Blackburn’s new partnership is rock-solid

Nuttall Armstrong

DARRAGH LENIHAN paid tribute to his centre-back partner Jack Rodwell after the Blackburn pair shut out Millwall.

Joe Nuttall and Adam Armstrong struck late to earn Rovers victory, but it was their no-nonsense duo at the back who did not give the Lions a sniff at the Den.

“Jack has played at the highest level,” said Lenihan.

“He’s a very good player, and that shows the strength and depth the manager has managed to bring in to every single position.

“Obviously, there will be injuries and suspensions throughout the season and it’s great we’ve got players there champing at the bit to come in and play.

“Jack is a prime example. He looked ever so comfortable on the ball and that’s what you need if we’re to keep striving and getting better.

“The substitutions made the difference in the end as this is a tough place to come.

“The most pleasing thing is the clean sheet, something we haven’t had in a while, so we can take confidence from that.

“Consistency in this league is huge. A good run in this league and you don’t know where it can take you.” The late goals secured Rovers back-to-back league wins, but in truth this was an awful game of football, lacking any real quality, with both defences well on top.

The match was heading for a draw when sub Armstrong set up Nuttall to bundle Blackburn in front in the 86th minute. Armstrong then broke away to score Rovers’ second goal 60 seconds later (below).

Millwall midfielder Ryan Leonard said: “It was hard to take. There wasn’t too much in the game. It was scrappy.

“A point would have been a fair result, but they created a REF:

little bit more quality than us in the final third.

“We’re very disappointed with our own performance. I don’t think anyone played poorly, or that anyone played well. We didn’t do anything for the fans to shout about.

“We have to stick together, put this beyond us and learn from it.”

MILLWALL: BLACKBURN: ATT: