Rovers fell to their heaviest ever league defeat at Ewood Park on Wednesday night, as Marco Silva’s promotion-chasing Fulham claimed headlines by hitting seven past a hapless home side who played with 10-men for over an hour of the tie.
Tony Mowbray made only one change to the side that claimed a 2-1 victory away at Pride Park against Derby County, on Saturday. Ryan Nyambe returned from injury and slotted straight back into the side, as Sam Gallagher dropped out with a calf injury. That change meant that Rovers’ Player of the Month for October, John Buckley, could move back up the field to allow the Namibian back in at right-back. Joe Rothwell was up for a milestone before kick-off as this game meant he had reached 200 league career appearances.
With the game being broadcasted live on Sky Sports, referee Jarred Gillett had to wait for the thumbs up before signalling for kick-off, which was taken by John Buckley, who got proceedings underway for Rovers. The Blues kicked the game off hoping to surprise the division’s highest scorers and secure a third straight win for the first-time this season, which would have moved Rovers into the playoff spaces, come 10pm.
In the third minute, Aleksandar Mitrović nearly gave Fulham an audacious lead after capitalising on a misplaced pass by Bradley Johnson. The former Norwich City man tried to find Jan Paul van Hecke, but found Mitrović instead, who hit a first-time effort from inside his own-half, in the hope of catching Thomas Kaminski out, who was lurking on the edge of his own box. Despite his effort, Mitrović didn’t catch it cleanly as it dragged well wide of the mark.
The writing seemed written on the wall for Rovers following that mistake as after only six minutes of play, Fulham found themselves ahead after more careless play by Rovers saw the ball given away in midfield again. Joe Rothwell’s misplaced pass just inside his own half saw Fulham hit Rovers on the break. Aleksandar Mitrović played the ball out to former Liverpool winger, Harry Wilson who did well to slide in Bobby De Cordova-Reid who had made a good run inside the right-hand channel. The former Bristol City forward continued his run to the byline, before tangling up Rothwell and leaving up behind as he picked the perfect cutback to Neeskens Kebano who was lurking on the penalty area. Despite pressure from Ryan Nyambe, Kebano was able to take his shot first-time, as he side-footed the ball into the top right-hand corner of the net, leaving Thomas Kaminski stranded for 1-0.
Although it was only 1-0, Rovers could barely get a foothold on the game as Fulham proved their quality by dominating the ball, with Rovers barely able to use the limited time on the ball they had, to great effect as it usually resulted in them gifting possession back to their visitors.
The 19th minute saw Fulham double their tally with the easiest headed goal Aleksandar Mitrović is likely to score this campaign. After Fulham forced Rovers into conceding a corner, Jean Michaël Seri went over to deliver as Rovers marked up inside the area. As the Serbian took his place just off of Thomas Kaminski, Ryan Nyambe was the one tasked to mark him, but the Namibian couldn’t cope with the power of the Serb, who shrugged off his marker and wheeled away in celebration of his 19th goal of the campaign, after nodding the Ivorian Seri’s cross into the back of the net, from just ahead of the near-post, as 2-0 was chalked up on the Darwen End’s new scoreboard.
With an unhappy crowd on their backs, Rovers decided to show up from kick-off as they managed to craft two chances in the space of five minutes. The first, which came in the 20th minute, came courtesy of Tyrhys Dolan who collected the ball on the right-wing and cut inside to try and half the deficit, but the youngster’s left-footed effort was well saved by Fulham’s number one, Marek Rodák.
Five minutes after that chance, Ben Brereton Díaz got himself in on the action, as he tried to match Mitrović’s tally for the night, in order to close the ever-widening gap in the race for the division’s golden boot. After John Buckley slid the Chilean into the box, Brereton Díaz’s touch took him slightly wider of where he would have liked to have shot from, as Tim Ream closed down well, but the South American was able to get a shot away. Despite his brace last time out against Derby County, Rovers’ top-scorer wasn’t able to squeeze the ball in at Rodák’s near-post, as referee Jarred Gillett pointed for a goal-kick.
Bad soon turned to worse in the 30th minute for Rovers as on-loan Brighton and Hove Albion defender, Jan Paul van Hecke was given his marching orders by the Australian referee for almost decapitating Harry Wilson in an abysmal attempt to win the ball. After Michael Hector cleared a Rovers cross into the path of ex-Rovers, Harrison Reed, the former Southampton midfielder seemingly handled the ball, as he brought it under control, but play was waved on by the official. Despite the claims Seri played on, as he picked out a wonderful raking pass, into Wilson’s path, who was peeling away from Tayo Edun into the green space that appeared over the halfway line. That desperation to halt Wilson’s run saw van Hecke have a rush of blood as he attempted to try and win the ball on the bounce, but took Harry Wilson out, rather than the ball in a high challenge which luckily saw the Welshman emerge unscathed. Despite seeing what van Hecke was trying to achieve, referee Jarred Gillett had no choice but to give the Dutchman his marching orders, which left Rovers in the mire.
Moments after the dismissal, Tony Mowbray reacted with a change to try and fill van Hecke’s vacated space. John Buckley was the man sacrificed as Hayden Carter was subbed on to fill the void alongside captain Darragh Lenihan.
Fulham’s continue pressure wore on, as Rovers’ former loanee, Harrison Reed looked to add more misery before half-time, as he tried his luck in the 43rd minute. The former Ewood Park fan favourite latched onto the end of Wilson’s cutback from the byline and struck at goal from a similar position which Kebano scored the first from. Reed’s effort, however, wasn’t as clean as it deflected off Lewis Travis before forcing Thomas Kaminski into a save, as the ball was palmed behind for a corner.
Two minutes later, the Belgian was again on-hand to bail out his defence, after they again lost the Championship’s top scorer, Mitrović. De Cordova-Reid picked the ball up in the middle of the park and carried it before sliding the Serbian in. Mitrović did well to control the ball and tangle Nyambe and Carter together, with Lenihan left for dead by De Cordova-Reid in the build-up, however Kaminski did well to again deny the Serb’s effort after he cut inside onto his right-foot.
Although only two minutes of time was allocated onto the end of the first-half, neither side was able to craft a noteworthy chance, despite all of Fulham’s dominance, as the first 45 minutes were halted at 2-0 to the visitors.
Tony Mowbray would not have been the happiest of managers at the break, given how poor his side had played when they had the full compliment of players out on the pitch. Although van Hecke’s dismissal was indefensible, the gaffer would have been looking for some fight from his players to make sure that they take the game to Fulham, despite the pedigree within their ranks.
Marco Silva’s delight would have been evident at the break, if one was allowed into the dressing room at half-time. The Portuguese boss would have been beaming after his side had easily brushed Rovers aside in the first period and only restricted them to one effort on target. The former Everton and Hull City manager, however, would have been quick to remind his team of the pace Rovers possessed on the break and would have been reminding his team of the need to remain professional in order to get the job done and not let the home side back into the tie.
Following the team-talks and the players’ return to the pitch, it was Fulham who got proceedings back underway as they looked to try and secure their fifth consecutive win and their sixth clean sheet of the campaign.
In the 46th minute, Harry Wilson nearly scored a wondergoal after spotting Kaminski off his line. After nudging Joe Rothwell off the ball, and with the Rovers man appealing for a free-kick, Wilson tried his luck from halfway, but saw his shot land inches wide of the left-hand post, as he was denied a goal of the season contender.
Five minutes after Wilson’s attempt, Kaminski was called upon, yet again as Mitrović turned provider for De Cordova-Reid. The Serbian slid the Jamaican in, past Carter which meant the forward only had Kaminski to beat. However, the Belgian again proved his worth, as he denied the Jamaican from close-range, as Tayo Edun couldn’t prevent the conceding of a corner.
Two minutes later, Fulham nearly got a third as Wilson’s direct run through the centre of the pitch opened up the opportunity for off-the-ball runners to get involved in the play. After Wilson was offered the advantage after being fouled, he picked out Neeskens Kebano who slid Antonee Robinson through. The overlapping full-back found himself through on goal and tried to find the far corner with a left-footed effort, however that chance was dragged wide.
The floodgates seemingly opened in the 54th minute, as Harry Wilson got the goal his play had been threatening. Some build-up play by Fulham saw Aleksandar Mitrović pick the ball up inside his own half and spray a fantastic pass out to Wilson, who was along on the right-wing. After staying onside and bringing the ball down well, the Welshman ran at Edun, before being allowed the comfort of switching the ball onto his right-foot, as he drilled the ball low between the legs of Kaminski to treble the visitors lead to 3-0.
3-0 soon became 4-0, four minutes later as Wilson soon bagged a brace. After Tyrhys Dolan lost the ball in midfield, Fulham again built from the back, before Jean Michaël Seri found the feet of Bobby De Cordova-Reid who touched the ball into the path of Mitrović, who was under pressure. The Serbian did well to hold off Lenihan, before seeing his return ball back to De Cordova-Reid blocked by Edun. The ball luckily ricocheted back into the Serb’s feet as he spotted Wilson who was again free on the left-hand side. Wilson again had all the time in the world to control the ball and use Hayden Carter as a shield to curl the ball into the top-left-hand corner of Kaminski’s net, as the former Derby County loanee wheeled away in celebration of his second goal of the night.
Following Wilson’s second of the night, Fulham made their first change as another former Rover, Tom Cairney, came on for Jean Michaël Seri
With Rovers 4-0 down, Tony Mowbray used his final two changes, in the 62nd minute, to give game time to Dan Butterworth and Joe Rankin-Costello, in order to try and build their match fitness, given the pair have recently recovered from long-term injuries. Joe Rankin-Costello replaced Joe Rothwell, whilst Dan Butterworth was introduced for Tyrhys Dolan.
Fulham soon followed Rovers by making two changes of their own. In the 67th minute, Rodrigo Muniz swapped places with the Serbian, Aleksandar Mitrović, whilst in the 73rd minute, Bobby De Cordova-Reid made way for Fabio Carvalho.
The game’s first yellow card took 74 minutes to appear with Tayo Edun the recipient, after the former Fulham player pulled back Harry Wilson on halfway.
Fulham’s fun didn’t stop at 4-0 as they soon found a fifth on the 79th minute as Neeskens Kebano also grabbed himself a brace. After he took a short free-kick with Cairney, the former Rover played a one-two with Wilson, before finding Kebano who was holding off Edun, in the box. The former Paris Saint Germain winger easily turned Edun like he wasn’t even there, before releasing a powerful strike that deflected past Kaminski, via the leg of Hayden Carter as the Fulham fans behind the goal turned delirious at the 5-0 scoreline, whilst their Rovers counterparts headed for the exits.
It only took three minutes for 6-0 to appear as Rodrigo Muniz doubled his Championship tally for the season from one, to two, in the eight league games he’s played for Fulham since arriving for €8m in the summer from Brazilian side, Flamengo. Fulham again played a short set-piece, with Cairney and Kebano again linking up with a short corner. The Democratic Republic of the Congo international spun Butterworth inside out before delivering a cross into the box that Rodrigo Muniz got a boot on, as he fought with Hayden Carter. Despite the defender being ahead of the Brazilian, Muniz did well to poke the ball home past the despairing Kaminski, for half a dozen goals.
After 90 minutes had ticked over onto the Ewood Park clock, referee Jarred Gillett called for three extra minutes to be allocated onto the end of the tie, as Fulham continued to taste blood. Rovers however were frustrated, which was evident as Joe Rankin-Costello was booked for a poor challenge on Antonee Robinson.
As if Rovers weren’t already embarrassed, the scoreline soon became 7-0 as Rodrigo Munoz made his 23 minutes on the field count, by trebling his Championship goal tally, to three, following Fulham’s third brace of the night. From the free-kick conceded by Rankin-Costello, Fulham once again built out from the back as they forced Rovers out of their shape. Tom Cairney picked the ball up in the centre of the park, before finding a free Robinson down the left, who had all the time in the world to pick out his Brazilian forward, who was peeling off the back of Carter. The delivery proved exquisite as Muniz powered home a header at the near-post to make it 7-0 as that goal rounded off Rovers’ worst home outing in the club’s 146-year history.
Once the three minutes had been played, Rovers were spared as Jarred Gillett called time on a despondent Rovers performance that lacked energy, creativity and guile, from start to finish.
There’s little one can say about a performance like that. It’s certainly a ‘once in a lifetime’ scoreline, but one can only hope that the manager and the players do a lot of soul-searching after such a desolate display. Sadly, the only consistent aspect of our team is our inconsistency.
Following such an embarrassment, Rovers now find themselves languishing in mid-table with their goal-difference completely wiped back to null. The side are 12th with 23 points from 16 fixtures.
Rovers now look to Saturday for redemption, against a Sheffield United side who are out of sorts. I hope you can join me as I cover the upcoming ‘War of the Roses’ for LancsLive and on @Rovers_Live as I have very kindly been given the opportunity to stand-in for that fixture. That clash, which will undoubtedly see the home crowd baying for a reaction, kicks-off at 3pm on Saturday 6th November. Following that game, an international break kicks in which will see Ben Brereton Díaz make the trip over to South America. After that fortnight is over, Rovers return to action on Saturday 20th November as they head down to Bristol to face Nigel Pearson’s Bristol City with kick-off for that fixture pencilled in for 3pm. Their second game after the third international break of the season will be on Wednesday 24th November when Rovers host relegation-threatened Peterborough United at Ewood Park at 7:45pm.
