Blackburn Rovers hit back late to draw Wigan Athletic

Blackburn Rovers were pulled back late on as they drew 1-1 at Wigan Athletic in their final pre-season outing.

It was typical friendly fodder at the DW Stadium in a game that lacked tempo and intensity for large portions.

Without Sam Szmodics, Arnor Sigurdsson and Sam Gallagher, Rovers struggled to create many chances. Instead, it was Wigan who looked the clear from the start.

Theo Aasgaard hit the bar as he crossed, Aynsley Pears already denying Chris Sze with a smart save.

Rovers hit the woodwork themselves through Sondre Tronstad, but otherwise it was a lackluster affair.

They did get the first real sight of goal though, which looked to have won them. Jack Vale crossed the goal and finished over the goalkeeper.

But Wigan equalized with ten minutes remaining thanks to Aasgaard. His initial header was well saved by Pears but the rebound dropped kindly and he made no mistake a second time.

Most of the pre-match headlines were dominated by who was unavailable for Rovers rather than who was in action.

Szmodics was left out with speculation swirling over a move to Ipswich Town, while Gallagher and Sigurdsson were more surprising absences from the squad. Georgie Gent was not involved either.

So it was quite a scrappy team that took to the field with Tom Bloxham starting from the left. Vale led the line with Tyrhys Dolan at the back.

It was not a classic encounter and Rovers needed some time to warm up. Wigan looked the better of the two teams and created the first opening.

A nice move from midfield saw Latics work the ball down the right, with Dion Rakine pulling the ball back for Chris Sze, but it was deflected from close range by the feet of Pears. In fact, he should have scored.

Rovers improved after 20 minutes and began to play with more tempo and intensity. However, there is a glaring lack at the top, with three of their main strikers absent.

They were caught out again by a wasted finish when Aasgaard went through on goal. Stones beat Hayden Carter in the air and the ball fell to the forward who lifted the ball over Pears but onto the top of the crossbar.

Rovers’ best chance came shortly after they were rattling the woodwork themselves. They won the ball up high and Tronstad let fly from 20 yards; the ball hit goalkeeper Sam Tickle and bounced off the bar and into safety.

The second half started in the same vain as the first, slow and boring. Rovers didn’t inject enough zip into their passing to cause Wigan’s form any real problems, nor did they have the one-on-one players who could break the game open.

Instead, Latics came very close again. Silo Thomas’ cross from the left was a peach and found the head of Smith but he deflected wide.

But Rovers made their Championship quality count as they took the lead. Rankin-Costello played into Vale’s feet and finished confidently over the keeper with his first real sight of goal.

It looked as though Blackburn might see the game out and claim a narrow victory, but instead they were pegged back with 10 minutes remaining.

A cross from the Wigan left picked out Aasgaard, whose header was brilliantly saved by Pears but in vain as the rebound fell back to the striker to finish.

A sloppy goal later on, with The Latics man given too much space inside the box.

This proved to be the last of the goal-mouth action, with Rovers drawing both weekend games to one.

A productive fitness exercise for the team, but John Eustace’s lack of resources was exposed once again.