Rovers continued their charge towards the playoffs by wrapping up their second consecutive win, to take their unbeaten tally to five in a row, as they managed to overcome a late scare and rally by Barnsley, to secure all three points at Ewood Park.
Although Rovers were beginning to welcome a few bodies back from suspension, isolation and injury, Tony Mowbray only made one change to the side that emerged 3-0 winners over Lancashire neighbours, Preston North End, on Tuesday. Harvey Elliott – who was substituted on and then off due to injury on Tuesday evening – overcame his fitness tests to retake his place in the starting side at the expense of Sam Gallagher who dropped to the bench for the tie.
Just prior to the kick-off at Ewood Park, there was a minute’s silence held to remember and honour 1986 World Cup winning skipper, Diego Maradona, who sadly passed away, earlier on in the week. With respects paid and ‘the knee’ taken, it was Rovers who won the coin toss as Lewis Holtby prepared to get the game underway. The Blues were looking to continue their unbeaten run by hopefully extending it to five games, come full-time.
The first opportunity of the game fell to the home side, as Ben Brereton did well to craft a lay-off for on-loan Norwich City midfielder, Tom Trybull. The forward did well to chip the ball back into the path of Trybull, who controlled the ball on his chest before hammering the ball towards goal from around 30-yards out. Although the shot took a deflection off a Barnsley defender, Tykes ‘keeper Jack Walton did well to parry the ball away in the Lancashire rain, as his defenders managed to clear the danger.
Barnsley did well to craft an opportunity on the 12th minute, as they tried to perfect a training ground set-piece routine, however their short corner was nodded over the bar by one of Barnsley’s three centre-backs in, Mads Juel Andersen.
Rovers were forced into an early change, on the 14th minute as Amari’i Bell was brought on to replace Barry Douglas, who was unable to continue after receiving a knock.
Two minutes after Rovers’ change, Barnsley tried to take advantage of Ryan Nyambe conceding possession as Callum Styles fed Conor Chaplin. The former Portsmouth forward used his low centre of gravity well in order to take the ball before spinning and hitting a snapshot, however Thomas Kaminski proved equal to the effort.
A quiet game soon didn’t see its next meaningful chance until the 33rd minute, where Luke Thomas tried his luck from range, yet Ryan Nyambe was on-hand to crucially block the effort on the edge of the area.
Rovers’ patience soon paid off as they managed to breach Barnsley’s high press on the 44th minute. A ball down the right-hand channel by Harvey Elliott saw Ryan Nyambe burst forwards and collect the pass. The Namibian used his pace and power to hold off Andersen, before cutting the ball back from the byline, towards an unmarked Adam Armstrong, who was lurking just behind the six-yard box. The red-hot forwards needed no first-touch, or second invitation, as he struck the ball with consummate power, above the head of ‘keeper Jack Walton and into the roof of the net to give Rovers the lead at 1-0.
As Rovers edged ahead, referee Andrew Madley added on two minutes onto the end of the half, as Barnsley tried to push for a quick equaliser, however the added time saw little to no chances, as the half was soon called to an end.
The Rovers dressing room would have had mixed feelings at half-time, with both, elation and frustration the main two emotions. The players would have been pleased with how they managed to edge in-front late on, however Tony Mowbray would have been annoyed that it had taken so long for his side to overcome Barnsley’s high-pressing system. The boss would have been frustrated at his side’s lack of fluency during the first 45 minutes, however he would have been quick to praise them for finding their way through Barnsley’s solid defence, whilst also warning them of the visitor’s good form since opposing manager, Valérien Ismaël’s arrival.
Speaking of Ismaël, the Frenchman would have been satisfied with how his side had dominated the attempts at goal, whilst also sticking to their counter-attacking principles, however the manager would have been agitated by the late goal at the end of the first period. The Barnsley boss, who had seen his side win four of the six games he had been at the helm for, would have been quick to instil some confidence into his side just before they headed out for the second-half.
As the sides returned to the pitch, it was Barnsley who got the game back underway in the hope that they could repeat offer a repeat of last season’s game at Ewood, where they ran Rovers ragged until the final few moments, where Bradley Dack netted a late winner.
The 49th minute saw Cauley Woodrow get on the end of Herbie Kane’s long-throw, however the former Fulham forward’s volley lacked the desired accuracy, as Rovers were awarded a goal-kick.
As substitute Amari’i Bell gradually grew into the game, the former Fleetwood Town man nearly got his first goal of the campaign on the 54th minute after he forced a fine save from Jack Walton. Armstrong’s run down the wing saw him find the underlapping Bell in the box. The marauding full-back was able to get on the end of the pass and try his luck from close-range, but the visiting goalie was on-hand to deny the defender a fourth goal in Rovers colours, and his first at Ewood.
The 58th minute saw Barnsley make their first changes of the afternoon as Victor Adeboyejo and Dominik Frieser came on to replace Conor Chaplin and Luke Thomas.
The hour-mark saw Callum Brittain stroll forwards unchallenged, with the ball, before his eventual effort ballooned over the crossbar.
Barnsley ramped up the pressure, as they forced Thomas Kaminski into a save on the 62nd minute from Andersen’s header at the back-post.
Tony Mowbray soon made his own double change on the 66th minute, as Bradley Johnson and Sam Gallagher were introduced, as Tom Trybull and Harvey Elliott made way.
A minute after the change, Rovers were inadvertently put through on goal, as the ball deflected into the path of Ben Brereton. The former did well to break through on goal, however he was forced wide of the mark and pressured into an effort which drifted harmlessly wide of the goal.
Just prior to Barnsley’s goal-kick, they made their third change of the game as Clarke Oduor was brought on to replace Alex Mowatt.
Adam Armstrong soon saw his name taken by referee Andrew Madley, after he locked horns with Jack Walton.
The 75th minute saw play halted as Scott Wharton required treatment following a head injury inside the Barnsley box. That injury proved to be Wharton’s final act in the game, as the medical department deemed that the centre-back could not continue, as Hayden Carter replaced his fellow academy graduate as part of Rovers’ fourth change of the afternoon.
Rovers were soon able to create a buffer between the two sides, by the 77th minute, as Sam Gallagher scored his second in three games to double Rovers’ lead to 2-0. Nyambe was picked out on the right-hand side, as he powered his way down the wing before chipping in a cross towards the penalty spot. The delivery was cleared by Barnsley only as far as Gallagher, who took a touch before driving a low, outside of the foot effort, round the defender and into the bottom left-hand corner of the goal to make it 2-0 and extend his own goal tally to three for the campaign.
The 81st minute saw Barnsley make their final changes of the afternoon as George Miller and Romal Palmer were brought on, with Callum Styles and Cauley Woodrow making way.
The 84th minute saw Thomas Kaminski again called into action as he denied Dominik Frieser from close-range.
On the stroke of full-time, Barnsley managed to reduce the arrears and make the added time interesting, as they pulled a goal back courtesy of substitute, Romal Palmer. Brittain and Adeboyejo did well to force the ball into the penalty area, before Adeboyejo’s shot was blocked by Nyambe. Unfortunately for Rovers, the rest of their defence weren’t on the same wavelength as Nyambe, as the ball fell kindly for an unmarked Palmer whose deflected effort brought Barnsley back into the game at 2-1, via his first professional goal.
As the 90th minute ticked over, referee Andrew Madley added on five minutes of time onto the end of the game, as Barnsley continued to ramp up the pressure in the hope of finding a late equaliser.
Despite some late pressure by the visitors which came from multiple set-pieces, Rovers were able to hang-on and secure a much-needed three points which extends their unbeaten run and pulls them closer to the playoff picture.
Whilst the games have been coming thick and fast for Rovers, with little time to work on the training ground, they have been making up for that in recent weeks with some solid and exquisite performances on the pitch during matchdays, which is where it really matters. Saying that, today’s game showed the different side of Rovers’ game, as they were forced to dig in and almost play on the counter during spells in the game, as Barnsley showed their class on the ball and in attacking areas. That was of contrast to Tuesday night’s game, where Rovers dominated in all areas of the field, against Preston North End, however the only similarity between the two games was that Rovers emerged with six points from a possible six, a return that Mowbray and the fans will be delighted with, undoubtedly. Although Adam Armstrong has been the hot topic for Rovers fans and for ourselves in this segment of the Match Reports in recent weeks, important recognition has to be given to Thomas Kaminski today, following a couple of brilliant saves, one in particular, which came from Mads Juel Andersen’s second-half header, could possible be categorised as ‘World Class’.
The league table is looking a lot healthier for Rovers as they have moved up into 9th place, following today’s victory. They occupy 9th with 21 points and a positive goal difference of +11, from the 14 games they have played during this league campaign.
Looking ahead to the next trio of fixtures, Rovers are back at Ewood Park at the weekend, where they host Millwall on Wednesday 2nd December at 7:45pm. After that tie, they prepare for back-to-back away games, with the first coming in London against Brentford on Saturday 5th December at 3pm, whilst the second, which sees the Blues travel down to Ashton Gate to face Bristol City, will be played on Wednesday 9th December at 7:45pm.
