Blackburn Rovers’ fixture against Ipswich Town, abandoned last month due to heavy rain, has been rescheduled for Tuesday, December 2. The match will kick off at 7:45 pm at Ewood Park.
Our initial meeting took place in September. Referee Steve Martin forced a halt in the 80th minute as the pitch turned into a quagmire. For Blackburn Rovers, that put them in the driver’s seat for a 1-0 victory. They ensured an early advantage by scoring the only goal before the weather suspension. Ipswich Town found themselves in a helpless position once defender Jacob Greaves was shown a red card. This consequently left the team with just ten men right before the match was canceled.
The dramatic choice to walk away from the game behind left Blackburn Rovers’ owners and supporters looking for answers on what would happen next. Blackburn Rovers head coach Valerien Ismael shared his side’s view on the issue.
“We have the right to want the three points.” – Valerien Ismael
Given this abandonment, an intense debate ensued over what to do next. A Twitter poll of fans shown below suggests mixed feelings. Only a puny 11 percent of voters favored rerunning the entire game. By contrast, 58 percent wanted to return to kicking off from the start of the 80th minute. Moreover, Blackburn Rovers should have won the match 1-0 according to 31 percent of the public. They made this determination based on the team’s lead when the game was called.
This rearrangement of the match is indicative of an overall desire to provide fairness and transparency after an unheard of scenario. Both clubs are actively looking forward to play the game that was scheduled. Blackburn hopes to win in a landslide after their early lead evaporated.
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