Rovers avoid an upset at Ewood

A game Steve Kean could not afford to lose. Rovers set out with a strong line up and went for the win right from the off.

2 minutes in, Rochina, 1-0! What a start. A great bit of build up gave Emerton the chance to cross, Rochina burst into the box and stuck it in the net. Within no time at all Rochina made it 2-0 on 3 minutes. A great bit of link up play and Goodwillie put Rochina through on goal and he slotted home from a tight angle.

Rovers fans could hardly believe it and just when we thought it couldn't get any better a defensive error let David Goodwillie through on goal and he put the ball into the back of the net for his first goal since joining from Dundee Utd earlier this summer. Cloud 9! 3 goals in 6 minutes which was rather unfortunate for the latecomers!

From this point on the game started a gradual decline. Rovers looked comfortable on the ball but had little urgency to score any more. We played some good football with a few moves which were unlucky to come off. Petrovic and N`Zonzi were dominating the midfield to good effect, with the flair players in front of them creating the few chances we had. Goodwillie was a constant threat as he worked his socks off to win every ball. The lad was nearly rewarded with a second when the ball fell to him in the box, a swivel on his left foot he slotted the ball into the back of the net only for the offside flag to go up. Unlucky.

Rovers were certainly on top, and had the ball in the back of the net for a 5th time only for the referee to blow for a foul. An Emerton cross met Gamst Pedersen`s head and the ball rattled against the post. Goodwillie reacted quickest and stuck the ball home, only for the referee to give Wednesday a let off.

The second half was like a different game. Rovers seemed to come out with no game plan, no urgency and no confidence. The ball was knocked around a bit but with far too many mistakes. It was like we couldn`t be bothered to try and get another goal. I was actually bored. Petrovic and Goodwillie seemed to be the only 2 players on the pitch wanting to prove something. Jason Lowe was forced to play central defence which was not ideal, and soon after the restart Wednesday scored, a good strike from Clinton Morrison.

The rest of the second half sort of drifted by with little to get exited about. Petrovic had the chance to open his account but blasted over from close range. Rovers had a number of half chances but failed to convert any leading to a rather dull last 20 minutes.

A deserved victory for Rovers, but we could have had a lot lot more. On to Everton this weekend!

Radosav Petrovic - Looked very solid in midfield, showed good awareness and passing ability as well as being strong in the tackle. A very good addition I think.
Did what he had to do with little fuss. Solid performance and unlucky to concede. Looked good today. Solid at RB and good going forward. We should really try and persuade him to stay! Good composure and pretty solid. Again made a couple of mistakes which he could be punished for in the Prem. Good to have the frenchman back in the side. Very solid in defence. What we have been missing. Didn't do much to excite but was pretty standard. Got forward a bit but no end product today. Some nice link up play from Pedersen today but he failed to rally the lads and motivate them which is what he should have been doing as captain. Best player on the park for me. See star player. Again a good run out for The Zonz today. Controlled the midfield very well with Petrovic. A great partnership started. Took his goals very well and the boy obviously has talent. He needs to learn when to stop being a clever d*ck though. Often tries too much showboating. Tried hard but produced very little. Enough said. Took his goal well. Looked lively and worked his socks off. Looks like a cracking player. We have needed someone who can turn and shoot in the box. This lad seems to have everything in his locker. Did nothing when he came on other than sit deep and make a few passes. Looked good enough on the ball but out of position and it showed. Didn't have much time to make an impact. What he did do he did well though, should have come on sooner. Kean - 3

Good start but sort of did nothing after that. Just sat back and took what we had rather than trying to improve. + What must have been an extremely uninspiring team talk!

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