Rovers rallied back from an early setback to storm into the FA Cup Fourth Round for the second consecutive season, as talismanic attacker, Sammie Szmodics netted his first career hattrick inside the first 45 minutes to drive a healing Rovers into Monday’s draw.
Following the New Year’s Day disappointing 2-2 draw at home to bottom side, Rotherham United, Rovers had a week to prepare for their first foray into the FA Cup this campaign, as Jon Dahl Tomasson looked to try and restore confidence into his side. Despite the opportunity to rotate, the Dane only made two changes as Dominic Hyam returned to replace James Hill, who is set to return to parent club Bournemouth next week, whilst Jake Garrett came into the fray to replace Sondre Tronstad who was available from the bench. After Rovers ended the first week of January with two new loan signings in Yasin Ayari and Ben Chrisene, the former was available from the bench alongside 15-year-old Rory Finneran.
As the teams made their way out onto the field for the first-time, the Rovers fan slowly streamed in as they tried to navigate their way through a rather dismal attempt at breaking into the 21st century with digital tickets. Meanwhile, the pitch saw Sammie Szmodics stand over the ball as Rovers won the coin toss and got the game underway.
It only took six minutes for the game’s first goal to materialise and despite much pre-match anticipation, the opener came the way of the visitors who managed to net a fine finish, but were helped by some incredibly lacklustre defending from their hosts. A counter-attack by Cambridge saw Rovers struggle to clear their lines as the ball dropped to Jubril Okedina who poked the ball into the path of Jack Lankester who composed himself and teed himself up to curl the ball into the top left-hand corner of the net for 1-0, as the home fans would have been lamenting their side’s lack of urgency in their defensive efforts.
Ten minutes later, Sammie Szmodics was looking to drive Rovers forwards and grab an equaliser as he managed to intercept a loose ball before lining up an attempt inside the area, but Jack Stevens was alert enough to deny the former Peterborough United forward from levelling.
Moments later, Rovers continued to dominate the ball as Callum Brittain picked out Dominic Hyam with a cross who nearly assisted Hayden Carter with a knockdown, but the centre-halves failed to combine for the equaliser as Cambridge cleared their lines.
The 23rd minute did bring reprieve for Rovers as Szmodics continued to display his quality and took his seasonal tally up to 17 in all competitions to draw the home side level. After some good possession inside the final third, Jake Garrett fed Semir Telalović, who laid the ball off for an advanced Hayden Carter. The centre-half had the vision and the time in a tight space to thread the ball to Szmodics near the penalty spot and the attacker only needed one sweeping touch to find the bottom right-hand corner, past Stevens to make it 1-1.
The home side equalising proved no bother to the visiting players in amber as they dusted themselves down and re-took the lead just three minutes later, as Rovers’ naïve defensive structure once again was breached. A deep cross into the box saw Lankester beat Harry Pickering in the air as he knocked the ball down to Sullay Kaikai who needed no second invitation to half-volley the ball into the ground as it squeezed past Hayden Carter and Leopold Wahlstedt on the line as the U’s took another shock 2-1 lead at Ewood Park.
In the 34th minute, Rovers looked to come forwards again as Telalović looked to set up Andrew Moran for a strike, but the Brighton and Hove Albion loanee missed the target.
Arnór Sigurðsson and goalscorer Szmodics soon combined moments later as they looked to restore parity for a second time in the game, but the Championship’s top scorer couldn’t grab a brace as his effort was blocked behind for a corner.
That proved no matter, as it was a case of ‘if you don’t succeed’ for the talismanic attacker who did manage to grab a second in the 37th minute to make it 2-2 and give Rovers hope of a turnaround. The Icelandic Sigurðsson pounced on a loose ball from an amber shirt before sliding Szmodics in-behind the League One side’s backline. The instinctive goalscorer again only needed one touch to curl the ball past Stevens and inside the near-post to avoid Rovers being embarrassed on home soil.
Rovers pushed again from the restart as in the 40th minute, Harry Pickering saw his cross cleared only as far as Szmodics who was eyeing his first career hattrick, but his effort was blocked behind for a corner.
As the 45th minute ticked onto the clock, Adam Wharton looked to supply Jake Garrett with an assist straight from the Rovers academy, but the marauding midfielder’s effort was again deflected behind for a corner as the U’s continued to valiantly defend what they had as Rovers’ pressure mounted.
As four minutes of time were allocated onto the end of the first period by referee Geoff Eltringham, Rovers managed to turn the game on it’s head by the third minute of the added time as Sammie Szmodics rounded off a 10/10 first period with his first career hattrick with arguably the best finish of the three to take his seasonal tally up to 19 inside the first week of January. Callum Brittain was afforded the time and space on the touchline to deliver an inviting cross towards the near-post which Szmodics again connected with and swept home inside the front stick with a third first-time finish to complete the comeback at 3-2 in-front of the 1,600-odd travelling support, as the half-time whistle was blown moments after the restart.
Despite the rogue firework that nearly hit the Jack Walker Stand at half-time and sent the entire stadium into a fright, there would have been no such hysterics in either dressing room as both managers would have remained composed speaking to their players at the break.
Jon Dahl Tomasson would have been pleased with how his side had rallied after the early shock of going behind, not once, but twice and he would have no doubt been thanking Szmodics for getting the team out of a self-inflicted hole. The boss would have also been wanting his players to continue their domination of the ball, but also be wary of the counter-attacking threat that had not only been their Achilles’ heel in the opening stages, but throughout their Christmas/New Year games.
Former Millwall boss, Neil Harris would have been disappointed, but not surprised that his side had conceded to a team of Rovers’ attacking quality. The manager, who has been in charge at the Abbey Stadium for exactly one month would have taken a huge amount of encouragement from how his side had gotten Rovers on the ropes during the opening stages and continued to cause them problems until the interval.
Just before Cambridge got the second-half underway, Jon Dahl Tomasson made a change at the break as Harry Leonard came on to replace Semir Telalović.
Three minutes into the second period and Rovers nearly made it four as after Sigurðsson cut the ball back into the path of Moran, the Irishman’s effort cannoned back off the crossbar before the U’s defence cleared their lines.
In the 54th minute, the game’s first booking materialised as former Wolves defender, Ryan Bennett was booked for scything down Sammie Szmodics, yet despite Mr. Eltringham playing advantage, he did remember to book the former Premier League defender.
As Rovers moved forwards again, in total control of the game, Jake Garrett found Sigurðssonwho looked to assist Szmodics once more, but the goal machine couldn’t grab a fourth as the effort deflected off an amber shirt and looped into the air, safely falling into the gloves of Stevens.
The 58th minute saw a second Rovers change in the offing as Jake Garrett departed the field, to be replaced by Sondre Tronstad as Rovers looked to solidify their midfield with experience.
Sigurðsson was causing problems down the left as his 64th minute effort forced Stevens into making a fine diving save.
Two minutes later, Sigurðsson was looking to be the finisher, not the supplier as Szmodics picked him out, but again, the valiant Cambridge put their bodies on the line to keep the deficit to one and give themselves a chance to salvage at least a replay.
The fourth goal that Rovers had been pushing for finally came as Sigurðsson got the goal that all of his effort had deserved following some fine intricate play by the home team. Moran’s fine close control saw him keep the ball in before picking out Hyam whose pass deflected off a defender and into the path of Carter who slotted the ball to Sigurðsson. The Icelandic forward needed no second attempt to put further breathing space between the two sides as he composed himself with a touch before squeezing the ball through the gap between the post and Stevens for 4-2!
In the 69th minute, Cambridge looked to their bench for the first-time in the game as John-Kymani Gordon was introduced in place of Adam May.
Three minutes later, Rovers were on the attack again and they would have been wondering how on earth they hadn’t made it 5-2 with a fantastic opportunity squandered by Harry Leonard. After Szmodics broke through and sent the ball into the corridor of uncertainty as all the young forward had to do was tap the ball home, but he somehow managed to send the ball back the way it came as the whole Rovers support gasped in shock.
Both sides soon made changes in the 77th minute as Saikou Janneh replaced Jack Lankes for the final 13 minutes, whilst Rovers gave new signing, Yasin Ayari a debut at Ewood Park, over 24 hours after signing as he replaced Adam Wharton.
Five minutes later, goal five soon came after some fine determination down the left by Harry Pickering who managed to pick out a fantastic hanging cross for Harry Leonard to connect with as he atoned for his earlier confusing miss. The young attacker managed to have the spatial awareness to get between the Cambridge centre-halves and position himself perfectly to nod the ball into the bottom left-hand corner to make it 5-2 and effectively put the tie to bed.
In the 83rd minute, Callum Brittain looked to make it six with a left-footed strike, but Stevens made a fine diving save to deny the defender.
Moments later, Yasin Ayari was showing early signs of promise in Blue and White as he fed Moran who picked out Sigurðsson, but the Icelandic attacker’s shot was charged down by the visitors.
The 86th minute nearly brought a sixth and goal number four for Sammie Szmodics who saw his curled effort come back off then post before Cambridge cleared their lines.
Cambridge’s third change soon came in the 87th minute as they looked towards damage limitation as former Birmingham City defender, Michael Morrison replaced Sullay Kaikai in the closing stages.
After the 90th minute appeared on referee Geoff Eltringham’s watch, the official soon called for his fourth official to raise a minimum of three added minutes on the board.
With 91 minutes on the clock, Jon Dahl Tomasson made a double change to give some first-team minutes to some promising youth players, as Patrick Gamble was introduced for Callum Brittain, whilst Rory Finneran took the place of hattrick hero, Sammie Szmodics, to become – according the Rovers website – “the youngest player in Rovers history aged just 15 years & 312 days to take a record that had stood since 1911 & was held by Harry Dennison.”
Despite a late tackle and a sense of urgency from the 15-year-old getting the Rovers fans to serenade him as the full-time whistle drew near, time soon evaporated as the full-time whistle soon secured Rovers’ place in Monday night’s Fourth Round draw, as an ultimately successful, but nervy afternoon ended positively for Rovers and Jon Dahl Tomasson.
Although Rovers would have been expected to beat their injury-ravage League One opponents in all realities and timelines, they didn’t half make it hard work for themselves, did they? Whilst Jon Dahl Tomasson decided to take a more ruthless approach with his team selection, opting for his players to play their way back into good form, after six defeats in their last seven league games, there cannot be an argument against the suggestion that Rovers must improve defensively if they wish to have anything other than a mediocre season, as we enter into the second part of the league campaign. With their future in the FA Cup to be decided in Monday night’s draw, they will now have to hone their focus back on the Championship as they look to turn around some substandard form. After two signings within the first five days of the January window and one departure in the shape of James Hill’s return to the South Coast, it is a wonder whether Gregg Broughton and Jon Dahl Tomasson will have more activity up their respective sleeves before the end of the month.
Now that Rovers can sit back and look forward to seeing who the luck of the draw pits them against in Round Four, they will now turn their attentions back to the league as they prepare to travel to the Midlands to face West Bromwich Albion on Saturday 13th January for the 3pm start. After that, they return to Ewood Park to face Huddersfield Town for the second time in as many months on Saturday 20th January at 3pm. Whilst Rovers are set to face Cardiff City in South Wales in the Championship, on Saturday 27th January at 3pm, the Lancashire side’s progress – versus the Bluebirds who lost to Sheffield Wednesday – will surely mean that clash is moved as the Fourth Round ties are set to be played on that weekend. Alternatively, Rovers will have two consecutive home games as they kick-off February with the hosting of Queens Park Rangers on Saturday 3rd February at 3pm.
