As I jumped out of bed last Saturday morning, curiously checked the weather forecast in Blackburn, and then battled Storm Bert for the first hour of my journey, I was met with those ominous words - “Pitch inspection at 11am”.
Alas, it wasn’t meant to be for Rovers at Ewood on Saturday and I salvaged an alternative day watching whatever football I could on the box – including observing Coventry’s Norman Bassette catching and reeling in Sheffield United’s Anel Ahmedhodzic with some wonderful dark arts. I did chuckle to myself thinking what our own Mr Travis would have made of it.
Unfortunately, there was lots of social media noise around the decision to postpone the game. I have the utmost sympathy and respect for those Portsmouth (and Rovers) fans that had set off on their long journeys already – some will have stayed overnight too. But I also empathise with the situation the club found themselves in.
What the lazy ‘fan banter’ accounts on social media will never recognise is the precarity of the River Darwen behind the (clue in the name!) Riverside stand. Not only was it impossible to drain the pitch fully, with the speed it was flowing and rising, it posed a safety risk too. Disappointing decision, yes. Correct decision, also yes. I praise the club for the earliest decision possible which allowed me to get back home before 12.30pm.
Where I then spent the day watching the football indoors, one man who didn’t do that was John Eustace. Apparently, his first thought was how long it would take to travel to Oxford to watch our next opponent Middlesbrough.
Let’s not forget that this is a father of two children, who stays away from his family during the week. I would have easily forgiven him for salvaging a weekend being a father and husband. I hate going away with work myself and you don’t get that time back.
But no instead, Eustace set off in the miserable weather, arriving at the Kassam Stadium just before kick-off. With our well-documented off-field problems, we’re a side that does need to be greater than the sum of our parts – fine margins are critical to us.
Eustace himself has also admitted the benefit of studying an opponent live in a stadium. On both human and professional levels, I just have the maximum respect and admiration for Eustace for this commitment to our cause. It’s these types of extra margins that ultimately should allow Rovers to continue to stay in the right half of the table and distance us from our off-field spectres.
Of course, there is also proof in this particular pudding. Where I was watching in fear as Boro rattled in their sixth goal at Oxford, Eustace was masterminding a game plan for victory in that very stadium. I’ve got to be honest, I was nervous going into this game, especially with just Boro’s fifteen goals in their previous three games!
It’s also one thing to hear about Boro’s pre-match injuries/illnesses, and to reflect on the energy Rovers might have after not playing for eighteen days - it’s another to actually get the result. But you have to say, it was the textbook away performance forged from Eustace’s extra attention to detail and that trip to the Kassam Stadium.
The game plan was spot on. We took the heat (no pun intended!) out of the game early on by keeping the ball, pressed the centre midfield area well and defended the penalty area resolutely when needed. In truth, we never really looked like conceding and restricted Boro to not much at all.
All the above, laid that important bedrock for the ten-minute spell where Eustace’s gameplan delivered the goods. After absorbing the second-half pressure from Boro, a visible shift in our own attacking energy took advantage of the toiling Boro, who Eustace would have known would flag at some point.
It was a shame Todd Cantwell’s goal was rightly ruled out. But of course, he made amends with his part in another lovely Rovers goal – I could get used to these! Brilliant one-touch football from Owen Beck and Cantwell and really pleasing for Dom Hyam to be the one to win the day for Rovers. Yes, the goal was offside, and I did reflect on us being fortunate not to have VAR in the Championship.
But the balance there is provided by the red card that Riley McGree would have received had VAR taken another look. We deserved that luck, if nothing else for Eustace’s extra homework on Saturday – I’m delighted it paid off, for him more than anything.
Next up it’s Leeds, another team flying towards the top and who will make it difficult for us at Ewood. We need to avoid the early goal against us, or else I fear another tough day at the office like Sheffield United provided. The game remaining level for as long as possible, or us taking the lead is imperative to avoid being kept at arm’s length.
If one man can figure it out, it’s Eustace. Not content with battling the Saturday storms, Eustace was back at Swansea on Sunday to watch tomorrow’s opponents – where the weather and flood water was even worse! Once again, maximum respect for battling through that and I really hope that he and Rovers get the rewards for that extra attention to detail again.
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