Blackburn Rovers

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Blackburn Rovers midfielder Kristi Montgomery has been called into the Scotland squad for their upcoming Nations League matches.

The 22-year-old has five under-21 caps for Scotland but this is his first senior call-up following injuries to Norwich City's Kenny McLean and Kieran Tierney of Celtic which have forced the duo to withdraw from Sebastien Pocognoli's squad.

Academy graduate Montgomery scored his first goal for Blackburn in a 2-1 Championship defeat by Sheffield United and has started all eight of their league games so far this season.

Scotland face Slovenia twice, Switzerland and North Macedonia in the Nations League during the three-week international break.

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Blackburn Rovers head coach Tony Mowbray says he is frustrated by the "patchy" form of his side.

Rovers drew 2-2 at Portsmouth, but fought back from a goal down to lead 2-1 before being pegged back in the second half.

The draw leaves Rovers 16th in the Championship with nine points from eight games.

"A bit of frustration around it really, we got ourselves in front and we should have been able to see that game out," he told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"I just think we're a bit patchy at the moment; at our best in our moments we look like a really good football team.

"But I felt we probably showed them too much respect today. We allowed them to build into our attacking third too easily.

"I'm frustrated, but it's a point away at Portsmouth which is never an easy place to come to with the atmosphere that the supporters create.

"We have to get better, it wasn't a top performance from us, slightly below par I think."

Blackburn Rovers finally have choices to make with their team selection following an injury crisis, head coach Tony Mowbray has said.

Midfielder Moussa Baradji is set to feature in Saturday's Championship match at Portsmouth (15:00 BST) while defender Hayden Carter has played a part in the past two games.

"Hayden and Moussa are back in the picture so it's good to have a few more choices off the bench rather than the academy kids," Mowbray told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"I'm excited by Moussa over how powerful and technical he is. (Andri) Gudjohnsen came off the bench and scored a goal last week so he's looking good and training well.

"It's good we have choices which, it's fair to say, we haven't had over the past couple of weeks."

Blackburn have lost left-back Yuri Ribeiro for the trip to Fratton Park because of a hamstring injury and midfielder Adam Forshaw remains sidelined.

"Yuri is a no-go for a few weeks, I don't know the exact timings," added Mowbray.

"Forshaw is still an issue with his hip and has a consultation coming up so he won't be available in the short term but I don't want to speculate."

Right-back Ryan Alebiosu will be fit for the game at Portsmouth after recovering from illness, which meant he missed the second-half of last weekend's win over Millwall.

Listen to more Blackburn Rovers interviews and content on BBC Sounds.

Portsmouth take a two-game unbeaten run into their meeting with Blackburn Rovers on Saturday (15:00 BST).

Rovers head to the south coast having snapped a four-match winless run by beating Millwall 3-1 last weekend.

• Portsmouth have earned as many points in their past three league games against Blackburn Rovers (7 – W2 D1) as their previous 10 beforehand (W2 D1 L7).

• Blackburn have lost both of their past two league visits to Portsmouth, only losing more in a row once previously, doing so from November 1929 to August 1946 (8).

• Portsmouth have failed to score in two of their past three league matches, as many as their previous 19 beforehand.

• After beating Millwall 3-1, Blackburn could enjoy back-to-back league victories for only the second time in 2026, after doing so in February.

• Among players with 10+ take-ons attempted in the Championship this season, only Max Arfsten (77%) and Jhon Solís (75%) have a higher success rate than Portsmouth's Ryan Kavuma-McQueen (73% - 11/15).

Blackburn Rovers striker Dapo Afolayan says the club needs the fans' backing after he scored twice in the 3-1 Championship victory over Millwall.

The former St Pauli striker's double, either side of half-time, was watched by controversial co-owner Balaji Rao.

It was the first time a member of the Venky's ownership group had attended a game at Ewood Park since 2018.

His attendance sparked chants against the club's ownership inside the ground by home supporters during the game.

"I'm not going to sit here and lie and pretend we don't know what's going on with the club and the fans," Afolayan told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"I played at a place [St Pauli] which is really big on fan opinion. Fans are allowed to voice their opinion.

"The one thing for us, as players, we just want the fans to support us and give us as big a push as possible because it's really underestimated when the fans are loud, it does give you an extra push.

"We want to repay that. I'm a football fan myself, I love football, and as a fan I know what that feeling is like.

"When you go out and you spend your hard-earned money and you go and travel to watch your team. The feeling you have on the weekend.

"Go into Monday at work and be happy, bragging rights in the office. We want to give them [the fans] that. For that, we need them as well. It was loud, and we could hear it."

Blackburn boss Tony Mowbray spoke to BBC Radio Lancashire after the win against Millwall. For a written selection of his quotes, click here

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Blackburn will hope to end a four-game winless run in the Championship when they welcome Millwall to Ewood Park on Saturday (15:00 BST).

Rovers have won just one of their opening six games (D2 L3) and sit one point above the drop zone at this early stage of the season.

The Lions bounced back from two heavy defeats to Southampton and Wrexham with a convincing victory of their own last time out - beating Bolton 4-0 - and will be targeting a promotion push once again.

• Blackburn Rovers have won each of their past three league games against Millwall, last winning four in a row in November 1990.

• Millwall are winless in 10 league visits to Blackburn (D3 L7) since a 2-0 victory in November 2012 under Kenny Jackett.

• Blackburn have lost their previous two league games, last losing three in a row in April 2025 (run of 5).

• A victory for Millwall here will make this the first time the Lions have won as many as four of their first six games of a league season since 1997-98.

• Millwall's Alex Neil has lost five of his past seven league games against Blackburn Rovers (W2), including each of his previous four in a row.

Tony Mowbray has said Blackburn Rovers' injury crisis appears to be easing but their bid to sign free agent Ryotaro Ito looks to be over.

Blackburn played without a recognised striker in Tuesday's 2-1 home defeat to Sheffield United, with Jayden Fevrier deployed as a false nine in the absence of Andri Gudjohnsen.

The Iceland international had played 418 minutes across Rovers' opening five games with Mathias Jorgensen and Yuki Ohashi set to be out for another few weeks.

But Mowbray hopes Gudjohnsen can feature against Millwall on Saturday (15:00 BST) after returning to training on Thursday, while Moussa Baradji could be fit enough to appear for the first time this season off the bench at Ewood Park.

Mowbray told BBC Radio Lancashire: "It's starting to improve and starting to get better.

"It would be nice to have some more senior players to try and change a game late on as opposed to hoping a young boy comes on and does something quite special."

Rovers were close to a deal for Japan midfielder Ryotaro Ito who played in Belgium last season, but despite the 28-year-old being at the club on Monday, Mowbray suspects the deal will not get done.

"I'm not really sure what's happened," he added. "At this moment there's nothing happening.

"I genuinely don't know but, my experience would suggest to me that it's not going to happen now.

"I don't know why it didn't happen. I asked for help a few weeks ago and the club are trying to put some players in the building to help us."

Rovers have taken one point from their past four games and lie four points and 10 places behind eighth-placed Millwall.

"We know we need to find a result, we can't keep thinking the team is playing quite well but we're getting beat again or drawing again," Mowbray said.

"I think we are better than the results have suggested the last couple of games and deserved more from them, but the reality is you have to win matches and get points."

Blackburn Rovers are discovering a harsh Championship truth: good performances count for very little if you do not have the depth to finish the job.

Long gone are the days when managers talk about their best XI. Success in modern football is built on depth, adaptability and the ability to change matches from the bench. Right now, Rovers have precious little of that.

Yes, injuries are part and parcel of the game. But if you look at the three recent 2-1 defeats as examples, Tony Mowbray has been scratching his head, wondering how he can help his tiring team with such limited options. An underwhelming transfer window hasn't helped either.

They went to Preston North End on Saturday with one fit senior goalkeeper, one fit senior centre-back and one fit centre-forward.

Three days later, a senior keeper was added to the bench, a young (but now senior) centre-back returned, but the one fit centre-forward became none, with Andri Gudjohnsen joining the list of casualties.

Already, 23 players have featured for Rovers in the Championship this season, and we're only six games in. That's not a sign of healthy competition for places. It's a sign of a squad already being stretched to its limits.

The contrast with Sheffield United could hardly have been more stark. Chris Wilder was able to introduce internationals Matt Doherty and Kalvin Phillips alongside Tyrese Campbell and Oli Arblaster.

Rovers were handing home debuts to deadline-day signing Gady Beyuku and throwing 17-year-old Harvey Higgins into the action.

Tony Mowbray told me: "It feels like an excuse and an easy out for me. I hope by the international break that we'll have four or five back."

What will frustrate Mowbray most is that Rovers were good enough to get something from this game. They created chances, registered 19 attempts on goal and spent long periods on the front foot.

Yet once again, avoidable mistakes proved costly.

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Mowbray said: "You can't give games away like that when you're so dominant and deserve to win. You deserve to score more goals. You can't keep letting two goals in during a game because you're not going to win very many if you do that.

"I'm not interested in how many touches in the opposition box, shots or crosses we have. It has to go in the net, and I'd rather have a terrible expected goals figure and win 2-1."

They conceded soft goals at Preston and did exactly the same here. Whatever the injury situation, that has to improve.

"I've just said to Hayden Carter, if you're going to be the guy who wins every header and blocks every shot, maybe your time is coming," Mowbray said about his centre-back, who is yet to start a league match this season.

There are encouraging signs in the way Rovers are trying to play. They look more ambitious than the side that spent much of last season prioritising survival.

The problem is the results do not yet justify the optimism. In fact, they have two fewer points than they did at this stage last season.

Millwall and Portsmouth before the international break feel important, aren't they all? Not because the season is in danger of slipping away, but because Rovers need tangible rewards for performances before frustration starts replacing belief.

The teams challenging at the top have options, competition and game-changers on the bench. Until Rovers can say the same, they will continue walking a fine line between encouraging performances and frustrating defeats.

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Blackburn boss Tony Mowbray spoke to BBC Radio Lancashire after their 2-1 defeat at home by Sheffield United in the Championship.

For a written selection of his quotes, click here.

Image source, Getty Images

Former Blackburn Rovers striker Kevin Gallagher thinks Rovers fans will be pleased with their showing in the Lancashire derby against Preston on Saturday, but small margins decided an unwanted outcome.

Preston were leading from the ninth minute thanks to a goal from Callum Lang, who went on to to double his lead in the first half, and Rovers were only able to peg it back to 2-1 via an own goal from Stan Mills in the second.

"Blackburn fans will go home happy, but they will be going, 'How did we get beat today?,'" Gallagher said.

"For the first nine minutes, Blackburn were banging at the door, and you're thinking, 'What could happen to this game if Blackburn get a goal?' But just as you say that, Preston gets it.

"Take the goal back further into midfield because that's where the battle was. Todd Cantwell has gone up for a header, but he's ducked underneath it. Didn't want to head it, and unfortunately then, Preston win possession."

Listen to the full post-match reaction below or on BBC Sounds here.

Blackburn Rovers have taken only one point from their past three Championship outings as they prepare to host Sheffield United on Tuesday (19:45 BST).

The Blades head to Ewood Park unbeaten on the road so far with two draws from their away games.

• After their 3-1 win in April, Blackburn Rovers are hoping to record back-to-back league victories over Sheffield United for the first time since April 1993 in the Premier League.

• Sheffield United have won each of their past three away games at Blackburn Rovers in all competitions, including a 2-1 victory in this season's EFL Cup in August. Only from 1949 to 1953 have the Blades ever won four in a row away to Rovers.

• After their 2-1 home defeat by QPR, Blackburn Rovers could suffer back-to-back home league defeats for the first time since November 2025.

• Sheffield United have drawn both of their away games in the Championship this season. Only in 1898-99, 1984-85, and 2012-13 have they started a league campaign with three successive away draws.

• Blackburn boss Tony Mowbray has lost five of his past seven league games against Sheffield United (W2), including four of his past five.

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Lancashire derby between Preston North End and Blackburn Rovers gave the Lilywhites their first points of the season.

Here are some of your comments:

Preston North End fans

Tony: At last, good performance, but we still need to sort the defence out. Clarke was like a leader, and, if Lang can stay fit, we should be okay.

Will: Good first half but under pressure for most of the second. Lang played well and also Clarke and Mills. No major problems from the defence, but Blackburn missing several players. Better squad depth and quality should help throughout the season.

Richard: A win is a win, both sides squandered golden opportunities. Preston's game management was poor for most of the game, but the final 11 that played started to bring it back into some sort of forward attacking play that was missing in the rest of the game. Not detracting from Lang's goals that were well taken and a much-needed win for Preston. Onwards and upwards.

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Blackburn Rovers fans

Gordon: Hard luck today against a PNE team desperate for a win. 12 injured players decimated the Rovers, but despite that, they easily won the battle of the stats, and but for some poor finishing and absence of Lady Luck, they would have won the only stat that matters, the final score.

Just a pity the signing of two new players this week was hijacked at the death.

Blackburn Rovers manager Tony Mowbray spoke to BBC Radio Lancashire after their 2-1 derby loss at Preston North End. For a written selection of his quotes click here.

Image source, Getty Images