It was Bradley Johnson, who emerged off the bench to be the unlikely hero at Ewood Park, after his deflected strike in the 95th minute saw Rovers earn their third consecutive draw against Swansea City, who departed Ewood Park in heartbreak, after they’d conceded in added time for the third time in their last four games.
The side that lined-up for the second game in three days saw two changes to the team that drew 0-0 with Stoke City on Wednesday. Although the departure of Darragh Lenihan was enforced due to suspension – which will see him miss Rovers’ next game as well, before being able to return – the dropping of Bradley Johnson was not, as the former Norwich City man was replaced by Dominic Samuel for this encounter, as Elliott Bennett returned in-place of Lenihan to captain the side. With such changes being made, Rovers saw Bennett fill in at right-back, as Ryan Nyambe partnered Tosin Adarabioyo at the heart of defence, whilst Dominic Samuel took up a spot on the left-wing, allowing Stewart Downing to sit deep, alongside Lewis Travis. As a result of Bennett’s return to the side, the 31-year old made his 350th career league start.
As the 606 Swansea fans, who made the 206-mile journey up to Lancashire settled into their seats in the upper tier of the Darwen End, it was their side who won the coin toss and were given the kick-off. The Swans came into this tie off the back of a 1-0 away defeat to Fulham in midweek, which saw on-loan Newcastle United ‘keeper Freddie Woodman save an Aleksandar Mitrović penalty, before the Serb served up some late agony with a 94th minute winner. The fans who had made the exhausting trip were hoping that they could use that frustration to claim three vital points at Ewood Park that would have seen their side leapfrog their hosts come the final whistle.
It was the Swans who started the brighter of the two sides inside the opening five minutes as former West Ham United winger, André Ayew saw his shot from around 25-yards roll harmlessly wide of the target.
On the 10th minute, controversy brewed after league debutant Jordon Garrick had seemingly clattered into Christian Walton with a high boot, that left the Rovers ‘keeper writhing in agony and requiring treatment. Although Walton was fine to continue, referee Peter Bankes didn’t categorise the late challenge as ‘dangerous play’, allowing Garrick to get off with just a yellow card.
Two minutes later, some good play by Stewart Downing saw his eventual cross cleared by the Swans, only as far as Joe Rothwell who tried to curl a first-time shot into the top-right hand corner of Woodman’s goal. Unfortunately for the playmaker, his effort ballooned up and over the goal and into the Darwen End’s empty lower tier.
The 23rd minute saw Rovers’ appeal for a penalty declined as referee Bankes awarded Swansea a free-kick instead. A whipped free-kick by Downing saw Gallagher connect with him whilst seemingly being dragged to the floor simultaneously by Jake Bidwell. Although Gallagher’s effort flew over the bar, the forward was left surprised and confused after his penalty appeals were negated.
That miss and denied appeal didn’t faze Gallagher, however, as less than two minutes later, the forward put Rovers ahead with his first goal at Ewood Park since his equaliser in a 1-1 home draw with Bristol City at the backend of the 2016-17 relegation season. The move began as Rovers knocked the ball around, in an attempt to switch possession over from the left-flank, to the right. That proved successful as Ryan Nyambe picked the ball up on halfway, and drove forward from the centre-back spot, as Lewis Travis covered for him. The Namibian looked possessed as he burst down the right-hand side, ahead of Ayew, before delivering an inviting early cross that saw Sam Gallagher steer home with a deft touch, past Freddie Woodman, to put Rovers ahead at 1-0.
It took until the 38th minute for Swansea to find their rhythm, as they grew into the game and came so close to equalising. Bidwell and Ayew played a one-two on the left-hand side, before Ayew drilled a low cross in towards the six-yard box. The ball eluded three Rovers players, as Tosin Adarabioyo was nutmegged and left on his backside, before Amari’i Bell cleared the danger before Garrick was given the opportunity of a tap-in.
The Swans’ equaliser soon came, however, seconds before three allocated minutes of time were added onto the end of the first-half by Peter Bankes, the official. Rovers lost possession of the ball in the visiting half, after committing too many men forward, which left them susceptible on the break. Ayew picked the ball up deep inside his own half, as he laid the ball off to Kyle Naughton before receiving it back from the full-back on the edge of Rovers’ penalty area. The Ghanaian was then able to find Chelsea loanee, Conor Gallagher, who fought off pressure from Nyambe before fizzing the ball into Liverpool loanee Rhian Brewster. The forward – who holds a Champions League winners’ medal, following Liverpool’s exploits last campaign, despite not playing a single minute – did well to control Gallagher’s nippy effort before striking a low half-volley, first-time, into the bottom left-hand corner of Walton’s goal to equalise before the break. The loanee was soon to receive a yellow card from Mr. Bankes, before the restart for his excessive celebrations, following a rather bizarre attempts at repeatedly trying to wind-up the home fans in the Blackburn End, despite no prior provocation.
It wasn’t long after the goal, before the break was called for, as the half-time whilst signalled an end to a half that Swansea had struggled to cement themselves in, despite scoring.
In the Rovers dressing room, Tony Mowbray would have been furious by the late goal that his side had conceded and would have made his feelings clear to his side, after the ball moved freely from deep inside the Swansea half, to the edge of the Rovers box, without a challenge being made. Despite the lapse, the gaffer would have been satisfied with the attacking play his side had created, including the Sam Gallagher goal, which took a weight off the forwards shoulders, after he was challenged in the week by a journalist from a local newspaper.
Although Rovers’ dressing room would have felt sombre, the Swansea dressing room would have been the opposite after the late equaliser. Steve Cooper would have been pleased with the character his side showed in getting back on level terms so late on in the first period, however he would have been annoyed at the manner in which the Rovers goal came about, with none of his players trying to stop Nyambe’s cross at source, or attempt at intercepting it. The former under-17s World Cup winning coach, who won the tournament with England in 2017, would have been offering his side encouragement and telling them to replicate the quality shown in their early season run.
Rovers kicked-off the second-half hoping they could grab a vital three points that would put them within touching distance of the playoff places, providing results elsewhere fell in their favour. In bizarre fashion, however, they turned over possession directly from the kick-off as Ryan Nyambe’s angled ball towards Sam Gallagher was miscued, as the Swans were given a throw-in.
From that throw, the visitors were awarded a free-kick on the edge of Rovers’ box, after Travis – who was booked for his troubles – had hacked down Conor Gallagher. Although the free-kick led to nothing, Swansea kept hold of the ball, following a corner, and tried to force their way through the centre of Rovers’ defence using the quality of Gallagher. The Chelsea loanee fed Garrick who tried a one-two with Brewster, but was tripped by Adarabioyo in the box, which left the referee with no choice but to award the spot-kick. Although Adarabioyo avoided a booking, the penalty saw Ayew step up in order to try and convert his 12th of the season, which he duly did, as he sent Walton the wrong way, and slotted his penalty into the left-hand side of the goal to complete the turnaround at 2-1.
Seven minutes after Ayew converted his penalty, Rovers were unable to use their momentum to grab an equaliser before Tony Mowbray made a double change. Danny Graham and Ben Brereton were thrown onto the field, replacing both Joe Rothwell and Dominic Samuel, as the Blues lined up in an unorthodox 4-2-4 system, which saw Travis and Downing in the middle of the park, behind a quartet of Adam Armstrong, Danny Graham, Ben Brereton and Sam Gallagher, who all interchanged in their width, depending on the position of the ball.
That gamble left Rovers susceptible on the break, as was shown on the 61st minute, when Garrick burst forward. The Jamaican-born forward received the ball down the left-hand following a quick Swansea free-kick on halfway, before laying the ball off to Conor Gallagher whose shot deflected back to the Jamaican. Garrick then tiptoed his way to the byline before playing in a dangerous low cross to Ayew, who failed to convert at the near-post as Elliott Bennett did enough to divert the ball safely away from goal.
The 65th minute saw Jay Fulton fall foul to a yellow card, after the Scot clattered into Brereton inside the Rovers half.
A minute later, Rovers were offered a lifeline after Brereton showed more signs of positivity, as the substitute won a controversial penalty for the hosts. Although the Welsh international defender, Joe Rodon had made a challenge on Brereton in the box, the penalty in truth, was a soft call, as Brereton made the most of the minimal contact, which allowed Peter Bankes to potentially, subconsciously even up the penalty count, much like officials have seemingly done throughout the season, when Rovers have been involved in penalty calls. With no Charlie Mulgrew or Bradley Dack, and despite the in-form Adam Armstrong being on the pitch – who himself scored a penalty in the 2-2 draw against Brentford at Griffin Park – it was Danny Graham who shouldered the responsibility. Although the forward had already scored a home penalty this campaign, which came in the 1-0 win over Middlesbrough back in August, Graham was denied from the spot for only the fourth time in his long career – after taking a total of 20 career penalties – by Woodman, who saved his second spot-kick of the week, after denying Fulham’s Mitrović, mid-week, as the on-loan Newcastle United man dived to his left to deny Graham the equaliser and his fourth of the season.
The drama wouldn’t end there for the 34-year old forward however, as he managed to strike the post moments later, as Rovers recycled the ball from a throw-in. The ball was soon pumped back into the box, towards the far-post where Armstrong nodded it back across goal, into the feet of Graham who held off his man. Graham did well to stay on his feet, before guiding the ball towards goal with a first-time effort, however, was again left frustrated as the ball cannoned off the woodwork before being cleared.
That pressure signalled to Steve Cooper that Swansea needed a change. Their first alteration of the game, which came on the 70th minute saw Welsh defender Connor Roberts replace Jordon Garrick, as the Swans tried to keep hold of their valuable lead.
After that barrage of Rovers attacks, Swansea soon managed to regain their composure and possession of the ball on the 71st minute, through Gallagher, who intercepted a poor Rovers clearance. The on-loan playmaker exchanged passed with both Connor Roberts and Ayew before dragging his shot just wide of Walton’s goal.
Rovers soon retaliated with a change of their own as Bradley Johnson was re-introduced to the side at the expense of the booked Lewis Travis.
Former Rover Matt Grimes, who was on loan at Ewood Park during the second-half of the 2015-16 season, under Paul Lambert, soon became the fourth Swansea player to receive a yellow card after the Swansea skipper fouled Brereton.
The 75th minute saw Adam Armstrong have a rare chance in this game. He received the ball from Elliott Bennett, before cutting inside and trying his luck from just outside the penalty area. Unfortunately for the in-form forward, he was unable to beat his former Newcastle youth team teammate, as the shot harmlessly trickled into Woodman’s palms.
Bradley Johnson had only been on the field for six minutes before he became the second Rovers player to be booked by Peter Bankes. The referee had deemed that the substitute had fouled Grimes when the pair had challenged for an aerial ball, despite the Rovers protests suggesting otherwise.
The yellow card soon reappeared on the 81st minute as former Tottenham Hotspur defender, Kyle Naughton, was booked after he kicked the ball away, following a push by Danny Graham.
Peter Bankes, on the 83rd minute, had a rather confusing change of heart. After initially awarding Swansea a goal-kick, he overturned his own decision after Danny Graham seemingly nodded over, to award the Blues a corner after the centre-forward loudly protested for it. The subsequent set-piece saw Graham get on the end of it as Downing’s delivery dropped for the forward who couldn’t keep his effort down.
Five minutes later, Amari’i Bell saw his cross cleared out, only as far as Johnson who tried to power home from 20-yards, however his effort was violently lashed over the bar.
Swansea only opted to make two changes in this match, with their second coming on the 89th minute as on-loan Watford utility man Ben Wilmot came on to replace Conor Gallagher.
As the 90th minute ticked over, seven minutes of time were added onto the end of the second period after a mixture of Swansea time-wasting and genuinely being injured, saw the clock rack up a hefty number of minutes.
With Rovers fighting to try and grab an equaliser, the 91st minute saw Bell booked for a foul on Brewster, as the youngster tried to break away after Rovers lost possession of the ball on halfway.
On the 94th minute, Rovers fans would have been excused to think that it just wasn’t going to be their day, as Sam Gallagher was denied from point-blank range by Woodman. Downing’s free-kick was flicked on at the near-post by a combination of Brereton and Naughton towards the back-post which saw Gallagher leap and nod towards goal, only to be denied by the well-placed Woodman, with a goal certain had Gallagher aimed anywhere bar where he eventually did.
Despite the doom that surrounded the ground as the full-time whilst edged ever closer, there was still time for a late twist in the tale that would salvage Rovers a point that they deserved, at the least. A deep free-kick by Stewart Downing was lumped forwards in the 95th minute and cleared as far as Bradley Johnson, who laid it off to Bennett, who had come inside. The makeshift full-back played a one-two with the overlapping Downing, before floating in a cross that deflected into Adarabioyo’s path. The 6’5” centre-back did fantastically to touch the ball down into the path of Johnson, who was lurking around 20-yards away from goal, before the former Derby County man released a strike that tried to go for placement over power. Whilst Johnson is more famous for his piledrivers – as he’s shown on a couple of occasions against Rovers in the past – his decision to go for placement was justified as the effort deflected off the head of Ben Cabango, who altered the trajectory of the ball past the diving Woodman, and into the back of the net as Rovers equalised the game at 2-2.
Although there was still time for Rovers to potentially use their momentum to grab an even later winner, with Ben Brereton having the final shot of the game, which ballooned over, Swansea were able to stand firm against Rovers’ crosses and high balls forward, before referee Peter Bankes drew the entertaining clash to a close with the final whistle after the seven minutes were played.
Whilst the game was pulsating and had everything you’d probably want in a game, Rovers – disregarding the missed penalty – should have emerged victorious from this game simply based on the number of chances the home side had against that of their opponents. With Rovers finishing the game with almost double the shots on target as the visitors, it would be fair to say that the Swansea staff and supporters owe a lot to on-loan ‘keeper Woodman, after an inspiring second-half performance. Although there has been some debate since the tie, regarding the missed penalty, with many critical that Armstrong didn’t take it, despite his recent form, it’s fair to say that not much blame can be placed on Graham who was responsible for the miss, as it can be classed as ‘one of those things’, given the fact that the same response would have probably emerged, had Armstrong taken and missed. In terms of Danny Graham, he can be arguably more frustrated that he hit the post from even closer to goal, than where his penalty was from, which could be classed by some as an even bigger chance missed.
Looking at individual performances, the loss of Darragh Lenihan to suspension was a big miss for Rovers, and it showed, as despite the relatively decent defensive performance, despite the moment of brilliance by Brewster and the penalty, Rovers lacked a ruthless side to their defensive game, with the likes of Conor Gallagher and André Ayew given more space than Rovers would have liked. Despite already discussing the positive impact Danny Graham had on the game, the other substitutes, Bradley Johnson and Ben Brereton also showed their value to the team, whilst Johnson’s impact was a no-brainer with the goal, Brereton again showed glimpses and flashes of the physical and technical quality he has, which showed itself when he won the penalty, despite it being more of a dive than an actual foul! Finally, Sam Gallagher showed his worth to the team in this game and silenced his critics by notching his first Ewood Park goal since returning on a permanent basis in the summer. The former Southampton forward took his goal brilliantly, as he ghosted into the box and slotted the ball home underneath Woodman before the whole attacking portion of the team went to celebrate with him. Discounting the goal, the forward also showed his quality in the air as he provided numerous flick-ons – including the one that set Brereton up for the penalty incident – as well as his work-rate which led to him tracking back and putting in a valuable defensive shift when called upon. Whilst Gallagher has had his critics this season, here’s hoping that the forward can use this goal as a springboard towards helping Rovers’ late playoff charge.
Although some supporters may see this week as ‘four points dropped’, results elsewhere have actually worked in Rovers’ favour, as they’ve moved within three points of the playoffs, whereas ahead of kick-off on Saturday, they were four points behind. After gameweek 36, Rovers find themselves in 8th, on 53 points and a positive goal-difference of 10, with 10 games left in the season.
As we begin to count down the games, the ‘business end of the season’ sees Rovers with four home and six away games left. Next up for the Blues is a trip to Pride Park, where they face Derby County on Sunday 8th March at 3pm – the game is on a Sunday due to Derby playing Manchester United on Thursday in the FA Cup. After that tie, Rovers return to Ewood, six days later, on Saturday 14th March at 3pm, to host Bristol City in a game that could be season-defining. Once Rovers have a clearer idea of how their season might end, they then make the short midweek trip to the DW Stadium, to face Wigan Athletic on Wednesday 18th March, with kick-off pencilled in for 7:45pm.
