It was a day to remember for Blackburn Rovers and their supporters, as the Blues marked the return of fans to Ewood Park, by winning their first opening day fixture since 2010.
On an emotional day for all concerned given the return of fans, there was a chance for the whole squad, both new and old, to impress in the flesh, given that Ewood Park had not received visitors for a whole season. Despite Rovers not officially recruiting any new faces over the summer months, there were Ewood Park bows for four of the Rovers side, with Thomas Kaminski, Daniel Ayala, Harry Pickering and Tyrhys Dolan set to earn their first taste of league action with supporters in the stands.
Despite working on a five-back formation throughout parts of a pre-season that only yielded one Rovers win from the five friendlies played – which came against AFC Fylde – Tony Mowbray opted to continuing housing the side in the tried and trusted 4-3-3 system that was utilised for most of the previous campaign.
Reigning Player of the Season and Belgian international, Thomas Kaminski remained between the Rovers posts fresh off a recent stint at the Euros with quarter-finalists, Belgium. Ahead of the 28-year-old, stood captain Darragh Lenihan who partnered Daniel Ayala, with the pair flanked by new-boy, Harry Pickering to their left and physical powerhouse, Ryan Nyambe to their right. Lewis Travis, John Buckley and Joe Rothwell rounded up the midfield trio, with Travis tasked as being the feisty ball-winner of the three. Meanwhile, the attacking trio – which saw the absence of 29-goal hotshot Adam Armstrong, who was attracting Premier League attention – was made up of the fit-again Sam Gallagher, youngster Tyrhys Dolan who was looking to impress the home crowd and the newly-appointed South American and Pepsi superstar, Ben Brereton Díaz.
Alongside the starters, the seven named substitutes included: Jordan Eastham, Hayden Carter, Tyler Magloire, Jacob Davenport, Jake Garrett, Connor McBride and Danny Butterworth, as nine of the 18 named in the matchday squad emerged from Rovers’ academy, with five – including January acquisition Harry Pickering – yet to start a Championship game in their careers.
As optimism (and rain) grew inside Ewood Park, there was an outpour of emotion from both sets of supporters as their teams made their way out of the tunnel. Rather fittingly, this fixture was the final home game that fans were allowed to watch prior to the outbreak of COVID-19 and the UK going into lockdown, with the previous fan-attended encounter finishing level at 2-2, courtesy of a last-gasp Bradley Johnson equaliser. As the visiting fans adorned and appreciated their new manager – former Norwich City captain, Russell Martin, who only joined the Swans last Sunday – both teams and the officials, surrounded the centre circle in a period of applause to mourn those we had lost over the past 18 months, and to also thank the NHS and key workers, for their valiant effort during the height of the pandemic.
Just prior to Swansea City getting the action underway at kick-off, through forward Liam Cullen, both teams continued their fight against racism and discrimination by ‘taking the knee’, which was greeted by applause from both Rovers and Swansea supporters.
It didn’t take long for Tyrhys Dolan to show the home fans what they had been missing during their sabbatical. Some good early pressure from the Blues saw Brereton Díaz capitalise on some overplaying from Swansea, before winning the ball back and finding Dolan, who was lurking inside the area. The youngster, who sneaked in towards the near-post wasted no time in trying to sort his body out, as he swept the ball towards goal via his weaker left-foot, but was denied by a fine reflex save from Swansea’s German ‘keeper, Steven Benda, as the subsequent corner was soon cleared by the Swans.
It took only three minutes for Rovers to again cause chaos in Swansea’s final third as in 9th minute, Brereton Díaz looked to build on his fine summer in South America, by endearing himself with the Rovers faithful more, via a goal. Although the English-born-Chilean did well to craft himself the opening, his effort from distance lacked the required accuracy to test Benda, as the ball flew over the crossbar.
Swansea gradually grew into the encounter and were able to force a save from Thomas Kaminski in the 14th minute, as the Belgian validated why the fans had voted him as their Player of the Season for 2020-21, despite not seeing him in the flesh. Liam Cullen was slid through by an ‘eye of the needle’ type pass from Ben Cabango, yet despite the Welsh forward beating Daniel Ayala for pace, and connecting with the ball via his left-foot, Thomas Kaminski was alert enough to come out and deny the forward with his legs.
Four minutes later, referee David Webb incurred the wrath of the returning Rovers support, after he booked debutant Harry Pickering, for what seemed to be a clean tackle on Korey Smith. Although Swansea’s set-piece came just inside the right-hand flank, they were unable to use their height advantage properly as Rovers managed to clear the cross into the area.
With Swansea trying and struggling to keep possession of the ball in their own-half, courtesy of Rovers’ pressure, time passed before the next real opportunity at goal saw the whole complexion of the game turn on its head, as Rovers not only rewarded their fans’ patience, but rewarded themselves after a fine start to the game, by opening the scoring on the 36th minute. Some sloppy overplaying out of the back by Swansea, which was arguably not helped by the adverse weather conditions, saw John Buckley’s high press result in him dispossessing the Swansea midfield before bursting across halfway to try and fashion an opening. After sneaking inside off the flank, the youngster spotted the run of Chilean international, Brereton Díaz who had made a gut-busting run, in the gap between Kyle Naughton and Cabango, which was left by Swansea’s overload. After picking out the forward with a spectacular looping pass, Brereton Díaz’s first touch seemed to be a tad heavy, but he was able to get a shot away. Benda was able to atone for prior misplaced passed, by denying the Chilean on the penalty spot, but the German was unable to hold onto the ball. The loose ball then broke free for Sam Gallagher, who needed no second invitation to keep the ball low and slot it home for Rovers’ first game of the season, which was met with a rapturous roar from the three home stands, as Tony Mowbray’s men took the 1-0 lead.
From the kick-off, Rovers continued their pressure on the Swansea backline and nearly two minutes after Gallagher’s opener, Dolan nearly doubled the scoreline, but for a sound stop by ‘keeper Benda, who parried the ball away from goal after diving to his right.
The second booking of the game soon materialised, much to the frustration of Rovers fans, once again, who thought that Swansea should have had multiple bookings prior to Joel Latibeaudiere’s name being taken by referee, David Webb. Despite numerous hard fouls prior to Latibeaudiere’s 40th minute challenge on Gallagher, Mr. Webb decided to keep his cards pocketed, much to the dismay of the 9,712 returning Rovers fans.
Rovers’ spectacular first-half display soon continued into the 43rd minute as John Buckley nearly added to his fine passing display, with his first goal since his equaliser against Stoke City, which came in January. The midfielder picked the ball up just outside the penalty area before trying to find the top right-hand corner with a curling effort. The effort proved to be on target, but a shaky performance from Benda saw him make a meal out of the attempt, as he spilled the ball behind for another corner which Swansea again dealt with.
Although Swansea were able to deal with Rovers’ set-pieces, the home side’s pressure in open play was a different matter as the Welsh side continued to play themselves into trouble with slow build-up play. After some undirected possession between ‘keeper and defence in the 44th minute, a poor back pass by the visiting defence saw Dolan use his pace to intercept and try and squeeze the ball past the marauding Benda. Despite his quick feet, however, Benda once again got the better of Dolan, as the German produced a fine stop with his legs.
After three minutes of uneventful added time were allocated, referee David Webb soon brought the first-half to an end, as the Rovers players walked off to a standing ovation from the home crowd.
During the half-time break, Rovers and Tony Mowbray would have been the happier of the two teams, not only due to their advantage, but also due to their overall dominance of the play. Although the Swans had ended the first period with 70% possession, they had only tested Thomas Kaminski once, with a majority of their possession being in and around their own box, in an attempt to build-up play.
Tony Mowbray would have been pleased with the adrenaline and tempo in which his side had operated throughout the first 45 minutes. Whilst the home crowd played a significant advantage in proceedings, as they hyped up the players on the pitch, the Rovers men were also doing their bit in assaulting the Swansea defence. Tyrhys Dolan, in particular, set the tone for Rovers’ press with their energy and the boss would have been delighted that the youthful exuberance in the squad had contributed towards forcing the opposition into errors.
Newly appointed Russell Martin would have been frustrated at half-time, given how his side had largely allowed Rovers gain a foothold into the game, following their poor display of passing and lack of awareness in terms of what was around them. Given Rovers had dispossessed a Swans team who had had more on-ball dallies than shots at goal, during the first period, Martin may have considered trying to beat the Rovers press by going long for a short period at the start of the second-half, in an attempt to draw level, before reverting to his ‘tried and tested’ possession method in a bid to regain the dominance in the game.
Following the first interval of the campaign, it was Rovers who got the game back underway for the second period.
After getting the kick-off and pushing forwards, Rovers were dispossessed before Swansea again, on the 47th minute, continued with their principles by trying to play out from the back, starting with Benda. That ultimately, proved to be a key figure in their downfall, as the German goalkeeper’s below average first-touch, invited unremitting pressure from Dolan, who managed to dispossess the shot-stopper. Through his quick thinking and even quicker feet, the young Rover did well to try and create an angle by turning, yet he found himself hacked down by Benda, as Mr. Webb had no hesitation in awarding Rovers a spot-kick. Off the back of a fine summer, Brereton Díaz displayed his confidence by grabbing the ball and asserting himself as the penalty taker. As he positioned himself for the run-up, a hushed silence spread around Ewood Park, before another roar of delight as Brereton Díaz found the back of the net to make it 2-0, as the power of his penalty beat Benda, despite the German guessing the direction, correctly.
In typical Rovers fashion, however, Swansea soon found a route back into the game, just four minutes later, giving more ammunition to the old adage of ‘you’re most vulnerable when you score.’ After Jamal Lowe did well to avoid successive Rovers challenges, the former Wigan Athletic man, dragged Daniel Ayala out of position, before laying the ball off to Smith, who was making a run beyond him. The former Bristol City midfielder found debutant Jamie Paterson with a cutback, as his fellow former Bristol City teammate – who was signed on Friday as Russell Martin’s first acquisition as Swansea boss – reduced the arrears to 2-1, by releasing a powerful first-time strike, which Kaminski could only get a hand to, as the ‘keeper wrongfooted himself, whilst losing his clean sheet in the process.
Three minutes after getting themselves back into the tie, Swansea were forced into a change as Korey Smith was deemed unable to continue and replaced by former Liverpool trainee, Yan Dhanda.
13 minutes after losing his clean sheet, Thomas Kaminski made amends by denying Cullen and Swansea the equaliser they had pushed for, after the first goal. After some good build-up from their own half, Swansea played through Rovers’ lines, before Cullen picked the ball up from just outside the area and tried to curl one into the bottom left-hand corner of the net. Luckily for Rovers, who had seemingly had a quick power nap during the Swansea move, Thomas Kaminski once again saved their bacon with a fine diving save down to his right, to keep Rovers ahead.
On the 70th minute, Sam Gallagher put his afterburners on as he intercepted the ball just inside the Swansea half and tried to hit the visitors on the break. After carrying the ball into the box, the forward tried to secure a brace for himself, with a driven shot from a tight angle. Despite it worrying Benda for a split second, the ball harmlessly dribbled behind for a goal-kick.
That proved to be Gallagher’s last action of the afternoon, as after a fine performance which was topped off by the opening goal of Rovers’ campaign, the forward was replaced by Jacob Davenport, as Rovers shifted John Buckley into the central striker role, allowing Dolan and Brereton Díaz to operate either side of the youngster.
A few minutes after the game’s first change, Joe Rothwell eyed up a free-kick from just outside the corner of the penalty area. After seeing his dipping effort towards the far-post well tipped behind by Benda, Rothwell’s subsequent set-piece, which was a corner into the box from the right, gave Darragh Lenihan a chance to restore Rovers’ two-goal lead, yet the captain’s nod didn’t have the required accuracy to trouble the nervy-looking Swansea goalie, as a goal-kick was soon awarded.
On the 76th minute, Dolan looked determined to end the afternoon with his name on the scoresheet as he tried to curl in a shot from just inside the box, but Steven Benda again proved equal to the former Preston North End youth player.
Three minutes later, Rovers were shown their second booking of the day as John Buckley stopped a counter-attack by fouling Paterson.
In the 81st minute, Rovers’ experiment of Buckley as a striker was soon brought to an end as he was replaced by fellow academy graduate, Danny Butterworth, who was making his long-awaited return from injury.
Daniel Ayala made sure he wasn’t going to miss out on all the fun of being booked, as he scythed down Yan Dhanda on the edge of the Rovers penalty area, but despite the nerves that grew within the Rovers section of the stands, former loanee, Matt Grimes, put his free-kick attempt high and wide.
Rovers’ final change of the afternoon came in the 84th minute as Rovers’ pre-season preparation paid off as they switched from their 4-3-3 system, to a 5-4-1, with Hayden Carter coming on to replace the lively, but tired, Tyrhys Dolan.
As Rovers tried to once again counter on Swansea, who began to commit men forwards, Joe Rothwell used his pace to break away before trying to feed an open Butterworth, who was trying to stay onside, just outside the penalty box. Although Rothwell saw his teammate free, he released the pass a split-second too late which saw it cut out. Fortunately for Rovers, luck seemed to be on their side, as the ball ricocheted straight back to Rothwell, whose attempt, which came after a short dribble, skewed narrowly wide.
Swansea’s second change of the game, which came in the 86th minute, saw Liam Cullen depart and be replaced by former Derby County forward, Morgan Whittaker.
In the 88th minute, Ben Cabango was booked for hauling down Butterworth.
A minute later, Butterworth was again involved in a counter, as his own press saw Swansea again concede possession, before the substitute tried to earn his first goal at senior level. After baring down on goal and with Davenport up for support, Butterworth tried to find the far corner from a tight angle, yet Benda continued to atone for his mistake in giving away the penalty, by producing another fine save.
With the 90th minute ticking over, referee David Webb signalled for an additional six minute of added time – much to the annoyance of the Rovers fans – which was used to cover the penalty, the five substitutions and the injury.
In the 93rd minute, the bookings continued, as Joe Rothwell was booked for a foul. Despite the yellow, annoyance within the Swansea camp nearly saw things boil over, as Ryan Bennett was unhappy with Rothwell’s challenge.
The final act of the game came in the 94th minute, where Rovers missed a glorious chance to treble their lead to 3-1. After hitting Swansea on the break, Rothwell bore down on goal with only a defender and the keeper between both, him and the goal and him and Brereton Díaz. With the midfielder caught in two minds, he decided to try and curl a chipped effort into the far corner, but despite beating both, goalie and defender, the bounce on the turf skewed the flight of the ball, which saw Brereton Díaz’s effort to divert the ball into an empty net, fail as the post intervened, much to the disappointment of both the Chilean and the fans.
After the Swansea goal-kick and a few battles for possession, which saw Rovers ultimately aim to hold the ball in the corner flag, Mr. Webb, the match official soon called time on the game, as the Rovers fans were left delighted with the 90 minutes of hard work and passion they had just witnessed.
We’re finally back, Rovers fans! After over 500 days of heartache and being forced to watch from our sofas, we can now bask in the glory of seeing our lads pick up three points, in person! Although this game was by no means an easy victory, Rovers showed great work-ethic, infectious passion, brilliant attacking play and solid defensive stability – something we probably wouldn’t have seen on the tele, last season. Despite all of the transfer talk and the pressure surrounding, both Adam Armstrong and the lack of incomings at Ewood, the team performed admirably against last season’s beaten playoff finalists, which is always a great encouragement. One thing that impressed throughout the first-half particularly, was the relentless pressing by the front three, particularly Tyrhys Dolan, who was the catalyst in setting the tempo for the midfield trio to continue the press if the line was broken.
Additionally, ‘Twinkle Toes Tyrhys’, as we’ll probably start to refer to him as, showed great desire and quick-thinking in order to win the penalty, and in all fairness, he himself was unlucky to leave the pitch without a goal to his name, such was the quality of his performance.
One interesting fact that should be pointed out, is the fact Rovers ended the game with only 29% possession, despite being on top by a good margin in the shots column. It would have been interesting to see how this game would have panned out, had Adam Armstrong been a part of the attacking outlet, given his natural finishing ability that we’ve become accustomed to seeing. Although Swansea didn’t really help themselves with a rather poor passing display, which played into the pressing Rovers adopted, it will be interesting to see how Rovers adapt from here, with last season being notorious for Rovers failing to beat teams despite dominating the ball, as what happened to Swansea, today.
As noted, the absence of Adam Armstrong will no doubt add fuel to the already ferocious flames, however, there seems to be no hiding from the fact that the Geordie forward has seemingly played his last game for the club, with bids reportedly coming in from Crystal Palace, Norwich City and Southampton, for his services. As mentioned, a previous piece – which is also highlighted above – Rovers will be able to live on from a potential Armstrong departure, and that was shown today in spades, given the fantastic performances from Ben Brereton Díaz, Sam Gallagher and Tyrhys Dolan.
Although we were once top of the pile, throughout the afternoon, Rovers end the first gameweek of the season in a rather modest, but eye-opening, 4th place, given they were one of only four other opening day victors.
Next up, Rovers turn their attention towards the Carabao Cup, as they play hosts to newly-promoted League One side, Morecambe, at Ewood Park on Tuesday, 10th August at 7:45pm. Following that encounter, their focus returns to the league, with a trip down to London to face Millwall booked in on Saturday, 14th August at 3pm. Once they finish their business in London, Rovers’ third league game of the season will see them have their first midweek game of the campaign, on Tuesday, 18th August, as they go from the South to the Midlands to participate in a 7:45pm kick-off affair with Nottingham Forest.
