Tony Mowbray was left to rue a ‘brilliant’ goal from Kalvin Phillips as his Blackburn Rovers side slumped to a 3-1 defeat at home against Leeds United on Saturday, speaking to the Lancashire Telegraph.
The so-called ‘Yorkshire Pirlo’ does not score many but, after lining up a 25-yard free-kick at Ewood Park, he produced a moment of sublime quality that the Italian maestro himself would have been proud of.
It was only Phillips’ second of the season though his a Beckham-esque curler could hardly have come at a better time, with Marcelo Bielsa’s table-topping side maintaining their six point advantage over third-placed Brentford.
The result also hammered another nail into Blackburn’s play-off hopes.
The Championship’s dark horses appear to have stumbled over the penultimate hurdle, drifting eight points behind the top six after a run of three successive defeats.
But, despite the nagging feeling of disappointment, the gentlemanly Mowbray was gracious as ever in defeat.
“Yet they scored at strange times, just as we were getting back in to the game they scored again. Soft goals,” Mowbray reflected.
“You’d have to say a brilliant free kick for the second, and then their third goal was a killer for us.
“They came with an attitude and a belief that they’re going to win football matches and have some very good players.”
Another one of those ‘very good players’ stepped up in Lancashire too, Patrick Bamford silencing his increasingly vocal critics with a goal, while Mateusz Klich added another.
Leeds’ number nine now has 15 strikes of his own this season – not a bad tally from a man who, if the doubters would have you believe, is far from a ‘natural goalscorer’.
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