Rovers’ final game of the calendar year of 2019 saw the end of the eight-match unbeaten run, as Danny Cowley’s relegation-threatened Huddersfield Town came from behind to win 2-1 at the John Smith’s Stadium in an overly scrappy game, to gain three vital points that edged them away from the bottom three.
The team that took the field at the John Smith’s Stadium saw five alterations to Rovers’ Boxing Day team that were held by a 1-1 scoreline at Ewood Park by Birmingham City. Tosin Adarabioyo, Stewart Downing, Lewis Travis, Joe Rothwell and Danny Graham all returned to the start in Yorkshire, replacing Ryan Nyambe, Amari’i Bell, Derrick Williams, Lewis Holtby and Adam Armstrong. Whilst Nyambe, Williams and Holtby were ruled out altogether due to injuries, there was good news for Rovers fans as young duo, Harry Chapman and Jacob Davenport were able to make the matchday squad on the substitutes bench. Darragh Lenihan was able to rack up an impressive 150th league career appearance as he partnered the Manchester City loanee, Adarabioyo.
Prior to kick-off, like Rovers did on Boxing Day, Huddersfield held a minutes’ applause in memory of all their fans, former players and managers who sadly passed away throughout 2019.
With both sides ready for play to begin, it was Rovers, who were in their third kit, who got the game underway with a sold-out away following, totting up to 2,366 Blackburn fans jammed into the South stand hoping to see their side end the decade with a win, rather than the loss they started it with, back in January 2009, which was a 4-1 defeat away at Manchester City.
Rovers started in the ascendency as they had a free-kick after just five minutes of play. The in-swinging set-piece by Stewart Downing was hooked in towards Bradley Johnson who rose highest in the box to nod the ball towards goal. The nod by Johnson took a deflection into the path of Sam Gallagher who tried to stab the ball home from close-range, but the on-loan Liverpool goalkeeper Kamil Grabara was on-hand to make the save and deny Rovers an early lead.
Although Grabara successfully denied Gallagher a goal, he was unable to stop Rovers getting the early lead they wanted as Danny Graham grabbed his third goal of the season after only seven minutes had passed. Elliott Bennett in the right-back spot did well to lay the ball off for Lewis Travis to accurately cross in towards Graham. The veteran forward used his expertise to peel off his defender before nodding the cross towards goal, which Grabara couldn’t keep out, as the packed-out Rovers support celebrated their side’s 1-0 advantage.
Huddersfield were determined not to succumb to the pressure of the away side as they picked themselves up and went down the other end in search of an equaliser on the 12th minute. Following some pinball between the Rovers defenders and home forwards, the ball fell to Karlan Grant who cut inside and released a low shot, that forced Christian Walton to get down quickly to his left to make a fine stop.
The Huddersfield pressure didn’t stop there, however, as only three minutes later, Grant again tried his luck with a cross-cum-shot that saw Walton backpedalling into his own goal, as the effort bounced back into play off the crossbar, before Rovers managed to hastily clear.
On the 18th minute, a ball into the Huddersfield box saw Johnson knock the ball across the face of goal with the aim of finding Graham the goalscorer, however Steve Mounié was alert enough inside his own box to intercept and nod the ball behind for a corner, which the home side easily dealt with.
There was an appeal for a penalty from the home side as it looked like Grant had been hauled down by Darragh Lenihan inside the box, however referee Andy Woolmer wasn’t interested as he waved play on.
The post-goal Huddersfield pressure soon paid off for the home side as they managed to nod themselves back on level terms on the 25th minute, courtesy of a Jon Gorenc Stanković header that pulled the Terriers level. The centre-back did well to fight off some tussles in the Rovers box to get himself on the end of Juninho Bacina’s curling free-kick to direct the ball past Walton and into the back of the net, in-front of the Rovers supporters, to draw Town level at 1-1.
Four minutes later, Huddersfield tried for a quick-fire double as Bacuna tried his luck with a volley at the back-post, however he couldn’t keep his effort down.
On the 40th minute, Graham did well to hold the ball up before finding Bennett who made a surging run down the right. Bennett’s eventual low cross fell to the feet of John Buckley who tried an on-target effort which was accidentally blocked by his own man in Sam Gallagher, as the offside flag was soon raised due to Gallagher’s presence.
There was soon a scare for Rovers as Huddersfield rush up to the other end and had an attempt of their own on the 43rd minute. Grant’s curling effort forced Walton to get down quickly to his right-hand side and divert a goal-bound shot behind for a corner, which soon led to a second successive corner after Walton fumbled the ball out of play, under pressure. Thankfully for Rovers, neither set-piece resulted in anything adverse for Rovers, as the ball was soon cleared to safety by the away side.
Three minutes were soon added by the match officials, as the final chance of the half appeared in the final of those three. Grant, who was proving to be Huddersfield’s main threat in-front of goal, tried his luck from just outside the Rovers penalty area, however the shot was well deflected behind by the legs of Lenihan. Although the Terriers piled men into the box in a hopeful attempt to snatch a lead at the break, Rovers did just about enough to divert the danger away as the half-time whistle blew shortly after.
As both sides made their way back to their respective dressing rooms, there would have been mixed feelings being emitted from each changing room, following a first-half that saw chances at either end.
The home boss Danny Cowley would have been disappointed with the manner in which his side had conceded the goal to Graham, specifically due to the fact it was an avoidable goal, given it came from a direct cross, rather than some magnificent Barcelona-esque play by Rovers. That being said, the former Lincoln City boss would have been delighted with how his side responded, not just due to the goal, but to the number of chances his side had created as they went in-search of the goal that would have put them ahead.
In the away dressing room, Tony Mowbray would have been rather disgruntled in a fashion similar to his counterpart, Cowley, given how Rovers had conceded their goal. Given the Stanković goal came from a simple header via a set-piece, the experienced boss would have been annoyed that, given the height Rovers have within their ranks, that nobody was able to pick up the 6’3” Slovenian defender. Although Mowbray would have been pleased to have gone ahead, he would have been irritated by the lack of control that his side had over the game, and he would have been reiterating that fact to his players during the break.
Prior to the start of the second period, Rovers made a change at the break which saw Amari’i Bell replace Joe Rothwell for the second-half, which pushed Stewart Downing up the field into a more advanced role on the left-hand side of midfield.
Once both sides returned for the second-half, it was Huddersfield Town who got play restarted at the kick-off, as they were looking to grab only their seventh win of the season, in order to end the decade on a high and increase their chances of survival come the end of the campaign.
The first chance of the half came on the 48th minute as after some good build-up play by Rovers, the ball was chipped into the path of Buckley, who managed to break into the box. After playing a one-two with Gallagher, Buckley received the ball in flight, before trying his luck with a volley from just inside the penalty area, however the youngster failed to keep his effort down, as the ball ballooned into the travelling support behind the goal.
The second change of the afternoon for Rovers came on the 61st minute as Adam Armstrong was introduced to the field as he replaced Danny Graham.
From the restart of play, Huddersfield continued their positive performance as Bacuna and Grant combined on the 65th minute. The former chipped a ball into the box for the latter to header, however the Terrier’s top goalscorer couldn’t convert from inside the Rovers box.
The first change of the game for Huddersfield came on the 70th minute as Elias Kachunga was withdrawn due to injury and replaced by experienced forward, Fraizer Campbell.
That substitution inspired the home side as they edged themselves ahead within 60 seconds of Campbell’s introduction. Some pressure by the Terrier’s midfield saw Stewart Downing dispossessed by Lewis O’Brien, as Mounié picked up the loose ball from around 35-yards out. The once-club record signing then drove towards goal unchallenged, before releasing a rocket from 25-yards out that sped past Tosin Adarabioyo and the despairing Christian Walton, in goal, before nestling into the top right-hand corner of the Rovers goal to give Huddersfield a well-deserved 2-1 lead.
Following the goal, changes were made on both sides as Rovers brought on Harry Chapman for Bradley Johnson, in their final change, as Stewart Downing tucked in centrally. Simultaneously, Huddersfield’s second substitution of the game saw Florent Hadergjonaj replace Jaden Brown.
Hadergjonaj soon got himself into the action within moments of coming on as he picked up a booking for bringing down Sam Gallagher.
On the 77th minute, Bacuna tried to grab his second goal against Rovers in as many games, after netting the equaliser at Ewood Park in October’s 2-2 draw, however he wasn’t quite as fortunate this time around, as his effort from the top of the box flew over the bar.
Three minutes later, Campbell’s name was taken by referee Andy Woolmer after he hacked down Elliott Bennett.
The 85th minute nearly brought Rovers the equaliser they craved, but for a superb save from Polish shot-stopper Grabara. A Downing corner was met in the box by Adarabioyo, who had risen highest in the penalty area. However, the on-loan Manchester City man wasn’t able to score his second professional goal in football as Grabara made a superb reflex save down to his left to deny the 22-year old.
After Huddersfield regained possession of the ball, they broke down the left-hand side through Grant, who did well to burst past Rovers’ right-back, Bennett, before getting into the area, against the byline and trying to poke the ball past Walton at the ‘keeper’s near-post. Thankfully from Rovers’ perspective, the on-loan Brighton and Hove Albion goalie was alert enough to tip the ball behind for a corner, which Rovers soon dealt with.
As the 90th minute approached, nine minutes of time were added onto the end of the half, which amassed due to the high number of stoppages due to injuries that both sides had to deal with throughout the game.
There wasn’t much in it, in the extra added minutes just prior to the final whistle, however Rovers did have a final chance in order to find the equaliser on the 92nd minute. Buckley broke through on goal with only Grabara to beat, however the young midfielder lost his footing and slipped just before he pulled the trigger, which allowed the ball to comfortably roll into the palms of Grabara.
Just prior to the final whistle, there was enough time for the match official to show Elliott Bennett a yellow card for a rough challenge on a Huddersfield attacker, before the game was called to an end.
With the home support vociferously delirious with the game they had just witnessed, Mr. Andy Woolmer, the match official, brought an end to a game which, Rovers never looked like winning, following the Danny Graham goal, as Huddersfield fought back to claim just their fourth home win of the season.
Whilst the unbeaten run of eight-games is sadly over, there is not much one can say in order to defend the team’s rather dire performance, following what has been a disappointing week that has seen them only pick up two points from a possible nine. Although the first 10 minutes of the game were exactly how the Blues support would have planned it, Huddersfield showed that despite their league position, they were no pushovers and that they still had the quality remaining from their Premier League stint, to beat teams towards the top end of the table. Although understandable changes were made to the Rovers team selection as a result of the injuries and the fatigue that appeared over the busy festive period, there can be no excuse in conceding the two goals that the away side did, especially that of Stanković considering the power and height within the Rovers.
As we now head into the January window, it will be very intriguing to see how Tony Mowbray reacts to his side’s deflated performance, particularly if a similar performance occurs on New Year’s Day at Nottingham Forest. Furthermore, the month of January may provide a crucial idea for fans in terms of how the post-Bradley Dack era might pan out, given the amount of quality the playmaker possesses. Whilst, of course, Rovers aren’t ‘Dackburn Rovers FC’, the onus now falls upon the manager and the players, to come up with a contingency plan during the next month in order to replace the goals that the playmaker provided.
Looking towards the table, heading into 2020, Rovers’ first loss since the 2-1 defeat at Elland Road against Leeds United in early November sees the Blues drop down to 13th in the table, remaining on 36 points as their positive goal-difference hangs in the balance at just one, after the 25 games played during the 2019 section of the league.
As we move into the next decade, Rovers continue their season on New Year’s Day away at the City Ground, as they face Nottingham Forest at 3pm. After that, Mowbray’s men take a break from the league to face Birmingham City, for the third and final time this season, this time in the FA Cup on Saturday 4th January, with kick-off pencilled in for 12:31pm. Once Rovers’ FA Cup fate is sealed, they return to Ewood Park a week later, on Saturday 11th January, to lock horns with playoff-chasing Preston North End at 3pm, in the hope of earning their revenge over the Lilywhites following the 3-2 defeat at Deepdale earlier on in the season.
