How Eustace angered Gueye and Blackburn boss’ penalty view
Makhtar Gueye’s best performance in a Blackburn Rovers shirt was motivated by his ire at not starting, according to John Eustace.
After an hour, the forward’s incredible header at the back post gave them the lead. Andi Weimann then scored the rebound to make it 3-0 after he nearly scored a second and forced a wonderful save.
Rovers had needed someone to come up and break the impasse throughout a stressful night. Gueye made a really good substitute performance by sticking his thumb up.
Eustace revealed the forward was annoyed not to have been in the starting XI and joked that might happen again if it coaxes that level of performance.
“The aim is always to win the game and it was a difficult one tonight,” Eustace said.
“Portsmouth are a tough team to play against. They made it difficult for us. We had good moments in the first half but we got sloppy.
“We said at halftime that we needed one outstanding moment to win the game, and our goal was excellent. We believed we could harm them, and that was our intention.
“The players were under a lot of pressure to win the game tonight, and I’m happy that we did. They irritated us during the first half, but we advised them to remain composed. We knew we’d have a piece of quality to win the game.
“The build-up for the goal was excellent, and we have scored ten goals from substitutes. Makhtar was so pissed off that he didn’t start, and that’s the response I desire, so he didn’t need much encouragement to continue.
“Andi’s move would harm their defenders, but Makhtar was frustrated not to start. It occasionally did, but we didn’t have his physical presence. He had a significant impact when he came on.
“It’s the nicest thirty minutes he’s ever spent with us. To get performances like that, I may need to exclude him more. He’s settling in and becoming more comfortable in the league. He wants to succeed and has a large heart. Despite his struggles, I’m happy that he scored such a spectacular header.
Eustace acknowledged that just seconds before Rovers scored their game-winning second goal, Portsmouth had a chance to score a penalty. Before Colby Bishop’s header was cleared off the line, Aynsley Pears wiped out Callum Lang.
Following that move, Callum Brittain launched a counterattack, which infuriated Portsmouth’s bench and the referees.
Eustace acknowledged, “It could’ve quite easily been a penalty, for sure,”
“Over 46 games, you have your rub of the green and decisions for and against. We were perhaps a touch fortunate not to throw the penalty away.
“However, we responded, scored a fantastic goal, and eliminated it. We’ve been the victims of bad choices, and it evens things out. We got away with a lucky call but we deserved to win the game.”
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