Blackburn Rovers ended 2020 how they started it – with a defeat on the road – after they failed to make their chances pay as they fell to a second consecutive loss away at Huddersfield Town by a one-goal margin which further put distance between Rovers and the coveted playoff spots.
After emerging from Saturday’s Boxing Day 1-1 home draw against Sheffield Wednesday, Tony Mowbray made three changes to his team for the final game of 2020. Amari’i Bell, Tom Trybull and Ben Brereton all came into the side to replace Barry Douglas, Lewis Holtby and Sam Gallagher, all of whom dropped to the substitutes bench. Ryan Nyambe was among the milestones in this game as the full-back was set to make his 150th appearance in the Blue and White halves of Rovers.
Given it was the final game of the calendar year, both sets of players honoured the Huddersfield Town fans who had sadly passed away throughout the year. Following those fitting tributes, it was Huddersfield Town who prepared to take the kick-off, following the ‘knee’ as they looked to bounce back following their Yorkshire Derby 2-1 defeat last time out, away at Barnsley.
Rovers managed to craft an early chance inside the opening 60 seconds after Adam Armstrong threaded Harvey Elliott through, but the winger’s shot at goal was deflected behind for a corner which the home side dealt with.
After 11 minutes, Rovers were forced into their first change of the evening as Tom Trybull was withdrawn due to an early injury which saw Lewis Holtby replace him in an all-German change.
Minute 14 saw Rovers again craft an opportunity down the right. Adam Armstrong and Ben Brereton combined as the former dummied the latter’s pass which made its way to Elliott, but the loanee’s strike lacked the required accuracy.
The 18th minute saw Huddersfield have their first foray forward as the right-back Pipa tried his luck from just inside the right-hand channel, but his effort hit the side-netting, as Thomas Kaminski remained unfazed.
Juninho Bacuna managed to open up a shooting opportunity on the 26th minute as he latched onto Fraizer Campbell’s miscued header, but the Curaçao international’s effort was well-denied by Kaminski at the near-post.
From the resulting corner, Huddersfield were flagged offside which allowed Rovers to hit the Terriers on the counter. The ball was played the ball over the top for Armstrong who started a scramble inside the box over the loose ball. The forward’s efforts caused the ball to break loose for Bradley Johnson whose effort was blocked back into the Blues’ top scorer’s path, but despite being able to shift the ball between his legs with ease in a tight area, his subsequent shot produced a fantastic reaction save from Terriers ‘keeper Ryan Schofield, as he somehow denied the left-footed effort from Armstrong to keep the game goalless.
After half-an-hour, a similar passage of play to the previous one occurred, as Kaminski again denied from Bacuna before launching a counter-attack which culminated in an Armstrong effort. Despite the pace and speed with which the ball moved from one end of the pitch to the other, Armstrong’s effort wasn’t worrying Schofield as it was dragged wide of the mark.
Rovers again managed to breach Huddersfield’s backline on the 38th minute. Ryan Nyambe was played through down the right-hand side before delivering a low cross towards Armstrong who was virtually free in the area, but the Geordie forward thought he had less time than he did as his effort nestled into the side-netting.
The first yellow card of the game materialised on the 40th minute after Pipa clattered into Darragh Lenihan in the Rovers half.
The 43rd minute saw Harry Toffolo rifle an effort into the side-netting. Lewis O’Brien had the vision and the weight of pass to find Isaac Mbenza who was drifting beyond the Rovers backline. The Belgian then had the composure to stop the ball and pick out Toffolo with a cross who latched onto the delivery with a low drive that veered wide of the left-hand upright before Rovers were given a goal-kick.
Although referee Matt Donohue added on three minutes onto the end of the first period, they ultimately proved unnecessary as neither side were unable to find another opening between the time being started and the whistle being blown.
Carlos Corberán would have had mixed emotions during the break as although his side had managed to create a respectable number of chances, they were also rather susceptible at the back, with Rovers having created a number of chances, especially on the counter-attack. The Spaniard, whose time at the Terriers has been rather inconsistent so far, despite being given the necessary time and funds to mould the side to his liking, would have been calling on his players to make use of their home advantage and ramp up the pressure against Rovers, given the pace and technical ability they possessed in the team.
Tony Mowbray, on the other hand, would have been wondering how his side hadn’t entered the break with the lead, after the numerous chances that Armstrong himself had struck at goal. Despite once again not being rewarded for their play, Mowbray would have spent the break encouraging his side to continue doing what they had already been doing throughout the first 45 minute, by focussing on hitting the home side on the break, which would have allowed them to stay solid defensively. The boss would have been hoping that the second-half would yield a different result to the game which occurred exactly a year ago, where Rovers fell to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Terriers.
Following an encouraging first period, Rovers got the second-half underway with the hope of being able to reproduce some of the quality chances they had previously created, but with some added prolificacy.
The second booking of the game appeared on the 50th minute after Darragh Lenihan clattered with Lewis O’Brien.
The resulting free-kick saw Huddersfield create some pressure on Rovers before being able to win a corner which continued to pin the visitors back. Isaac Mbenza delivered in the corner towards the penalty spot which allowed Naby Sarr to peel away from Bradley Johnson in what seemed to be like zonal marking from Rovers. The delivery was pinpoint for Sarr to run onto as he shook off Johnson before climbing above the midfielder and a couple of other Rovers bodies prior to using his head to guide the pacey cross past the rooted Thomas Kaminski to make it 1-0 to the Terriers.
Fraizer Campbell soon saw his name taken by Matt Donohue after the forward fouled Lenihan just inside the Terrier’s half.
From the free-kick Rovers managed to keep the ball inside the final-third and craft a few shooting opportunities that were blocked. The final shot prior to the end of the pressure saw Armstrong released a half-volley from just outside the six-yard box which resulted in a block by the defence before the ball spun into the hands of Schofield.
The 59th minute saw another Huddersfield corner cause Rovers problems, but despite another good Isaac Mbenza delivery, Campbell was unable to guide his header into either corner of the net, as the ball fell safely into the gloves of Kaminski.
A triple change was activated by Tony Mowbray in the 64th minute as John Buckley, Bradley Dack and Sam Gallagher all came on in-place of Ryan Nyambe, Harvey Elliott and Joe Rothwell.
Jonathan Hogg soon earnt – what seemed to be – a customary booking for dissent after he kicked the ball away during a stoppage.
On the 70th minute, O’Brien, Toffolo and Carel Eiting combined well as Eiting finished off the combination play with an effort at goal, but the on-loan Ajax midfielder couldn’t keep his effort down.
The 72nd minute saw Rovers’ fifth and final change of the game occur as Stewart Downing came onto replace the injured Daniel Ayala.
Two minutes after the injury, O’Brien again caused havoc between the Rovers defenders before backheeling the ball into the path of Toffolo, but the former Lincoln City full-back’s effort dragged wide of the mark.
The 84th minute brought Huddersfield’s first change of the night as Aaron Rowe came on to replace Isaac Mbenza.
Rovers managed to get themselves back into the game late on, on the 86th minute, after Sam Gallagher tapped Rovers level following a parry by Ryan Schofield which fell straight into the path of the big centre-forward. A ball down the left-hand channel by Bradley Johnson saw Adam Armstrong latch onto it and hold off Pipa before delivering a cross-cum-shot which proved too hot for Schofield to handle, as Sam Galllagher was on hand to tap the ball through a couple of flailing home bodies on the line, but they proved unable to deny Gallagher his fourth league goal of the season, as the scores were drawn level at 1-1.
The euphoria within the Rovers camp was soon ended as Naby Sarr grabbed himself a brace with a brilliant touch and finish that any of the Rovers forwards would have been proud of had the goal not gone against them. After Lewis Holtby was booked in the 89th minute for committing a foul, Huddersfield again pinned Rovers inside their own box as they retained possession after Rovers only half-cleared the set-piece. Numerous crosses were denied by Rovers before a chipped ball by Pipa through the heart of the Rovers defence, saw Sarr sneak in behind Sam Gallagher and produce a touch and finish of a striker to make it 2-1 and win the game for the Terriers, prior to sparking dramatic celebrations across an empty John Smith’s Stadium.
Although Matt Donohue added on five minutes onto the end of the game, Rovers failed to produce any noteworthy chances despite huffing and puffing. Meanwhile Huddersfield were able to run down the clock with two changes as Alex Pritchard – who arrived onto the field before the winner – came on to replace Juninho Bacuna whilst Jaden Brown replaced Carel Eiting.
As the home defenders picked each other up and encouraged their troops to continue despite bouts of cramp and injuries, the Terriers were able to hold on and repeat last year’s result, whilst simultaneously claiming their ninth home win of the season as they leapfrogged Rovers in the table.
Writing this section minutes after the final whistle, there is honestly not much one can say that can offer a positive or optimistic spin to the game. Whilst it’s always nice to see Sam Gallagher score, given his ‘stop-start’ campaign, one can’t but help think that Rovers should have had more, especially following such a prosperous first period that saw Adam Armstrong have most of the opportunities. It becomes a question now, for Rovers, whether they need a rest in terms of rotation or time on the training ground in order to iron out the issues that have plagued the side over this festive period. Although you can pick and choose which you’d rather have as a fan, the reality is that neither are quite available at the moment, given the hectic schedule which sees Rovers back in action on Saturday 2nd January. After Rovers started 2020 on the wrong-foot with a 3-2 defeat at Nottingham Forest, after the defeat at Huddersfield Town, here’s hoping that that game on the 2nd doesn’t follow suit.
Huddersfield Town have gone above Rovers with this win as Rovers have dropped down to 14th position. After 22 games, the Blues are now in the bottom-half with 29 points, despite still remaining as the league’s top-scorers alongside holding a positive goal-difference of +9.
As mentioned, Rovers are next back in action in 2021, where they hope to leave the underwhelming performances of 2020 behind them. Saturday 2nd January sees them make their second trip of the campaign to Birmingham, where they face Birmingham City – rather than Coventry City – at 3pm. After that trip, Rovers come back to Blackburn for back-to-back home games. The first sees attentions turned to the FA Cup where they host Doncaster Rovers on Saturday 9th January at 3pm. Following that affair, Stoke City come up north on Saturday 16th January (3pm) for Round Two of the recently played fixture, with Rovers hoping to exact revenge over the Potters for the defeat which will still be fresh in the minds of all associated with the Blue and White halves of Rovers.
