Rovers headed into the international break on a high, with the win they needed following a string of underwhelming results, as a well-finished half-volley by Ben Brereton and a brace from the returning Adam Armstrong, proved enough to beat a struggling Queens Park Rangers at Ewood Park.
The final Rovers team before the second international break of the season saw a plentiful number of changes to the side, with six changes occurring from Tuesday’s goalless draw with Middlesbrough. Thomas Kaminski, Scott Wharton, Corry Evans, Bradley Johnson, Joe Rothwell and Adam Armstrong all returned to the starting side as Aynsley Pears, Derrick Williams, Tom Trybull, Lewis Holtby, Tyrhys Dolan and Sam Gallagher all dropped out. Pears and Holtby both withdrew from the 18, due to suspected illness, whilst Williams was unavailable due to injury, which gave Wharton his first Championship start since 2016, as Rovers lined up with an all-academy back four. The trio of Trybull, Dolan and Gallagher, however, were available for Rovers from the substitutes bench, which also included Jordan Eastham, Joe Grayson, Jacob Davenport and John Buckley.
As both teams emerged from the tunnel, just prior to the kick-off, both managers laid a wreath of poppies onto the field, as a minute’s silence was taken alongside The Last Post, as part of the annual Remembrance Day commemorations, just before Adam Armstrong took the kick-off.
The first chance of the tie came in the fourth minute when Ilias Chair managed to pick up the ball and craft himself an opportunity at goal, but the returning Thomas Kaminski was alert enough to deny the Moroccan youth international his third goal of the campaign.
Rovers were forced into their first substitution of the match after just five minutes as John Buckley replaced Corry Evans during the game’s opening stages.
Former Rover Todd Kane soon found himself in referee Tim Robinson‘s book after he brought down Adam Armstrong who was leading the home side’s counter-attack.
On the 16th minute, Adam Armstrong managed to pickpocket experienced utilityman Geoff Cameron, but the R’s managed to recovery quickly to deny the forward an opportunity at goal.
The 22nd minute saw the game’s second booking, as Rob Dickie was cautioned after hauling down Ben Brereton, on the right-hand side. The resulting free-kick saw an offside Lenihan narrowly nod over the bar.
Dickie nearly followed up his earlier booking by narrowly avoiding an own goal, as his sliced clearance from Ryan Nyambe’s low cross dropped over the R’s crossbar, rather than under it.
From the resulting corner on the 30th minute, Scott Wharton came agonisingly close to netting his first Championship goal, yet Rangers ‘keeper Seny Dieng was on-hand to make a fine stop.
Dieng was again alert two minutes later, as he denied Armstrong with a tremendous save down to his left-hand side, after the Rovers hotshot beat Dickie with a nutmeg before trying his luck from close range.
The 35th minute saw Armstrong again butt heads with Dieng, but the visiting ‘keeper again came out on top for the third time in the half. Harvey Elliott did well to regain possession of the ball before feeding Rovers’ #7. Armstrong picked the ball up just outside the box before lining up an effort that he eventually drilled towards the near-post, yet Dieng was once again there to deny Armstrong.
Just prior to two minutes of time being allocated, Bradley Johnson tried his luck from range in the half’s final chance, but Dieng again proved his worth for the visitors by denying Johnson his fourth goal of the campaign, as referee Tim Robinson soon called for the end of the first period.
Tony Mowbray would have been the happier of the two gaffers going into the 15-minute break, but only by a small margin. The Rovers boss would have been pleased with the amount of chances his side had created, whilst also limiting the Shepheard’s Bush club to only one effort at goal. Mowbray would have been hoping that his side could keep up their momentum during the second-half and use their attacking nous and talent to open up what has been a fragile QPR defence this season.
Mark Warburton would have had mixed feeling during the break, given that his side had spent most of the half chanceless, but managed to keep a clean sheet, despite being under the cosh. The former Brentford boss, would have been encouraging his side to play with more risk and flair, in order to try and play through the lines and exploit Rovers’ depleted squad, with Joe Rankin-Costello at left-back being a particular target for the R’s to focus on.
Just before QPR got the second-half underway, they made a double change at the break which saw Osman Kakay and Chris Willock come on, as the duo replaced Dominic Ball and Albert Adomah.
QPR started the second-half the brighter of the sides, as they crafted the half’s first chance, courtesy of some good combination play between Chair and Kane. The former managed to deliver an inviting cross from the left, which the latter powered towards goal, yet Kane was unable to grab a goal on his return to his former club, as his shot cannoned off the outside of the post.
Three minutes after Kane’s effort bounced clear, Rovers were able to pick themselves up and find the back of the net down the other end, courtesy of Ben Brereton’s second of the campaign. A short corner into substitute John Buckley, saw the technician deliver a deep cross towards the back-post. Darragh Lenihan connected well with the cross in order to nod it back down to Brereton who managed to hit a sumptuous half-volley into the top left-hand corner of the Rangers goal, to put Rovers ahead at 1-0.
Rovers nearly made it two in two minutes, after Adam Armstrong managed to steam through and slot home, yet his movement proved a little too early for the referee’s liking, as despite netting past Dieng, the goal was ruled out for offside.
QPR pulled off a corner routine from the training ground on the 55th minute as they nearly managed to carve through Rovers’ defence from their corner, yet Cameron’s effort deflected wide. The subsequent corner brought a fine goalline block by Nyambe after Yoann Barbet’s goalward effort was denied by the Namibian.
The hour mark brought some controversy as Rangers were awarded a penalty after referee Tim Robinson judged that Rovers ‘keeper Thomas Kaminski had caught R’s centre-back Dickie, prior to a melee breaking out in the penalty area, despite it looking as if two QPR men had tripped over each other at the back-post. After the scenes had calmed down, the pressure penalty fell to Rangers’ £2m summer signing, Lyndon Dykes, with the Scottish international, the man tasked to bring the away side level. Following a long build-up, Dykes managed to keep his composure as he sent Kaminski the wrong way by powering the penalty home to bring the scores back level, at 1-1.
Despite losing his clean sheet in controversial fashion, Kaminski was called upon on the 63rd minute to produce a fine save to deny Willock, as the former Arsenal and Benfica attacker saw his curling effort destined for the top corner, only to be denied by a fantastic stop by Kaminski, to tipped the ball over the bar for a corner, which Rovers dealt with.
Bradley Johnson was soon booked in the 65th minute for a foul on Chair, as the former Norwich City midfielder was given Rovers’ first caution of the game.
Rangers’ final change came in the 67th minute as their penalty scorer Dykes, was replaced by former Charlton Athletic forward, Macauley Bonne.
Rovers were soon appealing for a penalty of their own on the 70th minute, after Brereton believed that he had been followed, after his effort following Joe Rothwell’s through ball, was saved by Dieng, but the Blues could neither win the penalty claim, nor the goal, as the scores remained tied.
The lead that Rovers pushed for soon came in the 73rd minute courtesy of the ‘Angel of the North’, whose return to the side allowed him to grab his customary goal. Rovers won possession back in their own half, before Brereton led the counter-attack. The goalscorer managed to feed Elliott who was stood on halfway, before the loanee let Armstrong loose inside the Rangers half, with the goal at his mercy. After beating Dickie to the ball and bearing down on goal, Armstrong was able to keep his composure and show his class as he slotted the ball past the impressive Dieng to return Rovers their lead, at 2-1 and give Tony Mowbray’s side a much needed advantage during the game’s late stages.
The home side’s second change of the game came in the 82nd minute as Sam Gallagher came on for Ben Brereton, who departed the field deserved of a rest after a fine shift, let alone an outstanding goal.
After seeing his effort in the first-half saved, Bradley Johnson tried his luck for a second time, in the 83rd minute, but despite his blocked effort leading to appeals of handball by the Rovers players, Tim Robinson waved play on.
As the 90th minute approached, the referee added on five minutes of time which would have undoubtedly caused a few murmurs amongst both, the Rovers bench and the thousands of fans watching at home, given Rovers’ recent defensive frailties.
Tony Mowbray decided to try and cut that time down by making a third and final change as Harvey Elliott made way for Tyrhys Dolan.
Rangers’ third and final yellow card of the afternoon came in the 94th minute when Bonne was cautioned after hauling down Lenihan.
Despite only five minutes of time being added on, Rovers were able to hit Rangers on the counter-attack once again, and kill the game off at 3-1, in the 96th minute after Adam Armstrong grabbed his second of the day and managed to move ahead of Ivan Toney in the Sky Bet Championship Top Scorer Rankings, in the process. After being played through from inside his own half, Armstrong managed to latch onto the through ball and close in on goal, in a very similar fashion to his first of the day. After getting into the box, he produced a good parry by Dieng, before finishing with his second bite of the cherry to give Rovers a much needed and deserved three points.
Although Rovers and Mowbray are still without approximately 11 first-team players, due to injury and isolation, this result proves the importance of both, Adam Armstrong and Thomas Kaminski, with the pair playing vital roles at either ends of the field in order to keep QPR at bay. Although the team performance was one to marvel at, especially in the tight closing stages, the two aforementioned individuals proved crucial in providing the difference between the two sides at such a crucial point in the season, given how important the upcoming international break will be for Rovers in getting back some much needed players. Whilst QPR provided Rovers with a stern test, especially during the opening 15 minutes of the second period, Rovers showed their tenacity and defensive quality to prevent the visitors shifting into another gear which could have proved problematic for Rovers. Additionally, this result not only sees Rovers pick up their first win in three games, but also sees the side taste a victory on home soil for the second time this campaign, with the first being the 5-0 demolition of Wycombe Wanderers.
After such a fine display, Rovers have now moved up to 12th in the league, with 14 points and a positive goal difference of +7, from the 11 games they have played this season. Whilst their recent dip in form may have damaged the Blues, the playoffs, in reality, are only five points off Rovers in the current standings, with 35 games of the season left to play.
Following the two-week international break, Rovers are back in action at Kenilworth Road on Saturday 21st November, where they face the impressive Luton Town at 3pm. After that tie, Tuesday 24th November sees a Lancashire Derby take place at Deepdale, as Rovers make the short trip across the county to face Preston North End at 7:45pm. After that clash, the Blues are back at Ewood Park, where they play host to Barnsley on Saturday 28th November at 3pm.
