A third defeat on the bounce was confirmed for Rovers, as their playoff ambitions all but faded as they fell to a 3-1 defeat against a Premier League side in waiting, in Leeds United.
After the second successive 2-0 defeat, which came against Barnsley on Tuesday, gaffer Tony Mowbray made three changes to the side that tasted defeat at Oakwell in midweek. Darragh Lenihan, Lewis Travis and Sam Gallagher all returned to the side as they replaced Charlie Mulgrew, Stewart Downing and Dominic Samuel who all dropped down to the bench. Ryan Nyambe, who was playing his third game since the restart marked the day with his 100th career league start, all of which, of course, have come in the Blue and White of Rovers.
Before the game got underway, tribute was paid to the NHS ahead of what will be their 72nd birthday, tomorrow (5th July).
After the game was started, many would have expected Leeds to attack from the off, yet it was Rovers who had the first effort of the game, which came inside the first two minutes. Some early Rovers pressure saw the ball break out towards former Leeds man Bradley Johnson, who hit a low drive from outside the box which on-loan Lorient ‘keeper Illan Meslier dealt with, despite the wet conditions.
Despite Rovers’ early pressure potentially shocking Leeds during the opening stages, it took only seven minutes for them to assert their dominance in the game, as they opened the scoring at Ewood Park. A throw-in by Elliott Bennett to Joe Rothwell saw the midfielder try and find Lewis Travis. Although Travis received the ball, he was soon pickpocketed by Mateusz Klich who laid the ball through into Patrick Bamford who needed no second invitation to stroke the ball into the bottom left-hand corner, past Christian Walton, to make it 1-0.
Four minutes later, on the 11th minute, Sam Gallagher missed a golden opportunity to draw Rovers level almost immediately. A knockdown by Lewis Holtby was laid to the feet of Joe Rothwell, who hit a perfectly weighted first-time pass through to Gallagher, who burst in between the Leeds centre-back partnership of Ben White and Liam Cooper in order to get through on goal. Despite getting the ball out his feet and setting up a good opportunity to finish, the forward’s five-match goal drought continued as he managed to skew his effort wide, despite it potentially being easier to miss, than score.
Two minutes later, Gallagher was again part of an attacking move that should have seen Rovers equalise. The forward received the ball down the right-hand side and thread the ball through beyond the Leeds backline, into Lewis Holtby, whose first-time effort cannoned back off the post before evading Adam Armstrong and being cleared by Jack Harrison.
The first substitution of the game came on the 21st minute, as Rovers were forced into an early switch due to an injury to Elliott Bennett. The midfielder-turned-full-back departed the field and was replaced by left-footed veteran, Stewart Downing, who looked more comfortable at left-back than the right-footed Bennett did.
On minute 25, Klich was shown a booking after a late foul on Ryan Nyambe.
Three minutes after Klich’s yellow card, Patrick Bamford came within inches of increasing his, and his side’s goal tally for the afternoon. On-loan Manchester City man, Jack Harrison’s shot cannoned into his teammate before the former Chelsea forward turned and hit a first-time left-footed effort that beat Walton, but not his post, as the ball bounced back into play before being cleared.
The second booking of the game appeared in the 29th minute as Luke Ayling was cautioned for a foul on Lewis Holtby.
Joe Rothwell had his first attempt of the game on the 32nd minute, which would have lifted Rovers’ spirits given the pressure they had to endure. The former Oxford United man did well to burst past a few Leeds players down the left-hand side before cutting into a central position angling up the shot. The midfielder decided the safer option was to lay the off the Gallagher, who swiftly returned the pass, yet Rothwell’s concluding strike lacked the power and conviction to test the French ‘keeper Meslier, as Leeds were awarded a goal-kick.
On the 40th minute, Leeds edged themselves further ahead after a stunning free-kick by Kalvin Phillips just prior to the interval. In a goal which justifies many replays, Phillips executed his strike to perfection as the ball edged over Rovers’ tall wall and landed into the top left-hand corner of the goal to increase the table-topper’s lead to 2-0.
That perfectly executed set-piece proved to be the final action of the half, as after three minutes of time was added onto the end of the half, which yielded no opportunities, referee Rob Jones called for the interval.
The half-time break would have come at a perfect time for Rovers and Tony Mowbray, as it gave them the ideal opportunity to regroup after a mixed first period. Although the Blues had created and wasted numerous decent chances, Mowbray would have been equally frustrated at the manner of the two Leeds goals that were scored. From Lewis Travis being weak on the ball, to the simplicity of giving away a free-kick, the Rovers boss would have made his feeling known to his side during the break.
In the away dressing room, Marcelo Bielsa and his side would have been hoping that the first-half never ended, given the way they had dominated the ball during the latter period of the half. The Argentinian and his staff would have been keen to encourage their players for a largely dominant first-half display. Despite that, the Leeds staff would have been quick to point out Rovers’ strengths at Ewood Park and would have also been highlighting last season’s defeat.
The second-half was restarted with a bang, as only three minutes after kick-off was called for, Rovers managed to get themselves back into the game with a free-kick of their own. It was a case of ‘Anything you can do, I can do better’, for Adam Armstrong after seeing Kalvin Phillips’ free-kick as the talismanic forward stepped up, to claim his 13th league goal of the season, as his set-piece rifled into the top right-hand corner of the goal, to reduce the arrears to 2-1.
Five minutes later, Leeds managed to restore their two-goal cushion and put the scoreline to 3-1 through Klich, who grabbed his second consecutive goal at Ewood Park, having netted in last year’s aforementioned defeat. Luke Ayling’s run down the right-hand side concluded in his shot ricocheting off Tosin Adarabioyo and into the path of Bradley Johnson, who’s failed clearance landed to the feet of Klich. The Pole needed no second invitation as he hit a first-time drive through a crowd of bodies, which Walton could only palm into the back of his own net, as the game edged further away from Rovers by the minute.
By the 62nd minute it was all change as far as the substitutions were concerned. On the hour mark, Rovers swapped Dominic Samuel and Danny Graham for Lewis Holtby and Sam Gallagher. Whilst on the 62nd minute, Leeds introduced Pablo Hernández for Tyler Roberts.
Another double change for Rovers soon materialised on the 69th minute as John Buckley (who returned from his three-match suspension, following his red card at Derby County, pre-lockdown) was brought on, alongside Jacob Davenport, for the midfield duo of Joe Rothwell and Lewis Travis.
As the game began to fade out, a split-second moment of chaos ensued on the 74th minute which could have easily seen Christian Walton taking an early shower. Patrick Bamford was played through on goal, with ease, and the former Middlesbrough loanee did well to turn the ball away from the onrushing Walton before being clattered, just outside the box. Although referee Rob Jones restored to his yellow card, some – as were the Leeds bench – could have easily seen the collision as a red, considering Bamford was through on goal. Luckily for Rovers, however, they were spared a double-whammy as Walton was only booked, and the resulting free-kick by Barry Douglas was saved by the on-loan Brighton ‘keeper.
Just prior to the three minutes of stoppage time that was added onto the end of the game, Leeds made their final change of the game on the 87th minute as Jamie Shackleton was given some late minute in-place of Leeds’ third goalscorer, Mateusz Klich.
After the three mentioned minutes were played, with little to no goalmouth action, referee Rob Jones called an end to a game that cleared more of the picture for Leeds, than it did for Rovers.
It’s hard to put into words what has gone on since the restart. Whilst the return was poised to be a Rovers revival, based on the first result, it seems as if the lockdown routine, the finely balanced fitness levels and the lack of match practice has caught up with Rovers at the wrong time. Of course, injuries to key players, such as the left-back pairing of Derrick Williams and Amari’i Bell and the main man Bradley Dack are big losses, yet it boggles one’s mind how big the gap in the performances have been in the space of a week or so. Of course, we have to look at the bigger picture of this game, in that Rovers played a team who – barring any repeat of last season’s slip-ups – will be among England’s elite, in the Premier League, next season. Today’s game just showed the difference in quality between the two sides and a ‘blueprint’ that Rovers would like to strive towards.
Sadly, Rovers’ post-lockdown form has seen them plummet down the table. Mowbray’s men now find themselves 11th with 56 points and a positive goal difference of 3 from 41 games played.
Looking ahead to the next batch of fixtures, Rovers’ next challenge sees them travel to Wales to battle with an in-form, playoff-chasing Cardiff City. That clash against the Bluebirds comes midweek on Tuesday 7th July at 7:45pm. After that tie, the Blues welcome the other team destined to play in next year’s Premier League, in West Bromwich Albion. The tie with Slaven Bilić’s side will be on Saturday 11th July at 3pm. The third game of the week sees Rovers travel to another playoff hopeful in Millwall on Tuesday 14th July at 7:45pm. Rovers will be hoping to extend their healthy run against The Lions, which stretches back to 2013, with the last Millwall win being in the 2012-13 FA Cup Sixth Round Replay by 1-0 scoreline, courtesy of a Danny Shittu header at Ewood Park which dashed Rovers dreams of a day out at Wembley in the semi-final.
