Rovers made good use of their extended break by putting up the best performance of a season to beat Watford 2-0 at Ewood Park.
Ryan Hedges and Dom Hyam scored their first goals for the club on a night in which Rovers put on the sort of display that was missing from back-to-back home defeats to Stoke City and Bristol City.
However, a third setback at home never seemed likely as they dominated early on against a Watford side hoping to challenge at the top of the table.
For Jon Dahl Tomasson, the challenge remains to rid Rovers of their inconsistency problems, but the signs are that when they carry out the game plan and play with the intensity that their head coach is looking for, there seems to be a chance of a continuous progress.
The entire team deserved credit for doing what they were asked to do to limit the threat from the visitors whose attacking options are among the most stellar in the division.
Rovers’ break gave Daniel Ayala and Scott Wharton more time to recover from their respective calf injuries, with both returning to the side as part of three changes.
Tyrhys Dolan’s goal and assist off the bench against Bristol City earned him a retirement, with Adam Wharton, Bradley Dack and George Hirst all three having retired.
It brought about a change in formation, Rovers going with a five-man defense while Hayden Carter operated at full-back.
While there was a defensive aspect to the staff, there certainly wasn’t in Rovers’ approach as they had three attempts on goal in the opening 10 minutes.
Slow starts and a passive approach in the opening 45 minutes proved costly against Stoke City and Bristol City in Ewood’s previous two games, but there was no sign of that here as Rovers roared out of the blocks after a minute’s silence perfectly. observed.
A clever corner from the right saw a cross from Tyler Morton to Ben Brereton, whose volley was saved from the bottom by Daniel Bachmann.
Ryan Hedges and Dolan teamed up with Brereton in attack and had efforts of their own, with Bachmann equaling his attempts to keep his side level under early pressure.
There was a real intensity to Rovers’ play, with an orderly interplay and all three attackers choosing clever positions that allowed them to take the lead.
Although the possibilities were exhausted, the Rovers did not give up, since they were in front and maintained a good defensive solidity.
Ismaila Sarr limped off on the half hour mark for the visitors, but his replacement, Keinan Davis, was always expected to be a handful. He thought he should have been awarded a penalty shortly after his arrival, but the referee agreed with Blackburn End feeling that he went down without contact with Ayala’s outstretched leg in the box.
Rovers then got the goal that their game deserved. Seven minutes before the break, Dolan drove down the right with his low cross that got perfectly into the path of the sliding Hedges and deflected the ball past Bachmann.
They were close to a second from the stroke of halftime, Brereton parrying a shot just wide of the far post with Bachmann pinned in place.
A half-time lead was the least Rovers deserved, Watford trying to counter their dominance by emerging for the second half with a change in personnel and form.
As the hour mark approached, Jon Dahl Tomasson emerged from the touchline with a role being passed around the team as Rovers looked to counter the Watford switch.
Whatever he said, it almost had an immediate impact, as on the hour Hedges played through Brereton, who ran clear towards goal, only to be denied by Bachmann’s legs from a tight angle.
The game was becoming much more intermittent, with a succession of fouls breaking the rhythm of the game, but with a 1-0 lead going into the fourth quarter, that was setting Rovers up much more.
They had a number of set pieces to defend, which they did well, while an opening at half-time saw Brereton have a shot just wide of the top.
And from the resulting corner came a crucial second goal. Morton’s shot was met by Ayala and then hooked into the net by his central defensive partner via a clever spike.
There was a chance Clinton Mola would make his injury-time debut as Ryan Hedges and Ben Brereton received standing ovations before the end, hoping to pick up further momentum at half-time with another positive result at Luton Town this weekend. week. .
Rovers: Thomas Kaminski, Hayden Carter, Daniel Ayala, Dom Hyam, Scott Wharton, Harry Pickering, Lewis Travis, Tyler Morton, Tyrhys Dolan, Ryan Hedges (George Hirst, 90), Ben Brereton (Clinton Mola, 90)
Alternates: Aynsley Pears, Ash Phillips, Adam Wharton, John Buckley, Bradley Dack
Watford: Bachmann, Ngakia (Gaspar, 74), Choudhury (Asprilla, 74), Joao Pedro, Sema, Catchcart, Bayo, Sarr (Davis, 30), Kabasele, Sierralta (Gosling, 46), Kayembe
Subs: Okoyo, Troost-Ekong, Hungbo
Source: www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk