portsmouth forward, Jamal Lowe tried to catch out Christian Walton at his near-post, however the former Wigan loanee was equal to Lowe’s cross-cum-shot. After a storming run down the left-hand side by full-back Antonee Robinson led to a cross which Williams could only nod out as far as Evans. Evans did well to hit a first-time pass over to Lowe whose poor touch saw him forced out wide into a crossing position, to which he delivered in a disguised manner, which Walton was alert to, as he claimed the ball with ease.
Rovers’ poor start to the game continued as Wigan continued to pile on the pressure as Windass saw his nod skew off-target. Wigan hit a direct cross-field ball following a throw-in, which saw Nathan Byrne nod the ball down into the path of Gavin Massey, who hooked in a cross, after chesting the ball into his control, that Windass rose to meet under pressure from Lenihan. Thankfully for Rovers, their poor start didn’t cost them, as Windass’s attempt at goal rolled well wide of the mark.
The visitor’s period of dominance continued into the 20th minute, as the game saw its first effort on target. A lay-off by Lowe into the path of Michael Jacobs allowed the former Northampton Town man to get a low shot away via his right-foot. Fortunately for Rovers, Walton got down early enough to deny his former teammate his second goal of the league campaign.
Rovers’ sloppy passing nearly came back to haunt them, just two minutes after Jacobs’ attempt as Josh Windass cleverly defied the offside law by making a run from inside his own half to connect on a pinpoint pass by Wigan ‘skipper Sam Morsy. The first-time ball from the visiting captain picked the forward out perfectly, but he had a lot to do before getting his shot away. The former Rangers attacker used his quick feet and speed well to burst down the right-hand side, leaving Darragh Lenihan for dead before trying his luck from just inside the Rovers penalty area. Fortunately for Rovers, the execution didn’t match the run as the shot trickled harmlessly behind for a goal-kick, much to the annoyance of the packed Blackburn End, behind the Rovers net.
The home faithful soon had a chance to get their teeth stuck into on the half-hour mark and it nearly managed to break the deadlock, despite all of Wigan’s pressure. Following a Rovers free-kick that was nodded behind, a short corner to Joe Rothwell from Downing, saw the veteran received the ball back before pinpointing a perfect cross towards the back-post. The large frame of Lenihan was the recipient of the cross as his under-pressure header, which narrowly avoided diversion into the back of the net by the flying right-foot of Bradley Dack, produced a fine save from Latics’ shot-stopper, Jamie Jones, as his side soon cleared the danger.
Four minutes later, the Wigan pressure resumed as Lenihan was on hand at the other end to compensate for more poor passing by Rovers, as he cleared the ball off the line at the expense of a Wigan corner, after some frantic defending by the Blues nearly gave both Windass and Morsy a tap-in from mere yards. The subsequent corner, however, forced Christian Walton into action again as Evans’ header was comfortably saved by the ‘keeper.
Moments later, Bradley Dack picked up the ball from around 30-yards and despite having an open Rothwell to his right, he opted to try his luck from distance, however his underpowered shot proved to be a simple save for the experienced goalkeeper.
The feisty encounter soon saw its first booking materialised as Wigan captain Sam Morsy fell into the referee’s notebook following a dangerous challenge on Corry Evans.
As half-time approached, referee Gavin Ward indicated for a solitary minute of time to be added on prior to the break.
That minute saw Rovers’ only half-chance worth noting arise, as a good piece of play by Danny Graham which nearly set up Adam Armstrong for a close-range effort at goal. Evans picked up the ball on halfway and threaded through Graham who looked up early and saw Armstrong cutting into some space from the opposite flank. The veteran forward’s pass was risky, as he had to weight it perfectly for it not to be intercepted by the Athletic defence. Unfortunately, his ball across lacked the necessary power, as it bypassed Armstrong with Wigan forced to concede a throw-in moments prior to the whistle being blown.
As both teams returned to their respective dressing rooms, their managers would have had some contrasting words to report back to their players during the half-time break.
Tony Mowbray, who was visibly frustrated on the touchline, would have been outlining his annoyance in the dressing room, but also being pragmatic in his approach to his players. The gaffer would have been highlighting how poor his side had been in possession of the ball, with Wigan being potent enough to counter attack from Rovers’ misplaced passes. Mowbray would have been making a point to Rovers that they had to improve going forwards in order continue their fine run of form and avoid a potential surprise defeat against the hands of a team that has caused Rovers a lot of problems in recent years.
In the away changing room, a rather hoarse Paul Cook would have been delighted with the application and work-rate that his side had put in, especially with the defensive injuries that his side have been suffering from, of late. This defensive crisis was evidently highlighted by the fact that winger, Kal Naismith was filling in at the heart of defence for the second game running, however Cook wouldn’t have let that faze him or his side as they had ended the first-half without conceding against Rovers side who are very prolific in-front of their own support. The former Portsmouth boss’s emotions before the second period would have been of encouragement and praise as he would have been telling his side to continue what they were doing as the goal they longed for would soon arrive if they efforts remained the same.
The second period soon got back underway courtesy of Bradley Dack’s kick-off. The playmaker, who was making his return from suspension in this game, would have been hoping at the break, that his talent would shine through and be able to cause Wigan problems, as he had done many times before, in previous meetings.
The game soon spiralled out of control from referee Gavin Ward, only 90 seconds into the second period as an off-the-ball altercation between Lewis Travis and Sam Morsy saw the already booked Wigan midfielder stamp on the Achilles of Travis. Luckily for Morsy, all the officials somehow missed it as Wigan kept their full compliment of players, with a dropped ball being Mr. Ward’s verdict after play was intentionally stopped by Stewart Downing.
In terms of opportunities, Rovers started the second-half brighter than they did the first as on the 53rd minute, Armstrong and Dack combined to try and set up Graham but found the staunch Wigan defence stood in the way. A ball over the top for Armstrong saw him reach it before playing a one-two with Dack. After Armstrong regained possession of the ball, Armstrong floated in a cross towards Graham, however Wigan defender Cédric Kipré did enough to nod the ball away from the incoming Graham, whilst simultaneously drawing a free-kick from the frontman.
On the hour mark, Rovers soon made their first change of the evening. After Corry Evans had picked up a knock following a collision with Jacobs and Robinson whilst trying to clear the ball, he was withdrawn from the field of play and replaced by last Saturday’s goal and assist hero, Bradley Johnson.
Johnson soon had an immediate impact as he joined the field of play prior to a Rovers corner. His physique in the box allowed him to ghost in at the far-post, but he missed the ball as both sets of players scrambled for it before Wigan did enough to clear it behind for a Rovers throw that Wigan dealt with.
On the 62nd minute, Wigan made a change of their own as Joe Williams was introduced, replacing Gavin Massey.
Lowe picked up the ball on the half-turn around 40-yards out and drove towards goal before trying his luck from around half that distance. His powerful drive curled enough to beat Walton, but also enough to beat the far-post, as it ended up with the Wigan supporters behind the goal, rather than in the net.
Disaster soon struck for Rovers as Bradley Dack was clattered on halfway, in-front of the Riverside stand, following an innocuous, but fair challenge by already booked, Sam Morsy. The Wigan midfielder won the ball fairly, via a 50/50 challenge, however Dack’s right foot had implanted itself into the ground as he went over on his knee in excruciating pain, which led to play being halted for a long period of time before he was sadly stretched off.
Alas, Rovers had to battle on without their star man as he was replaced by an equally capable replacement in Lewis Holtby, who was scheduled to come on before Dack went down. The German was given the opportunity to come on to prove to the manager and the crowd that he had the ability and knowhow to replace Dack in his period of absence.
Strangely enough, Rovers’ best move of the game came after Dack’s departure, on the 73rd minute. Joe Rothwell, who was quiet all evening, burst into life as he picked up the ball on halfway and hurdled a few Wigan challenges before being halted just outside the penalty area. After being tackled, the ball broke lose to Holtby, who found Armstrong on the wing. Armstrong, who was in acres of space, lofted in a first-time cross towards Danny Graham, which the wily forward glanced towards goal via his head, however the crossbar turned out to be Wigan’s saviour, as the ball bounced back into play before being cleared by Wigan, for a Rovers throw.
That passage of Rovers play soon ended with a Darragh Lenihan header, that came off a quick, deep Rovers free-kick following a foul by Jacobs. Lenihan, who was still up from a previous set-piece which came to nothing, managed to tower over his defender and connect with the ball, however his header lacked the power to test Jones, who claimed an easy catch.
From Jones’s claim, Wigan’s build-up of play ended with the ball in the back of the Rovers net, as Windass forced the ball home after Jacobs forced Walton to drop the ball, after clattering into his former teammate. Nathan Byrne stood up a cross that Walton rose to claim, however despite having two hands on the ball, Jacobs’ momentum took him into the ‘keeper, which saw Walton drop the ball perfectly for Windass to nod into an empty net. Thankfully for Rovers, their misery wasn’t further compounded by going a goal behind as the goal was chalked off with Rovers being awarded a free-kick for the foul.
On the 78th minute, Morsy tried to beat his former teammate with a quality dipping effort from the top of the box. The Egyptian international did well to shift the ball away from Travis before striking a looping shot towards goal that forced Walton into a tremendous save, which kept the scoreline goalless, as Wigan earnt a corner.
Before the Wigan corner was taken, Sam Gallagher was thrown on for the final 11 minutes or so, as he replaced the tiring Adam Armstrong.
From the corner, which Wigan took short, Kipré again forced Walton into an even better save than the one he made from Morsy, as the on-loan goalie produced an outstanding reflex save that again denied Wigan the lead, as they earnt another corner, which they failed to create from.
On the 81st minute, Rovers managed to regain possession of the ball and work themselves up the pitch. Joe Rothwell managed to get the Rovers fans off their seats with a venomous strike that stung the palms of Jones, who was forced to concede a corner. That subsequent corner was met by the head of Lenihan who again forced Jones into a save as good as Walton’s at the other end, as Rovers earnt a second successive corner. The corner crossed in by Holtby, fell to Downing, whose right-footed effort deflected behind for a third corner that Wigan eventually cleared.
With 86 minutes gone, Paul Cook decided that a point was good enough for his side, given their horrendous run of losing 11 points this season during the last 15 minutes of games – a league high – and he decided to sturdy up his defence by introducing top goalscorer, centre-back Chey Dunkley – who has five for the season to his name – in-place of Michael Jacobs.
Soon after, Josh Windass received a yellow card for dissent, after kicking the ball into the stands after disagreeing with an offside call against him.
In the 89th minute, Derrick Williams came to Rovers’ rescue in the final moments as he put his body on the line to deny Sam Morsy what would have undoubtedly been the winner. A misplaced pass by Lenihan allowed for Evans to play Morsy through. Although Morsy should have cut it back for either Evans or Windass, he decided to go it alone and was punished as a result as Williams superbly got in the way at the expense of a corner. From the corner, Wigan had another chance as added time crept in. A cross in from the right-hand side saw Lowe glance in a header that narrowly edged past the far-post and trickled behind for a goal-kick.
As a result of the injury to Dack, seven minutes of added time was allocated onto the end of the game, which gave Rovers a second wind during the final few phases of play.
In the 91st minute, a corner only half-cleared by Wigan fell to Holtby, whose precise effort was well saved by Jones, who got down quickly to his left to deny the German the winner.
As the 94th minute ticked over, a calamitous lack of concentration between the freshly announced Man of the Match, Lewis Travis and Man of the Match elect, Christian Walton, nearly saw Wigan nick a late winner. Travis quickly laid the ball off to Walton, in the hope the ‘keeper would get the ball up the pitch quickly, however Windass was aware of the plot and he tried to close down Walton which saw Tony Mowbray evolve into a fit of anxiety and suppressed rage as his head were embedded into his hands. Despite the gaffer’s hilarious reaction, Walton and Travis’ blushes were spared, as the goalie’s kick veered away from the incoming Windass and went out for a throw-in in the Wigan half.
The final act of the game saw Joe Rothwell booked for dissent by Gavin Ward, the referee, who in truth, completely lost control of the game early on in the second-half.
With Mr. Ward calling an end to what was a drab, but tight game, in all honesty, it now leaves both sides hanging in precarious positions, both in terms of personnel and their respective league positions, heading into the second part of their festive fixtures.
Briefly touching upon the game before heading to more pressing matters; the tie lacked the fluidity from a Rovers perspective that would have been expected from a side that have just had nine days rest, however the most important thing to take from the game, was that the team came out with a result as this is a game they could have easily lost, had it been played last campaign. Whilst some may be disappointed with the fact that Wigan managed to claim a draw from Ewood Park despite starting play as the basement club in the league, things can be placed into perspective when placed alongside the Bristol City result, last time out. If one was to hypothetically swap the points return from both games, before kick-off last Saturday, it’s plausible to suggest that 99% of the fanbase would have been pleased with a draw away at Bristol City and a win at home to Wigan Athletic, discounting the injury to Dack, of course.
Speaking of the talisman, it’s never a nice sight to see any player on any team stretchered off the playing field, let alone the best player on your team! Whilst we all wish Dacky a speedy and healthy recovery and hope it’s not as bad as it looks, it’s fair to say that one man’s loss is another man’s gain, in terms of squad places. With the disappointing side-lining of Dack, it allows for players, such as his replacement today Lewis Holtby, to stake their claim for a run in the side behind the main striker, with a number of players within the squad, capable of filling in that role. (At least the transfer speculation will be put to bed for this upcoming window, given the injury(!))
Looking at the league table as we head into Christmas and Boxing Day, Rovers, after adding an extra point onto their tally, Rovers have climbed up to 8th in the league, with the coveted 6th spot only two points away. They are currently within touching distance of the playoffs due to their 35 points, but their goal-difference of just 2, may cause some concern later down the line if teams around them don’t start dropping points.
Moving onto the festive fixtures, Rovers have a quick turnaround after Christmas Day as they’re back at Ewood Park to host FA Cup opponents, Birmingham City on Boxing Day at 3pm. Following that clash, Rovers hop back on their coach and head to Yorkshire to face Danny Cowley’s Huddersfield Town at the John Smith’s Stadium on Sunday 29th December at 3pm in 2019’s final game. Heading into the new decade, Rovers will be hoping to start it off right as they head even further away from Lancashire, with Sabri Lamouchi’s playoff-chasing Nottingham Forest pencilled in for what is surely to be a feisty clash on New Year’s Day.
Merry Christmas from all at ReadRovers!
Enjoy the festivities, let’s hope our Dacky’s not out for long and let’s back the boys into the new year!
