Blackburn Rovers fought back from a goal down to earn a well-valued point against high-flying Norwich City at Ewood Park to give John Eustace a sixth point from a possible 15. The Rovers boss was left pleased with his side’s reaction, but slightly disappointed that his team didn’t manage to clinch a winner as he reflected on the afternoon to RoversTV.
“I’m very happy with the performance, but disappointed that we didn’t win and get all three points. The character that the boys showed, again, today was magnificent. It was the first-time, this season, that we’ve come from behind to get something from a game, which is very pleasing. It’s the third game after two very tough away games against Preston North End and Cardiff City. The commitment last Saturday against Preston was outstanding, because you can see what a good team they are even from yesterday’s win at Coventry City. We showed great character at Cardiff, again and to play against one of the top teams in the league, today, in Norwich City, who have a fantastic squad and to play at that level of quality was good.
“Of course, I’m left disappointed that we’re not stood here talking about a victory. We have to earn the right to play. In the first-half, we limited Norwich to maybe one or two half chances and their free-kick was a class goal, but on the flip-side, we had three or four real good chances on the turnover with some good moments of play during the last 15 minutes and on another day, Gally (Sam Gallagher) would be walking away with the match ball!
“Coming in at half-time, we adjusted a couple of things with our press, where we pressed a lot higher in the second-half, which was pleasing. Big Dom (Hyam) coming in with the goal from set-pieces is great to see! I’m not sure how many goals we’ve scored from set-pieces, this season, but there’s been a lot of work from Ben (Benson), Matt (Gardiner) and David (Lowe) on getting them right, so I’m pleased with their efforts and to get the equaliser was great.
“Set-pieces are something we’ve been working on a lot, but unfortunately – and I sound like a bit of a broken record – we haven’t had much time on the training field to implement what we want, but we have been able to walk through aspects of our play, both with and without the ball and from set-pieces. The lads have been magnificent in taking all that on and you could see the level of commitment from the whole squad was there, and that’s including the substitutes that came on and the changes to the starting eleven.
“A special mention is deserved for Sammie (Szmodics) whose wife had a baby this morning. He was up in hospital at 2:30am, didn’t get any sleep and was looking like a bit of a doubt for this game, but he phoned me up at midday and said he was raring to go. That shows the level of commitment from him to want to do well for this club and his teammates. His performance, work-rate, effort and desire were all brilliant, today. But I could say the same about all of the lads, today. The back-three were outstanding. I thought Scotty (Wharton) had his best game since I’ve come in. We’re progressing in small steps, but we’ve still got a lot of hard work ahead of us. If we’re all in it together, we’ll make it work.
“I’m pleased with this week. We’ve had three draws, but the commitment and effort of the players has been fantastic, as has the support of the fans and that’s not just this week, that’s since I arrived. I was pleased that we created chances today and I thought we looked exciting at times. There’s a lot more to come, of course there is, but we’re making small steps in the right direction.
“Ryan (Hedges) is a really good, exciting player for us and it’s a concern to see him go off that early. We rested him on Tuesday and today probably proved a bit too much for him. He’s got a tight groin and he wanted to come off to make sure there was no big underlying problem. Hopefully, he’ll be okay, but it opens the door for someone else to get an opportunity and Picks (Harry Pickering) was outstanding off the bench. It was as if he’d never been away. We’re fortunate to have some good quality in those areas.
“I’m sure the fans will be right behind us on Tuesday for the visit of Newcastle United in the FA Cup. That’s got the potential to be a very exciting night. Blackburn Rovers have won the FA Cup six times and it’s a competition that the club have obviously taken very seriously and now we’re rewarded with the opportunity to play against one of the best teams in the country. I’m sure it will be a great night.”
The boss also took some time to welcome new assistant coach, Keith Downing, who was confirmed to have joined the backroom staff, ahead of kick-off as the pair reunite at Rovers.
“Keith (Downing) was announced as a new member of our backroom staff and he’s very experienced. He’s worked with some of the best players in the country and has won the Euros with the under-19s. He comes with a wealth of experience having worked with a number of top managers, as well, so he’s here to help – as we all are. We all want to help this football club progress and move forwards.”
