The Blues managed to grab their first three points of October after a resounding 3-0 win over Portsmouth on a wet and windy afternoon at Ewood Park.
In his pre-match interview, Mowbray challenged his team, specifically the forwards, to get on the score-sheet more consistently, and he will surely be delighted with the performance and the effort the players put in, as they put three goals past a Portsmouth side who are caught in mid-table.
The team that Mowbray picked for this clash included two changes to the side that grinded out a 1-1 draw with Plymouth Argyle in mid-week, as Harry Chapman, who was making his first start of the season for the Blues, replaced Marcus Antonsson, who dropped to the bench, whereas Paul Downing, who returned to the side after being ruled out of Tuesday’s fixture with a hamstring injury, was introduced in place of Paul Caddis, who was also on the bench. This change in the backline saw Ryan Nyambe return to his natural position at right-back, with Downing slotting in at centre-back alongside Charlie Mulgrew. Corry Evans, who had missed the last two league games due to an ankle injury, was also passed fit to make the bench.
The game kicked was kicked off by Portsmouth, who were looking to bounce back with a win after their defeat to Doncaster Rovers on Tuesday night, but were met by some early pressure by the home side who looked to start positively in-front of their home crowd.
Both sides’ starts to the game were rather subdued as the first half-chance of the game fell to Rovers on the 7th minute. Harry Chapman picked the ball up down the right-hand side and raced past a Portsmouth defender into the box. He then attempted to loft the ball up-to Danny Graham who was in the box; however the cross was cut out by a defender.
Portsmouth were the first side to register a shot on target in the game as Ben Close came close as he struck the ball from the edge of the Rovers area, but David Raya had it covered as the attempt whizzed past his left-hand post.
Rovers were then able to counter Portsmouth on the 19th minute as Chapman charged forward in search of an assist, however as a result of him being the most advanced Rovers player; he was seemingly left stranded in the Portsmouth half alongside their defence. The teenager however improvised with an outside of the boot cross towards Elliott Bennett who was steaming in at the back-post, but despite the pair’s best efforts, the ball was put behind for a corner.
Rovers’ came close to going ahead two minutes after Chapman earned his side a corner. Graham laid the ball off to Bradley Dack on the edge of the area, allowing the 23-year old to have a shot on goal. His effort however went just wide of the Portsmouth goal, relieving the pressure off of the away side.
Rovers then had two chances in as many minutes, with the first coming in the 25th minute courtesy of Richie Smallwood. The holding midfielder was given the ball from out wide, and he drove towards the box that Rovers were attacking. He then took a touch and leathered the ball towards goal from around 20-yards out, however Luke McGee in the Portsmouth goal was equal to the strike, as he palmed it over the bar for a corner.
The second chance Rovers had, which came on the 27th minute should have been a certain goal, which would have put the Blues 1-0 up. Dack dribbled his way through on goal and had his attempt denied by McGee, however Graham’s follow-up attempt from the rebound, which bounced up in-front of him, spun over the gaping goal and onto the bar which resultantly gave Portsmouth, a goal-kick.
David Raya was then called into action three minutes later, as Kyle Bennett, brother of Rovers’ Elliott Bennett, side-footed a volley towards the Rovers goal. The volley was aimed towards the bottom right-hand corner of the goal and nearly snuck in had it not been for Raya’s strong save which allowed him to concede a corner as a result.
It took until the 38th minute for the deadlock to be broken as Bradley Dack made it two goals in as many games at Ewood Park as he fired the Blues in-front. Harry Chapman had dispossessed a Portsmouth man and ran towards goal alongside Dack. The visiting backline were caught out as they had tried to expand themselves in order to muster an attack. This allowed Chapman to slide the ball into Dack’s path inside the box, with the former Gillingham man having the simple job of firing the ball past McGee in the Portsmouth goal, to put Rovers 1-0 to the good.
Rovers entered the break in high spirits after going ahead 7 minutes before the break and the Blues came out for the second half with the intent of finishing the game off, rather than sitting back on their one goal lead.
Rovers kicked off the second half as the rain got worse in East Lancashire, which was sure to have a huge effect on how both sides were to approach the second period.
Harry Chapman started the second half as he had started the first – by blitzing past defenders. He ran down the Portsmouth left and was tripped by Dion Donohue – who was resultantly booked – on the edge of the Rovers area, which gave the home side a free-kick from a left-hand position. Charlie Mulgrew struck the resulting free-kick with venom, and this was seen as the ball stung the palms of McGee; however the ball was soon cleared.
Just short of the hour mark, Rovers were able to double their lead courtesy of Danny Graham, who the manager had called out pre-match to start grabbing more goals. Derrick Williams burst forward with the ball from the left-back position and was able to find the striker on the edge of the box; Graham then took a touch and effortlessly struck the ball into the bottom left-hand corner of the goal.
Ryan Nyambe was booked minutes after the goal as a result of a late challenge, which gave Portsmouth an opportunity from a free-kick, to reduce the two goal deficit, however their effort on goal, through Kyle Bennett, went wide.
Substitutes were then introduced by both sides, as the visitors brought on Brett Pitman and Conor Chaplin for Oliver Hawkins and Kyle Bennett, whilst Rovers saw Harry Chapman being replaced by Craig Conway.
On the 70th minute, Rovers once again came close to increasing their lead as Bradley Dack had an attempt on goal fizz wide of the Portsmouth goal. Three minutes later, Rovers made their final two changes of the game as Danny Graham and Bradley Dack were withdrawn from the field of play with Dominic Samuel and Corry Evans taking their place, respectively. Portsmouth also made their final change of the game as they brought on Kal Naismith for Matt Kennedy.
The final 6 minutes of the game ended in utter drama as there were chances, goals and even a sending off. The first of these events came in the 84th minute as Rovers counter-attacked their opponents, who were looking for a late route back into the game. The attack was led by Craig Conway who played in Dominic Samuel on the edge of the box; however the substitute was unable to score a third for Rovers.
The game was dampened by a sending off for Rovers in the final few minutes, which saw the stadium turn against Pompey’s central defender, Christian Burgess, as he instigated Dominic Samuel being sent off in the 87th minute. Rovers had hoofed a ball long in behind the Portsmouth backline in the hope that Samuel could use his pace to get on the end of it, however Burgess was muscling Samuel, in an off the ball attempt to get ahead of the striker. As a result, the Rovers forward seemingly tripped the defender, who made a meal of the challenge and consequently left the referee no choice in sending Samuel off, less than 15 minutes after he’d come on as a substitute.
The despair of the sending off was then turned into jubilation as Rovers confidently wrapped up the points on the counter-attack which saw Craig Conway score his first league goal of the season. The Scottish midfielder broke and managed to keep the ball moving despite the terrible condition of the pitch. He outpaced both central defenders and elegantly chipped the ball over the on-rushing goalkeeper to put Rovers 3-0 up.
Following the goal, the match ended following three extra minutes of added time as Portsmouth, despite piling on the pressure, were unable to find a way back into the game. Despite the sending off however, Rovers will be happy with their all-round performance, especially as they were able to pull off the result in the deteriorating weather, which may have been playing on the minds of the manager and the players.
Overall however, this game showed that Rovers had worked on their finishing in training and were able to put away the chances that they were creating, unlike on Tuesday night, where they only found the back of the net once, despite the relatively high number of chances they created.
The sending off to Dominic Samuel, will see the forward miss the next three games – Wigan away, Fleetwood at home and the FA Cup first round tie at home to Barnet – (unless an appeal is granted), however this break from the side may potentially allow Marcus Antonsson to assert himself as an impact sub or potentially a starter. Another potential option that Mowbray may want to call on could be young Joe Nuttall, who fans have been calling for in the first team; the 20-year old has scored 10 goals in 7 games for the u23s so far this season and now that Rovers are a striker light, Mowbray could potentially include the striker in his next three match day squads.
This victory raises Rovers into 6th, which is the final playoff place. The Blues have 23 points from 13 games and a positive goal difference of 9. The boss will be expecting a similar performance next week as the Blues make the short trip across the north-west to face 2nd in the league, Wigan Athletic.
