Adam Armstrong aids Blackburn to downing the Lions at the Den

Adam Armstrong came off the bench who came to inspire Blackburn to a 2-0 victory over Millwall at The Den. The 21-year-old turned the game on its head with his 74th minute introduction. First assisting Joe Nuttall four minutes from time, before scoring 18 seconds after Millwall kicked off from conceding the first goal to seal all three points.

Nuttall capitalised on a defensive error following Adam Armstrong’s low cross as the attacker got his head on a Hutchinson deflection to score his first championship goal while Armstrong’s right-footed shot hit the post and beat Archer to seal the game.

It was a Tony Mowbray masterclass that made the difference in this game as the late pressure joined with the substitution of swapping an ineffective Bradley Dack for man of the moment Armstrong, overwhelmed the tired home side in a game where fine margins made the difference.

This win ensured Rovers moved up to 14th in the league and they now go within six points off the playoffs, the win was also their first away win since they beat Bolton Wanderers back in October.

Following the defeat, Millwall sit 20th only five points above the top relegation spot which is held by Reading who beat Nottingham Forest 2-0 earlier on in the day.

The first shot on target of the game came in the 60th as Ryan Leonard’s 25-yard driven strike had to be pushed away by David Raya in the Blackburn net, the only other shot on target for the lions was right-back Mahlon Romeo forcing the keeper to make a comfortable save.

The match lacked flow from the off. The hosts lost striker Tom Elliot to a shoulder injury after seven seconds into the match after an aerial challenge with Darragh Lenihan resulted in a dislocated shoulder.

Even the referee was replaced as Robert Jones, who started the match, had to go off 25 minutes through injuring his calf meaning the fourth official Gavin Ward had to become the referee. It was the second time of the season that the man starting the game didn’t finish it at The Den.

The intensity picked up with a couple of crunching tackles. The hosts could have felt hard done by as Ryan Leonard and Jed Wallace were on the end of some hard tackles which would have been worrying after losing Elliot.

The stop-start nature of the game was best summed up by the match having the fewest shots on target of a game in the Championship this season.

The Lions made three changes to his matchday squad that came from behind to beat Hull City in the FA Cup last Sunday, with Shaun Hutchinson, James Meredith and Shane Ferguson all being restored to the starting eleven.

It was the perfect day for attacker Craig Conway who marked his 150th appearance for Rovers with a win though he did make way for Danny Graham in the 64th minute.

Millwall face high-flying Middlesbrough next Saturday as they look to bounce back from this defeat before they welcome Everton to the Den the following match. Away side Blackburn face Premier League side Newcastle United in an FA Cup replay on Tuesday to see who will face Watford in the fourth round.

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