The Blues doubled their Easter success following their 2-1 victory over Queens Park Rangers on Good Friday, by extending their winning run to 4 games following their convincing 2-0 victory over already-relegated Bolton Wanderers at Ewood Park, which saw Rovers’ big-money forward, Ben Brereton, notch his first goal for the club in an affair, that ultimately played out as an exhibition.
The squad which Tony Mowbray chose for the Lancashire encounter, saw 3 changes to the side that started the triumph over QPR on Friday. Jayson Leutwiler kept his place between the posts as Ryan Nyambe, Jack Rodwell and Ben Brereton all came into the side at the expense of Elliott Bennett, Corry Evans and Danny Graham, whilst Bennett and Graham found themselves on the bench alongside youth prospects John Buckley and Dan Butterworth, Evans dropped out of the side completely after notching an hour of play at Loftus Road only 3 days ago. Due to the inclusion of Rodwell, the former Everton midfielder was able to earn his 150th career start, which added another milestone to his relatively successful career.
As Bolton lined up to start the game after winning the coin toss, their 1,163 travelling support would have been hoping that their disastrous season could have a somewhat happy ending by beating their rivals.
Despite expecting to be under the cosh for most of the game, it was the away side who crafted the first opportunity of the game through Sammy Ameobi, who managed to use his strength to roll a Rovers defender, before striking over the bar from around 30-yards out.
Surprisingly for Rovers, the next opportunity fell to the relegated side on the 5th minute mark, as on-loan Everton defender Callum Connolly was able to try his luck from close-range with a back-post header. After Craig Noone did well to get beyond Ryan Nyambe, the former Cardiff winger lofted in a high ball that Connolly wasn’t able to convert, as the free header was nodded over by the 21-year old.
After 11 minutes, Bolton were forced into a change as Mark Beevers limped off the field and was replaced by former Stoke City defender, Marc Wilson.
Directly from the change, Bolton crafted their third attempt of the game, which turned out to be their first on-target. Young 18-year old midfielder Luca Connell picked up the ball from just outside the area and tried his luck at goal, but saw his low drive collected with ease by Leutwiler.
On the 19th minute, Rovers enjoyed a spell of possession as they were forced to try and work an opening against a stringent Bolton wall. Eventually, the opening came to Jack Rodwell, from 25-yards out, but the 28-year old’s strike was hit a bit harder than necessary, as it flew inches above the crossbar and behind, for a goal-kick.
9 minutes later, Ben Brereton enjoyed a mazy run, in which he beat a couple of Bolton players on the counter, before striking an effort at goal which was well blocked by a retreating Bolton defender. The forward picked up the ball on the right-hand side, just inside the opposition half before using his pace to get beyond his defender. As he cut inside at the byline, a fortunate bounce saw the ball fall in his favour, as he continued to craft a shooting position, before seeing his on-target shot, blocked before being cleared.
The former Forest forward’s antics didn’t stop there, as he managed to find his seemingly elusive first goal for Rovers, only a couple minutes later, to put Rovers 1-0 up after half-an-hour of play. The goal, which was a fine finish to a lovely passing move, saw Joe Rothwell find Bradley Dack, who slipped a lovely ball into the path of Brereton, as the striker – who only turned 20, on Thursday – slotted the ball past the despairing Ben Alnwick, using his weaker left-foot, before wheeling away in celebration of his account in Blue and White being opened.
The second-half trundled on with Rovers in full control of the possession, before another enforced Bolton change was required on the 39th minute, as another Everton loanee in Joe Williams, was withdrawn, and replaced by former Leeds United midfielder, Luke Murphy.
With the second Bolton change made, the hogging of possession by Rovers continued as Bradley Dack and Adam Armstrong combined well on the 41st minute. The latter showed fabulous footwork to sidestep his man before teeing up former Bolton loanee Armstrong for an effort that was blocked by substitute Marc Wilson, before being cleared.
After referee Andy Woolmer signalled for 4 extra minutes of time to be added on, Bolton ended their contribution to the half, with a strike at goal from 25-yards out. Substitute Luke Murphy struck a powerful effort with his laces but was unable to match the accuracy with the power, as it ballooned over the bar, prior to the half-time whistle.
As both sides headed into the break, there would have been some contrasting emotions when comparing the dressing room atmospheres. Although Rovers would have been the happier of the playing contingency, there would have been a sense of caution around Tony Mowbray’s team talk, as he would have been warning his players against their slender advantage, knowing that Bolton were playing for pride, and were capable of nicking an equaliser if the Blues let their guard down.
Phil Parkinson, on the other hand – who had to deal with abuse from his own fans throughout the whole game – would have been offering his side encouragement and emphasising the need to play for pride and for the reasonable backing they had received, despite their animosity towards the club due to the off-field issues.
Prior to Bradley Dack getting the second-half underway, as Rovers looked to consolidate their advantage by potentially grabbing a second goal to kill the contest off, Rovers made their first change of the afternoon, which, like Bolton’s substitutions, came due to injury. Lewis Travis, who has since been confirmed to have suffered a dead leg, was replaced by Elliott Bennett, who slipped in alongside Jack Rodwell in the centre of the park.
Rovers’ push for a second goal soon evolved into reality as Adam Armstrong netted his fifth goal in the league this season, against his former club, to double Rovers’ advantage as the Blues’ command on the game increased convincingly. Joe Rothwell and Bradley Dack again were involved in the build-up, as the pair exchanged passes, before Rothwell saw his shot well saved by Alnwick. Although the Bolton ‘keeper did well to deny Rothwell his third goal in 4 games, the ball wasn’t cleared by the visiting defenders, which allowed Armstrong to capitalise by bundling the ball over Alnwick and into the net, with a smart finish, to make it 2-0.
Up the other end of the pitch, Bolton nearly retaliated with a goal of their own as Luke Murphy’s shot at the near-post was well denied by the reactions of Leutwiler, on the 51st minute.
10 minutes after Murphy’s missed effort, Brereton nearly doubled his goal tally at the far-post but got his legs in a muddle before firing over from inside the 6-yard box. A lovely inviting ball by Joe Rothwell, saw Ben Alnwick effectively removed from play as the ball fell for Brereton to touch home for Rovers’ third, however the young forward decided to go for a cushioned effort with his left-foot, rather than nodding the ball into an empty net, which caused the ball, due to it’s speed, to bounce off his leg and fall behind for a goal-kick.
On the 65th minute, Rovers made their second change of the game as Jack Rodwell was removed and replaced by young 19-year old midfielder, John Buckley, who had previously made his debut off the bench, at Hillsborough against Sheffield Wednesday.
With 75 minutes gone, the Blues had a free-kick from just outside the penalty area, but saw the effort balloon over, as Joe Rothwell couldn’t keep his effort down.
Rovers’ final change saw the introduction of another teenager, in Dan Butterworth, who was introduced to the Ewood Park crowd, for his league debut as he replaced Bradley Dack, who had picked up a pair of assists for his troubles.
The 79th minute nearly saw the home side concede a freak goal, as Craig Noone tried to catch the marauding Leutwiler out, from just inside the Rovers half. The former Brighton and Hove Albion winger tried his luck from a distance, but, although Leutwiler had regained the ground and was stood inside his 6-yard box, the effort lacked the necessary dip to beat him, as it dropped behind for a goal-kick.
Dan Butterworth burst into life on the 80th minute as he picked up the ball inside the Rovers half and stormed at goal, skipping past a couple of challenges before firing a left-footed drive, wide of the target – and wide of the incoming Brereton, who was unable to turn it in at the far-post, as it zipped past him.
Despite missing his chance after the hour mark, Brereton’s confidence wasn’t hit, as he came close to grabbing a second, but for the quick agility of Alnwick. The forward was played through, and connected with the ball, but saw his effort well denied by the legs of Alnwick, before the ball was cleared.
Alnwick was in action again moments later, this time to deny Elliott Bennett from range, who hit a low drive towards goal, which the former Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper comfortably dealt with.
On the 87th minute, Brereton again had a chance to make it 3-0, after he managed to connect with Armstrong’s cross. Unfortunately for the striker, his connection on the volley flew high over its intended target.
As the clock moved into the 90th minute, Bennett brought down Noone on the edge of the Rovers box, which allowed the winger the opportunity of potentially causing some late drama at Ewood Park, with only added time left. Thankfully for Rovers and their clean sheet aspirations, the 31-year old’s effort flew over the bar.
Referee Andy Woolmer soon added on an extra 2 minutes of time, which were unnecessary with the game already put to bed at 2-0. The official soon put Bolton out of their misery as he blew to confirm that Rovers would indeed keep a clean sheet whilst simultaneously extending their winning run to 4 games.
Despite clinching victory today against a poor Bolton side, the game seemed like a pre-season friendly due to its intensity and the fact that nothing was really on the line. Although Rovers were able to extend their winning run and keep their second clean sheet in four games, there is a sense around the Rovers camp and among the support base, that this run has come at the wrong time for the Blues, with the chances of the playoffs, of course, being over. Whilst this is the case, the run of form and the positive performances will only provide the team with confidence heading into the 2019-20 season.
Whilst in Friday’s iteration of reports against QPR, Adam Armstrong was singled out for praise, despite notching in this tie, Ben Brereton is undoubtedly the man of the hour, following the breaking of his duck which lasted 26 games. Although he was by no means the ‘Man of the Match’ – which was awarded to Darragh Lenihan who marshalled the backline to another clean sheet – the young hitman showed glimpses of the quality on the ball and positioning off of it, that Tony Mowbray has been praising ever since Brereton arrived at Ewood Park in August. Although Ben could have easily had a hattrick had all the stars aligned in his favour, the attacker was able to show the Ewood Park crowd why he was so highly-rated by his manager, and why he has had international experience in the under-20s.
In turning our focus towards the league table, despite the exciting top 6 which has still not seen a side guaranteed promotion, Rovers do see an improvement in their league position, as they move up to 14th with 59 points and a -4-goal difference from 44 games played, with the prospect of finishing as high as 9th in their sights, if all goes well.
Looking at the final couple of fixtures of the 2018-19 season, Rovers are set to head to Carrow Road on Saturday, 27th April, in order to try and postpone Norwich City’s seemingly inevitable promotion, at 7:30pm, live on Sky Sports. Once Tony Mowbray’s men emerge from Norfolk, they head back to Ewood Park to face former Premier League side, Swansea City on Sunday, 5th May at 12:30pm, in the hope of potentially rounding off their season by adding to their current home record of 10 wins, 6 draws and 6 defeats.
