Rovers returned from their week away in Portugal and picked up exactly where they left off by overcoming an inconsistent Queens Park Rangers side by a 2-1 scoreline after goals from Adam Armstrong and Darragh Lenihan, either side of a Jordan Hugill strike cemented the points in East Lancashire.
Following their short break in the Algarve, Tony Mowbray named the same team that smashed five goals past Sheffield Wednesday which came 10 days prior to this encounter. Adam Armstrong, who claimed a brace of assists at Hillsborough, was set to make his 100th appearance for the club, a tally that continued on from his loan spell in the 2018-19 promotion-winning season. Lewis Travis was also among the milestones as he racked up his 50th start for the club.
Come 7:45pm, it was Rovers who got proceedings underway from the kick-off as they looked to continue their form and take the positives from the previous game and the week away in a warmer climate and secure a second successive victory that would help their pursuit of the playoffs.
The game began as a stodgy affair with both sides struggling to get into the game and find a consistent rhythm. Rovers were trying to make their home advantage count in order to build on the five points from a possible nine they had picked up in their last three outings, prior to their break in the sunshine. Rangers, were on an identical run of form, having netted eight goals in their last three outings, which included a 1-0 win at home against Leeds United, which was scored by the departed Nakhi Wells, who had been recalled by Burnley on Monday morning – and has since signed for Bristol City on a permanent deal on Thursday evening.
Rovers soon were the quicker of the two teams to settle as they managed to open the scoring courtesy of Adam Armstrong’s ninth goal of the season, which came on the 10th minute, as Rovers went 1-0 up. A sumptuous ball from inside his own half by Joe Rothwell, saw the central striker speed onto to the half-hearted clearance by Rangers captain Grant Hall. Armstrong still had a lot to do after he control the ball by flicking it back over the head of the central defender. The unchallenged forward then killed the ball with a touch before setting himself up by using Hall as a shield towards goal. Armstrong then wasted no time in curling the ball around Hall and past Liam Kelly, who was between the Rangers posts, in order to mark his century of Rovers appearances with the game’s opener.
The home side nearly had a quick-fire double straight from the kick-off, as some good pressure from Lewis Travis saw him win the ball back inside the Rangers half, before sliding Lewis Holtby through. The German’s shot was too hot to handle for Kelly who parried the ball back into play and into the path of the incoming Travis, whose effort from around four yards out was cleared off the line in a last-ditch attempt by Hall, as the away side avoided going behind by two inside the first quarter of an hour.
On the 17th minute, QPR had their first chance of the game which came through former Blackpool winger, Bright Osayi-Samuel. The winger did well to anticipate and intercept a poor pass by Stewart Downing before breaking away down the right-hand side. He was fortunate with a few ricochets off Rovers men as he dribbled towards the box, however his end product was lacking as his shot was blocked by a well-positioned Tosin Adarabioyo.
As the clocked struck the 20th minute, simultaneous to the Rovers fans paying tribute to a fellow 20-year old fan who had recently passed away, Armstrong again had the ball at his feet, but this time on the wing. He was able to pick out Sam Gallagher at the back-post with a cross that the forward connected with, however R’s ‘keeper Kelly was alert to the balls whereabouts as he was able to deny Gallagher his first home goal since making the permanent switch back to Ewood Park in the summer.
As the tribute applause petered out with the clock ticking over into the 21st minute, QPR managed to find themselves level, courtesy of a cheeky chip from former Preston North End forward and current West Ham United loanee, Jordan Hugill. A direct ball by Hall into Hugill was flicked on by the 27-year old, into the path of Ilias Chair whose run in-behind stretched the disorientated Rovers defence. Although Chair’s return ball was well weighted, the same couldn’t be said about Hugill’s touch which skewed away from him. That didn’t faze the forward however, as he was able to expertly loft the ball over the committed Christian Walton to equalise proceedings at 1-1.
On the 26th minute, Luke Amos tried his luck with a volley from an Osayi-Samuel cross, however the on-loan Tottenham Hotspur midfielder saw his effort clear the crossbar.
Minutes later, Rothwell and Gallagher played a one-two before the former found Holtby through a horde of defenders. The former Hamburg midfielder couldn’t get the ball quickly set under his feet however, as he was pressured into taking the shot early, which dully dribbled into the hands of Kelly.
Rovers were soon back ahead after half-an-hour as Darragh Lenihan notched his second goal in as many games, from Joe Rothwell’s corner. Although it’s since been discovered that the corner was taken illegally due to the ball being outside the quadrant, Rothwell was able to deliver an inviting in-swinging cross towards the back-post that saw Lenihan tower highest in the box in order to power it past Kelly and Amos on the near-post to give Rovers the advantage back at 2-1.
The 33rd minute saw Ryan Nyambe continue his good work down the right-hand side, before he cut the ball back to Travis. Travis’ execution couldn’t match Nyambe’s brilliant dribble as the midfielder’s shot from just inside the area was blocked away by a QPR man.
With Rovers the more dominant in the first period, the game petered out into battle for possession as Rangers struggled to find their footing in the game, whilst Rovers saw numerous half-chances blocked away or forays forward break down at the crucial stage.
The last acts of the half came Rangers’ way in the 44th minute, just prior to the two allocated minutes that were added onto the end of the first period..The first act of the first-half involved former Rovers loanee Todd Kane. The former Chelsea full-back did well to burst into the Rovers box unmarked but opted for the cutback across the face of goal instead of trying his luck. Unluckily for Kane, he was unable to bag what would have been a certain assist, as none of his teammates were there to poke home the equaliser. The second and final act of the half saw Osayi-Samuel and his teammates call for a penalty after the winger found the floor in the penalty area under pressure from Joe Rothwell. It seemed as if referee Darren Bond was of the opinion that the winger had looked for contact, as he waved play on, much to the fury of the away side, whose frustrations were compounded after Joe Rothwell went down calling for treatment, which saw the two minutes of added time nearly disappear due to his treatment.
Although play resumed after Rothwell returned to his feet, it wasn’t long until Darren Bond called time on the first-half.
As both sides entered their dressing rooms, there would have been some contrasting emotions flying around the Ewood Park tunnel during the break.
Tony Mowbray would have been the happier of the two managers due to his side’s lead. The gaffer would have been delighted with the performance of his side, specifically that of Ryan Nyambe and Joe Rothwell. Although Rothwell had gone down injured at the end of the half, Mowbray would have undoubtedly hoped that the midfielder would have been able to continue into the second-half of the game. Overall, the former Coventry manager would have been satisfied with how his team had gone about their business in the first period, but he would have been warning them of the reverse fixture and QPR’s attacking threat, given that there was only a small margin of one goal between the sides.
In the opposite dressing room, Mark Warburton would have been hugely disappointed with the manner in which his side had conceded in the first-half, specifically the second goal, which came from a foul corner that his analysists would have picked up from their video analysis of the game in real time. The former Rangers manager would have been hugely frustrated that his side had let Rovers score two soft goals. Furthermore, Warburton would have been annoyed that, despite scoring, his side had lacked the number of chances in the first-half that would have caused Rovers to quake in their boots.
Just prior to Rangers getting the game back underway for the second-half, Rovers made their first change of the game as Elliott Bennett was introduced for Joe Rothwell, who didn’t appear for the second-half as a result of the knock he took in the first-half.
On the 48th minute, the first chance of the half fell to QPR as Geoff Cameron tried his luck from range, but saw his effort balloon over the bar.
Tosin Adarabioyo then had two chances at goal in as many minutes. The first was his own doing as he picked the ball up from just outside the box, following a set-piece on the 52nd minute. The towering loanee did well to calmly set himself up before striking a low drive that edged narrowly wide of Kelly’s upright. The second opportunity came from a header off of Downing’s cross. A short corner by Bennett, to Downing saw the veteran pick out the youngster whose nod towards goal dropped wide of the far-post.
Two QPR bookings were then shown in as many minutes as Ilias Chair and Geoff Cameron saw yellow on the 57th and 58th minutes, respectively, after the pair both fouled Lewis Travis.
A minute later, Stewart Downing tried his luck from a deep free-kick, but his audacious shot dropped behind for a goal-kick.
From the goal-kick, QPR built up play which led to Kane crossing the ball in towards Osayi-Samuel. The powerful winger did well to leap and connect with the ball, yet he lacked the accuracy needed to test Christian Walton as the ball bobbled wide of the mark.
Travis was again on the end of a battering on the 62nd minute as Luke Amos’ last contribution to the game before being substituted off, saw him receive a yellow card.
Amos soon trundled off the field on the 67th minute and was replaced by former Bournemouth midfielder, Marc Pugh for Rangers’ first alteration of the game.
Another yellow card soon materialised on the 73rd minute, but this time for Darragh Lenihan, after the Irishman had brought down Chair with a late tackle.
Six minute later, Sam Gallagher and Adam Armstrong combined again, but the former’s header laced the accuracy to direct the latter’s cross into the back of the net, as the ball skewed wide.
The 80th minute saw a plethora of changes as Rovers made their final two by introducing Bradley Johnson and Joe Rankin-Costello, (who was making his home league debut) for Stewart Downing and Lewis Holtby, whilst QPR threw on Olamide Shodipo in-place of Ilias Chair.
Adam Armstrong soon picked up the ball on the 84th minute and tried to see if lightning would strike twice for him in one game with a similar strike to his first. Although the ambition was good, his attempt lacked the accuracy his 10th minute strike did, as the ball curled wide of the target.
As QPR piled men forward, Rovers were forced to hold on as the 86th minute saw Rangers’ best chance since their goal materialise through the substitute Shodipo. A cross in from the left-hand side was hung up in the air for the substitute to attack it, however his nod towards goal fell straight into the gloves of Walton, who fell on the ball to waste some valuable seconds.
Although a unified groan reverberated around Ewood Park after four minutes of added time was added at the end of the game, they turned out to be unnecessary worries as Rovers did all they could to put their bodies on the line and survive the late QPR onslaught, which in truth, lacked conviction and confidence, as despite their goal and the late Shodipo effort, they never really looked like scoring throughout the tie. Such hard work by the players ensured that they would earn another much-deserved home win, after seeing the 2-1 scoreline through to the end.
Whilst the performance and the scoreline was by no means as eye-catching as the 5-0 victory at Hillsborough last week, Rovers proved that they were able to play pragmatically, solidly and clinically against, not only a team that had previously given them a hiding in the reverse fixture, but a side who had beaten Leeds United in their previous outing. It was important for Rovers and Tony Mowbray to get this victory as it continued the confidence and belief that they would have achieved on last time out and would have built up throughout their brief stint in Portugal. In addition to his rocket of an effort, Adam Armstrong has proven in recent weeks that he has the capabilities and talent at his disposal to fill the gaping gap of goals left by Bradley Dack’s injury. With the former Newcastle United forward notching four goals and three assists in seven games, in all competitions since Dack’s injury, Armstrong has truly shown his value to the team, when the side needed him the most.
Looking at the bigger picture, as of Thursday, a day and a half after the game – the day this piece has been written due to urgent commitments on Tuesday evening after the game and the whole of Wednesday – there’s still over 24 hours left of the window that end at 11pm on Friday evening. It will be interesting to see whether Tony Mowbray can pull a few strings and get some new faces over the line under his terms, given the concerning injury list that Rovers now face, with Bradley Dack, Corry Evans and now Joe Rothwell among the first-teamers unavailable.
Turning attentions to the league table, Rovers managed to edge up one place into 10th, but find themselves a mouth-watering four points off the playoffs, as they sit with 43 points and a positive six goal-difference from the 29 games played.
As Rovers set themselves up to tackle a busy February, which contains seven fixtures, head-on, they start their relentless run away at the Riverside Stadium, the home of Middlesbrough on Saturday 1st February at 3pm. After that, the Blues return to Ewood Park to host a Fulham side who will be hoping they can make it four unbeaten against the hosts on Saturday 8th February at 3pm. Following the Cottagers’ departure, Rovers move to a midweek game as they welcome Hull City to East Lancashire on Tuesday 11th February at 7:45pm.
