“You’re getting mauled by the Rovers” is what sarcastically echoed around Ewood Park during the latter stages of Rovers’ dominant 3-0 victory over a depleted Hull City side. The victory, which saw Tony Mowbray’s men complete the double over Hull City for the second consecutive season – by the same scores of 1-0 at the KC Stadium and 3-0 at Ewood, respectively – provided many positives for the home crowd to get excited about in what felt like ‘Siberian-esque’ weather.
Whilst Hull came into the tie with a depleted defensive unit, Rovers were a club seemingly without any natural attacking midfielders after Joe Rankin-Costello was ruled out of the clash with a hamstring injury he had seemingly picked up in Saturday’s defeat to Fulham. The casualty list didn’t end there for Rovers however, as Sam Gallagher was also ruled out of the Tuesday evening tie after picking up a groin injury during Monday’s training session. As a result of most of the attacking options becoming extras on House M.D. or Grey’s Anatomy due to all the injuries, Tony Mowbray – who could probably open up his own GP clinic at this point – was forced two make two alterations to the side that suffered their first home defeat since September, as Elliott Bennett and Danny Graham were re-introduced to the starting line-up at the expense of Rankin-Costello and Gallagher.
There was a milestone among the Rovers ranks prior to the 7:45pm kick-off as Monday’s birthday boy, Adam Armstrong lined up for his 150th career league start – 114 of which have coming under Tony Mowbray, extending from their spell at Coventry City in the 2015-16 season. The ‘Angel of the North’ came into the game in red-hot form placing high up in the Championship’s ‘goal involvements’ rankings with 10 – five goals and five assists – from the 12 games he had played since December began. The forward also came into the game aiming to notch his 50th club career goal.
As the crowd began to settle into their seats, it was Rovers who got the game underway at the kick-off as they looked to try and bounce back from a rare home defeat with a positive performance that would keep them in touching distance with the playoff places. Whilst the weather wasn’t the most inviting, the Rovers fans who had braved the cold came into the game hoping that, despite their attacking numbers being limited, they could easily dispose of a dire Hull side, at the wrong end of the form table, having only picked up one point from their past five games, which came in their last outing away at Reading in a 1-1 draw.
From the kick-off, Rovers nearly found themselves ahead inside the first 30 seconds of the game as Adam Armstrong looked to try and mark his 23rd birthday, which he celebrated on Monday, with his 50th club career goal. A direct ball by Darragh Lenihan into Danny Graham was flicked on by the experienced forward into Armstrong’s path. Although the nod wasn’t overly powerful, City defender Sean McLoughlin – who was making only his second start for the Tigers – completely missed the ball when attempting to clear, which allowed Armstrong a free shot at goal. Luckily for McLoughlin, his lapse wasn’t punished as City ‘keeper George Long had anticipated the error and stormed out of his goal quick enough to deny the Rovers forward with a reflex save.
That stop didn’t deter ‘The Angel of the North’, however, as he tried to test Long again, five minutes later with a curling shot from the edge of the area. Unlike the previous effort, however, Long wasn’t forced into anything overly strenuous as the effort by Armstrong skewed well wide of the far-post.
The 10th minute saw Hull get involved in the goalmouth action as Callum Elder bombed down the left-hand side to provide Jackson Irvine with a first-time cross after the ball broke to him following the original cross by George Honeyman. The former Leicester City defender’s cross was pinpoint as the Australian international Irvine rose to connect with the ball, but unluckily for him, Hull’s skipper for the night jumped too early as the ball came off the top of his head, before ballooning over the bar and behind for a goal-kick.
From the goal-kick, Rovers managed to win the ball back off Hull and build-up possession that eventually saw the ball break to Armstrong, who seemed as if he had magnets in his boots with the amount of times the ball ended up at his feet. The 23-year old managed to pick up the ball on the halfway line and dart down the right-hand side before providing a cross that was aimed at Danny Graham at the back-post. Graham was successful in receiving the ball, but instead of taking it down himself, due to him being tightly marked by Leonardo Da Silva Lopes. Despite being up against Hull’s makeshift full-back, Graham managed to intelligently seek out Elliott Bennett with an intelligent knockdown, however the onrushing midfielder was unable to get the ball perfectly under his spell as his eventual ‘chest and volley’ lacked the ‘volley’ aspect, as the ball was lifelessly toe-poked wide.
Hull nearly took a shock lead on the 17th minute through Da Silva Lopes who tried to catch Christian Walton out with an audacious cross-cum-shot from midway inside the Rovers half. After receiving the ball on the overlap, Da Silva Lopes noticed that Walton was perched on the edge of the six-yard box, and not on his line. That observation allowed the 21-year old to attempt the spectacular, however he overhit his effort as the retreating Walton was saved the embarrassment by the fact the ball landed on the roof of the net, rather than in it.
Three minutes later, Tosin Adarabioyo saw his header fly wide of the mark from Stewart Downing’s free-kick, as referee Jeremy Simpson simultaneously waved away Rovers’ penalty appeals after it looked as if Darragh Lenihan had been hauled to the ground by City forward, Josh Magennis.
On the 23rd minute, Rovers had another header at goal, this time through Bradley Johnson. After Lenihan intercepted an under-hit ball by one-time Rovers target, Marcus Maddison, the home side were able to move forward on the transition through some attractive build-up. Armstrong played a prolonged one-two with Ryan Nyambe before the forward lofted in a cross aimed at Graham. The cross did eventually reach Graham, via the head of City defender Robbie McKenzie. Graham used the flight and bounce of the ball to his advantage as he was able to tee up the incoming Bradley Johnson with a diving header from around the penalty spot. Although Rovers deserved to crown such a free-flowing move with a goal, Johnson’s nod was well parried by an agile Long.
On the half hour mark, Downing tried his best to try and catch Long out at his near-post from a free-kick that was given, just outside the Rovers box. Luckily for Hull, however, their shot-stopper was alert and ready for Downing’s cheeky tactic and he managed to get down to his left quick enough to save the effort.
The first yellow card of the game soon came on the 36th minute after Elder had brought down Downing.
The 41st minute saw Adam Armstrong have another attempt at goal following some good awareness by both Lewis Travis and Ryan Nyambe. Travis did well to play an ‘eye-of-the-needle’ pass between Hull’s defence into the path of Nyambe whose first-time cross to Armstrong was superbly blocked by McKenzie to keep the score level.
Nyambe and Armstrong again combined on the 44th minute, with the former playing an inviting cross into the latter’s path, however the cross was impressively faster than Armstrong, as he came inches away from turning the ball home from close-range with his outstretched foot, but it bounced past him at the vital moment.
That act proved to be the last of the first-half, as after one minute of added time was added, Jeremy Simpson, the official, called time on a half that was dominated by those in Blue and White.
With the break in full swing, both managers were able to reflect on the one-sided first-half that they had witnessed whilst stood in the freezing conditions.
Tony Mowbray would have been overly pleased with all the aspects of his team’s play, bar their seeming inability to put the ball into the back of the net. The gaffer would have been delighted with the control of possession and the number of chances created, as well as the individual performance of Adam Armstrong, however he would have been making a point to the players not to overly commit themselves in search of the opening goal, due to the potential threat Hull posed on the counter-attack.
In the away dressing room, Grant McCann – who was without 12 first-team players due to injury – would have had a more challenging team-talk on his hands, due to his side’s failure to consistently retain the ball and mount any threat to Rovers. The former Northern Ireland international would have been offering his players some encouragement by telling them to focus on biding their time and targeting the counter-attack, through the likes of Marcus Maddison and Malik Wilks, who were able to use their pace on the transition. The former West Ham United midfielder – who infamously scored an own-goal, in-front of the Darwen End, on his final appearance for the Hammers at Ewood Park in 2001, in their 7-1 defeat during the Premier League years – would have been reassuring his players that the chances would fall their way if they didn’t rush proceedings.
After both teams had received their words of wisdom, they returned to the field of play with Hull primed to kick-off the second-half. The Tigers had made the journey to Ewood backed by 253 fans, which was respectable given the timing of the game, the adverse weather conditions and the fact it was available on Sky Sport’s red button.
Hull started the half the better side, but it was Rovers who got the first effort of the half, courtesy of Elliott Bennett on the 53rd minute. A low cross by Travis was clumsily cleared as far as Bennett whose tame volley fell well for Long to collect.
Two minutes later, saw Hull their best chance of the game fall to their captain, Jackson Irvine. Elder’s cross saw Lenihan’s poor clearance fall to Irvine who shaped up and released a curling effort that cannoned back off the crossbar, before Wilks’ rebound flashed wide of Walton’s net.
On the 58th minute, Amari’i Bell tried his luck with a strike from 20-yeards out after he was teed up by Graham, however Bell was unable to grab his first of the campaign as the ball hit the back of the Blackburn End in a disappointing effort.
As the game became an hour old, Tony Mowbray decided to make a double change in an attempt to alter the course of the game in his team’s favour. Both Ben Brereton and Dominic Samuel were introduced to the field, in-place of Elliott Bennett and Danny Graham, as the Rovers boss looked to try and inject some more pace into the Rovers side.
Brereton got straight into the action after only two minutes of being on the pitch. He received a pass from Armstrong that had been fizzed into the attacker’s feet. The young forward did well to control the ball before turning and releasing a shot that Long dealt with easily.
The 64th minute saw a double chance fall Rovers’ way. The first came to Armstrong who burst down the right-wing before cutting inside and releasing a low shot towards the near-post that forced Long down into a good stop. Long, however was unable to prevent a corner, which is where the second chance for Rovers came from. Downing’s cross towards the penalty spot was well met by Adarabioyo, who marginally improved on his first-half header, by only missing the target by inches.
Five minutes later, Brereton had another attempt at goal, from a difficult position in the box, as he tried to nod Bell’s cross towards goal, however that trickled agonisingly wide.
10 minutes after Rovers made a double change, Hull reacted with one of their own as Tom Eaves and Kane Lewis-Potter were both introduced for Josh Magennis and Malik Wilks, respectively.
On the 73rd minute, all of Rovers’ pressure finally paid off after they were able to get the lead they deserved, courtesy of Darragh Lenihan notching his third in his past five games after netting against Sheffield Wednesday and Queens Park Rangers. An in-swinging cross via Stewart Downing from a corner saw Bradley Johnson rise highest as his nod towards goal was blocked on the line. That block led to a goalmouth scramble which concluded in Lenihan lashing the ball home from point-blank range to give Rovers the lead at 1-0.
It took only six minutes for the lead to be doubled by Adam Armstrong who managed to gift himself a late birthday present with a goal that can’t be described by any adjective other than ‘a belter.’ The move started off by Johnson winning the ball in the air and knocking it down to Armstrong who edged closer towards the penalty area, before striking, across the face of goal from around 25-yards out. The ball was taken by the wind, as it seemed to increase in speed, however the trajectory couldn’t be doubted as it arrowed into the top left-hand corner, leaving Long for dead as Armstrong wheeled away in celebration of his 50th career league goal that put Rovers 2-0 up.
Two soon became three, less than 60 seconds later, as Dominic Samuel managed to notch his first goal since November 2017’s home win against Bristol Rovers in the League One promotion campaign. The forward was able to justify the year-long mental and physical struggle he went through in order to return to full fitness following the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury he had suffered against former club Reading in August 2018 with a goal that not only showed his quality, but also certainly put him in the picture for more potential starts. The attack came mainly due to Armstrong and Brereton’s immense pressing on the Hull defence that saw them retreat back to their ‘keeper. Although Long seemingly had time to clear, Brereton’s added pressure rushed the goalie into his decision to clear. Unfortunately for him, however, the connection he got on the ball was less than desirable, as it spiralled into the path of Samuel, who still had a lot to do before being able to claim his first goal in 808 days. The forward did well to take the ball under his spell, before shimmying past McLoughlin and lasering a low drive just inside the far left-hand post to round the game off at 3-0.
After the restart, both teams decided to make their final changes on the 83rd minute. Rovers introduced John Buckley for the final few minutes, as he replaced Stewart Downing, whilst Hull sent on James Berry for his senior debut, as the forward replaced Dan Batty.
The 86th minute saw George Honeyman booked for a foul on Armstrong, however the resulting free-kick nearly saw the forward earn a brace, however Long did enough to tip the ball over for a corner, that Hull cleared.
Two minutes later, Lewis Travis found himself in the book following a cynical foul during a Hull counter-attack that the referee played advantage for.
Seconds after the Travis booking, Rovers fans were outraged and erupted into dissatisfaction towards the referee, as they felt that they should have had a penalty due to Long and Brereton colliding. Hull worked the ball back to Long after regaining possession of the ball, but Long under immense pressure from Brereton, passed the ball back to the forward, whose first touch due to the surprise, ruined any opportunity for a quick-fire shot. Whilst Brereton was trying to get his bearings and the ball under control, Long sneaked up behind him and clattered him with a sliding tackle. Although the ‘keeper had got the ball, he had to go through Brereton to get to it. Despite that seemingly stonewall penalty, referee Jeremy Simpson waved play on.
That waving on of play would see proceedings continue into four minutes of added time, before the final whistle was blown which called an end to Rovers’ most dominant performance of the season, by the sheer stats alone, which gave incredible hope for what lay ahead without many senior attacking options, such as Bradley Dack, Joe Rothwell and Lewis Holtby.
Whilst the game until the hour mark reflected the weather conditions, in being cold, lifeless and frustrating, the introduction of Brereton and Samuel gave Rovers a new lease of life that wasn’t around during Danny Graham’s time on the field. Whilst Graham’s strengths of holding the ball up was used throughout the first-half, the veteran’s presence in the game decreased as Hull dropped deeper into their own box, which left Graham often either, surrounded or unable to sync with his more mobile teammates. Whilst the final result was perfect with Rovers emerging clear winners, not just on the scoreboard, but in the match stats column as well – as the shots and possession stats stood at 26 shots, 11 on target and 71% possession – the first-half performance surprisingly lacked the cutting edge that such chances of quality deserved, which is something that will probably frustrate Mowbray, despite the three points.
It should be noted that special mentions should be given to Darragh Lenihan, Ben Brereton, Dominic Samuel and Adam Armstrong:
The Republic of Ireland central defender proved his value to Rovers once again, at both ends of the pitch as he not only stamped his authority on the game with a scrappy goal – that should really have been his fouth in five due to the disallowed goal against Fulham on Saturday, rather than three out of five – but he proved that he was capable defensively of dealing with different types of attacks against different builds of players.
Brereton has split Rovers fans down the middle since the moment he walked through the door, however this 30-minute cameo was probably his best overall performance in the Blue and White shirt – discounting his goalscoring performance against Bolton Wanderers last season. The young forward looked hungry, agile, aware of his surroundings and willing to do the running that ultimately led to the third goal. Although he’s found game-time scarce recently due to a combination of injuries and poor form when introduced, if Brereton continues to apply himself in the same vein he did in this tie and how he’s been performing with the under-23s, then we could potentially see some return in the fee.
Dominic Samuel, like Brereton, has divided opinion amongst the Blues fans ever since he edged closer to full fitness. The 25-year old – whose contract is set to expire at the end of this season – showed glimpses in his post-injury cameos that there is a player inside him waiting to be unleashed, which is what happened with his goal in this tie. The confidence he showed when shimmying past the defender and finishing with accuracy was outstanding, considering what he had to go through to recover fully and properly. Here’s hoping this cameo appearance will offer Samuel a better chance in securing a contract extension before the season is up.
Finally, Adam Armstrong – who was the club sponsor’s Man of the Match – once again showed the class, pace, power and technical ability he possessed. Whilst his stats of grabbing his 50th career league goal and topping the league in goal involvements since the start of December with 11 are commendable achievements, the overall play of the forward was mouth-watering and encouraging, considering the ‘plague’ that has seemingly hit Rovers’ attackers and attacking midfielders. His goal, like many of the other eight league goals he’s scored, probably require a separate ‘Goal of the Season’ competition due to each one being ‘out of this world’, however it wasn’t just the goal that impressed in this game. Armstrong’s awareness for passes, running in behind and willingness to close people down, even in the latter stages as shown by the lead up to the possible penalty decision, shows that, although he’s just turned 23, there is a sublime striker within, who understands the intricacies of the role he plays.
With such positivity around Ewood Park following this result, it would be a good time to mention that Tony Mowbray currently boasts an unbeaten home league record on Tuesday nights, with Rovers undefeated in 12 of the games, that the side have played under the Ewood Park lights on a Tuesday, since the boss’s appointment.
In terms of the league table, Rovers have moved up from 12th to 9th, after this victory, which keeps them strongly in the hunt for the playoffs. In terms of table detail, after 32 games, Rovers have accumulated 47 points and a positive eight goal difference.
In terms of upcoming fixtures, Rovers next lock horns with Charlton Athletic on Saturday 15th February, at 3pm in-front what is expected to be a sell-out at The Valley. Following that tie, Rovers are back in London to face Brentford on Saturday 22nd February, with kick-off pencilled in for 12:30pm, due to the game being broadcast live on Sky Sports. Following their exploits as Sky’s main game, Rovers return to the channel, behind the red button on Wednesday 26th February, as they welcome relegation-threatened Stoke City to Ewood Park at 7:45pm.
