John Eustace believed that Makhtar Gueye and Yuki Ohashi would start their first Blackburn Rovers game together because of Luton Town’s toughness.
With Todd Cantwell suspended and Ohashi playing directly behind him, Gueye was given his first chance since late October. The two have only appeared on the pitch together twice.
Rovers’ 4-2-3-1 formation, which frequently involves pressing with a front two, has been fairly reliable. Gueye and Ohashi played together for 30 minutes against Oxford United in August, but ever then, it’s been either or.
Eustace felt that Gueye’s added height and physicality would be important for set-pieces whilst Ohashi has continued to play well despite his goal drought.
“I thought it worked well. We thought it would be against a team like Luton, who are very physical,” he explained.
“They play a lot of long balls and from a defensive point of view and set-pieces, it was key that we had two big boys in defending them.
“On the turnover, we needed that strength to look after the ball and Pape (Gueye) had a very good game.
“His pass for the first goal was very good, he played a great role. He linked it well for everyone else. We were brave with the team selection with two strikers and Amario in too.”
Rovers have a week’s rest before Saturday’s trip to Millwall. Four games in 11 days then follows with massive games at home to Sunderland and away to Leeds United in the festive period.
“It’s going to be a challenging period but that’s why we have a squad.
“We have used 25 players until now, we made three or four changes today and the players made a big difference. They were outstanding.
“It shows that everyone knows their jobs and does them. We have no egos in this group of players and everyone can’t wait for the next game.”
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