[Archived] Boro Match Thread

[Mike Graham]

It was an absolute pleasure watching that game tonight.

100% effort. Well done Rovers and well done Lambert.

Our fans were also a credit.

I should sleep well tonight.

[Irishrover213]

Great result. Was following the game on Twitter. Im delighted we really made Kranka eat his words. We managed to score two goals against a team who are pushing for automatic promotion.

Great to see Watt play hopefully he will be ok for Saturday. Great stuff from Graham and Akpan. From the posts above and twitter Steele seemed to have a good game. This is what we needed. Its good to hear Rhodes applauded the fans at the end but from reading boro forum I think their patience is starting to wear thin. They are starting to question 9 mill paid for him.

More of the same Saturday please.

[Mike Graham]

Even won £220 on the 1/2 time draw

[tomphil]

Well that was really unexpected but most welcome. Must be the first time we've beaten a top side at home for a while and fully deserved it was too. Play like that at the dome and we can get something.

Rhodes will be having nightmares but he'll come good for them. He'll have to be quick because it won't take the Boro lot long to be on his back. No excuse to fail up there with the amount of chances he's now getting compared to here.

We all need to calm down a bit every time we have a bad day or whatever. We are capable of decent stuff but it's built on hard graft and until the squad gets stronger with players & fitter it'll be hard to put in back to back performances like tonight.

We are picking points up regularly if not every week now so Keep Calm And Carry On

.

[yoda]

It was an absolute pleasure watching that game tonight.

100% effort. Well done Rovers and well done Lambert.

Our fans were also a credit.

I should sleep well tonight.

So you should, I will, picked up a bottle of Berberana and a pizza on the way home + 3 points! bring on the Royston Vassey clan

[mustard]

Must say Lambert got it spot on. Nullified the threat from Boro for the most part. Good to see a bit of grit in CM in Lenihan. At one point a Boro CM was charging through about to start an attack and knowing he couldn't get the ball he rugby tackled the guy and took the booking. It was a necessary foul in a not-so-dangerous area and great to see someone willing to do it.

[Paul]

Best performance at Ewood this season against a good team challenging for promotion. It's got to be said we had three decent chances, Rhodes alone had five and took none which is a compliment to our defending and goalkeeping.

[booth]

FFS just enjoy tonight. Saturday will take care of itself and those inbreds are due to lose one.

Who said I wasn't enjoying tonight? It was actually a reply to someone else but it got bumped down.

Ffs calm down dear and enjoy the win.

You obviously missed my previous posts on the matter.

[Pedro]

But where will the goals come from??

[Doug]

Just back, what a good do!!

Excellent performance tonight, not going to mention anything negative because they all put a shift in.

Special mention to Graham who did a sterling job holding the ball up and bagging one.

Watt played well, looks like he has a lot to offer.

Akpan scored, and I know he's not everyone's cup of tea but he did ok overall.

Great closing down all over the pitch.

Well done Rovers, well worth the effort!

[LDRover]

Superb performance from all involved tonight. I must admit I thought PL had dropped a bollock playing Akpan but after a poor 20 minutes he grew into the game topped off with a great header for the first goal.

Steele was excellent tonight, his shot stopping was first class and kept us in the game.

Hanley, after his early aberration played like a proper captain - ably assisted by Duffy who won some immense headers when we were under the cosh.

Both full backs did well in both halves of the pitch, Spurr in particular had his best game of the season for me.

Gomez didn't hit the heights of Saturday but shows touches of class. Grimes looks an accomplished passer of the ball and has a wand of a left peg - not much of a right one mind...and that brings me on to Lenihan. So so impressed with this lad lately - no hiding, gets his head up and competes with the best of them. Leadbitter is one of the better midfielders in this league and he beat him up like he was his daddy. This lad could be a real star.

Up front Graham led the line fantastically well and got us up the pitch brilliantly. The riddle of the lesser spotted T Watt was solved tonight - he's seriously unfit. However, he can certainly play and was a handful at 75% fitness. He'll be an asset when he's up to full speed.

Well pleased tonight, feels like we've got a spirit and purpose going forward and no better time to show it with Saturday and the scruffs looming large.

[Stuart]

But where will the goals come from??

At the moment our loanees are scoring them so let's not get too clever.

Goals for hire...

The real question is who will be scoring them next season.

[Blue Cabbage]

First of all - Get in there!!

Long time since I've seen us win at Ewood. Danny Graham was immense up top tonight, everything stuck to him. Watt showed a willingness to run at people but his touch deserted him at times.

Like the look of young Grimes, not everything he tried came off but he showed for the ball and has a lovely left peg. Great ball in for Hope's header.

Lenihan was superb in the middle, reads the game very well for his age and spreaded the play nicely.

Full backs got forward when they could and defended reasonably well. Centre halves were excellent, headed everything away and defended manfully.

Thought Gomez was quiet, didn't have too much of the ball. Special mention for Steele who did everything that was asked, not sure on the goal as I was at a poor angle, may have been unsighted.

He scores when he wants.

Not Jordan - obviously.

Clapped the Blackburn end which was a nice touch.

Lambert is the man

[Baz]

Very good team performance, as others have pointed out, Lenihan was excellent, especially for the first hour. Gave great cover to the centre halves, and tried to get others into the game too. Restricted Boro to few chances, and most of those where balls dropping to them in the area, rather than being created.

Thought we changed Watt 10 minutes too early, as I thought he was still doing well, and that led to less possession and us dropping a bit deep, but hard to find real fault.

Feels like we have a team back. Just hope they have the fitness to work as hard at the weekend.

[4000Holes]

Pleased that Grimes is showing promise. Saw him numerous times at Exeter and thought he was a class above but it is a big jump into the championship. I think if we show some patience and allow him to develop we may be onto something special?

[MCMC1875]

_{We've got a team again. It's been a long time.}

_{Best game for a long time. Teamwork, flair, passion, pace and we ran the game. Good performances by all concerned including the crowd.}

_{Watt was outstanding and he was dead on his feet when he went off. We were less in control after that.}

_{There will be no shortage of confidence on Saturday after that...........}

[Speedie Dived]

Danny Graham's work ethic tonight was phenomenal. Add in his hold up play and he played very well tonight.

Few green shoots starting to appear. Young Lenihan is a player for me. Best performance of the season from us. Two stupid errors could have cost us but cannot argue with overall performance.

[Dean]

Pleased that Grimes is showing promise. Saw him numerous times at Exeter and thought he was a class above but it is a big jump into the championship. I think if we show some patience and allow him to develop we may be onto something special?

He's only here on loan, Swansea will definitely want him back.

[donnermeat]

Peach of a cross from Grimes, quite impressed with his willingness to put a foot in too. Great performance from Graham, he chased everything down, held the ball up brilliantly and never game them a moments peace. Hanley and Duffy were also superb, bullied them.

We've missed a player like Lenihan for YEARS.

That was a team to be proud of tonight. Love it.

[arbitro]

For those heaping praise on Lenihan I completely agree. He really has blossomed since he got a run of games and is showing maturity beyond his years. Once again tonight he 'took one for the team' (as did Spurr) when a Boro player was going past him.

A really good win tonight which has put us in good heart for Saturday and we didn't appear to pick up any injuries so we should be at full strength. Lambert is slowly but surely stamping his mark on the squad. The improvement on Hanley and Duffy has been marked and I really believe that them being much fitter has been key.

[oldjamfan1]

Who said I wasn't enjoying tonight? It was actually a reply to someone else but it got bumped down.

Ffs calm down dear and enjoy the win.

You obviously missed my previous posts on the matter.

Wow, great and witty comeback. Sorry booth but whatever your previous posts on the matter, and whoever you were replying to, you were banging on about how difficult the B******y game is going to be within minutes of us deservedly beating a team that is at least on a par with them.

Strange. And touchy.

At the moment our loanees are scoring them so let's not get too clever.

Goals for hire...

The real question is who will be scoring them next season.

FFS Stuart not you as well lol. Footballers are that mercenary these days it barely matters whether they are loanees or 'permanent' signings.

And not strictly aimed at you but I sincerely hope that all the Rhodes talk stops after tonight. He's gone, he ain't coming back, and we do seem to have replaced his goals one way or another while improving - albeit marginally so far - the balance of the team.

[Pedro]

At the moment our loanees are scoring them so let's not get too clever.

Goals for hire...

The real question is who will be scoring them next season.

Actually, no, let's be clever and savour the upturn in results and performances the Rovers are now turning in since revamping the team. Goals spread across the side, players written off before kicking a ball out-scoring the irreplaceable. Three home wins in a row - it's been frustrating but Now I can't wait for the next one.

Well done Rovers, well done Lambert. Keep it going!

Also, I'm kind of hoping Spurr is playing his way to a new deal - he's really upped his game this last few weeks.

[VinjayV4]

Lenihan is certainly incredibly assured for someone of his age. Steele had one of his better games against his former club and we heard Grimes was a good player. Great ball in for the Akpan goal and Watt is obviously getting fitter even though he was still taken off after 65. Good solid defending again with a captain who leads by example. Nice to see a "flick on" come off as well and Graham is proving he's not "washed up" like some seemed to think.

What a bargain the 3 game series has turned out to be. Just need a win against Birmingham next week now to make it 3 out of 3! Anyone still talking about relegation?

[mustard]

Actually, no, let's be clever and savour the upturn in results and performances the Rovers are now turning in since revamping the team. Goals spread across the side, players written off before kicking a ball out-scoring the irreplaceable. Three home wins in a row - it's been frustrating but Now I can't wait for the next one.

Well done Rovers, well done Lambert. Keep it going!

Also, I'm kind of hoping Spurr is playing his way to a new deal - he's really upped his game this last few weeks.

Really? I think he looks a liability. Slows play down in possession and takes too long picking a pass or lumps it, too slow to get back so offers nothing going forward, and his lack of pace means he looks terrified whenever the winger is in possession. The Boro right winger got so many crosses in from Spurr being nowhere near him. Only way I'd support Spurr getting a new deal is if it's purely as a backup player.

[MCMC1875]

Hope Akpan... a player that makes me wish for the return of Jason Lowe

Oh dear!