During the aftermath of Rovers’ dramatic 2-1 win over Portsmouth on Tuesday evening, Rovers’ media team caught up with Tony Mowbray who reflected on a hard-earned three points, whilst also praising his players and the fans who made the 265-mile journey down to Fratton Park.
“We had flashes of quality during the game, but certainly a lot of character. During the first-half we looked like we could score and were executing a plan, Dominic (Samuel) could have scored inside the first 5 minutes, but their ‘keeper did well to deny us. To come and play football here is a really tough thing to do, and we talked about them, kicking towards that bank of supporters behind the goal, at half-time and having been here multiple times, both as a player and a manager, I know how those fans are as they try and suck the ball into the back of the net, which became a reality inside the first 5 minutes of the second-half as they drew level.
“We showed great character, resolve, desire and belief to score late on and full credit has to go to the lads as they showed great effort to grab the winner. I’m pleased for the team and delighted for the supporters who made the long trip on a cold Tuesday night. Today’s three points makes Saturday’s disappointing draw feel better, we just have to keep pushing on.
“Today’s victory was important because we hadn’t won in our last two games. We’re trying to win a league here and to do that, you need wins and three points. For the players to come here and win in the manner, in which we did, shows that they’re feeling the importance of the game and the points. I’ve always talked to them about making a connection with the supporters and that it’s important that the supporters see that the team cares about what they’re trying to achieve, because if we fall short for any reason, it won’t be through a lack of desire, or effort. Myself, the staff and the group in the dressing room all care about the club and I’ve talked for a long time now, about turning this club back around towards the direction of the Premier League and the first objective for us, is to get out of this division and nights like tonight can go a long way in achieving that aim.
“When I was managing at Coventry, I felt that Adam Armstrong had the quality to win football matches and that was true, as at times he won games on his own for us as he can turn and create a goal out of nothing using either foot. We’ve also utilised him as a threat from the wide left area, which allows him to come in on his right foot, but overall, I’m pleased for Adam. When he signed, we joked about how many goals he could end the season with and now he’s got three in his last two, so I’m delighted for him. He’s just a young lad at 21, and people sometimes forget how tender an age that is for a footballer. He’s got amazing attributes as a footballer and amazing qualities as a human, but as I say, I’m delighted for him and for the lads.
“You can’t coach the instinct that he showed for the winner. I’ve seen Adam score some amazing goals in his time with me, but more importantly for us, he shows it in training and the lads love him but equally see the quality he possesses. I have decisions to make regarding who to play and unfortunately, that means someone misses out. I have Danny Graham, Dominic Samuel, Bradley Dack, Jack Payne, Adam Armstrong and Marcus Antonsson, when he returns from injury and unfortunately, I can’t put them all on the pitch at the same time. You hear the fans calling for Danny to come on today, yet we were in a situation where we had our backs to the walls and needed legs and speed in order to counter-attack, yet Danny was probably thrown on, more to help us defend set-plays, rather than for his attacking intent. Saying that, Graham does bring a physical presence that helps the team get up the pitch as he holds up the ball.
“I’m pleased that we’ve got so many attacking options now, I looked at the bench and it was really strong, but it’s always going to get stronger with the likes of Marcus Antonsson returning, as well as Ben Gladwin, who’s also close to returning. Gladwin, at the moment, is lightening in training and if you speak to anyone of the lads, they’ll tell you about the unbelievable talent that he has, yet the aim for him is to convert that talent from training, into the real scenario of a match.
“I personally didn’t think the final minutes were nervy for us. They obviously went route one by throwing on their 6”5 striker, but I thought Darragh Lenihan was magnificent in those moments. The power and timing of his heading was something that we’ve been missing at times this season. Ryan (Nyambe) is alright after being stretchered off. I think the original scare was that he got smashed in the chest and started coughing up blood, so I think the medical department were a bit concerned about his lungs, yet I think, when he got smashed, he had bitten the back of his tongue which is where the blood came from.”
