A massive game today. Win and we would emerge from the six-game mini-series with two wins, two draws, and two defeats – disappointing given the nature of one of the defeats and the opposition but coming on the back of five straight defeats not a disaster. Lose and it would mean having been beaten by Norwich, Portsmouth and Blackburn in quick succession, switching the focus to a record of one win and just five points in 11 games and a slide towards the drop zone. We’d outfought and outplayed Blackburn at The Valley, just needed to do that again, especially with them missing a number of players.
In the event we had to settle for a draw, one which left us with mixed emotions. Just past the half-hour and we were two up, the game seemed there for the taking. But we let them back into it shortly after our second and that gave them something to fight for, then lost Burke through injury and some of our shape and quite frankly didn’t do enough in the second half to merit the win. We might have held on, we might have nicked a third, but for long periods were chasing shadows and unable to hold the ball, let alone do anything with it. They scored again and we are left with no real cause for complaint, just disappointment at not securing a vital win.
Given the performance last time out against Coventry, it was no surprise – barring fresh injuries or need to rest tired limbs - that Jones the Boss went with an unchanged starting X1 and squad. That meant continuing with Campbell as a wing-back, Burke and Bell both just back from injuries being asked to play a third game in a short space of time, Rankin-Costello keeping the midfield slot alongside Coventry ahead of Docherty and Anderson, same for Berry over Carey and Knibbs, and Leaburn and Kelman paired again up front, Olaofe the only recognised forward replacement option (something which we hope changes during the transfer window). It also meant three former Blackburn players lining up for us.
The bulk of the first half was competitive but largely inept from both sides, neither creating a chance of note. Blackburn had a couple of moments, a scramble or two, but rather out of the blue on 27 minutes we took the lead, with the first bit of quality in the game. Campbell and Berry moved the ball from the left side and finally on to Bree in space on the right. His ball into the box was wicked and met by Leaburn. His header came back off the bar but nicely for Kelman to hit home the rebound. And around five minutes later we doubled the advantage. A ball into their box was contested for by Jones and as he went for another touch he appeared to be taken down. The ref thought as much and gave the penalty, which to be fair may have been a bit soft. No matter, Kelman took the responsibility and fired it home.
At that point we really felt that the game was ours. Only two goals and plenty of time left for sure, but Blackburn had shown themselves to be vulnerable at the back and might have had the stuffing knocked out of them. Instead within a few minutes they were back in the game. A move down their right and the ball touched on, then a cross dinked into the box to be met by their guy, who showed better movement and determination to get on the end of it than our defenders.
Them getting one back before the break changed the whole complexion of the game, put them back on the front foot, gave them hope, and left us a little caught between chasing another goal to restore the advantage and concentrating on holding what we had. Losing Burke before the break added to the concerns, leaving us with two left-sided centre-backs out of the three as Gillesphey came on to replace him, while the changes Blackburn made at the break seemed to strengthen them.
And although we had moments in the second half when we might have grabbed a third, we spent most of the time defending and closing down. We did that part of the game pretty well, but it works against being able to do much with the ball when you get it. We just didn’t play enough in their half to make the percentages count and ended up paying for a defensive lapse.
On 58 minutes Jones made a couple more changes, with Docherty and Carey replacing a tiring Rankin-Costello and Berry. On 74 minutes Leaburn went down and was in the process of being replaced when Blackburn drew level. A break down their right resulted in a ball into the box. That was intercepted, but Campbell had switched off and their guy hadn’t, getting to the rebound and this time pulling it back low for their guy to score unimpeded.
Knibbs and Olaofe replaced Coventry and Leaburn, but in the final stages we seldom threatened their goal and seemed ready to welcome the final whistle, which came after five minutes of stoppage time. In truth both sets of players and staff were probably not too unhappy with the outcome, with us looking very tired and Blackburn gaining a point that had looked beyond them.
So the mini-series of six ends with us having won one, drawn three, and lost two, six points from the six games. After we’d beaten Oxford we anticipated better than that, leaving aside the nature of Portsmouth’s win (for the record I went for a few days to Naples for new year, most enjoyable aside from that last kick). Those looking at the table will now be pointing at one win in 11 for us. While the point against Coventry might have been a bonus, not getting the three today is a blow, given the circumstances. We just have to hope that Burke and Leaburn are not sidelined, that one or two are brought in during the window to freshen things up and give some tired legs a rest, and look to go again once the Chelsea game is out of the way.
