Jon Dahl Tomasson praised the ambition and attitude of his two young goalscorers after their first league goals for Blackburn secured a 2-1 win against West Brom.
Rovers delivered what turned out to be the knockout punches in a clinical three-minute spell as Dilan Markanday’s tidy finish from a narrow angle set the hosts on their way in the 20th minute before they suffocated their opponents straight from the kick-off and academy graduate Harry Leonard slammed in a second two minutes later on their first league starts for Blackburn.
The Baggies struck back in fine style just after the restart through Matt Phillips’ stunning 25-yard effort but Blackburn finished strongly and better finishing would have made the margin of victory more comfortable for the hosts.
West Brom’s frustration was summed up by boss Carlos Corberan being sent to the stands for dissent late in the second half.
Tomasson gave his goalscorers special mentions but was also pleased to see the attitude of his young side, which contained four academy graduates in the starting XI.
He said: “It’s great to see, and especially to see all those young lads. I think actually we were just below 24 in average age today but to see the development of those players and the joy and also getting a goal. I think Harry started at the academy when he was 10. After the game, I said ‘well done Harry, you played a good game, scored a great goal’ and he said ‘I should have had a hat-trick’. That’s the ambition of the boy.
“It’s also good to see Dilan. We all know Dilan had a difficult period. He came back in pre-season with the right attitude, he’s been working hard and doing the right things. I’m also pleased for him.
“I think it was an exceptional win and performance. We scored two great goals, really good goals and should probably have had a third, fourth or even fifth goal against one of the best teams in the league. The intensity of the team was very good. I think we played some good football as well.”
Corberan’s dismissal meant he was not allowed to speak to the media after the game, in accordance with new EFL rules. In his place was new Baggies captain Jed Wallace, who felt there were ‘positives’ in the performance.
He said: “I thought first 20 minutes we were in control of the game, definitely looked the better team. It’s the Championship, quickly, the ball goes in the channel, probably don’t do as well as we’d like with it and from our own kick-off, within the blink of an eye we’re 2-0 down and give ourselves a mountain to climb.
“The gaffer got behind us at half-time and then I think we responded really well second half. Had a couple of goalmouth scrambles to get that second goal after Matty scored a great goal. Just couldn’t quite manufacture that yard in the box to get that shot off. Then they’re naturally going to have their chances on the break.
“It was a typical wide open Championship game at the end and like I say, we just couldn’t get that goal but on the whole I think there were positives to take from the game.”
Clarke hails solid Scotland as Croatia win boosts Nations League survival hopes
Steve Clarke credited Scotland's defensive resilience after they boosted their hopes of remaining in the top tier of the Nations League by beating Croatia 1-0 at Hampden Park.
John McGinn came off the bench to score the all-important goal as Scotland took advantage of Petar Sucic's sending-off to claim their first win of the 2024-25 Nations League campaign.
The result – coupled with Poland's crushing 5-1 defeat in Portugal – means Scotland will stave off automatic relegation to League B if they win in Warsaw on Monday.
While Clarke felt Scotland could have done more with the ball, he was impressed both with their off-the-ball work and with the impact of super sub McGinn.
"My first thoughts when I came off the pitch were that we could play better," Clarke said.
"We could be more clinical when we get to the final third of the pitch. The sending off changed the game, but we were due a little break.
"This is a group of players that want to be successful, want to do well for their country.
"That's another clean sheet, two in a row. If you don't concede goals, you always have a chance to win the game.
"It was nice to get John on the pitch and I thought his finish was really good because it wasn't easy. It was nice to be able to look at the bench behind and know we had people who could come on and affect the game. It's nice when we get everybody fit and available."
The victory was Scotland's first in a competitive match since September 2023, when they beat Cyprus 3-0 in Euro 2024 qualifying.
They had gone 10 games without a competitive victory since then, drawing four and losing six, including a return of just one point from three outings at Euro 2024.
Denmark 1-2 Spain: Oyarzabal and Perez on target as Roja secure top spot
Spain secured top spot in Group A4 of the Nations League with one match to spare after defeating Denmark 2-1 in Copenhagen.
Mikel Oyarzabal and Ayoze Perez were on the scoresheet as the unbeaten Roja made it four wins and a draw to pull six points clear of the second-placed Danes.
Luis de la Fuente's side capitalised on a poor pass from Denmark centre-back Jannik Vestergaard to open the scoring as Oyarzabal latched on to a ball from Perez and finished past Kasper Schmeichel in the 15th minute.
Villarreal forward Perez then doubled the visitors' lead in the 58th minute after Dani Olmo turned provider with a defence-splitting pass.
The hosts reduced the deficit with six minutes of regulation time left, as Fabian Ruiz's back pass to goalkeeper David Raya was intercepted by Gustav Isaksen, who had been denied by the woodwork moments earlier, and he slotted into an open goal to set up a tense ending.
But the Spaniards held on for the win and will now face Switzerland in their final group game on Monday, before taking part in the quarter-finals, scheduled for March.
Indonesia 0-4 Japan: Visitors stay unbeaten with rout
Japan continued their unbeaten start to World Cup qualifying with a 4-0 victory over Indonesia on Friday.
Two goals from the visitors in either half were enough to seal the three points and get them back to winning ways after a stalemate with Australia last time out.
Ragnar Oratmangoen should have put Indonesia ahead, but he hesitated one-on-one with the goalkeeper, and Japan did not look back after that. They got a bit of fortune with their first goal, Justin Hubner deflecting a cross into his own net in the 35th minute.
Takumi Minamino got their second just before the break, finishing off a pacy counter-attack by darting onto the end of Kaoru Mitoma’s cross to sweep it past Maarten Paes.
While there was not much the goalkeeper could do with that one, he was at fault for the third as he gifted the ball to Hidemasa Morita, who coolly picked out the bottom corner just after the break.
Yukinari Sugawara came off the bench to round off the scoring in the 69th minute. He raced down the right wing and instead of looking to his options, he rifled it in from a tight angle at the near post.
Japan are up to 13 points after five games, sitting top of Group C, while Indonesia are bottom, still in search of their first win.
Data Debrief: Clinically done
For a team still chasing their first win, Japan are probably not high on the list of opponents they would want to face, and Indonesia were undone by their visitors.
Hajime Moriyasu's side created 0.79 expected goals (xG) to Indonesia's 0.72, while they only had four more shots than their hosts (12 compared to eight).
Japan took their chances, and though the win margin may look harsh, they were deserving of the three points, having dominated throughout the game.
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