Dack makes the difference for Blackburn in rout of Carlisle

Posted Wednesday, August 15, 2018 by PA

Blackburn manager Tony Mowbray hailed two-goal hero Bradley Dack after his Championship side dismissed Carlisle 5-1 in their Carabao Cup first-round tie.

Dack scored two and set up two as Rovers ran riot, with Adam Armstrong also scoring twice and Kasey Palmer getting the other.

“It’s quality that wins games of football,” Mowbray said. “Bradley makes the difference at the end of the day. He is a very good footballer and this is why I picked him tonight instead of giving him a rest.

“It could have been tight affair and I didn’t want a 0-0 and penalties so I gambled a bit.”

Armstrong and Dack had Rovers up 2-0 inside six minutes, with Armstrong firing in a shot after just two minutes before Dack punished a mistake from Carlisle goalkeeper Joe Fryer.

Hallam Hope scored with a wonderful 30-yard strike to lift Carlisle heads in the 22nd minute but the reprieve was only brief, with Dack and Palmer making it 4-1 before the break.

Armstrong was put through by man of the match Dack to make it five nine minutes into the second half – a final score Mowbray felt was harsh on Carlisle.

“Ultimately they haven’t got a Bradley Dack in their team and class makes a difference in games at times,” he said.

“There was lots I didn’t enjoy tonight. The game was too open. I was conscious of playing five attackers. We came here to try and blow them away, but they played pretty well and had quite a few attacks on our goal.”

That view was shared by Carlisle boss John Sheridan, who was upbeat about his side’s efforts despite the lop-sided scoreline.

“It could have been 5-4,” he said. “They punished our mistakes. In our league you can get away with some of those mistakes.”

Sheridan, still seeking his first win as Carlisle boss, added: “We were excellent going forward and I was pleased with the way we played. We were up against a really good side who made us work and I was just pleased with how our players responded.”

Sheridan said his team “worked their socks off” and kept going despite conceding those early goals.

“We competed well in what was a tough test for us,” he said. “We created chances and could have had four or five today, but it wasn’t to be.

“I am looking at the positives. We gave away some poor goals on our part but there was a tempo and purpose going forward and the scoreline does not reflect the performance.”