Now I now know why Sir Alf took Bobby Charlton off in Mexico 70. Leading 2-0 after 60 minutes and in sweltering conditions England immediately lost their mojo to the old enemy and ended up dumped out 2-3. Football was invented in these sceptered Isles many years ago to be played in cold driving rain on muddy pitches, not in the sweltering humidity of Ewood Park yesterday as the temperature reached the 90’s (Fahrenheiton this messageboard) with the all important humidity to match. Poor Bobby would have been able to fry eggs on his solar panel!
So with that mystery cleared up, onto the match. As with the matches against QPR and Swansea the Rovers conceded possession for much of the first half. Sitting next to Phil my Godson I remarked on 40 mins that Button in the WBA goal hadn’t even had a save to make. Within a minute Brittain found Gallagher just outside the box who tapped it to BBD who executed his now trademark ‘inside far post curler’.... only this time for the watching Managers nervously fidgeting with their cheque books as the transfer window starts to close it was with his left foot! How long will it take one of the most desperate to meet the 25m asking price? I’d say it needs to happen soon given our current rapidly multiplying injury list!
So HT with the crowd still buzzing and no doubt after cold showers, plenty of fluid and a fresh strip out came the lads for the second half. No surprise to find Brittain missing as he’d got a significant bang on the head just before half time. With only left sided Edun resembling a defender on the bench poor John Buckley had to drop back to right back whilst newbie Morton came into midfield. Two minutes later he played a perfect pass for BBD to run on to, carry the ball forward and as the WBA defenders obviously aware of his threat cutting in from the left concentrated on blocking him off he played a square pass into the path of Gally lurking on the 18 yard line. Another perfect ‘inside far post’ finish and it was 2-0 from just two shots on target! No wonder the Fat Controller (err Lord Topham) lookalike was spitting feathers inside his managerial area was it?
More pressure followed from an increasingly desperate West Brom side along with a few dark arts. Inevitably chief culprit was old enemy Livermore. He’s been sent off against us before and as the ball came in from the corner he elbowed Travis full in the face, apparently missed by totally clueless BRFC hater Referee Josh Smith. The ball ran to Diangana who shot and a wicked deflection off Phillips completely wrong footed Kaminsky who could only watch as the ball flew into the far side netting. I may be wrong here but I wonder if the 4th official had spotted the Livermore elbow and was about to communicate it to Referee Smith with Bruce in earshot as within a minute Livermore had been hauled off?
So lots of fingernail biting once Phillips had to leave the action after picking up a knock leaving just Ayala in his true defensive position after Pickering had moved in alongside and Edun asked to fill in at right back. Cue also some sloppy passing resulting in unnecessary loss of possession, so frustrating but luckily this was matched by the baggies. I’ll give all players the benefit of the doubt given that such excessive heat can sap concentration as well as energy. The Rovers sheer doggedness paid off as after a monstrous 11 yes 11 minutes of time added by the incompetent Referee Smith full time was finally whistled and it’s 9 from 9!
Kaminsky... 7 Got one cross completely wrong but stood firm the rest of the time. Could do nothing about the baggies goal.
Brittain... 7 Had a really excellent first half but unfortunately had to leave the match after being concussed. Looks to have settled in well.
Phillips... 7 ‘Weighed on’ by West Brom as expected but gave as good as he got! Forced to come off after receiving a painful knock despite appearing to want to carry on. It’s hard to believe this lad was only 17 in June! He has a quality and confidence about him which can only improve. I hope at 17 that he’s stopped growing because at 6ft 4” he is big enough and doesn’t want to become cumbersome. If we are forced to lose him to Spurs for a pittance the football rule makers should hang their heads in shame. I fully expect this lad to be worth 50m by todays standards within 3 years.
Ayala... 8 The Rock! As all around him were struggling Ayala stood out as a giant in the middle of the back 4.
Pickering... 7 Had a tough game as most of WBA’s attacking was through Jed Wallace down the right wing (is there a better right footed crosser of a ball in the Championship?) then after Phillips went off had to fill in alongside Ayala at CH which he did brilliantly.
Travis... 7 At the heart of the match. Trav has really taken the responsibility of being made Captain to heart. Resumed animosities as expected with bad ass Livermore.
Buckley...6 Doing OK in defensive midfield although I feel Szmodic and Hedges are hampering his playmaking abilities somewhat. Buckley is better than a getter and giver imo.
Gallagher... 7 Hard working display highlighted by a goal and an assist. Seemed to get a knock and was taken off on 74.
Szmodics... 6 A busy player who is not afraid to go in where it hurts. Again replaced on 74. I wonder if his fitness is an issue as the gizmos players wear under their shirts tells the coaches when a player’s performance and energy is dropping.
Hedges ... 7 Turning into an important player for us. Goes about his work efficiently and without fuss.
Brereton Diaz...7 Should he have scored earlier perhaps? It looked to be a bit of a dive, no matter another assist and an excellent goal to his cv and the press and media are buzzing with his name.
Subs
Morton... 6 (Brittain 45) Laid on BBD’s assist with a slide rule pass to illustrate his Melwood pedigree but then blotted his copybook with a number of misplaced passes! Perhaps our lads aren’t quite as quick as the lads at Livvie.
Edun... 6 (Phillips 71) Again a few misplaced passes and struggled with Wallace as Pickering had earlier. Not at his best as a defensive left back imo.
Dolan...6 (Gallagher 74). Busied himself pressing the WB defence to stop them picking passes and a few balls played straight out of play by them were giving Bruce the vapours. Guilty of showboating that went wrong in a bad place and at a bad time. No doubt JDT will be offering him some advice about that this week.
Dack... 6 (Szmodics 74) No lack of energy or application by Bradley. Prepared to give his all for the cause in that stifling heat.
Manager JD Tommason... 7 Again the Rovers were being dominated when they broke away and scored. Is this good tactics or good luck? Time will tell as always. Never afraid to mix and match his personnel and systems and shows a mature continental approach to his profession which hopefully will transmit to the players.
Referee Josh Smith... 2 I’d forgotten this bugger so I did a RoversFans search (see below). This bugger started Refereeing at 14 which illustrates to me why he simply doesn’t understand the game. Booked Gally early doors then allowed many similar or worse incidents go unpunished. OK so we had a water break, 6 subs and some injuries to the Rovers players but we have all this many times and I can’t recall 11 minutes ever being added on without a stretcher incident or power cut etc.
Reports from last season.
Blackpool away “Referee Josh Smith... 3 Got lot's wrong and seemed a homer. Spends half his time reffing Leagues 1 & 2 ... and it shows. I'd rather not see this bugger again.”
Forest Home “ Referee Josh Smith.. 2 An even lower score than the Blackpool match! See above. He's a complete tosser and twice now has refereed matches and made decisions with a heavy loading against the Rovers. I have never heard the Ewood crowd cheer a decision for the rovers with such irony and for so long as they did in the second half. The only chant that I didn't hear last night for those old enough to remember was .... "Are you Courtney? Are you Courtney? Are you Courtney in disguise?" It would have fit perfectly.
