Rovers continued their fine form, as they trounced Derby County 4-0, in their own backyard, as Tony Mowbray’s side continued their goal-laden start to the season, by becoming the division’s highest scoring team come full-time.
The side that donned Rovers’ new Red and Blue away strip was the same that beat Wycombe Wanderers, 5-0 at Ewood Park, a week ago as Tony Mowbray stuck with the same side that put on a five-star display, seven days ago. There were a couple of milestones ahead of kick-off however, as Ben Brereton racked up his 50th Rovers appearance, whilst Amari’i Bell notched his 250th club career start.
It was Rovers who got the game underway at Pride Park, following the ‘knee’ for ‘Black Lives Matter’, as the Ewood Park side aimed to try and grab their first away points off the season, following their opening day defeat down on the South Coast against Bournemouth.
Rovers earnt the first attempt of the game, less than 60 seconds in, as Ben Brereton’s effort from long-range failed to trouble Derby’s shot-stopper, David Marshall.
Derby’s first chance of the afternoon came after nine minutes, where a well-worked move by the hosts saw Max Bird’s strike from close-range force Darragh Lenihan into a goal-line clearance, after the effort beat Thomas Kaminski. Some good build-up play by the Rams saw the ball make its way out to Bird whose attempt from just inside the area was denied by an alert Lenihan, as the Republic of Ireland international did enough to deny Bird his first senior goal.
As the 11th minute ticked over Rovers showed their worth as a quick breakaway following a turnover of possession saw Ben Brereton take charge of the ball, as he broke away into the Derby penalty area. The forward, who was making his 50th appearance in Rovers colours, managed to get a shot away under pressure, but sadly for the forward, his effort rebounded off the post. Brereton’s loss soon became Tyrhys Dolan’s gain as the youngster was on hand to tap the rebound into an empty net, to notch his second in as many games, and put Rovers 1-0 to the good.
It soon became a quickfire double for Rovers, as less than 60 seconds after Dolan put the Blues ahead, Bradley Johnson came back to bite the hand that used to feed him, as he grabbed his second of the campaign with a howitzer from 25-yards to double Rovers’ lead to 2-0. Rovers continued their pressure from the Derby kick-off as they managed to dispossess the hosts and break towards goal, in search of a second. Rovers’ build-up saw the ball fall to Bradley Johnson who wasted no time in smashing the ball into the bottom-right-hand corner of David Marshall’s goal, in order to double Rovers’ advantage at Pride Park.
2-0 soon became 3-0, as after doubling Rovers’ lead, Bradley Johnson decided to treble it on the 15th minute as he almost replicated his first goal of the day. Dolan’s quick feet and speed led to him delivering a cross which was headed away by Jason Knight. The clearance fell as far as Johnson, who again wasted no time in releasing a first-time effort that wrongfooted Marshall, before nestling into the net to put Rovers 3-0 to the good.
On the 19th minute, Rovers came close to adding a fourth as Joe Rankin-Costello’s cross fell perfectly for Brereton at the back-post, yet the forward could only find Marshall with his header.
The 33rd minute saw the first yellow card of the game as Lee Buchanan was booked after hacking down Dolan, via a late challenge.
The yellow card count was soon evened, three minutes later, as former Derby man Bradley Johnson was booked following a late challenge of his own, on halfway.
Adam Armstrong tried to join the goalscoring party on the 39th minute, but after doing all he could to burst away from the Derby defenders, Marshall provided the save that his wage packet demands, as the Scot denied Rovers from grabbing a fourth.
The 41st minute soon saw Darragh Lenihan booked for a foul on Kamil Jóźwiak.
As the half-time whistle edged closer, referee Andy Woolmer called for four additional minutes onto the end of the first period.
The only action of the added time saw Thomas Kaminski called into action, as the Belgian was forced into a fabulous save, as he tipped Louis Sibley’s header over the bar in the third minute of the added time. Despite that effort, Derby were unable to follow it up with something from the corner, as Mr. Woolmer soon called an end to the first-half.
In the home dressing room, Phillip Cocu would have been furious with how his side had crumbled against Rovers’ attacks, so early on in the game. The Dutchman could have counted himself and his side unlucky not to have found the opening on the ninth minute, yet Cocu wouldn’t have let that be an excuse for their diabolical defensive play. The Rams would have been reeling from Rovers’ quickfire treble and would need to muster up an almighty comeback in the second-half if they wanted to avoid having three straight league defeats.
There would have undoubtedly been delight in the away dressing room given Rovers’ fantastic four-minute spell which saw them race ahead by three goals. Tony Mowbray and his staff would have been over the moon with how Rovers’ attacking play had mustered three quick goals, but the former centre-half would have been most pleased with his side’s sturdy defensive setup, given how close Derby came to opening the scoring. Since that effort, Derby had lacked the cutting edge that they showed in the teams’ last meeting and Rovers would have been doing all they could to ensure that solidity at the back continued.
Just prior to the home side getting the game back underway for the second period, Phillip Cocu made a change in personnel which saw George Evans introduced, in-place of Jack Marriott, as Wayne Rooney took the weight of being Derby’s only forward, onto his capable shoulders.
Evans’ first involvement in the game came in the 49th minute, when he did well to deny Rovers an opportunity to extend their lead. Dolan galloped down the right before delivering a cross that was intended for Armstrong. Evans, however, had other ideas as he managed to intercept ahead of the red-hot forward, before clearing the danger.
Armstrong did have his chance to shoot at goal on the 54th minute, however his attempt flew over the crossbar.
Rovers’ first change of the game came on the 59th minute when, after Joe Rankin-Costello felt a twinge in his hamstring, he was removed and replaced by Ryan Nyambe.
On the hour mark, a quick free-kick by Rovers saw Joe Rothwell try his luck from range, but his effort didn’t have the power to trouble Marshall.
Three minutes later, Brereton tried his luck from the edge of the area, but despite his performance deserving a goal, he was unable to open his account for the season as his effort fell wide.
Jóźwiak, like Brereton, tried his luck at the other end, but the Pole’s effort, like Brereton’s ended up past the post.
Joe Rothwell soon found his name in the book after a challenge on Mike te Wierik
Rovers’ second substitution of the game came on the 67th minute when Harry Chapman replaced Tyrhys Dolan.
Derby’s second change of the game came on the 71st minute as Duane Holmes replaced Max Bird.
On the 72nd minute, Lee Buchanan tried his luck after he snuck in at the back post, but the 19-year old’s header flew over the crossbar.
Four minutes later, Derby made their final change of the day as Morgan Whittaker replaced Louis Sibley for the final 14 or so minutes.
The 77th minute saw Adam Armstrong earn his customary goal, following a fantastic Rovers counter-attack. Rovers broke away with pace as Lewis Holtby fed Harry Chapman down the right. The substitute then wasted no time in picking out the ‘Angel of the North’, who only needed one touch to grab his fifth goal of the league campaign, which made it 4-0 to Rovers.
Two minutes after the goal, Rovers made their final change as Elliott Bennett replaced Joe Rothwell.
The 80th minute saw a frustrated Wayne Rooney booked for a strong challenge.
Armstrong nearly doubled his tally for the afternoon on the 83rd minute when the ball dropped for him in the area. Despite creating the space and delivering a sweet strike, David Marshall – who was arguably Derby’s Man of the Match purely for the number of times he denied Rovers – managed to pull out another stop to prevent a fifth goal.
As the curtains came close to descending on this tie, referee Andy Woolmer added on two extra minutes onto the end of the game, but they proved unnecessary with the game having ended long ago.
After the added time yielded no notable efforts at either goal, the match official called an end to a game which further showed the Championship and the international broadcasters that selected this game for coverage, what Rovers were all about this season.
In the words of Chris Eubank, Rovers’ performance today was ‘stupendous’. It’s a real headscratcher trying to choose a ‘Man of the Match’, because every single one of those players showed the heart, the desire and the work-rate that epitomises ‘Arte Et Labore’. After falling to a 3-0 defeat against today’s opposition, back in March, pre-lockdown, Rovers were able to exact their revenge and assert their dominance against a full complement of players – despite the potential doubts some may have had after last week’s result. Another comment that’s important to note is the defensive solidity of the side, even without Daniel Ayala, who is not yet fit to play, despite travelling with the squad. The team, despite the early setback at Bournemouth have proven their worth defensively, which could potentially make it difficult for the Spaniard to force himself into the side, as the defensive partnership of Darragh Lenihan and Derrick Williams continue to impress.
With just over a week to go until the international transfer window closes, Rovers will be hoping that they can muster up the few pennies they might have left in order to potentially increase the depth within their squad, with a second-choice goalkeeper and a couple defenders reportedly still left on the shopping list at Brockhall.
Despite only being three games into the league season, things are looking bright for Rovers as they sit in an attractive 4th place, with a positive goal difference of eight, after picking up six points from a possible nine.
Rovers’ next two games sees a double header of home games, before a trip down to Hertfordshire arises. On Saturday 3rd October, Rovers will welcome Cardiff City to Ewood Park as Rovers try to buttheads with the beaten playoff semi-finalists at 3pm. Following that tie, the Blues welcome struggling Nottingham Forest to Lancashire on Saturday 17th October at 3pm, in the hope that Rovers can build upon their home record which has only seen them lose twice in their last 19 home games. Following that double bill of home fixtures, Rovers are back on the road where they travel to recently-relegated Watford on Wednesday 21st October, with kick-off scheduled for 7:45pm.
