Blackburn boss Mowbray not getting carried away despite good run

Posted Sunday, December 15, 2019 by PA

Tony Mowbray is not getting ahead of himself after Blackburn continued their strong form with a 2-0 win over Bristol City at Ashton Gate.

The visitors took a second minute lead when Lewis Holtby delivered a low corner into the box and Bradley Johnson arrived unmarked to bury a fierce left-footed shot from 15 yards.

Blackburn clinched the points in the 77th minute when City midfielder Han-Noah Massengo was caught in possession and substitute Adam Armstrong raced clear to score.

The fifth win in six games has taken Rovers to within a point of the Championship play-off zone.

Mowbray said: “I felt we handled them well, but I am certainly not getting carried away.

“It’s only a couple of months ago that we were on a poor run and now that we have won five games in a short period there is no cause to get over-excited.

“We made six changes today because I think playing Wednesday and Saturday is asking a lot and I am just delighted with the players who came in.

“Bradley Dack was suspended and I wanted to rest Danny Graham, but in their absence two young players in Sam Gallagher and Ben Brereton have grabbed their opportunities.

“We knew today would be tough because Bristol were looking to bounce back from a midweek home defeat. When they pulled a goal back against Millwall it was like The Alamo for the last 10 minutes.

“That’s what they are capable of. But we were prepared, scored an early goal we worked on in training and worked hard throughout the game.

“There was a lot of emotion in the first half, which spilled over onto the sidelines at times. There was a bit of a fracas at half time, but I saw nothing over-physical.”

Home boss Lee Johnson picked up a first half yellow card for racing from his dugout to remonstrate after Rovers’ physio ran onto the pitch to treat Gallagher without being summoned by referee John Brooks.

Tempers were still flared when the half-time whistle went and Johnson appeared to be involved in a scuffle.

He said: “Passions run high in football and it was nothing too serious. I have the utmost respect for Tony Mowbray, who I believe is a class act.

“Unfortunately, that doesn’t apply to all of his staff. The physio running on as he did was outrageous and the referee handled it very poorly.

“Conceding so early was a body blow. It was a good goal from their perspective, but we felt Pedro Pereira was blocked off as he went to stop the shot and it is up to the officials to see that sort of thing.

“We had chance to get back into the game at 1-0 and failed to take them. It is fine lines like that which decide Championship games.

“I felt we allowed Blackburn to get away with the dark arts of the game, like moving free kicks forward. That is no criticism of them because we need to be better at it ourselves.

“The second goal was an indication of how we were outmuscled. Han-Noah is a young player and he needs to learn quickly from that sort of mistake.

“It has been a disappointing week for us. But I know what we need in the January transfer window.”