Jordan Rhodes stole the three points up for grabs against his former club Huddersfield Town after scoring in the 36th minute at Ewood Park.
The suspensions of Grant Hanley and Colin Kazim Richards saw fan favourite Frenchman Gael Givet return to the squad alongside Leon Best. Josh Morris and David Dunn were also replaced by Markus Olsson and Josh King.
Rovers started slowly struggling to make a breakthrough to allow dominance of the first half. Despite the average start there was an empowering sense of teamwork and unity portrayed throughout play.
The midfield seemed balanced and worked hard to get the ball to the front runners Jordan Rhodes and Leon Best, while the defence worked as a solid unit to clear any Huddersfield chances.
Chants of Jordan Rhodes erupted as he found the back of the net in the 36th minute giving Rovers the crucial lead they deserved.
The second half saw Huddersfield inflict pressure on Sandomierski’s goal as they continued to attack. Givet and Dann defended well to ensure the visitors could not break through.
Goodwillie delivered a commendable performance when he replaced Jason Lowe, whilst Pedersen contributed to the teams efforts in place of Leon Best
Chants of ‘David Dunn is blue and white’ emanated around the stadium when he replaced Josh King. Rovers battled for the remainder of the second half to ensure their lead was not jeopardised by an all too familiar late concession.
A wave of relief swept over Ewood Park when the final whistle was blown and the three points were awarded to Rovers following a deserving performance.
Lee Williamson earned man of the match due to 90 minutes of continuous battling, and a positive link up with Dave Jones.
A strong contender for man of the match could also have been loanee Todd Kane who excelled himself with a top performance involving a number of spectacular challenges required to prevent Huddersfield from breaking through. Todd Kane also shows the ability to act as an attacking right back, continuously trying to get the ball forward successfully as opposed to simply clearing it.
Gael Givet is also worthy of commendation following an exceptional performance despite his self acclaimed emotional instability after being left out of the squad for such a long time. Givet returned to the pitch with a faultless performance derived from his sheer passion for the game.
Team GB succeeded in achieving a vital three points through 90 minutes of undeniably hard work. The battle of relegation is one that still needs fighting, but Rovers fans can at least for now enjoy the performance and the back to back win under Bowyer.
Player Ratings
Grzegorz Sandomierski
Seems to be growing confidence each game, made some good saves and takes a good goal kick.
Todd Kane
Put in a super performance with strong challenges and a good mentality leading him to fight for every ball, made some crucial clearances and does well to bring the ball upfield.
Scott Dann
The captain worked hard as always despite missing his usual partner Grant Hanley, made some vital interceptions and kept Rovers fighting all game.
Gael Givet
Gave an exceptional performance and showed commitment despite his lack of playing time this season.
Markus Olsson
Displayed good pace and made some strong crosses when attacking. Also worked hard to defend.
Josh King
Shows immense pace but is also hesitant occasionally and appears to release the ball too late resulting in missed chances.
Jason Lowe
Worked hard as always but made some silly passes resulting in just giving the ball away to the opposition.
Lee Williamson
Man of the match and deserved it, linked up with Dave Jones well and battled to ensure he retained balls he had lost.
Dave Jones
Played well tonight working well with Lee Williamson and ensuring he chased up balls, looked for passes despite making a few errors.
Leon Best
Didn’t really show his full potential tonight and seemed a bit lazy at times despite displaying good control over the ball when the opportunity arose.
Jordan Rhodes
Scored the winner and worked hard throughout the ninety minutes despite wasting a chance after choosing to shoot rather than pass to Goodwillie who was in space.
Morten Gamst Pedersen
Did not really add anything new to the match but contributed to the teams efforts.
David Goodwillie
Proved himself as a capable option for the starting 11 with a hard working performance, chose good options when in possession of the ball and made use of space.
Despite losing a few balls he came on with the fight to revitalise the squad which motivated them to continue the way they had been playing.
