SUPER-SUB DUO SINK PIRATE SHIP
TONY Mowbray singled out his substitutes for praise as they helped Blackburn come from behind and survive a scare against Bristol Rovers.
Ellis Harrison gave the Gas the lead but Blackburn rallied through Charlie Mulgrew’s penalty and Dominic Samuel’s header sealed the Lancashire side’s third successive league win.
And Mowbray pinpointed the contribution of replacements Samuel and Danny Graham as Rovers rose to fifth in the table.
“The positive is that we found a way to win,” he said. “I thought the substitutes made a huge impact on the game when they came on.
“Danny Graham showed what he’s all about, his experience, the use of his body and Dominic did ultimately what he’s been brought here for – to score goals, work hard and be a menace. We went more direct second half, we missed out that big block of players they had in the middle of the park.”
The visitors had an opener disallowed when Ollie Clarke headed Daniel Leadbitter’s 28th-minute cross against Ryan Nyambe and the Pirates midfielder slammed home, only for linesman Matthew Jones to eventually flag offside.
Billy Bodin headed against the bar from Lee Brown’s 37th-minute cross while the visitors later broke forward through the former, who slotted in Harrison whose shot clipped the woodwork.
Blackburn’s Bradley Dack should have scored two minutes after the restart but blazed Marcus Antonsson’s low cross wide.
Harrison gave the Pirates a deserved 59th-minute lead with a sublime strike into the bottom corner past David Raya, but Mulgrew levelled when Tom Lockyer brought down Samuel in the box after the hour and Blackburn’s skipper fired home from the spot.
Graham nearly handed Blackburn the advantage but headed Mulgrew’s sublime free-kick wide from close range.
Blackburn’s pressure told when Derrick Williams’ delightful 67th-minute cross found Samuel who got the better of Tom Broadbent to slam a header past Smith.
Liam Sercombe’s fierce volley forced Raya into a diving parry, while Tom Nichols’ header fizzed agonisingly wide at the death. The Gas have now lost seven of their last eight league games, but boss Darrell Clarke issued a rallying cry. “We’ve got to keep going, there’s a lot of good things out there, a lot of good performances, the fans were superb and we’ve just got to brush ourselves down,” he said. “Our season’s not going to be decided at Blackburn away, whether you’re on a good run or the bad one that we’re on. “The most frustrating point is you take the lead and we switch off – it’s not good enough.”