Rovers went out the EFL Cup after a defeat at Leeds, but most fans are far more concerned about sorting out the league form.
For the second Tuesday in succession, Blackburn Rovers travelled to Elland Road and left on the wrong end of a defeat by a single goal. Unlike last week’s Championship defeat, which led to widespread anger on social media, yesterday’s reverse in the EFL Cup was met with a mixture of defiance and good humour by the Rovers faithful.
Rovers manager Owen Coyle made nine changes from the win over Rotherham United at the weekend, with only skipper Jason Lowe and striker Sam Gallagher retaining their places in the starting XI.
Blackburn’s Jason Lowe (R) was one of only two players to keep his place
After an early flurry of chances at both ends, the match settled down and the first half was largely uneventful. Jack Byrne came close to giving the visitors the lead at the end of the first period, but saw his shot expertly saved by Marco Silvestri in the Leeds goal.
Second-half substitute Marvin Emnes also saw an effort saved by Silvestri as Rovers pushed for a winner, but it was Leeds who got the all-important goal when Chris Wood turned in a rebound with six minutes to play.
Chris Wood (R) scored the late winner for Leeds
The visitors pushed for a leveller and saw a penalty claim turned down in the third minute of stoppage time, but the defeat meant that Rovers left West Yorkshire without success for the second time in the space of seven days.
Fans on Twitter were not too despondent with the efforts of their much-changed side, with the focus now solely on trying to escape from trouble at the bottom of the Championship.
Blackburn’s Jack Byrne (L) came close to opening the scoring last night
There were also some more tongue-in-cheek reactions from the Rovers faithful, who are rapidly becoming used to trying to find some consolation in their gallows humour after defeats.
Coyle’s side face a tricky trip to Derby this weekend looking for a second successive league win as they aim to escape the relegation zone for the first time this season.
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