Dean Holden lavishes praise on Famara Diedhiou after victory over Blackburn

Posted Thursday, December 10, 2020 by PA

Dean Holden lavished praise on Famara Diedhiou after the striker’s 82nd-minute winner had ended Blackburn’s seven-match unbeaten run.

Diedhiou had been on the pitch only seven minutes as a substitute when he shot home on the turn after Nahki Wells’ cross from the left had been nodded down by Callum O’Dowda at the far post and touched on by Chris Martin.

It was the second time last season’s top scorer Diedhiou had climbed off the bench to net a late winner in a campaign that has seen him lose his regular starting place to Martin.

Holden gave him a hug as he left the pitch and emerged from the dressing room to say: “Fam is an example to all our players.

“I tell the members of the squad not in the team that they have to be ready when called upon and that it could happen at any time.

“That requires mental strength and Fam has shown it more than once. He scored late for us against Derby County and has done so again tonight.

“All the players showed a terrific response to the defeat by Birmingham on Saturday and I couldn’t be happier with them.

“We kept a clean sheet against the Championship top scorers and had the clearer chances in both halves.

“While Blackburn had a lot of goal attempts, we limited them to very few clear openings. With better finishing we might have been ahead by the break, but in the end we have achieved a big win.

“We want our home form to match our performances on the road and this is a step towards that.”

Top scorer Adam Armstrong fired blanks for Rovers, failing to beat Dan Bentley with any of his nine goal attempts.

Rovers boss Tony Mowbray said: “Adam was a bit off it tonight and that went for our finishing in general.

“The chances and half chances we have been creating have been ending up with the ball in the back of the net, but tonight we misfired as a team.

“There were still plenty of positives. Playing back-to-back away games is particularly difficult at the moment, with the travelling involved and little time for preparation.

“Now we have two home games to look forward to, starting with a very tough one against Norwich City, and hopefully we can put some points on the board.

“Bristol is never an easy place to come to. When their fans are in, they seem to suck the ball into the net at times.

“We have come out on the wrong end of a tight game and won’t let it affect us. But it was too end-to-end for me at times and there are things we need to work on.”