Following Rovers’ 1-0 win away at Scunthorpe United, Tony Mowbray shared his thoughts on the game with BBC Radio Lancashire.
“We’re delighted with the points, that was a tough game tonight and we played against a really good side. They gave us a few problems in the first half yet we did create a few chances, we could have scored one or two more, but we’re delighted with the points as we’ve played a team that will gain a lot of points here, I’m sure. It’s their first defeat out of seven league games and you can feel that they’re a good team, I was sat on the side-line watching and felt they were a good team, they get the ball up the pitch and put it into your box, we were resolute, we defended well, I thought Charlie (Mulgrew) coming back gave us that stability and natural balance on his left peg to play the ball out, but credit to Scunthorpe as it was a tough game, but we’ll take the points and move on.
“I felt that we could always score, I think they were on top and dominating the possession, they were coming in waves of attack, yet every now and again we’d have a counter-attack where we looked like we were going to score and that’s because we’ve got some quality at the top of the pitch and thankfully it was a brilliant ball in and Marcus (Antonsson) finishes it. We talked to him about not trying to get in-front of the defenders but instead, standing off the back and the defender didn’t want to touch the ball and this led to the goal. I’m delighted for him because he works his socks off for the team, he has a lot to improve in his game, but it’s great that he’s scored some goals which is good for his confidence and hopefully he’ll just keep improving. It’s also not bad when you can bring on the likes of (Bradley) Dack, (Danny) Graham and (Harry) Chapman to try and see the game out.”
Mowbray was questioned in regards to his substitution which saw Antonsson come off for Graham minutes after the Swede had broken the deadlock.
“It’s alright, they’re the sort of decisions you make as a manager, maybe Antonsson saw Graham warming up and got himself in a position to score, but it’s alright, I felt that Danny could hold the ball up better as they’ve got some big, strong, dominant centre-halves and every goal kick was being headed back into our half and it became difficult but you know, that as soon as we go in front, Danny is going to give them more physical problems.
“We could have killed the game off yes; I was just saying to Danny, I would have put my mortgage on him scoring that chance at the end, it was a great save. I see him doing those one-touch finishes from the edge of the box in training every day, he never misses. I was almost celebrating even before the ball got to him, because on a wet night like this where the pitch is greasy, I knew he was going to make contact and I thought it was going to bulge the net, but it was a great save by the keeper with his feet. I’m pleased he’s coming on and making an impact as I’ve said that he’s got a massive part to play in this side and if we can build confidence and begin to dominate, particularly at home, which reduces the amount of running needed and when we can get balls into the box, there’s nobody better than Danny Graham at tucking them away.”
Mowbray also praised the team as a whole in helping maintain the positive defensive record of only one conceded in the last 4 games.
“It’s not just about the back four and the goalkeeper, it’s the whole team. You’ve seen how hard the front two work, they’re trying to put pressure on the backline and stop them playing the ball forwards at the speed the opposition would like to. It’s a team effort everyone works extremely hard. Craig Conway was a loss today and (Elliott) Bennett’s athleticism and energy in the wide areas gives us a fantastic approach to the game. Rekeem (Harper) played tonight instead of potentially Chapman, Gladwin or Whittingham, but Rekeem’s natural athleticism and the distance he can cover is quite frightening from what we’ve seen in training so I thought he’d fit the system. It would have been nice for him to score his opportunity, but he felt his groin at half-time which is why he came off.
“Ultimately, we’ve come here on a stereotypical League One night. It’s wet, it’s windy, it’s cold and with total respect to Scunthorpe, it’s not a big arena and we’ve managed to get the right result with the right attitude and performance. Craig Conway trained yesterday, but he’s got a big bruise on his hip and he decided against coming in this morning to see if he was fit enough, which shows the extent of the bruise.”
Finally, the manager was also full of praise for the supporters who had travelled down to support the team, despite the scheduling and the weather.
“The supporters are amazing, it gives the players, I think, a sense of feeling that they’re playing for a big football club. We were described in tonight’s programme as ‘a fallen giant’, the players have to know, the new players are at the club and the ones that were already here have to realise that the expectations of this football club is that we’ll hopefully become a giant again and this is why we have to come to these kinds of places and win.”
