It was a five-star performance from Blackburn Rovers during their first home game of the 2020-21 season as they managed to make amends for their opening day defeat by demolishing newly-promoted Wycombe Wanderers during the first ever meeting between the two sides.
Rovers’ first league starting-11 at Ewood Park saw two changes to the side that played in their last league game, away at Bournemouth, last week. Tyrhys Dolan and Joe Rothwell came into the side to replace Ryan Nyambe who dropped to the bench, and Lewis Travis, who picked up an injury in the midweek Carabao Cup tie away at Newcastle United. Although there wasn’t a milestone on the pitch, there was one in the dugout as Tony Mowbray was set to take charge of his 700th game as a manager, in a career that has spanned 15-years.
After taking the now-customary ‘knee’ for ‘Black Lives Matter’, it was Rovers who got the game underway from the kick-off as they bid to try and get their first points of the season, on the board.
Despite Rovers’ home advantage, it was Wycombe who started the game the stronger side. The 5th minute saw Joe Jacobson’s corner fall well for David Wheeler, whose driven attempt was well-blocked by Bradley Johnson.
Ten minutes later, Bradley Johnson’s pressure allowed Tyrhys Dolan to nip in ahead of the Wycombe defence and steal the ball. After failing to clear their lines, the defence failed to deal with the winger as his quick feet and speed led to him being brought down cynically in the area, which left referee Peter Bankes no choice but to point to the spot. It was Adam Armstrong who shouldered the responsibility of the spot-kick, as he picked up the ball and planted it on the penalty spot before preparing his run-up. After waiting for the referee’s whistle, Armstrong displayed the ice in his veins by coolly clotting the ball home into the bottom-right corner to put Rovers 1-0 up.
It didn’t take long for 1-0 to become 2-0 as only five minutes after Armstrong’s opener, a lovely counter-attacking move by Rovers opened up the door for Tyrhys Dolan to score his first senior goal, after he finished off a brilliant move. Rovers managed to stay composed as they passed the ball out to Ben Brereton who managed to hold the ball up well, before playing a one-two with Armstrong, before bursting forward. After completing the one-two, the 21-year old managed to find Lewis Holtby, who slipped in a first-time pass into Dolan’s feet. The former Preston North End youngster’s initial effort from just outside the penalty area was saved, but not held by Ryan Allsop. This fumbled allowed the ball to bounce back out to Dolan, who needed no invitation to slot the ball home, under Allsop to put Rovers ahead at 2-0 and clinch his first goal at professional level.
Rovers weren’t done at 2-0, as on the 22nd minute, Joe Rankin-Costello’s effort crashed back off the post before being cleared.
Rovers continued their relentless attacking nature throughout the first-half and it paid off, 11 minutes after Rankin-Costello’s effort as the Blues managed to triple their lead to 3-0, courtesy of Adam Armstrong’s second strike of the game, which came off the back of a stunning counter-attack. Rovers cleared Wycombe’s corner, only as far as Daryl Horgan, who returned the ball to Jacobson, the set-piece taker. As Jacobson tried to cut inside, Bell managed to win the 50/50 just outside the Rovers box, which saw the ball break to Brereton. The made a gut-busting run from Wycombe’s final third, into Rovers’, before he played Joe Rothwell in, who was on the overlap. Rothwell – who has received criticism from his manager in recent times for not creating as much as Tony Mowbray would have liked – managed to silence his critics by offering a delightfully inviting first-time cross into the path of Adam Armstrong who had the simple task of converting the ball from virtually on the goal-line, to make it 3-0.
Just before added time was announced, Adam Armstrong tried his luck from range as he tried to grab a first-half hat-trick, however Allsop was on hand to tip the ball over, as Wycombe managed to clear the danger.
Although Peter Bankes added on two additional minutes onto the end of the half, they proved unnecessary as the first period ended with Rovers three to the good.
Tony Mowbray would have been delighted, during his half-time chat with his team, after they managed to show their prolificacy throughout the first period. The Rovers gaffer, who was taking charge of his 700th career game, would have been quick to refocus his side’s mind on maintaining the work-rate and defensive solidity that they had shown throughout the first-half. Mowbray, despite enjoying his side’s lead, would have also been quick to remind his team on the attacking chances that Wycombe were capable of creating, despite their deficit.
Gareth Ainsworth, in the away dugout, would have been frustrated with how his side had faltered so easily against his hometown club. Whilst some may have thought that Ainsworth would have been secretly delighted that the team he supported were winning, Ainsworth would have undoubtedly remained professional and gave his side a piece of his mind, following their disastrous first-half display.
The second-half was started by the trailing visitors who were hoping that they could muster the form and spirit of last season in order to try and seal an unexpected comeback at Ewood Park.
The first chance of the second period came in the 52nd minute, as Ben Brereton was slid in on goal. The 21-year old managed to compose himself and strike a low effort towards the bottom left-corner of the goal, but Ryan Allsop was equal to it.
Four minutes later, Wycombe’s afternoon went from bad to worse as centre-back Darius Charles was given his marching orders by Peter Bankes after the Wycombe defender brought down Armstrong who had the freedom of Ewood Park to bare down on goal.
From that dismissal, Wycombe made their first change of the game in order to try and limit Rovers from increasing their lead. Ryan Tafazolli was introduced for his Wycombe debut as he replaced Scot Kashket.
The 59th minute saw Dolan and Rankin-Costello combine as the former fed the latter, however Rankin-Costello’s attempt was well-stopped by Allsop.
The second Wycombe change came on the 62nd minute, as it allowed Uche Ikpeazu to come on for his Wycombe debut, as he replaced veteran 36-year old midfielder, Matt Bloomfield.
The action kept on coming at Ewood as the 67th minute saw Rovers add a fourth goal to their tally, courtesy of Derrick Williams’ first goal since his header in a 2-1 defeat away at Leeds United, back in November 2019. Rothwell played a quick one-two with Dolan after taking the initial corner. Rothwell’s subsequent shot from just outside the box stung the hands of Allsop, who could only fumble the ball into the path of an onside Williams who only had the simple task of tapping the ball into an empty net to make it 4-0.
With Rovers guaranteed the three points, Tony Mowbray decided to make two changes in order to rest some of his players ahead of next week’s game. John Buckley and Harry Chapman were introduced as Joe Rothwell and Ben Brereton departed the field.
Rovers came agonisingly close to making it 5-0, courtesy of Holtby who had only just turned 30, yesterday. The German, who was celebrating his one-year anniversary since joining the club in style, tried to add the cherry on top of the cake by opening his league account for the season. Despite looking destined to open his tally after receiving another short corner, Holtby’s effort from just inside the penalty area was well blocked by Alex Pattison on the line, who could only flick it behind for another corner, which the visitors dealt with.
The 77th and 79th minutes saw the final changes from both sides occur. The first change came from Wycombe as Nick Freeman replaced Fred Onyedinma, whilst the second change saw Rovers traded Jacob Davenport in for Lewis Holtby.
Davenport wasted no time in getting involved as 60 seconds after he was introduced, he saw his long-ranged strike from the edge of the area, saved by Allsop who was getting busier and busier by the minute.
The 83rd minute saw Adam Armstrong earn the match ball that his clinical display in-front of goal deserved, as he put Rovers 5-0 up with seven minutes to go. Armstrong marked his 100th appearance as a permanent Rovers player by finishing off a delightful defence-splitting pass by Buckley. The young substitute picked the ball up on halfway before threading through an ‘eye-of-the-needle’ pass into the space beyond Wycombe’s backline for Armstrong to run into. The forward managed to use his electrifying pace to zip beyond Anthony Stewart, before calmly using his weaker left-foot to slot the ball past Allsop to compile Wycombe’s misery.
Two minutes later, Armstrong – who was named the club sponsor’s Man of the Match – could have had four, if not for Allsop’s fantastic reflexes. After anticipating a missed header by Jacobson, Armstrong and Allsop were the only players within Wycombe’s final third, yet it was the ‘keeper who go the better of the forward after Allsop produced a wonderful save, down to his left to deny Rovers a sixth goal.
That effort proved to be the final one of the match, as after three uneventful minutes of added time were added onto the game, referee Peter Bankes brought an end to Wycombe’s disheartening afternoon by blowing the final whistle.
‘Emphatic’, ‘Marvellous’, ‘Terrific’, ‘Fantastic’, ‘Superb’. Feel free to take your pick when it comes to choosing which superlative you want to describe this game with, because today’s performance was outstanding. From front to back, to a man, each player proved their worth to the side today with them all producing 7/10+ performances. Whilst it’s important not to get carried away with ourselves, given that it was ‘only’ a newly-promoted side who spent most of the second half with ten men, this performance shows us that the quality from the previous two outings can be maintained against sides of different levels.
Furthermore, this result also shows how important the impact Tyrhys Dolan has had on the squad, both as a personality and as a playing figure, as he tormented Wycombe’s backline all afternoon, during his first 90 minutes for the first-team. Daniel Ayala must have been licking his lips and itching to get onto the pitch after seeing how dominant his new side were. Another positive note was the performance of home debutant Thomas Kaminski, who despite not having much to do, showed his quality and his decisiveness when he was called upon, as he secured his first clean sheet in his new colours. Finally, this report cannot be ended without commenting on Adam Armstrong. The ‘Angel of the North’, who should have arguably finished the game with four goals, rather than three, proved his worth to Rovers and showed why he is more comfortable playing down the middle after earning his first treble in Rovers colours, despite his outstanding performances coming from the left, in recent years.
Whilst there are reports that a left-back could be imminent at Ewood, this performance would have undoubtedly increased the stock of both Amari’i Bell and Derrick Williams who are both contenders for the spot on the left-hand side of Rovers’ defence. It remains to be seen – if Rovers can secure a deal – whether the new addition can impact the team and help defensively against teams that pose a greater threat to Rovers’ goal.
Whilst it is still early days and the table should be taken with a pinch of salt, Rovers’ position of 9th from two games is encouraging, given that they have scored the most goals in the league, with seven from two games.
Rovers’ next three fixtures seen them play away once, and then at home twice. Their next game – which is away – sees them travel to Pride Park to play Derby County on Saturday 26th September with kick-off scheduled for 3pm. The week after that, Rovers return to Ewood Park for a double bill, with the first tie seeing them host Cardiff City on Saturday 3rd October at 3pm. After that tie Rovers welcome Nottingham Forest to Lancashire on Saturday 17th October at 3pm. It will be a wonder whether crowds will be allowed for either games, but we can only hope as we wait and see whether the world situation will allow us to return.
