Mowbray salutes battling Blackburn
Posted Tuesday, April 03, 2018 by PA
Tony Mowbray praised Blackburn’s ‘heart and grit’ as Adam Armstrong’s first-half double secured a 2-1 win at MK Dons.
Peter Pawlett netted for the Dons midway through the second period during a spirited display from the hosts.
It would prove too little, too late though as Dan Micciche’s MK Dons slipped to within a place of the drop zone while Rovers boosted their automatic promotion hopes.
“I think we deserved to win in the end after the dominance in the first half,” said Blackburn boss Mowbray.
“Teams are going to have a go at us, that’s football and we have to deal with that.
“We should have finished the game off with five minutes to go, but they had nothing to lose late on so I’m pleased with the defensive side of our game – putting our bodies on the line and defending with everything we’ve got.
“We don’t just go and blow every team away, we have to be respectful of every team and we knew today would be tough because they’re a good side – there’s no over-confidence in this team, they have lots of heart and grit.
“We just have to keep going, look after ourselves and make sure we prepare and train right, and Shrewsbury and Wigan will be having the same conversations too.”
Rovers got the opener after Danny Graham’s superb long-range pass saw Armstrong race through on goal, beat Robbie Muirhead for pace and fire a right-footed drive home on 12 minutes.
Blackburn’s second came just before the break when Graham fed another excellent through-ball into the path of Armstrong, who cut inside on his left foot before firing past Lee Nicholls.
And despite Pawlett’s header home from Kieran Agard’s excellent cross on 72 minutes, the Dons could not find a leveller, leaving Micciche to rue missed opportunities.
“After the first half we adjusted a few things because I thought I got it wrong tactically, I hold my hands up for that,” said the MK boss.
“But I said to them at half-time we were showing them far too much respect.
“I think anybody in the stadium today would be thinking we deserved a point out of this.
“I felt if we trusted ourselves more with the ball then we had the quality to open them up and thankfully we got the goal.
“We missed some good chances at the end so it’s disappointing because we need the points but we’re not going to get carried away.
“We’re on track with our points target and we’re not going to come away panicking.
“We know where we need to get to and we’re on course – so that’s a positive. I believe this group can go anywhere in this league and win.”
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