Blackburn Rovers earned a commendable 2-1 victory over 10-man Southampton at Ewood Park on Saturday. The victory came as a huge relief to Blackburn, as it earned them their first victory at Ewood Park all season. This victory served to raise their spirits and lifted them out of the relegation zone.
The match played out in a very competitive environment, as both teams generated dangerous looks on goal. Southampton started the game brightly and looked dangerous but failed to finish their opportunities. Their fortunes drastically changed after Wellington received a red card for elbowing Kristi Montgomery in stoppage time.
A Late Comeback
In the second half amid torrential rain, Blackburn Rovers ignited their comeback. Ryan Alebiosu was the one to break the deadlock, heading home the opening goal in the 76th minute. This goal certainly fired up the home crowd and completely turned the momentum of the match around. Alebiosu, who scored his first goal for Blackburn, connected well with a pass that allowed him to find the back of the net.
Barely minutes later, Andri Gudjohnsen doubled Blackburn’s lead with their second goal. It was his first goal for the club, capping a wild comeback victory. His thunderbolt capped a sensational home win for Blackburn to hand Liverpool an undeserved defeat. Their players celebrated, their spirits renewed as they continued to slowly climb outside of the league’s bottom three.
“Credit to the players in the second half, it was really good. I was not pleased with the first half, I made that point at half-time to the players because it’s not like we played the last two games, and not what we wanted. The second half is exactly what we wanted: desire, belief, passion, luck. Big moment as well with a big save from (Toth).” – Valerien Ismael
Missed Opportunities for Southampton
Even though Southampton had a decent amount of opportunities to get on the scoresheet, they couldn’t turn their attempts into goals. They produced half decent chances from the likes of Ryoya Morishita and Adam Armstrong, but both failed to hit the target. A controversial offside call on a would-be equalizing goal only increased their frustrations throughout the game.
Southampton’s head coach Will Still recognized his team’s inability to capitalize on their chances and expressed disappointment over missed opportunities.
“We haven’t gone two or 3-0 up. We’ve hit the post, we’ve hit the keeper, we’ve had a goal disallowed that I don’t think is offside. I think the same story, different week.” – Southampton’s Will Still
Still’s sentiments reflect the challenges faced by his team throughout the match, as they were unable to maintain their initial advantage and fell victim to Blackburn’s resurgence.
Defensive Struggles and Key Saves
That game unfortunately highlighted some moments of defensive vulnerability for Blackburn Rovers. Their new high defensive line was often overrun. This proved particularly true in the 66th minute when Southampton countered and came within a few feet of scoring a second. Keeper Balazs Toth came up with a massive save. This critical moment energized Blackburn, as they went on to win with a comeback of their own.
In the closing minutes of the match, Southampton’s Wellington was shown a red card for a professional foul on Montgomery. This red card made their task of getting back into the match that much harder. The dismissal compounded their situation. The dismissal not only left them with ten men, but stripped their ability to counteract and respond to Blackburn’s attacking pressure.
“I can understand they’re (the fans) annoyed at me, I can understand they’re frustrated at me. Someone needs to take the blame for it all, I don’t have a problem with that. But like I say, if you go two or 3-0 up, if the goal stands, if Arma scores one of his two big opportunities, I’m probably sat here saying we’ve won 3-0 and not lost 2-1.” – Will Still
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