Another mission of misery

And even hope of any sustained success away from Ewood Park is fast fading.

The pattern was not unfamiliar at Villa Park last night.

Too many away days, and nights, have been missions of misery this season.

It's not so much the crawl through the traffic queues and coned-off zones, more the fact that the opposition penalty area has become something of a no-go area.

A squad savaged by absenteeism - both short and long-term - simply hadn't enough quality or conviction left in it to challenge the very best.

And that's what Rovers have faced in the last three games.

First Manchester United, then Liverpool and, last night, Aston Villa; the three teams forming a relentless traffic jam of their own behind Premiership leaders Newcastle.

All three have beaten Rovers in successive matches. What is more significant is that all have deserved to take the points.

It's hard to be too critical, for there were at least five faces missing last night who would have been guaranteed a place in the starting line-up. And the list was extended at half time. I doubt there are many clubs who could cope with such a crippling burden.

The harsh fact of the matter is that we have seen Rovers certainly cannot when it comes to competing at the top.

For 45 minutes they comfortably held their own in a mis-shape of a first half when Villa, to be blunt, were dreadful, especially considering they were the home team.

But the big difference was that Villa were able to move up a gear or two, while Rovers were still stuck in neutral.

It's difficult not to have some sympathy for Ray Harford, who has had to contend with possibly the worst injury list any Rovers boss has had to suffer in modern times.

Just when he thought he had his two key players back in harness - wingers Stuart Ripley and Jason Wilcox - he lost Ripley.

Last night came the double whammy when he lost Wilcox too.

Irreplaceable? Perhaps - unless he goes out and spends several million pounds on Trevor Sinclair, if available.

That sort of action might be the only answer as Rovers slip out of contention for a UEFA Cup spot and join the also-rans in mid-table. They never really looked anything other than a mid-table side last night.

Plenty of possession but no conviction and few real suggestions that they were capable of scoring.

That's an awful waste of talent when you have someone like Alan Shearer up front. The lack of service to him was almost criminal.

Not the easiest of matches, either, for Niklas Gudmundsson to make his full Rovers debut.

The Swede seemed to be by-passed by the game and time is running short for him to be able to put up a good enough argument to persuade Rovers to make a major investment in his ability.

With Gudmundsson partnering Shearer, Kevin Gallacher threatened on the right in the first half to be the thorn in Villa's side but with the home team getting well on top just after the break his influence faded.

The injury to Wilcox forced another reshuffle, Paul Warhurst initially going up front and Gudmundsson left.

Then another switch followed when Graham Fenton was thrown into the fray against his old club.

But it was all to no avail and every Rovers player I spoke to afterwards was depressed by the performance - primarily by the team's failure to trouble opposing goalkeepers often enough in away games.

It has been a recurring theme, with the handful of goals claimed away from Ewood evidence of the problem.

Last night's first half was, really, a non-event.

The ground lacked atmosphere, Villa seemed as though their minds were already on Wembley and the Coca-Cola Cup final and a poor pitch didn't help matters. All told, it was a right old hotch-potch.

Rovers had a couple of half chances, one created by a superb Shearer knock-down for Gallacher, with Billy McKinlay putting in their best effort - a shot which stung Mark Bosnich's hands.

Villa had just the one notable moment when their debutant Julian Joachim fired a volley high over the bar. But at least Rovers had been secure and stable defensively. They didn't look in any trouble at all. So, while the second half was not exactly an exciting prospect, it did offer the chance of some reward.

Unfortunately, it didn't turn out that way. Villa had to put on pressure at some stage and they did. Rovers looked livlier too but only until the first goal went in.

Home wing-backs Gary Charles and Alan Wright finally began to get revved up and it was Charles, having a superb second half - perhaps partly explained by the absence of Wilcox - who did the damage.

He was found by a sweeping crossfield pass by the subdued Mark Draper, put over a perfect cross and little Joachim found himself free right in front of goal to head past a helpless Tim Flowers.

The keeper couldn't do anything about the second goal either. With Villa dominant, Andy Townsend swung in a corner from the right and Gareth Southgate proved strongest in the challenge to head back across goal and into the net just under the angle of post and bar.

Just a few minutes later came the moment of the match. Savo Milosevic showed some lovely touches but is often a liability in the box.

For once he got his header right but Flowers was equal to it, making a breath-taking tip-over save. Shearer continued to plough a lone furrow up front and brought Bosnich's best save with a 30-yard free kick that nearly caught the keeper napping.

Tim Sherwood also fought to the end in a bid to pull at least one goal back.

But Villa do not have an excellent defensive record for nothing and, once in front, you wouldn't have put your money on anyone else to win this game.

The game ended in a flurry of bookings as the referee, who otherwise had an excellent game, lost his way. Saturday's opponents Manchester City are not in the same class as the three teams Rovers have just played.

But if it's still make do and mend with team selection and that horrendous injury list at Maine Road, then the going does not promise to get any easier.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.