Matt Stevenson
First Team
I was apprehensive before this one. As a relatively long-time AFCB supporter, it doesn’t feel right when the bookies have a Bournemouth away win as the most likely of the three options. So far this season we’d yet to go on a real run of wins in the league, three in November (Birmingham (A), Reading (H) and Forest (H)) being the current best. Although AFCB would equal that with victory against an erratic Blackburn side and, should that happen, be favourites to extend this with Coventry at home next Saturday. It’s a good time to hit form, particularly against an opponent that hadn’t won in five and had just lost at bottom-side Wycombe. But delve into those games further and there are creditable results (drawing at Norwich, and at home with Swansea, and losing by the only goal against Brentford in an even game). Blackburn don’t concede many either, since March they haven’t let in more than 1 goal, and have 2 clean sheets. Scoring hasn’t been easy for the Lancastrians though; in those last 7 games the ‘average’ result is 0.57 scored and 0.71 conceded per game. This looked set for a nervous game which would be a punch to the stomach if we lost, and feel a disappointment if we only got a point. Blackburn have been missing Adam Armstrong, 3rd in the Championship scoring table, but he was fit to return, we had three in the top 12, although one of these, Stanislas, wasn’t fit. Brooks was back, which was good news if the talented version shows up, less so if it is the off-form version seen recently. The other changes were predictable, Kelly in for Rico, and Pearson in for Rico. It’s beginning to feel like we have a fairly-settled system, with a majority of the team picking itself. The front four of Solanke, Danjuma, Brooks and Billing would trouble any defence in this league, what is to be seen is how much we can get the ball to them and to what extent Blackburn park the bus.
The first 25 minutes were drab and of low-quality, as though each team was only allowed up to four passes before they had to give the ball back to the opposition. In the 29th minute, however, Smith played a one-two with Brooks (with a backheel we’d have moaned at if it had been cut-out, which it almost was) and progressed down the right. He crossed it in to Billing on the edge of the ‘D’ who fed Lerma, out to Danjuma on the left-hand side. He jinked inside in trademark style, but the shot was blocked but fell perfectly to the lurking Billing to rifle it in: 1-0 to the Cherries. The goal woke Blackburn up, and for the rest of the half we were under pressure, continuing the worrying trend of almost dozing in the run-up to half-time. We limited Mowbray’s team to long-range efforts and had glimpses of breaking on the counter-attack, but I was pleased to hear the whistle for half-time as we weren’t the better team at that stage. The question now was whether being in front would reduce our attacking intent, hopefully not, as whilst we appear to be handling set-pieces better, I wouldn’t back us to get a clean sheet if we invited pressure. As an aside, Danjuma’s dead-ball delivery wasn’t an improvement on Stanislas’, maybe the plan is to catch the opponents by surprise when we put in a good one.
The first 25 minutes were drab and of low-quality, as though each team was only allowed up to four passes before they had to give the ball back to the opposition. In the 29th minute, however, Smith played a one-two with Brooks (with a backheel we’d have moaned at if it had been cut-out, which it almost was) and progressed down the right. He crossed it in to Billing on the edge of the ‘D’ who fed Lerma, out to Danjuma on the left-hand side. He jinked inside in trademark style, but the shot was blocked but fell perfectly to the lurking Billing to rifle it in: 1-0 to the Cherries. The goal woke Blackburn up, and for the rest of the half we were under pressure, continuing the worrying trend of almost dozing in the run-up to half-time. We limited Mowbray’s team to long-range efforts and had glimpses of breaking on the counter-attack, but I was pleased to hear the whistle for half-time as we weren’t the better team at that stage. The question now was whether being in front would reduce our attacking intent, hopefully not, as whilst we appear to be handling set-pieces better, I wouldn’t back us to get a clean sheet if we invited pressure. As an aside, Danjuma’s dead-ball delivery wasn’t an improvement on Stanislas’, maybe the plan is to catch the opponents by surprise when we put in a good one.