The Football.....

[PaulSB]

This has got 0 - 0 or match abandoned on 89 minutes with Rovers 1 - 0 up written all over it!!!!! 🤣

Without a last minute lapse in concenttation by PNE's defence and an excellent header 0 - 0 was looking like the outcome.

We got exactly the game you'd expect in this situation. The poorest Rovers squad I've known in 45 years having an abysmal season against a PNE side that, based only on last night, is a typical Championship team enjoying a good season but realistically not promotion contenders - if Rovers were in the position I, as PNE fans do, would see us as contenders, it's what fans do!!!

The best Rovers performance at Ewood for a year. Hard work, determination, grit and looking more confident. That's all the fans have asked for. We don't have the talent to produce much more. PNE looked solid but offered very little threat despite hitting the woodwork twice. If they scored first they would have won, we didn't have two goals in the side.

The big thing for me was the buzz. Match day buzz has been missing at Ewood for a year or more. No one wanted or liked Ismael, he didn't experience the atmosphere Ewood generated last night once. His name was never sung.

Driving to the ground and the ten minute walk from our car park, had a real match day feel. We were expecting something, "up for it." Two weeks ago the remaining few thousand faithful trudged to the ground out of a sense of duty expecting nothing more than a silent ground, sullen defeated coach and a team without a clue how to follow his "system."

Official attendances are always counted in ticket sales, not turnstile clicks. In recent weeks thousands have stayed away and the true crowd has been a disastrous 6 - 7000. With 20,000 on last night, 6000+ from Preston, it looks like every missing Rover returned. They gave their support to the team and manager. We got the response.

Last night may be the turning point. If Leicester and Oxford lose to today we're six points clear. A win on Tuesday and we have 41 points only nine away from the minimum of 50 to avoid relegation.

A very different picture at Ewood than it was two weeks ago.