Bristol City 1-1 Blackburn Rovers: player ratings, MOTM, heroes & villains as Robins held

Bristol City were left frustrated as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Blackburn Rovers at Ashton Gate. 

Callum O’Dowda put the Robins in front in the first-half but after dominating most of the match, they let slip their lead to in-form striker Ben Brereton-Diaz.

The draw keeps City in 18th place but they now fall nine points behind the play-offs, whilst the gap between the relegation zone is now only four.

Tale of the match

A far-sided free-kick from Alex Scott caused a problem as defender Scott Wharton almost deflected it past his own goalkeeper.

A good attack came from the flank as Callum O’Dowda’s cross was held up by Chris Martin and he released it to Tyreeq Bakinson who had a deflected shot go over.

The game’s breakthrough moment came from the Republic of Ireland international. He was slipped in a central position by Andi Weimann and O’Dowda’s lifted an effort that deflected off the defender and over Thomas Kaminski.

It inspired City to attack further and Ayman Benarous, making his first start, almost opened his account for the club but sent a shot just past the post.

The match was brought to a pause as Blackburn attacker Ian Poveda was stretchered off, with the opposition opting to bring a defender on in his place rather than a like-for-like sub.

Neither side made the most of the six additional minutes on offer, with Rovers failing to register a shot through the whole first period.

The away side in the second-half grew into the game and John Buckley was finding space, as he had two edge-of-the box shots go wide.

Blackburn hadn’t looked like scoring but got themselves level with their first shot on target in the 75th minute. Brereton-Diaz was left unmarked at the far post and he unleashed an unstoppable shot underneath Bentley’s crossbar.

The tide of the game changed with the visitors on the front foot as they looked for a smash-and-grab, fortunately for City, Joe Rothwell put wide a shot.

To change things up, Nahki Wells was sent on to replace Alex Scott and he almost made an immediate impact. Han-Noah Massengo found him with a delicious ball but his flicked header was expertly saved by Kaminski.

The heroes

Callum O’Dowda: He’s not a goal scoring winger by any means but COD’s showed great composure for his goal. He held his run and when tasked with beating the goalkeeper, he scored with a nice chipped finish.

As well as his goal, he always had the beating of the full-back and made it a torrid time for Ryan Nyambe, who picked up a yellow card.

Tyreeq Bakinson: The absence of Matty James at Coventry was evident and it was important to find someone who could fill that gap, whilst we await his return.

This was a good showing from Bakinson who controlled the midfield well, making a number of key tackles.

Ben Brereton-Diaz: For Blackburn, everything went through him, so it was no surprise that he was the one who got his team back into the game.

Denied by the linesman’s flag in the first-half, Breton-Diaz was given the time and space to score.

As well as his goal, he brought his teammates into the game as he came out wide to find them. City fans did not like him and he wasn’t given the warmest receptions.

The villains

Ryan Nyambe: The full-back was yellow carded as Bristol City were given a free-kick. It took a bit of time for the ball to move but from that set-piece, Rovers were picking the ball out of the net.

Blackburn’s defenders made life difficult for Kaminski at times too by playing some awkward back passes which he had to deal with.

Tasked with man marking Callum O’Dowda, it was the City player that had the beating of the defender. He was eventually substituted after the hour mark as Tony Mowbray sought something different from his side.

Player ratings

Bristol City (3-5-2): Daniel Bentley 6, Zak Vyner 7, Tomas Kalas 6, Nathan Baker 6, Alex Scott 7 (Nahki Wells, 82), Joe Williams 6, Tyreeq Bakinson 7, Callum O’Dowda 8, Ayman Benarous 6 (Han-Noah Massengo, 63;6) Andreas Weimann 7, Chris Martin 6 (Antoine Semenyo, 69)

Blackburn Rovers (4-3-3): Thomas Kaminski 7, Ryan Nyambe 5 (Leighton Clarkson, 66) Darragh Lenihan 7 Scott Wharton 7, Tayo Edun 7 Jacob Davenport 6(Joe Rothwell, 59), Lewis Travis 6 John Buckley 6, Reda Khadra, 7Ian Poveda 6, (Daniel Ayala, 44), Ben Brereton Diaz 7

Man of the Match

Callum O’Dowda: A quieter second-half but the 26-year-old had a good first-half which gives him the award, compared to Ben Brereton-Diaz.

What’s next?

Both teams are in Championship action next Wednesday and have the pleasure of both being at home. Bristol City welcome play-off chasing Stoke to Ashton Gate, hoping to build on a second consecutive home win.

Blackburn meanwhile face Championship strugglers Peterborough, who are in the bottom three.