Tag Archives: Blackburn Rovers

24th January 2026- Championship, Blackburn Rovers 1 Watford 1

Watford Observer: Preview: Blackburn face injury problems and fan boycott for Watford clash

Match Wrap: Blackburn Rovers 1-1 Watford – Watford FCDownload

Watford Observer: MATCHDAY AS IT HAPPENED: Blackburn Rovers 1-1 Watford

Match Report: Watford draw 1-1 again at Blackburn

Gracia rues ‘soft’ defending after fast start and explains tactical approach

Gracia hopes for signings and injury doubts delayed Baah sub

No risk was taken with Vata and update on Louza and Pollock

It’s time for Watford to flex their muscles after sticky week

Ngakia ‘couldn’t believe’ he was handed Watford captaincy

BBC: Having dominated the opening stages, Edo Kayembe drove home to give Watford the lead, but just two minutes later Blackburn hit back courtesy of Lewis Miller.

Sky: The clash against the Hornets marked the start of a “phased strategic boycott of home fixtures” organised by the Blackburn Rovers Supporters Coalition aimed at forcing Venky’s to sell the club.

Fran’s Watford Blog: The Rovers fans had decided to boycott this game as a protest against their owners, so the stadium was eerily empty. I had listened to their grievances and, while their owners are not particularly engaged, their actions have not been particularly egregious, so I decided not to participate in the boycott myself.

From the Rookery End: Mike, Jon and Watford Observer reporter Adam Drury sit down after a frustrating week that saw Watford held to two 1–1 draws – first at home to Portsmouth, then away at Blackburn.

13th September 2025- Championship, Watford 0 Blackburn Rovers 1

Watford Observer Pre-Match articles: Blackburn preview: How Watford can find the balance between attack and defence

Sir Elton John will be present as Watford wear kit in his honour on Saturday

Pezzolano on ‘honour’ of meeting Sir Elton John and his favourite song

Team news: Mendy and Petris ready for Watford debuts but Chakvetadze return delayed

Paulo Pezzolano on squad depth: ‘The team will not be fixed, it will be evolving’

Valon Behrami discusses Tom Dele-Bashiru loan and why Pierre Dwomoh stayed

https://www.watfordfc.com/supporters/digital-digests

Match Wrap: Watford 0-1 Blackburn Rovers – Watford FCDownload

Watford Observer: AS IT HAPPENED: Watford 0-1 Blackburn Rovers

Match Report: Watford fall well short in 1-0 defeat to Blackburn

Five talking points as Watford fall to Rovers defeat

Paulo Pezzolano on Blackburn loss: ‘We lacked ideas – I take 100% responsibility’

Paulo Pezzolano on Watford’s midfield and why he made just two subs in Blackburn loss

Paulo Pezzolano praises ‘very brave’ Max Alleyne after starting him at left-back

BBC:Ryoya Morishita scored his first Blackburn goal on his full Championship debut to give Valerien Ismael’s side a valuable and deserved win at Watford.

Sky: Watford hustled but came up empty-handed on home turf. A sixth straight game without a clean sheet under new boss Paulo Pezzolano leaves them 17th in the Championship, two places behind the visitors, who needed a result after losing four of their first five matches across all competitions this season.

BHappy: The interval should have been a time to reset, but instead Rovers went ahead after a sharp move that caught Keben flat-footed leaving Morishita one-on-one to finish confidently. The visitors never looked in trouble thereafter; whilst we defended competently enough – Cantwell’s acrobatic attempt that skied another far-post cross the closest they came – we only managed a single shot on target ourselves, that a scuffed shot from Baah that Tóth fielded comfortably. Otherwise, with Kjerrumgaard scrapping but peripheral and nothing happening in the centre, our attacks too frequently consisted of Alleyne trying to find Baah with an overambitious pass in windy conditions.

Fran’s Watford Blog:  It had been the worst performance so far this season, particularly as there was so little in the way of attacking threat. The brightest spark was Kyprianou who had yet another excellent game. Petris put in a decent showing on his debut. Vata was the best of the attacking players in the first half as Baah couldn‘t get into the game. Irankunda livened things up when he came on, despite having flown half-way around the world after his appearance for Australia during the week.

From the Rookery End: Watford fell 1-0 at home to Blackburn on a day that was about much more than football. As the club looks ahead to celebrating Elton John’s 50th anniversary of becoming Owner and Chairman of the Hornets, the team took to the pitch in a striking Elton-inspired special blue kit. The game began brightly, but the spark never quite caught fire.

26th April 2025- Championship, Blackburn Rovers 2 Watford 1

Watford Observer: Ismael on Watford: ‘It was a great experience for me to work there’

WFC.Net goal commentary: 1

Report: Blackburn Rovers 2-1 Watford – Watford FCDownload

BBC: Blackburn Rovers kept their hopes of clinching a Championship play-off spot on the final day alive with a come-from-behind victory against Watford at Ewood Park.

Sky: Valerien Ismael knew only a win would do against his former side if Rovers were to maintain ambitions of gatecrashing the top six and, after a lacklustre first half, the Hornets dealt them a blow through Mattie Pollock’s headed opener. But Rovers came roaring back in impressive fashion and two ruthless finishes – a sumptuous low volley from Todd Cantwell and Tyrhys Dolan’s second in the space of a week in the 74th minute – put Blackburn tantalisingly close to sixth-placed Coventry, who sit just a point ahead of them.

Watford Observer: RECAP: Blackburn 2 Watford 1

Blackburn 2 Watford 1 minute-by-minute report

Cleverley calls Watford unacceptable but also reports Rovers player to officials

We are where we are – and only much wider change will alter that

‘That’ll be for other people to decide’ – Cleverley on his future

Fran’s Watford Blog: Imagine our surprise when we took the lead two minutes after the restart. Doumbia did really well to win a corner and the delivery from Louza was met by the head of Pollock. There was an attempt by a defender to clear it off the line, but the referee pointed to the centre circle and joy was unconfined in the away end. The goal had been scored just in front of us, so Mattie and the lads came to celebrate with us, which is always rather lovely.

From the Rookery End: For the final away game of the season, DCW made the trip up to Lancashire to see a poor hornets performance against Blackburn. Joined by Charlie from WD18, they saw a team that seems to be limping its way to the end of the season but also the conversation many fans might be having – will Tom Cleverly be the Watford manager next season?

26th October 2024- Championship, Watford 1 Blackburn Rovers 0

WFC.Net goal commentary: 1

Report: Watford 1-0 Blackburn Rovers – Watford FCDownload

BBC: Watford extended their unbeaten home league record to 10 games with a narrow 1-0 win over Blackburn Rovers.

Sky: Rovers, managed by former Watford captain John Eustace, had two great chances to take the points and cement a place in the top six but Dominic Hyam and Andreas Weimann were left cursing their luck.

Watford Observer: Watford 1 Blackburn 0 minute-by-minute match report

RECAP: Watford 1 Blackburn 0

Kayembe was Watford’s third choice penalty-taker on Saturday

Watford boss says home win doesn’t mean derby is forgotten

A victory of any kind was just what Watford needed

Watford captain Sissoko handed three-match ban by FA

BHappy: There’s even a giant floater raised over the Rookery at kick-off, a reminder of times gone by…  it’s always a minorconcern as the thing is raised above our heads that we’re volunteered collaborators in delivering a message that we know nothing about, but the 1881 have long since earned our trust on that score and this one is championing Tom at a point in time when, one suspects, such will have been particularly gratefully received.  Other reminders of times gone by come in the greeting of two erstwhile fearless booterers… John Eustace, a fine, fine captain for many years, now in charge of the opposition and Paul Robinson, still the only player I’ve seen score with a tackle, making a most welcome return as part of our own coaching staff.

Fran’s Watford Blog: It was a slightly fortunate victory for the Hornets, but a very welcome one after the defeats of the previous week. It was a competitive game with chances for both sides. Cleverley kept faith with Bachmann and, apart from the early scare, he did what was required of him although Blackburn were incredibly wasteful in their finishing. Having wondered who would take the penalty and feared the effect of the delay before it was taken, Kayembe dispatched it brilliantly. Ebosele was named man of the match after a solid performance both in attack and defence. He is certainly growing into the team, and I am enjoying watching him. Baah continues to rattle defences although he does not always make the right decision. Bayo had a decent cameo. He won the penalty and looked much more effective than of late. Vata also looked lively when he came on. He has an eye for goal and is always willing to try a shot, which is something that I wish more of our players would do. All in all, it was a pleasing performance and those who go to home games are being entertained far more than they have been in recent seasons. Those of us who travel away are not having quite so much fun. Let’s hope that changes next week.

From The Rookery End: Long term listeners will be surprised to hear no John Eustace chat from Mike but he, along with DCW, Jordi and Jon discuss the penalty decision, the decision to see who would take it, the bold substitutions from Tom Cleverly as well as how we get a centre forward and still play Baah in his strongest position.

https://oldwatford.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=102603&action=edit

23rd December 2023- Championship, Blackburn Rovers 1 Watford 2

Blackburn Rovers no longer produce matchday programmes.

WFC.Net Jon Marks goal commentary: 1  2

Official site: Match dashboard

BBC: Two Watford substitutes scored in the final seven minutes to beat Blackburn Rovers 2-1 in the Championship.

Sky: Watford’s bench ultimately made the difference as Yaser Asprilla’s shot was parried into the path of Mileta Rajovic to equalise in the 83rd minute and, four minutes later, Rhys Healey’s second of the season secured the points for Watford, who have won four of their last six.

Watford Observer: RECAP: Blackburn 1 Watford 2

Two goals in the last ten minutes make it three straight away wins

Ismael relishes fightback that sets up a happy Christmas but also issues a warning

‘You don’t know me to say that boy’ – Louza’s odd social posts during game yesterday

‘I am really happy for the fans’ – Asprilla

Fran’s Watford Blog: It is hard to think now that we went 9 months this year without an away win.  Now we have had three in a row, two in the North-West which has generally not been a happy hunting ground.  The celebrations at the end were joyous.  As soon as the final whistle went, Koné sprinted from the bench to the away end to celebrate with us.  The others joined him once the niceties with the opposition players and the officers were done.  Healey was being pushed forward for plaudits and he has certainly impressed.  His opportunities have been few and far between, but he has now twice come off the bench and scored late goals.  The team spirit is just wonderful to witness and the willingness to attack means that the games are so much more enjoyable than they were earlier in the season.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/67735157

27th August 2023- Championship, Watford 0 Blackburn Rovers 1

https://www.watfordfc.com/match-report/match-report-watford-0-1-blackburn-rovers

BBC: Blackburn rode their luck on the way to snatching a narrow win over a dominant Watford side in the Championship.

Sky: The only goal of the game came after 72 minutes, when Ryan Hedges took over after Lewis Travis could lead the counter no longer, controlled the ball with two neat flicks and fired in from the tightest of angles.

Watford Observer: Live Feed

While it would be unfair to describe the Hornets’ second straight defeat as a smash-and-grab raid for their opponents, the fact the Hornets had 24 goal attempts to the visitors’ five would suggest they did enough to at least secure a point. But of those just four were on target and goalkeeper Aynsley Pears was only forced into two saves of note, meaning it is now three-and-a-half league games since the Hornets last found the back of the net.

Head coach Valerien Ismael felt his side shouldn’t have lost to Blackburn, but also admitted they need to adapt when opponents change their style of play.

BHappy: Prior to kick-off there was tribute payed to Andy Rankin who passed away during the week.  I was surprised to hear that he made his last appearance in 1979, the year I started attending matches as my memory was of watching him for far longer than that.  He had been my first goalkeeping hero and I was very sad to hear of his passing.  The minute’s applause was heartfelt. On 30 minutes the big screen showed a photo of Matt Sillitoe, the PA announcer at Ewood Park, who has passed away at the age of 30.  All sides of the ground joined in the minute’s applause. At half time, Danny Webber and Neil Cox were at the side of the pitch remembering Jimmy Davis as it is 20 years since his passing.  Gangster’s Paradise was played over the tannoy as this was the song that Jimmy had sung for his initiation.  Danny was very emotional talking about his friend.  Jimmy is remembered for his bubbly personality and cheeky smile as much as for his great footballing talent.  Danny talked about what a hard worker he was, wanting everything that he did to be perfect.  This even extended to the song, which he had practised until it was perfect.  He was enjoying his performance so much that he had to be carried off the stage as he wouldn’t stop singing.  Jimmy had been a very popular member of the team and is greatly missed by all who knew him.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/championship/table