Rovers stumbled in the Second Round of the Carabao Cup for the second season running, after a debut goal on home soil for Ryan Fraser, left Rovers with a bitter taste in their mouths as they lost the game, despite dominating in all categories bar the goal tally.
The Rovers side that walked out into an empty St. James’ Park saw two changes to the side that fellow to a narrow defeat away at Bournemouth at the weekend. Joe Rothwell and Tyrhys Dolan – who was set to make his first competitive start of his young career – came in for Bradley Johnson, who missed the tie due to an injury and Adam Armstrong, who dropped to the bench against his hometown club.
With both sides readying themselves for the tie in the colossus, but empty St. James’ Park, the game soon kicked-off with both sides believing they had a realistic chance of beating their opponents and setting up a Third Round tie against either Morecambe or Oldham Athletic.
The game began quietly, which would have been expected given the absence of both passionate fanbases, but it was Rovers who notched the game’s first opportunity, which came on the 11th minute. Ryan Nyambe steamrolled down the right-hand side and put in a low cross, similar to the one that bore his assist at the weekend. The cross fell perfectly for Lewis Holtby, but the German lacked the composure to find the net, as he fired wide from close-range.
The 16th minute saw Rovers try and counter-attack through Joe Rankin-Costello. The midfielder received the ball after Rovers regained possession on halfway, and tried his luck from distance, yet his attempt veered wide of the mark.
The 24th minute saw Newcastle have their first attempt, which came via a header from Matt Ritchie’s free-kick. The former Bournemouth winger delivered a cross in, from the wide-left position, but the subsequent header by Emil Krafth dropped wide of Thomas Kaminski’s goal.
Ten minutes after Krafth’s header, Newcastle managed to get themselves ahead, courtesy of new signing Ryan Fraser’s debut goal. A long ball from the back was won in the air by Newcastle against Derrick Williams, as Miguel Almirón managed to thread through a perfectly-weighted reverse ball into the path of the on-rushing Fraser. Fraser managed to expertly curve his run, in order to both stay onside and leave Darragh Lenihan eating dust. Fraser needed to invitation once he broke away from Lenihan, as he set himself before hitting a low strike, first-time from just outside the box, which hit the despairing Kaminski’s right-leg, before rolling into the empty Rovers goal, to put the Geordies ahead at 1-0.
Barring a few long-rangers that didn’t test either goalie, that Fraser goal proved to be the last goalmouth action of the first-half, as after one minute of time was added onto the end of the first period, Australian referee Jarred Gillett called time on a game that lacked any real bite.
As both teams entered their respective dressing rooms for the break, there would have been contrasting emotions within the camps.
Home boss Steve Bruce would have been delighted with his side’s goal, as well as how well they had done defensively to deny Rovers any real goal-threats, given the makeshift side that donned the Black and White stripes of Newcastle. The former Manchester United centre-back would have no doubt hoped that his side could replicate their first-half performance, and snatch a second goal that could potentially put Rovers to bed.
In the away dressing room, Blues boss Tony Mowbray would have been annoyed with how his players had reacted during Fraser’s goal. The gaffer would have been annoyed at how his defenders had prioritised appealing for offside, rather than concentrating on tracking the speedy run of Fraser. Despite that lapse in concentration, the gaffer would have been encouraged with his side’s work going forward, knowing he had Armstrong in reserve if required. Mowbray would have been forgiven for thinking that this game was similar to the weekend’s fixture, in that Rovers had been done on the counter, once more, but he would have been able to take some hope in his side’s fighting spirit, given how they had fought back against Bournemouth and he would have been hoping they would be able to replicate that up in the North East.
After the prolonged half-time break, which was elongated due to Mowbray continuing his team-talk on the touchline, the game was soon resumed, as Rovers hoped to try and utilise the break in order to regroup and try and turn the game around.
The first chance of the second-half came after 58 minutes of play, as Ben Brereton’s low shot was well saved by United ‘keeper Mark Gillespie, who followed up that save with a second from the rebound that fell to Amari’i Bell’s close effort.
Following the saves by Gillespie, Steve Bruce made his first change of the evening, as Jacob Murphy was introduced in-place of the goalscorer, Ryan Fraser.
On the hour mark, Rovers made their first substitution of the game, as local lad Adam Armstrong was thrown on to cause havoc, as he replaced Joe Rankin-Costello.
The 62nd minute saw Rovers burst into life as Brereton did well to use his strength in order to get past a few Newcastle players. The forward managed to create some space in the box before finding Dolan who then found Holtby. Sadly, for Rovers, their build-up didn’t have the finish it deserved, as Holtby’s effort deflected wide for a corner, which Rovers failed to capitalise on.
The 69th minute saw Holtby dispossessed as Newcastle countered through Joelinton. He tried his luck from just outside the area, but Kaminski did well to stop the attempt.
Joelinton finally beat Kaminski, just three minutes later, after Almirón played him through, yet the score still remained at 1-0, as the £40m Brazilian was deemed offside.
Just prior to Rovers’ free-kick following the offside, both sides made some changes. Newcastle withdrew Joelinton and threw on Allan Saint-Maximin, whilst Rovers introduced Harry Chapman and John Buckley for Tyrhys Dolan and Lewis Holtby.
The 75th minute saw Armstrong try his trademark effort from around 25-yards out, but the effort proved to be a comfortable save for Gillespie.
A 78th minute corner taken by Joe Rothwell saw Derrick Williams attack the ball, but the defender was unable to keep his effort on target.
From the goal-kick, Newcastle made their final change of the game as Christian Atsu came on to replace Matt Ritchie for the final stage of the game.
The 86th minute saw substitutes combine as Harry Chapman burst into life off the back of Armstrong’s flick-on. Chapman got to the ball before Gillespie did, but failed to go down and appeal for a penalty, as Gillespie’s reach was enough to fist the ball away.
As 5 minutes were announced by the fourth official, Rovers had a corner which Joe Rothwell went over to take. The midfielder’s cross saw Williams connect with the ball, but the header was well denied off the line by a frantic Newcastle defence.
The 92nd minute saw Williams again with an opportunity, as his connection following Brereton’s knockdown flew over the bar.
The final half-chance of the tie, came in the final move of the game, as the ball deflected into the path of Brereton who had peeled off his marker. Sadly, for the forward, he couldn’t save Rovers’ Carabao Cup hopes, as his strike was well blocked by an intercepting defender.
Although Rovers received a corner off the back of the interception, the cross landed straight into the gloves of Gillespie which gave Jarred Gillett the perfect excuse to call time on the game which ended Rovers’ hopes of a cup run.
Despite the result, this game, much like Saturday’s clash, offered a lot of positives for Rovers given the calibre of opposition they were facing. Although some may argue that both Bournemouth and Newcastle were ‘there for the taking’, it’s important to remember the quality, as well as fees that both sides had paid for their players, in comparison to Rovers. The prime examples of this being Joelinton, who started up-top for Newcastle and Ryan Fraser, who scored the winner on his debut. With Rovers ending the game with 64% possession, 15 shots and three on target, to Newcastle’s 36%, five shots and two on target, there are a lot of encouraging signs, especially given that Rovers know they won’t be playing opponents of the calibre of Bournemouth and Newcastle, every week.
Even though people might feel alarmed after two consecutive defeats, it is worth reminding those sceptical about the physical demands that the players have had to deal with, both due to last season’s late conclusion and due to the style of play Rovers are adopting. Additionally, whilst the defence seemingly improved against some very expensive players, Mowbray will be hoping that new recruit Daniel Ayala – who was announced prior to kick-off – will be able to aid in further solidifying Rovers’ historically leaky defence, in future games. Although there were only two changes to the team tonight, Tyrhys Dolan played an exceptional game, despite being substituted just before the 75th minute. The youngster further showcased his speed and flair on the ball, as he caused a lot of trouble for Newcastle’s makeshift backline.
Although the prospect of a glamour tie on the coast against Morecambe – (who beat Oldham Athletic 1-0), is off the cards, Rovers now have the added bonus of being able to focus their attention on one of the hastiest Championship seasons in recent memory, given that games will be crammed together, following the events of the world.
Speaking of the league action, Rovers return to Ewood Park – (sadly without the fans) – on Saturday (19th September), where they welcome another new member of the Sky Bet Championship, in Wycombe Wanderers, with a 3pm kick-off scheduled. After that, Rovers hop back on the bus again as they travel to Pride Park to face a Derby County side on Saturday 26th September (KO at 3pm), who – like Rovers – also got knocked out of the Carabao Cup, this evening. Following that clash, Rovers come back home the week after that, where they play host to Cardiff City as they kick-off at 3pm on Saturday 3rd October.
