Blackburn Rovers vs Stoke City. Sky Bet Championship.
Ewood Park.
Report and highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Blackburn Rovers and Stoke City at Ewood Park as Nick Powell puts the Potters in front, but John Buckley levels for the home side before James Chester sees red late on
Saturday 16 January 2021 18:40, UK
John Buckley's late equaliser helped Blackburn salvage a 1-1 draw against 10-man Stoke.
If ever there was a game to neatly sum up the unpredictable nature of the Championship, this was it. Stoke dominated much of the game after Nick Powell's bullet header put them in front seven minutes before the break.
They hit the woodwork and created countless chances while hardly giving Rovers a sniff. But the game swung within four second-half minutes as Buckley levelled in the 76th minute with Blackburn's second shot on target, and James Chester saw red for bringing down Adam Armstrong.
But a defence that has conceded once in seven away games had the nous to hold on for a point when three looked far more likely.
Both sides lost ground on the top six, as Blackburn have now won one in five, while the Potters are winless in four.
Rovers made seven changes from the FA Cup defeat to Doncaster and handed a debut to on-loan defender Jarrad Branthwaite. The Potters gave new signings Rabbi Matondo and Rhys Norrington-Davies their first starts.
Rovers struggled to break down Stoke's miserly defence and the visitors took control from the moment they registered their first shot in the 38th minute, when Jordan Thompson's pinpoint corner was met six yards out by Powell who powered his header past Thomas Kaminski.
Thompson went agonisingly close to doubling the advantage moments later when neat interplay manufactured a position on the inside left and his left-foot shot rattled the far post with Kaminski beaten.
The Blackburn goalkeeper then produced a fingertip save to deny Powell from another Thompson corner, as Stoke threatened to run away with the game before half-time.
Stoke's dominance continued in the second half as Jacob Brown's low cross was parried into the six-yard box by Kaminski before Rovers scrambled clear, and the potent combination of Thompson and Powell combined yet again but the latter headed over from 12 yards.
Despite the pattern of the game, the lead remained slender and Josef Bursik produced a fine reflex save to tip behind Armstrong's vicious first-time shot in the 73rd minute.
And out of nowhere, Rovers were level in the 76th minute when a deep cross was kept in play on the left by Elliott and his centre was tapped in from close range by Buckley.
This remarkable game swung further towards the hosts two minutes later when Stoke's captain Chester was shown a straight red card for bringing down Armstrong when he was set to race clear of the Potters' defence.
Rovers sensed an opportunity but Ben Brereton's late low shot was saved by Bursik and Stoke ensured they left with a point.
Blackburn's Tony Mowbray: "We're disappointed with the nature of the goal we lost, of course. Their biggest threat came from set plays all day. We didn't look like we could score for 70 minutes. I thought we needed more energy in the team. That's the balance I've talked about of (Bradley) Dack and (Lewis) Travis coming back from long-term injuries.
"It's a call we have to make of whether we're going to get them fit by playing games or leave them out and they get 20 minutes, half an hour. I thought the team was off its intensity levels that we normally play at."
Stoke's Michael O'Neill: "There's a sense of disappointment because we were so dominant but when the game turns on its head, it's important you take something from it so I think we showed good character to do that because it would have been easy not to be able to show that resilience to take something from the game. The important thing for me was the level of performance was good. We freshened the team up, brought some young players in on loan. They helped us.
"We're constantly trying to evolve the team and I felt for 70 minutes we showed that. We looked a very good team. We just have to continue to work and improve. We want to continue to push and challenge to be in the play-off, and today when we look back, we'd probably say it was a point gained. Having been so dominant, it would have been harsh on us not to take something from the game."
