Kop teen’s levelly job
HARVEY ELLIOTT took a tumble after helping Blackburn snatch a point in this battle of the Championship promotion nearly-men.
The Liverpool loanee went crashing over the perimeter advertising hoarding behind the goal after somehow controlling a Ryan Nyambe cross which appeared to be heading for a goal kick.
Elliott, 17, had other ideas and his acrobatics turned the wayward ball into an assist, allowing sub John Buckley to stab in from close range.
And as Stoke unravelled after being in control of a contest between two teams hanging onto the coat tails of the play-off candidates, Tony Mowbray’s Rovers could have won it.
Three minutes after the equaliser the Potters had James Chester sent off for bringing down Adam Armstrong. Rovers went for the jugular and it needed a fine save from Joe Bursik to deny Ben Brereton.
Mowbray, who had seen a first-half strike from Armstrong incorrectly ruled out for offside, said: “We were off our intensity levels and I could have made five changes at halftime instead of two.
“We huffed and puffed and got our goal. But we were up against a good football team with big investment.”
Michael O’neill’s side – with three debutant loanees – had looked assured, especially after Nick Powell’s opener.
O’neill said: “I think we should have been more than one goal ahead. I thought we were very comfortable, but then we knew Blackburn would have some portion of the game, which they did, and we conceded an equaliser and a red card very soon after. “In the end we had to dig deep to hang on but we showed good character.”
Powell scored the winner when the sides met last month, and made his presence felt again in the 38th minute, launching himself at Jordan Thompson’s corner to head into the roof of the net.
Stoke should have gone into the interval with a greater advantage, Thompson hitting the post and Rovers keeper Thomas Kaminski denying Powell with a brilliant save.
Powell and Sam Gallagher, like Elliott, came a cropper over the perimeter hoardings, after challenging at a Stoke corner on the hour. But unlike the gutsy teenager, that pair couldn’t continue.
BLACKBURN ROVERS: Kaminski 7; Nyambe 6, Lenihan 6, Branthwaite 6, Douglas 6; Johnson 6 (Davenport 46,6), Travis 6 (Holtby 63, 7), Rothwell 6 (Gallagher 46, 6 Brereton 61, 6); Elliott 7, Dack 6 (Buckley 70, 7), Armstrong 7. Unused subs: Pears, Downing, Trybull, Dolan. STOKE CITY: Bursik 7; Collins 7, Chester 7, Souttar 7, Norrington-davies 7; Allen 6 (Cousins 82), Thompson 7, Mikel 7; Powell 7 (Clarke 60, 6), Matondo 6 (Batth 82), Brown 6. Unused subs: Nna Noukeu, Ince, Vokes, Smith, Oakley-boothe, Clucas. MAN OF THE MATCH: Jordan Thompson. Bundles of energy in midfield and some excellent delivery from dead-ball situations. REFEREE: Geoff Eltringham 6.