Rovers were forced to settle for a point in controversial circumstances, after having a first-half goal controversially disallowed, as Stoke City left Ewood Park with a point, courtesy of a late defensive display that kept a rampant Rovers side at bay.
After coming off the back of a disappointing FA Cup Weekend, last week which saw Rovers fall to a narrow 1-0 defeat at home to Doncaster Rovers, Tony Mowbray made seven changes to last week’s side. Thomas Kaminski, Ryan Nyambe, Thursday’s loan signing Jarrad Branthwaite, Barry Douglas, Harvey Elliott, Joe Rothwell and Adam Armstrong were all drafted into the starting side for this fixture. Only three survivors remained from last weekend’s cup exit in skipper Darragh Lenihan, midfielder Bradley Johnson and the returning duo of Lewis Travis and Bradley Dack who were continuing to build their match fitness up. Alongside a debut for Jarrad Branthwaite, this game saw Barry Douglas make his 350th career appearance, whilst Bradley Dack also made his 100th league start in the Blue and White of Rovers.
Following the standard pre-match protocols, the responsibility of the kick-off fell to Rivers, as they looked to try and return to winning ways after a disappointing outing, last Saturday.
After a quiet opening couple of minutes, Rovers were able to break forward through Barry Douglas who tried to pick out Bradley Dack with a head-height cross on the seventh minute. Whilst the combination play was good, Dack was unable to make the chance pay as his header under pressure was angled wide of the far-post.
Rovers thought they had managed to edge ahead on the 25th minute after Adam Armstrong slotted the ball home, between Stoke ‘keeper Josef Bursik’s legs, however the effort was ruled out for a controversial offside. After Barry Douglas won possession back with a strong tackle, the ball broke to Joe Rothwell who used his acceleration to burst forward before sliding Armstrong through. The forward who was peeling inside off the left did well to keep his composure ahead of goal before finding the back of the net via a slight deflection off Bursik, however Rovers were denied the lead by an eager linesman who raised his flag incorrectly, as replays have shown.
Lewis Travis soon became the game’s first recipient of a yellow card after referee Geoff Eltringham deemed that the midfielder had fouled on halfway.
Two minutes after the booking, Stoke managed to sneak into the lead in very similar circumstances to the previous meeting at the bet365 Stadium, as Nick Powell headed the visitors ahead. After a corner was whipped in from the right-hand side, Powell managed to evade his marker, in Ryan Nyambe, and rise highest within the six-yard box and power the header beyond the despairing Thomas Kaminski in order to put the Potters 1-0 ahead.
Rovers nearly saw one become two, as a powerful effort by Jordan Thompson cannoned back off the post before being cleared by a Rovers man.
As the fourth official signalled for three extra minutes to be added onto the end of the half, Stoke once again came close to doubling their advantage as Powell again rose highest in the box from a corner. This time, Kaminski was on-hand to deny the former Wigan Athletic midfielder with a fine save that saw the ball parried to safety, despite the incoming challenges of the Stoke contingency who would have surely tapped away the loose ball had Kaminski not dealt with it properly.
That attempt proved to be the final one of the half, as Geoff Eltringham soon called time on a period which left Rovers with a lot of room for improvement.
Speaking of Rovers, Tony Mowbray would have been frustrated with how his side had let the goal go in, especially given how they nearly did it twice inside the tail-end of the first period. Whilst the Rovers boss would have felt aggrieved given the manner in which Armstrong’s goal was chalked off, he would have used that as fuel for motivating his side ahead of the second period. The gaffer would have been encouraging his players to re-find their form following a less than impressive first-half, but would have also been offering them support and reminding them of their talents, despite their underwhelming display thus far.
Michael O’Neill would have been pleased with his side’s lead and dominating performance; however he too would have asked for more from his side, in order to try and kill the game off whilst they still had the advantage and the upper hand. The former Northern Ireland boss would have been pleased that his side’s set-piece routine worked, however he would have been cautious to offer a balanced perspective on the game, given how Stoke didn’t really get going until the goal had gone in and that they could have easily found themselves behind on another day.
After both managers had imparted their words of wisdom onto their players, the sides returned to the turf for the second-half, with Stoke City on the kick-off. The Potters would have been hoping to further increase their lead over Rovers and make it back-to-back wins over the Ewood Park outfit for the first-time since the 2011-12 season, which ultimately saw Rovers’ season end in relegation to the Championship.
Just prior to Stoke restarting the game, Rovers were offered the opportunity to make a half-time double change. Those swaps saw Jacob Davenport and Sam Gallagher come on for Bradley Johnson and Joe Rothwell.
The game’s second yellow card soon appeared on the 47th minute as Jordan Thompson was cautioned following a foul on Bradley Dack.
Within the space of five minutes, Nick Powell had two chances that he missed, prior to being withdrawn from the field. The first opportunity on the 50th minute saw him have an almost-free header which he squandered, whilst the second came off a Thompson free-kick in which the goalscorer’s nod from deep looped over the crossbar.
Powell was soon withdrawn on the hour mark as Tottenham Hotspur loanee, Jack Clarke came on to replace him.
Another Rovers double change soon occurred after Stoke’s single swap as Sam Gallagher – who picked up an injury during his cameo appearance after he hurdled over the advertising board following a set-piece – and Lewis Travis were taken off and replaced by Ben Brereton and Lewis Holtby.
A rare Rovers foray forward in the 70th minute saw substitutes combine as Lewis Holtby try and find Ben Brereton with a dinked cross, however James Chester was on-hand to divert the ball away from the forward and clear the danger for Stoke.
Moments after the half-chance for Rovers, Rhys Norrington Davies saw yellow after a foul on Ryan Nyambe.
Rovers’ final change in the 71st minute saw John Buckley replace Bradley Dack.
The 74th minute saw an opportunity flash by Rovers as Bursik made a fine stop. A diagonal ball saw Nyambe latch onto it before pulling it back for Adam Armstrong whose first-time attempt forced a good save out of the Stoke ‘keeper.
The wait for an equaliser was soon over by the 76th minute as John Buckley managed to draw Rovers level from less than six-yards out as the youngster tapped Rovers level. Ryan Nyambe’s deep cross was kept alive by Harvey Elliott who narrowly managed to keep the ball in-play on the byline in order to knock it back to Buckley whose attempt was enough to wrong-foot Bursik and the defender on the line in order to draw Rovers level at 1-1.
Rovers’ luck soon changed three minutes later as Stoke skipper James Chester received his marching orders after he hacked down Armstrong who was through on goal with only the ‘keeper to beat. Referee Geoff Eltringham almost made amends for the wrongly ruled out offside goal which came in the first-half as he sent Chester off and reduced Stoke to 10 men.
The 81st minute saw Stoke ‘shut up shop’ as they made a double change which saw Jordan Cousins and Danny Batth come on for Joe Allen and Schalke 04 loanee, Rabbi Matondo.
Armstrong and Holtby combined in the 86th minute with the former setting up the latter, but the German couldn’t keep his effort down from close-range.
With the clock ticking over into the 90th minute, a minimum of five added minutes was called for by the referee, as Rovers continued to up the tempo in search of a winner.
Despite increasing the pace of their attacks and forcing the ball forward in-search of a late winner, Rovers were unable to replicate the feats of Millwall and Rotherham United, as they failed to grab the late winner as they were forced to settle for a point.
Before talking about the game’s performance, it’s important to make a note on the game’s surface. It’s almost embarrassing how bad the pitch at Ewood has become, sadly. That unfortunately not only seems to be affecting the side and how they play but has seemingly had a hand in increasing Rovers’ injury crisis, with Joe Rothwell coming off at the break with what looked like a pulled groin.
Now for the game itself. Rovers started the game the better side, however their confidence seemed to have taken a hit after the Armstrong goal was wrongfully disallowed for offside. After that officiating error, Rovers seemed to crumble under the pressure of Stoke’s set-pieces and their aerial presence, which ultimately led to the game’s first goal. The goal itself could be dissected and critiqued until the ‘cows come home’ with the marking suspect, especially given that the eventual goalscorer, Powell was unmarked by the time he leapt for the header.
Whilst credit can be given to the players for showing the character required in order to come away from the game with a point, many Rovers fans will be arguing that – the disallowed goal aside – the game should have seen Rovers make it back-to-back league wins, given the talent the side had and the fact the visitors were down a man for the last quarter of an hour, or so.
It remains to be seen whether Rovers decide to add to their squad, with just over half of the transfer window remaining, but arguably, the more intriguing aspect of the forthcoming weeks is to see whether the team get time on the training ground to further enhance and hone their skills, with a week off being what Mowbray has been crying out for, for a while.
A special mention must be given to 18-year old debutant, Jarrad Branthwaite. Despite only being at the club for less than 48 hours, the teenager slotted in perfectly alongside Darragh Lenihan and despite not being able to keep a clean sheet on his Rovers debut, he showed the composure and skill on the ball that caught the eye of Tony Mowbray and his recruitment staff.
Although a few Championship games haven’t been played this week due to COVID-19 issues, Rovers’ place in the table has remained the same as they stay in 11th place after 24 games. Mowbray’s side still have a positive goal difference of +11, but they remain seven points off the coveted playoff spots.
Rovers are back in action in midweek, as they welcome Swansea City to Ewood Park on Tuesday 19th January at 7pm. After that tie, Rovers are on the road as they travel up north to face Middlesbrough on Sunday 24th January at 3pm, in a game that will be shown live on Sky Sports. The team will then have a six-day break before returning to action on Saturday 30th January where they will play hosts to Luton Town at 3pm.
