Rovers extended their unbeaten run to nine games in all competitions after one of – if not THE – best away performance of the season saw them condemn boyhood Rover, Gareth Ainsworth to a debut defeat in charge of Queens Park Rangers.
After overcoming Blackpool, 1-0, in Saturday’s Lancashire Derby, Jon Dahl Tomasson made one change to his side, as Daniel Ayala, who was confirmed to be out of action for eight weeks, was replaced by Hayden Carter. There was also a shuffle on the bench, as injured duo Harry Pickering and Ben Brereton Díaz were also available from the bench if required.
It was Rovers who got the ball rolling through Sammie Szmodics, as the Lancashire side, wearing their red ensemble, were looking to continue their fine form towards the business end of the campaign.
Rovers started brightly and were awarded a free-kick after 12 minutes, which Sorba Thomas whipped into the area. The clearance was nodded out as far as Sammie Szmodics, who brought the ball down well and looked to arrow the ball into the bottom left-hand corner of the net, but it narrowly skewed wide of the upright.
It didn’t take long for Rovers to convert their bright start into tangible goals, as Sam Gallagher netted his first goal in 17 games with a fantastic ‘classic No.9’s’ header, which came via a stroke of luck off a deflection for his 50th career goal. A fantastic cross-field ball by Joe Rankin-Costello saw Tyrhys Dolan bring the ball down on the left in acres of space, the dynamic forward, who netted the winner in Saturday’s win over Blackpool, tried to net two in two, but saw his effort deflect off a QPR man and into the stride of Gallagher who had the easy task of nodding past Seny Dieng to make it 1-0.
Joe Rankin-Costello showed his defensive duties as well as his attacking ones, in the 23rd minute, when he put himself on the line to deny Stefan Johansen from close-range, but was unable to deny the hosts a corner.
From the set-piece, QPR were able to keep the pressure on Rovers and they managed to make it count as Tim Iroegbunam notched his first career goal after Rovers failed to clear their lines, the ball fell to the 19-year-old Aston Villa loanee who managed to arrow the ball into the bottom left-hand corner of the net to level proceedings midway through the first period at 1-1.
Despite the hosts tails being up, they were handed a blow in the 34th minute as Ilias Chair was forced off with a shoulder injury and replaced by Andre Dozzell, who was once a target for Rovers under Tony Mowbray.
Stefan Johansen became the first player to be named in referee Leigh Doughty’s notebook.
As the break approached, the officiating team signalled for two additional minutes to be added onto the end of the first period, as Rovers regained control of the possession as Rankin-Costello’s cross was again cleared as far as Szmodics, but the former Peterborough United’s effort in the first minute of added time was blocked.
His second attempt in as many minutes wasn’t blocked, however, as after a fine passage of play, Lewis Travis delivered a delightful through ball past two QPR players, into the path of Szmodics who coolly slotted home, underneath the onrushing Dieng, to restore Rovers’ lead at the best possible moment, before the break. A Rovers throw, deep in the QPR half saw the ball played into the feet of the skipper who turned and played a sublime world-class through ball past two hooped defenders, into the stride of the onside Szmodics who needed to time his finish perfectly before it was denied by Dieng, as 2-1 was allotted onto the scoreboard.
Moments after QPR restarted from the kick-off, Leigh Doughty called time on a positive first-half from Rovers’ perspective and one that QPR would have wanted to build on.
Gareth Ainsworth would have been annoyed that his side had let two simple goals go in, particularly that on the stroke of half-time, but he would have been encouraged by his side’s first-half efforts as they claimed the equaliser, but fell asleep at the vital moment.
Jon Dahl Tomasson’s delight would have been difficult to contain as he has witnessed his team net twice in the first-half of a game for the first time since October. The boss would have also been delighted with the spirit and technique they had shown to come back from conceding the equaliser, in order to enter into the break with the lead. The boss would have wanted his team to keep up their performance, in order to continue their fine run in 2023.
After both sides returned to the field of play, it was QPR who got the second-half back underway as they looked to try and rally and earn former player, Gareth Ainsworth his first points in-charge of the side he spent seven years as a player.
In the 57th minute, Osman Kaykay became the second player to be booked as he stopped Rovers from taking a quick throw-in.
Two minutes later, Sam Field was also booked after a heavy challenge on John Buckley in the middle of the field.
The hour mark brought daylight between the two sides as Rovers netted three goals in a game for the first time since the 3-0 win over Rotherham United in early October. Joe Rankin-Costello pulled out another fantastic piece of play by ‘Cruyff-turning’ his way past two QPR defenders, who had cornered his near the corner flag before having all the space and time in the world to put the ball across the face of goal, eliminating another defender and Dieng in the process to allow Sam Gallagher to tap home for 3-1, from an angle that was impossible to miss from – unless you were Nwankwo Kanu(!)
Rob Dickie tried to restore some pride back into the Hoop’s performance with a long-range effort, but the defender’s pot-shot ballooned over the bar.
Jamal Lowe became the fourth home player to be booked, in the 66th minute, as he hauled down Callum Brittain just outside the Rovers penalty area. From the free-kick, Sorba Thomas saw his cross into the area well held by the onrushing Dieng.
Dieng again pulled off a save to keep Rovers at bay a minute later, as Tyrhys Dolan was let loose by Szmodics’ pass, but the Senegalese shot-stopper denied Dolan a second goal in as many games.
Rovers soon made their first change of the game after 69 minutes as Ryan Hedges replaced Sam Szmodics as Rovers looked to try and add more freshness to their attacking outlet.
As the game wore down with QPR looking less and less likely to impact the game in the second-half, they introduced Albert Adomah in the 75th minute for Chris Martin, whilst Rovers threw on Tyler Morton for Tyrhys Dolan in the 80th.
The game’s closing moments saw Taylor Richards replace goalscorer, Tim Iroegbunam in the R’s final change of the evening, whilst Rovers introduced Ashley Phillips for John Buckley as their final action of the game, which extended into five minutes of added time.
The full-time whistle soon came with the 1,139 Rovers fans in delight at their side’s performance and result as they further cemented themselves into the playoff places.
It was a fantastic display all-round for Rovers, who entered London and put in what was arguably, their finest away performance of the season as they managed to bounce back despite a first-half setback. Rovers were continuing to show signs of growth given the style of play that Jon Dahl Tomasson has been trying to implement, of which we have seen a lot over the course of early 2023 with Rovers’ fine run to start the year.
The two standout moments of the game have to be the two assists that saw Rovers go ahead and extend their lead, which were both sublime and deservedly saw the ball hit the back of the net at the end of the moves. It was also great to see Sam Gallagher – who is expecting to become a dad, (congratulations, Gally!) – get back on the scoresheet after 17 games without netting in Blue and White. With the lack of firepower due to the injuries to Bradley Dack and Ben Brereton Díaz, seeing Gallagher score will no doubt instil confidence into the squad and the fanbase.
The table now sees Rovers in a more comfortable position, as they sit in 4th place with 55 points – three ahead of 7th-placed Norwich City – but have a neutral goal-difference of zero from 34 games played.
Despite being unbeaten in the league in February – a feat that Rovers have not seen since the 2013-14 season – the Blues still have an FA Cup game to see out the month as they travel to Leicester City on Tuesday 28th February to try and get into the Fifth Round for the first-time since 2016-17. March arrives and so do Sheffield United, as the Yorkshire side come to Ewood Park for the 12:30pm kick-off on Saturday 4th for the Sky Sports controlled fixture. Another Sky Sports showing comes six days later, as Rovers travel to Stoke City for a Friday night clash on 10th March at 8pm.
