Match ends, Blackburn Rovers 1, Brentford 1.
BlackburnBlackburn Rovers1BrentfordBrentford1
Lee Carsley's Brentford bounced back from their midweek home defeat by Hull City to get a point against his former club Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park.
The Bees, who had enjoyed four straight wins in October, looked on course for another when they led on 24 minutes.
John Swift's pass dissected the Rovers defence and Bees danger man Lasse Vibe then shrugged off Shane Duffy before his shot looped in off Jason Steele.
But Tom Lawrence levelled 13 minutes later with a freakish cross-cum-shot.
Lawrence's right-foot cross after cutting back in from the left touchline looked harmless enough, but it evaded everybody to somehow find Button's bottom left corner for only his second goal of the season.
A frenetic end to the first half followed as Bees keeper David Button brilliantly tipped Lawrence's drive onto a post, before Alan McCormack forced a fine full-stretch save at the other end from Steele with a powerful effort from 12 yards.
Duffy then should have given Rovers the lead in the 53rd minute but he headed wide with the goal at his mercy, before reprieving himself with a superb goal-saving block to deny the impressive Vibe.
Vibe was denied again when he received the ball in the area after an excellent pass by Nico Yennaris but Steele saved with his legs.
Ben Marshall might have won it for Blackburn but his thunderous late 25-yard shot was somehow tipped away from the top corner by Button.
But both sides had to settle for a point, as Rovers maintained their record of just one home win since August to remain 16th, five places behind Brentford, who took their recent run to just one defeat in six games.
Blackburn manager Gary Bowyer:
"On performance level, it's probably not the standards we've met all season really, but we showed a different side to us. We had to dig in.
"But, on performance, we've played a lot better this season. The important thing was that, even though we haven't played at the levels we've set, we didn't get beat.
"We dug in and - but for that last save from David Button - we could have been talking about a fabulous end to the week."
Brentford head coach Lee Carsley:
"The first half was pretty even. We had a really good 25-30 minutes, then they scored their goal, which was a little bit lucky and pushed on a bit.
"Half-time came at a good time for us. We regrouped and tried to re-focus the players on what was working in the first half. We had some really good opportunities in the second half.
"Having said that, Butts has made a really good save, probably the save of the game. In that respect it's always a tough place to come. They've got some good players, some really dangerous players."
Line-ups
Blackburn
Formation 4-4-1-1
- 30Steele
- 10Marshall
- 22Duffy
- 5Hanley
- 14OlssonBooked at 83mins
- 19TaylorSubstituted forDelfounesoat 66'minutes
- 29EvansSubstituted forWilliamsonat 90+1'minutes
- 21Akpan
- 32ConwaySubstituted forHenleyat 72'minutes
- 16Lawrence
- 11Rhodes
Substitutes
- 2Henley
- 3Spurr
- 4Kilgallon
- 7Delfouneso
- 8Koita
- 13Eastwood
- 17Williamson
Brentford
Formation 4-3-3
- 27Button
- 28YennarisBooked at 14mins
- 6Dean
- 26Tarkowski
- 3BidwellBooked at 90mins
- 15WoodsSubstituted forCanosat 89'minutes
- 20Diagouraga
- 12McCormack
- 21Vibe
- 8DjuricinSubstituted forKerschbaumerat 23'minutesBooked at 45mins
- 19SwiftSubstituted forSaundersat 72'minutes
Substitutes
- 7Saunders
- 11Hofmann
- 16Bonham
- 17Kerschbaumer
- 22O'Connell
- 24Gogia
- 47Canos
- Referee:
- Andy Woolmer
- Attendance:
- 12,328
Match Stats
Home TeamBlackburnAway TeamBrentford
- Possession
- Home48%
- Away52%
- Shots
- Home10
- Away10
- Shots on Target
- Home4
- Away4
- Corners
- Home8
- Away3
- Fouls
- Home9
- Away15
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Blackburn Rovers 1, Brentford 1.
Post update
Attempt missed. Grant Hanley (Blackburn Rovers) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Ben Marshall with a cross.
Booking
Jake Bidwell (Brentford) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Post update
Foul by Jake Bidwell (Brentford).
Post update
Tom Lawrence (Blackburn Rovers) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Substitution
Substitution, Blackburn Rovers. Lee Williamson replaces Corry Evans.
Post update
Foul by Sergi Canos (Brentford).
Post update
Ben Marshall (Blackburn Rovers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution
Substitution, Brentford. Sergi Canos replaces Ryan Woods.
Post update
Corner, Blackburn Rovers. Conceded by David Button.
Post update
Attempt saved. Ben Marshall (Blackburn Rovers) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Tom Lawrence.
Post update
Alan McCormack (Brentford) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Post update
Foul by Corry Evans (Blackburn Rovers).
Post update
Foul by Sam Saunders (Brentford).
Post update
Shane Duffy (Blackburn Rovers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Booking
Markus Olsson (Blackburn Rovers) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Post update
Sam Saunders (Brentford) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Post update
Foul by Markus Olsson (Blackburn Rovers).
Post update
Attempt saved. Hope Akpan (Blackburn Rovers) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Ben Marshall.
