Rovers’ poor run of form continued in the lunchtime Lancashire Derby, as Preston North End managed to extend their unbeaten run to 10 games, after an early Daniel Johnson strike saw the Blues condemned to their sixth defeat in their past 7 games, whilst Preston picked up their first derby double over Rovers since the 1978-79 season.
After threatening to shake his team selection up, prior to the tie, Tony Mowbray certainly did so with 3 alterations in personnel, in addition to a formation change. After lining up in a 5-2-1-2 system, Rovers saw Harrison Reed, Derrick Williams and Corry Evans come into the side, as Jack Rodwell, Amari’i Bell and Lewis Travis all respectively dropped out of the starting side, with the latter pair being available from the bench.
With the tension building in Ewood Park, as the fans exchanged chants and songs, it was Rovers who soon got the game underway at midday with the hope of exacting revenge over their neighbours, following the 4-1 hammering in November.
The game started brightly for the Blues as on the 7th minute, they found themselves through on goal, beyond most of the Preston defence. Bradley Dack played a well-weighted ball through to Adam Armstrong who used his pace to get beyond Darnell Fisher. Although he was forced slightly out wide, Armstrong came close to opening the scoring, but saw his left-footed effort roll closely past the upright.
There soon was a goal during the opening stages, however it wasn’t the goal the home crowd wanted to see, as the 7,514 travelling supporters descended into a frenzy of celebration, a minute after Armstrong’s miss. Some good build-up play by Preston, saw the ball fed out to Manchester City loanee Lukas Nmecha. The powerful 20-year old managed to leave Derrick Williams in his wake as he picked out the incoming Daniel Johnson, on the penalty spot, with a low pass which allowed the Jamaican to side-foot his side into an early 1-0 lead.
On the 11th minute, Armstrong again was showing his threat as he turned near-provider for a Danny Graham header. Some good wing-play by the former Newcastle man saw him cross the ball into his strike partner, however Graham’s connection couldn’t get beyond Declan Rudd, who claimed the header from close range.
Preston’s own playmaker, Alan Browne tried to get involved in the goalmouth action, as he wound up a shot from the edge of the area, but despite netting in the reverse fixture at Deepdale, the Irishman couldn’t make lightning strike twice, as his effort curled over the crossbar.
Rovers earnt a corner after 16 minutes, following an Elliott Bennett shot looping behind. From the Charlie Mulgrew set-piece – which nearly fell into the net itself – Richie Smallwood had a couple of chances blocked just inside the 6-yard box, before seeing the ball cleared.
On the 23rd minute, Graham again had a header denied by the North End ‘keeper. Corry Evans had the ball 25-yards out before picking out the centre-forward with a chipped effort. Although Graham was able to peel off his marker and make solid contact with the ball, Rudd was on hand to tip it behind for a corner. From the subsequent set-piece, Mulgrew again tried to net one of his patented corners but saw the ball bounce narrowly wide of the far-post.
The home sides’ dominance of the ball continued into the 32nd minute, as Bennett saw his powerful drive flash wide of the Preston goal.
As the 43rd minute sped up, Rovers’ dominance remained as Dack soon had a chance to level the scoring but saw his edge of the box strike scuffed into the arms of Rudd.
Dack again had a chance to equalise, as he connected with Bennett’s cross via his head, but unfortunately for the out of form playmaker, his nod ended up with the Preston fans behind the goal.
As the break loomed, referee Oliver Langford added on an extra 2 minutes of time onto the end of the half.
The first of the 2 minutes saw the final chance of the half fall to Bennett who, despite picking up a free space on the edge of the box, couldn’t keep his placed effort down.
With the ball looping into the away end, the referee, a minute later, brought the first-half to an end.
As the players returned to their dressing rooms, both managers would have been in full voice throughout the whole 15-minute break, as they would have been trying to offer messages of support to their respective teams, in the hope of, in Rovers’ case, to turn the game around and in Preston’s case to hold onto their clean sheet.
Tony Mowbray, during his team talk, would have been no doubt excused for entering into a potential frustrated rant at his players, following the simple nature in which they allowed Preston to score. Despite that possible scenario, a certainty on the part of the gaffer would have been his tactical instructions which would have seen him try to hatch a plan which would see Rovers re-emerge with more vigour and intent.
Across the hallway, Alex Neil would have held mixed emotions during the break. Although his side were holding a lead, they had created little to nothing else bar the goal, which would have undoubtedly worried the former Norwich City manager. Whilst the attacking side to their game wasn’t as efficient as he would have hoped, the visiting boss would have also been praising his team for their defensive efforts as they withstood a heavy barrage of Rovers attacks, including some shaky corners.
Once both sides had received their messages, they returned to the pitch with Preston kicking off the second-half.
Rovers continued their attacking style right from where they had left off at the end of the first-half, as Charlie Mulgrew, on the 51st minute, saw his free-kick tipped behind by Rudd, which led to another corner. Although Mulgrew went over to take the corner, his cross into the area was flicked on towards goal by Armstrong, however Fisher was at the right place, at the right time, to clear off the line.
On the 57th minute, Alan Browne and Paul Gallagher combined for the latter to try his luck. Although the former Rover got a sight at goal, his low effort was well stopped by David Raya.
Browne was soon involved a minute later, as he was fouled by Corry Evans, which led to the Northern Irishman picking up the first booking of the game.
On the hour mark, Smallwood had a cross which fell to Bennett at the back-post, but despite his efforts, the former Norwich man was unable to convert at the back stick, as his shot was skewed into the side-netting.
A second yellow card appeared in controversial fashion for Harrison Reed as he cleanly won the ball off Gallagher, to set up Armstrong, who seemed through on goal. Despite that however, the referee saw the challenge differently and decided to pull back play, give Preston the free-kick and book the on-loan Southampton man.
That booking was Reed’s last contribution to the game as moments later, he was withdrawn and replaced by Joe Nuttall in Rovers’ first change of the afternoon.
On the 64th minute, Nuttall burst into life after receiving the ball, as he dispossessed Jordan Storey, using his body strength to fend off the challenge by Fisher and moving through on goal with only Rudd to beat. Once again, however, the referee halted play and decided to award Preston another free-kick, as he endured the wrath of the home crowd.
On the 69th minute, Paul Gallagher broke free of Rovers’ defence and had a crack at goal, but saw his low effort well held by Raya.
A minute later, Rovers had the ball in the back of the net, but again, were halted by the referee’s whistle. After Bradley Dack dispossessed Ryan Ledson on halfway, Richie Smallwood picked up the ball and slid Danny Graham through on goal with a sublime ball. After the forward latched onto the pass just outside the penalty area, he managed to hold off Jordan Storey before elegantly passing the ball into the bottom left-hand corner of Declan Rudd’s goal. Although the move was sound, the referee decided to halt Graham’s celebrations by deeming his physical play illegal, as he awarded North End, yet another free-kick.
Rovers soon made a double substitution on the 72nd minute, as an injured Charlie Mulgrew was replaced by Amari’i Bell, whilst Richie Smallwood saw Joe Rothwell replace him.
5 minutes later, on the 77th minute, Preston made their first change, as Paul Gallagher departed to a round of applause from all 4 corners of Ewood Park and was replaced by Jayden Stockley.
Rovers nearly found themselves level on the 78th minute, as Ryan Ledson nearly scored an own goal at the near-post but was denied by his ‘keeper’s superb reflexes. An Amari’i Bell cross deflected towards the front-post off of Ledson’s outstretched leg, however the alert Rudd was quick enough to get down low to his right and palm the ball behind for a corner, which was soon cleared.
A couple of minutes later, Fisher became the first and only Preston player to earn a yellow card as he was booked for a poor foul on Danny Graham.
Preston’s second change came a couple of minutes after the booking as another Manchester City loanee, Brandon Barker, was brought onto the field for the first time, following a 4-month injury layoff, to replace Seán Maguire.
On the 85th minute, Nuttall had a shot blocked behind for a corner, which soon led to Dack having his own effort blocked and cleared, as Rovers couldn’t find the break through in the latter stages.
On the 89th minute, as Preston began to waste time near the corner flag, they were awarded a corner which led to Browne having a header deflected off the line and out for another set-piece which was cleared.
As the 90th minute struck, referee Oliver Langford called for an extra 5 minutes of time to be added onto the end of the game.
With 91 minutes gone, Armstrong swivelled in the box and connected with the ball, but his tame effort simply rolled into Rudd’s gloves.
As Amari’i Bell made his way down the left-hand side, he was taken out by Darnell Fisher who was given his marching orders after a second yellow card saw the full-back dismissed. Unfortunately for Rovers, they couldn’t make their set-piece count, as Preston soon cleared.
The final act of the game saw Preston make their third change, as Lukas Nmecha departed and was replaced by Joe Rafferty, who was making his debut for the Lilywhites in the closing stages.
Rafferty’s spell on the pitch was brief, as the official soon called an end to a game where Rovers were of value for at least a point and despite conceding early, should have rectified that mistake with at least a goal, considering they actually found the back of the net, alongside the whole host of chances they created.
In retrospect, despite the abysmal performances of late, today’s game showed to anybody who doubted Rovers’ ability over the course of the terrible run, that they are able to match any side in this division. Unluckily, however, the defensive errors remain rife and await eradication. Although a ‘positive’ view of the game may not be something readers agree with, Preston, bar their goal and a couple of odd chances, displayed a performance which was polarised to that of the reverse fixture, where they quite freely blew Rovers away. In some regards, Rovers put in a similar performance themselves, with PNE unable to gain and keep possession of the ball for long spells, however Rovers, unlike their Lancashire counterparts in November, didn’t have the cutting edge when required.
Despite Mowbray last week voicing his frustrations regarding the defensive efforts against Rotherham United, the switch to the back 6 of David Raya, Harrison Reed, Ryan Nyambe, Charlie Mulgrew, Derrick Williams and Elliott Bennett showed its solidity at times, however was picked apart early on for the Preston goal, possibly due to anxiety, as suggested by the gaffer. There has been a call from several people, including myself over the past few weeks, for a switch in formation to a 3 or 5 at the back, in an effort to aid with potential defensive stability, and it seems as if the gaffer has unknowingly answered those calls. Whilst there was an overall improvement in the defence, Rovers still ended up on the losing side, which would suggest that the issues – as alluded to by Mowbray – are that of mentality and confidence, not tactics. With respect to the Lilywhites, however, they came to Ewood Park and managed to extend their impressive run without almost a dozen of their squad who were ruled out due to injury and suspension. Alex Neil’s side emerged victorious and continued their playoff hunt in a game which could have easily got away from them, had it been played in January, so some credit must be given to managerial and playing staff for their rugged performances and tactics.
Whilst it is possible for one to continue critically analysing the performance, the tactics and the psychological reasons behind the slump in form in consummate detail, now is not the time nor the place. This run, however, has highlighted the fragility of the squad and deadliness that the habit of losing can bring, although that seems an obvious statement. Ideas for summer recruitment will no doubt be haunting Mowbray, as it will be to the fans, however how we, as a club, have played 52+ of games, in all competitions, since the end of last season’s (2017-18) summer transfer window in September 2017, with only 1 ‘natural’ centre-back, in Paul Downing, who has since been allowed to leave despite his positive contribution to the club both this year and last. Such an unwelcomed stat has again haunted us today, with 2 ‘natural’ full-backs in Nyambe and Williams, and 3 ‘natural’ midfielders in Mulgrew, Reed and Bennett at the back and there is argument to say that unless an overhaul of the defensive area is conducted in the summer, the start of next season might not be as enthralling as the start of this campaign was.
Away from the critiquing of the defence and onto the critiquing of the match official; Mr. Oliver Langford did not cover himself in glory in the eyes of the home support this afternoon, especially after chalking off Graham’s perfectly fine goal. Overall, the referee’s ability to assert his dominance and discipline in the emotional derby was second to none.
Lastly, and with no immunity attributed to his name, Bradley Dack is a firework who has lost his spark in recent weeks. Despite being Rovers’ top goalscorer with 14 goals in all competitions, the dazzling playmaker hasn’t found the back of the net since nodding Rovers ahead at Griffin Park, against Brentford, nigh on a month (and 6 games) ago, which ironically has coincided with the team’s loss of form. There would be no objection from myself and possibly a few other fans to see him dropped for a few games in order to rest him and bring him back with a fresh approach and frame of mind, whilst the team recuperate without him.
Following the continuation of this diabolical run, the league table is a far cry away from how it looked after the victory against Brentford at Ewood Park on 25th August (2018) when Mowbray’s men were sat 5th after accumulating 9 points from their opening 5 games. Rovers currently sit 11 points away from the drop zone, as they occupy 17th place in the table, after playing 36 games and accumulating 44 points with a -9 goal difference.
Looking onto Rovers’ next few games, old foes Wigan Athletic are next up on the calendar, as the League 1 champions travel to Ewood Park on Tuesday, 12th March for a 7:45pm kick-off for another Lancashire Derby. Following on from that tie, Rovers move into back-to-back away games, starting with Steve Bruce’s Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough, on Saturday, 16th March at 3pm. After that tie in Yorkshire is complete, Rovers head down to Birmingham, once again, this time to visit the Claret and Blue side, with Aston Villa pencilled in to host the Blues on Saturday, 30th March at 3pm.
