Tony Mowbray plays down Blackburn form after Joe Rothwell winner at Cardiff

Posted Sunday, January 16, 2022 by PA

Blackburn boss Tony Mowbray played down his side’s sparkling form after Joe Rothwell grabbed the only goal in a 1-0 win at Cardiff.

Rothwell’s 13th-minute winner extended Rovers’ unbeaten run in the Championship to 10 games and they have taken 28 points from the last 30.

But Mowbray is taking nothing for granted despite his side’s current momentum in the race for promotion.

“I don’t get excited because I know how tough this league is,” he said. “The next game is always there ready to bite you on the backside.

“The anxiety is there before every game so you have to try to put into the players the belief that the process of how we play means we can win every match. There are 60 points to play for.

“You can get trapped by looking too far ahead. You have to keep a positive mindset and just try to win the next game.

“The clean sheets are good at the moment and we have to keep the players fit. You have to win games like today to give yourself confidence.”

It took a solo effort from Rothwell to make the difference between the two teams.

He picked up the ball on the edge of the centre circle in the Cardiff half, drove hard at retreating centre half Aden Flint and curled his shot inside the right post from 25 yards.

Mowbray was delighted with the resilience shown by his side once they had taken the lead.

“They have got some good footballers, but we were very conscious of how they play, ” he said.

“They have quality players who get the ball down and move it about, but their main strength is still getting the ball into your box and scoring from set-plays.

“That’s how they’ve scored almost half of their goals this season.

“The fact the game was very bitty played into their hands and allowed them to get the ball into our box from free kicks, corners and throw ins.

“There was some brilliant resilience from us.

“I would have preferred us to play as we had done for the first 20 minutes for the rest of the game, but it wasn’t to be and we had to dig in.”

Bluebirds boss Steve Morison was left to reflect on what might have been in a game that saw his side enjoy 66% possession, earn seven corners, hit the post and force the Blackburn keeper Thomas Kaminski into a couple of excellent saves.

“We weren’t good enough in the final third. We dominated the game but couldn’t put the ball in the net,” said Morison

“It is another game we should have got something out of, but that’s where we are at the minute.

“We went toe-to-toe with Blackburn, but they had that moment of quality which we didn’t have.

“We didn’t give up many chances and had triple the amount of shots and final third entries, but I understand that doesn’t mean a lot if we don’t win the game.”