Rovers’ dismal displays following the third international break of the season, continued, as a 3-1 defeat away to Wigan Athletic, saw Mowbray’s men chalk up their 5th league defeat of the season, which has seen them lose back-to-back Lancashire derbies for the first time since March 2014.
Tony Mowbray warned his players, prior to kick-off, that they should react in a positive manner, following their poor performance and subsequent thrashing away at Preston North End on Saturday.
The manager made 4 changes to the side that fell short at Deepdale, as Kasey Palmer and Derrick Williams dropped to the bench in-place of Danny Graham and Amari’i Bell, whilst Darragh Lenihan dropped out of the side altogether and was replaced by Jack Rodwell. Additionally, Corry Evans returned to the side following his international exploits with Northern Ireland, as he replaced the suspended Elliott Bennett.
As both sides emerged for the game, Rovers won the coin toss as Bradley Dack stood over the ball and started the tie that was promising to be a feisty one, following the antagonistic nature of last season’s race to the League 1 title, which culminated in Wigan pipping Rovers.
The clash began with a bang as James Vaughan clattered into Jack Rodwell after only 2 minutes, which left the former England international in a bad way. Following a couple of minutes of treatment, Rodwell was deemed fine to continue, as Vaughan was shown a yellow card.
The bookings continued, on the 6th minute, when Lee Evans became the second Latics player to enter the book, after he brought Richie Smallwood down on halfway.
With the first-half trudging on and with little chances to make note of, Danny Graham soon found his name taken by referee Keith Stroud with 15 minutes gone, after the striker was judged to have pulled Reece James back, as the Chelsea loanee looked to break away.
On the 22nd minute, a late burst into the penalty area, to try and get on the end of a cross, saw Nick Powell tweak his hamstring. An injury which had looked to have kept him out of this game, according to reports prior to kick-off. Despite the midfielder battling through the pain and starting the affair, his game was cut short, as he was replaced by Josh Windass.
Minutes after Powell’s departure, Rovers had the chance to go ahead, through Danny Graham, who did well to get on the end of Ryan Nyambe’s cross, as he burst through Wigan’s defence and tried to use the speed of the ball to volley the ball past Christian Walton, first-time. Despite Graham’s inventiveness, his execution was lacking, as Wigan earnt themselves a goal-kick.
After a succession of Rovers corners, the Blues nearly went ahead through a comically misjudged clearance which nearly cannoned into the back of the net off Sam Morsy. As Wigan attempted to get rid of the ball, following a Rovers corner, the clearance hit Sam Morsy on the leg, before Walton was alert enough to claim the ricocheted ball, which could have easily given Rovers the lead.
With 34 minutes gone, Wigan had a hattrick of chances in a matter of seconds, all of which somehow didn’t manage to find the back of the net. A corner by Reece James saw Vaughan’s header cleared off the line, before a follow-up effort by Dan Burn cannoned back off the crossbar after David Raya tipped the ball onto the crossbar with a fantastic save. The rebound was then crossed onto the head of Cedric Kipre, whose header from close range, was directed wide.
It took only 3 minutes, after the flurry of chances, for Wigan’s dominance to pay off, as Latics midfielder Gary Roberts curled in a lovely effort from outside the penalty area, to put Paul Cook’s side ahead. The former Portsmouth midfielder, picked the ball up out wide and drove centrally before releasing a curling, right-footed effort from around 30-yards out, which hit the left-hand post and trickled over the line, as Wigan took a deserved 1-0 lead.
From the restart, the home side continued their pressure as they nearly extended their lead on the 42nd minute, but for the strong hands of David Raya. Substitute, Josh Windass ran with the ball down the left-hand side before cutting in and releasing a strong effort that had forced Raya to get down early in order to stop it. Thankfully for the Rovers fans behind Raya’s goal, the Spaniard shot-stopper was on hand to deny the former Rangers man.
On the stroke of half-time, James Vaughan could have doubled Wigan’s lead, but for the head of his own teammate, who inadvertently diverted the ball away from goal. Thankfully for the home side, the offside flag was raised, meaning their blushes in-front of the 2,148 Rovers fans, were spared.
As the break approached, referee Keith Stroud signalled for 3 minutes of time to be added onto the first period.
The first minute of added time, could have seen Rovers go even further behind, had it not been for the woodwork and the offside flag, as former Accrington Stanley duo, Kai Naismith and Josh Windass combined as the latter hit the post from the former’s cross. A wonderful, curling, inviting ball by Naismith was on a plate for Windass, who got ahead of Rovers’ centre-back partnership, Charlie Mulgrew and Jack Rodwell, before flicking the ball towards goal with the outside of his foot. Unluckily for Windass, despite being offside, his well-worked effort pinged off the post.
Windass’s attempt proved to be the final effort of the first-half, as a few minutes later, the referee called time on a period which saw Wigan firmly in the ascendency, going into the second-half.
During the break, home manager Paul Cook would have been heaping praise on his players, following their bright start to the game, which led to their goal after half-an-hour. The manager would have been especially pleased with their reaction to the derby, not only due to the intense rivalry of last season, more so because Wigan hadn’t won a game since 20th October, which was a 1-0 home victory over West Bromwich Albion.
In complete contrast, Tony Mowbray would have been fuming with the way his side had performed during the first 45 minutes. Their lack of pressure on the ball, and the ball carrier, as well as their inconsistency on the ball, in-terms of the fluidity of their passing was sure to be something that would have riled up the manager during the break. The 55-year old would have no doubt been drilling instructions into his players in an effort to try and turn the game around in the second-half.
The second-half was started by Wigan, but not before Rovers made their first change of the night, which coincided with a tactical change of formation. Derrick Williams was introduced as a third centre-back, as he replaced Danny Graham, as Rovers switched to a 5-3-2, which saw Williams slot in alongside Mulgrew and Rodwell, whilst Dack partnered Adam Armstrong up top.
Wigan flew out of the traps, 3 minutes into the second-half as Windass and Vaughan nearly combined for a second. The former fed the latter, who closed down on goal before releasing a shot which David Raya did comfortably to save.
On the 52nd minute, Rovers had their first shot on target of the evening, which came through Adam Armstrong. The former Newcastle United man, playing in his preferred central striking position was teed up by Harrison Reed, who had collected the ball on the edge of the area. Armstrong picked the ball up from his teammate and burst into the box at pace, before releasing a shot which went straight down Walton’s throat, as the ‘keeper denied the forward comfortably.
Seconds after Walton cleared the ball, on the 54th minute, Wigan found themselves 2-0 ahead, after Jack Rodwell conceded a penalty after slipping and bringing down Windass in the process, as the forward was about to shoot from close range. Keith Stroud, with no hesitation, pointed to the spot and gave the Latics the chance to double their advantage, which James Vaughan duly took, as he smashed the ball down the middle, in off the crossbar.
4 minutes after the penalty, Wigan nearly trebled their lead through 6’7” defender, Dan Burn. A floated cross, from an initial wide free-kick fell on a plate for Burn, but he spurned his chance at further increasing his side’s lead, as his header landed just wide of the net.
With just over an hour gone, Rovers made their second change of the evening, as they introduced Ben Brereton, in-place of Richie Smallwood.
As 66 minutes passed, David Raya was again on hand to deny Wigan from going further ahead. The Spaniard did well to deny Lee Evans, before his quick reactions allowed him to smother the loose ball in order to deny James Vaughan, a second goal of the night.
A couple of minutes after Raya’s save, Armstrong again crafted a shot, but again missed the target as his effort curled wide of the mark.
2 minutes after Armstrong’s attempt, Windass – who was seemingly having the game of his life, after replacing Nick Powell – again found himself with the chance to increase his team’s lead. His shot from close range deflected into the air, before landing on the crossbar as the follow-up by Naismith was blocked and eventually cleared.
On the 73rd minute, Wigan captain Sam Morsy was cautioned for a poor challenge on Amari’i Bell.
5 minutes after Morsy’s booking, Wigan again rattled the crossbar, this time from a wide free-kick which Chelsea loanee Reece James took. The youngster crossed the ball into the box, but miscalculated his curve, as the ball hit the top of Raya’s crossbar and landed behind.
After just under 80 minutes were played, both sides decided to finish off their substitutions, as Wigan brought on Callum Connolly and Callum McManaman for James Vaughan and Gary Roberts, respectively, whilst Rovers sent on Craig Conway, for Ryan Nyambe.
With 7 minutes left on the clock, Rovers found themselves with a lifeline after a Dan Burn own-goal trickled past Walton, in the Wigan goal. A wide free-kick by Craig Conway – very similarly to that against Preston – was lofted into the box and nodded down by Derrick Williams, whose header hit Dan Burn’s foot before the defender could properly react to clear. Burns was left stranded on the penalty spot, as he watched the ball nestle into the bottom left-hand corner of the goal, as Rovers reduced the deficit to 2-1.
As soon as the celebrations in the away end were complete, the home support began their frenzy of fist pumps, as Wigan found their third goal, minutes after the restart, courtesy of substitute Callum McManaman. A long ball forward from the Wigan midfield was played into Windass’s path as the substitute was onside, despite protests from Rovers’ backline. The 24-year old strolled past Derrick Williams, who made a lacklustre attempt at winning the ball, before Windass fizzed the ball across Raya and the face of goal, which allowed the incoming McManaman to fire home, into an empty net to kill the contest at 3-1.
The final chance of the game fell to Mulgrew, whose header from a corner, on the 88th minute, was easily saved by Walton, who smothered the ball on the floor.
With the 90 minutes up, 3 minutes were added onto the end of the game, which didn’t lead to any attempts on goal, as the final whistle was soon blown, which was met by a enthusiastic cheers from the home support and a plethora of – arguably deserved – boos from the away end.
In retrospect, this game – combined with the previous fixture against Preston – have come to a shock to many a Blue and White fan. The ‘uncharacteristic’ – to use a Mowbray term – performances are something that has plagued us for a while when returning from international breaks, however the break just gone, was arguably one of the best in terms of players who did not go to their nations, with only Corry Evans and Darragh Lenihan departing Brockhall. What one has to take into account, is what was happening during the break in terms of training? Something we may never know.
Despite the ludicrous calls for the departure of Mowbray by some, this season, up to this point, shows how frustrating, but also competitive the Championship actually is, as a division, and how tough it is for a team to get out of. Wigan tonight, showed that they had more fight, more determination, more passion for their shirt and for the result, than Rovers did. Something which, as a football fan being charged £25 for a night in Wigan – tongue-in-cheek, of course(!) – you’d expect to be on show regardless of the opposition or the scoreline. Although the season is a long and arduous one, where one cannot expect perfection every game, mainly due to a build-up of fatigue, where have the Leeds, Brentford and Stoke performances – and more importantly, effort – gone?
Unfortunately, the rosy, ‘guaranteed win’ scenarios of League 1 are now in the history books and it needs both players and more desperately, fans, to realise this. The lack of Elliott Bennett was also a big miss for Rovers as it gave the side a lot less effort, energy and solidity that Bennett brings to the starting line-up. Additionally, the fluidity of the passing, and the very passive defensive nature of the side will no doubt be at the top of Mowbray’s list tomorrow morning. Despite previously criticising the lack of a striker on Saturday, Danny Graham’s inclusion didn’t really have the same impact it did, 5 days ago, which is mainly down to the solidarity of Wigan Athletic’s defence.
Although Rovers were poor once again, a special – and perhaps unwelcomed in many eyes – mention must go to Josh Windass, who lit up the game with his attacking prowess, his accurate passing and his smart movemenet, as he was a constant thorn in Rovers’ side. The main objective from here, for Rovers now, is to get back on track by putting the effort in that Mowbray sees in training, in real game situations. One trivial piece of information to note, is that Mowbray has never beaten Wigan in a league fixture, at the DW Stadium, despite facing 4 different Latics managers, with 4 different teams, whether that being in the Premier League, Championship or League 1.
It seems as if Mowbray is suffering from ‘Football Manager syndrome’ – which will probably mean more to some, than others – where nothing a manager does – both in the video game, and occasionally in real life – ever goes right, no matter what he/she does. Here’s hoping Tony can turn our temporary dip in form around!
With this 5th defeat of the league season cemented, Rovers now find themselves in a frustrating 13th place, still with 26 points, but a negative goal difference which has now increased to 6, from 19 games played.
Rovers won’t have to wait long for a return to action as they host Sheffield Wednesday at Ewood Park, on Saturday 1st December at 3pm. The next fixture on the packed calendar sees Mowbray’s men head up to Middlesbrough, who face Rovers at the Riverside on Saturday 8th December, at 3pm. Once the trip to the North East is complete, Rovers welcome Birmingham City to Ewood Park on Saturday, 15th December at 3pm.
