Pre-match preamble
And here we are again against Blackburn. Hopefully, without all the ill-feeling of the last two matches – the original away fixture and the replay on 2nd December, which ended in a draw. I must admit to a sardonic smile when they were hit with another replay scenario due to rain against Sheffield Wednesday recently – at least they couldn't blame us for that one. It would be really nice to get an emphatic win this time, though I have a feeling they will just try to shut us down.
Brief history: Blackburn Rovers was founded in 1875, becoming a founding member of The Football League in 1888. They won five FA Cup finals in the 19th century, but had pretty much followed a seesaw trajectory until Kenny Dalglish came in as manager in 1992. In 1994–95, Rovers became Premier League champions (Source Wikipedia).
They are variously nicknamed the Rovers, The Blue and Whites and The Riversiders (we know all about the river).
On the train
Found a familiar face, Dave, whom I met a few months ago, with his son, Rhys. Dave's score prediction was 3-1, Rhys thought 4-0, and I said 5-0. Of course, any of those would be nice.
It was Memorial Day at the club, so before kick-off we engaged in a minute of applause in remembrance of all the Town fans, ex-players and staff who were lost in the last year. Their names and photos were shown individually on the big screen.
First half
Three minutes into the game and Town are 1-0 up. Hurrah. It was an OG, but a goal is a goal. Nunez sent a rocket across the face of the goal, and Cashin 'cleared' it into the net. Two minutes later, we were all wincing as Walton played a dangerously close cat-and-mouse game in front of his goal. A minute later, Toth saved a header from O'Shea from a Davis free kick.
On eight minutes, Walle Egeli caught a Nunez pass in a beautiful first-time strike. Toth did well to push it over the top.
Four minutes later a corner by Nunez was headed back towards the goal by O'Shea and in a bit of a scramble, Taylor was on hand to toe poke it into the net.
At two goals down, Blackburn got into the match a little more as they presumably realised a defensive game was not an option, but their only shots were struck wide. Town carried on pressing, and several players made 'oh so nearly' attempts on goal. They looked the most likely, although alarmingly, Walton did seem bent on giving us all palpitations, with some risky 'holding the ball at the back too long' action and short passes.
There were quite a few stoppages – Philogene was replaced by Clarke for a knee injury, for example, and Blackburn were on the floor a few times – but there were only two minutes added at the end of the half. It's noticeable that referees are dialling back on what were becoming rather ridiculously extended playing times.
Second half
This half had a slower start for Town until the subs were brought on; they definitely injected pace.
Blackburn came out fighting and had their chances, but they just lacked the ability to settle and make them pay. Perhaps their best attempt came from a corner which saw Cantwell's shot land on the roof of the goal, though I'm pretty sure Walton had it covered.
Town still looked 'the most likely to', and there were a few missed opportunities for them too; Hirst was free in the middle and inexplicably dropped to his knees; a strike by Jack Clarke rebounded to Nunez, whose shot was saved by Toth. A wonderful overhead kick attempt also from Nunez was not far off. His free kick from a foul on Clarke went over the wall, but sadly also over the goal.
There were a couple of incidents involving Furlong, who is normally very steady. One was a foul (which was given) with a suspected slightly high elbow. The other was a push in the circle on Ohashi, which he claimed was a penalty, though he didn't have the ball. Valerian was suitably incensed about this as always, and will now no doubt add it to his handwritten list of grievances.
The referee also did not give Town a penalty for an outright foul on Azon in front of goal as Cashin took his legs away, but I doubt if Kieran has a list. Apart from those two small (ha ha) decisions, I thought he was a pretty fair referee who allowed the game to flow. Of course, it's easier to laugh when you're winning.
The 88th-minute third goal was a thing of beauty, created by precision passing and teamwork. So pleased Sammie got the goal too, as he, like Burns at Coventry, has been out for a long period of injury and is just coming back into the game.
Even in the last few minutes, Town were still pushing forward – hugely confidence-boosting game, for the players and for us.
Men of the match
Six-time winner Kieran was named this week as the Manager of the Month (for December), I'm so pleased he is 'ours'.
Cedric Kipre was the Sponsors' Man of the Match again this week, but as he is invariably there, doing his thing well every week, I tend to take it for granted.
Sammie Szmodics played well when he came on and looked sharp, as did Cajuste and Azon – all of whom were instrumental in the third goal.
Darnell Furlong seemed uncharacteristically rattled in a couple of incidents – I wonder what lay behind them?
Sindre Walle Egeli put in a solid performance, and I was amazed at his turn of speed when he ran down the wing.
All in all, without naming everyone, it was one of the best team performances I have seen at Portman Road with this group of players; there was little doubt in my mind they would win the game.
MotM: For me, it was Marcelino Nunez. He gets better in every game.
(I'm sure poor Eiran Cashin will want to forget his debut appearance for Blackburn. An own goal, a definite penalty call which luckily for him wasn't given, AND a yellow card. A real 'mare for him.)
Post-match pondering
This was a good match to watch as the tempo was fast and both teams gave it their all. Town deserved to win, as although they did miss a few chances, Blackburn didn't have a single shot on target for the entire game. Perhaps that explains Walton's risky holding and short passing – he was bored? (We decided Kieran must have had a word, as it didn't happen in the second half).
Many fans were wondering about this transfer window and why there seems to be no action from Town to date, only rumours. Some are also baying for a striker. I doubt if there are many prolific strikers wanting to change clubs at this stage in the season, or clubs that want to release them.
Personally, I think we have enough strikers; we just need to juggle their preferred starting positions (depending on the opposition) as individuals and as a team. This means some may miss out, but it has to be done. I understand that subs are brought on as 'impact players', but I would argue that to have that impact early, to get the job done, then bring fresh legs on to carry the game through would seem a less stressful tactic. Reverse logic, maybe? We are told the first goal counts.
The constant call for a striker also seems odd when we have the second-highest goal-scoring total in the Championship at the moment, and the second-lowest 'goals against' tally. We have strength and depth in the team, and they are beginning to look like just that – a cohesive team. One out-and-out striker would be a target too, who must stay injury and card-free – eggs and baskets and big bucks come to mind.
Some fans also queried the attendance numbers, citing empty rows of seats, but thinking about it, I came up with several theories for what was actually only a couple of thousand down. For one thing, there were very few away fans, only a fraction of the amount we took to their ground (twice) for evening games – but given their club's problems and a 275-mile journey, that's understandable.
In addition, the weather is still cold and there are multiple viruses doing the rounds: A 12:30 kick-off is not the most popular as it 'mucks a whole day up': more people attend the higher interest games, such as Coventry and Wrexham clashes: the seats not taken were mostly in restricted view positions at the very back and last but by no means least the game was being shown live on Sky television. Just saying.
Okay, I hear you, that's enough from me, as very much 'not an expert', airing my opinions this week, but sometimes I just need to mull things over; try to put them in context. I really enjoyed this match, and I'm looking forward to Tuesday night when we face a tougher opponent in Bristol Rovers (and our popular ex-captain Sam Morsy)!
Today I predicted 5–0, and it easily could/should have been. Maybe next time?
