Blackburn Rovers Vs Bristol City: Riis and Twine Complete 2-1 Robins Comeback at Ewood Park

Blackburn Rovers Vs Bristol City saw Emil Riis and Scott Twine overturn an early Yuki Ōhashi goal to claim a hard-fought 2-1 victory at Ewood Park, a result that ended Blackburn’s mini-revival and handed Michael O'Neill his first defeat as Blackburn manager. The comeback and late defensive heroics mattered for Bristol City as they prepare to face Watford on Friday, February 27th at 8pm ET.

Blackburn Rovers Vs Bristol City: match flow and decisive moments

Blackburn opened the scoring after six minutes when Ryoya Morishita ran past Rob Atkinson and found Yuki Ōhashi, who rifled the ball into the back of the City goal. The lead lasted around ten minutes: in the 17th minute Cameron Pring’s cross deflected kindly for Emil Riis, who controlled on his thigh and volleyed into the far corner to level. Scott Twine then struck just after the half-hour, meeting Riis’s cutback with a sublime volley into the top corner to give Bristol City a 2-1 lead at the break.

Key performances and goalkeeping interventions

Radek Vítek (also spelled Radek Vitek in some accounts) and Baláz Tóth (also shown as Balazs Toth) were both prominent in goal action. Vítek made several crucial late saves, including a stop from Moussa Baradji at the death, and denied Dion De Neve from point-blank range. Tóth twice denied Riis earlier and produced a top save in the 75th minute to keep out a free kick. Those interventions were central to the outcome as Blackburn applied relentless second-half pressure.

Blackburn fightback, missed chances and match stats

Blackburn registered 16 attempts with six on target but were unable to convert a handful of gilt-edged chances. Ryan Alebiosu’s pace created openings; Mathias Jørgensen headed wide from a promising delivery, Andri Gudjohnsen failed to capitalise on a three-on-two, and Yuki Ohashi had moments both bright and frustrating — scoring early and later seeing an overhead attempt kept out, while another opportunity was smashed into the ground and wide from the centre of the box. Ryoya Morishita produced dangerous deliveries that ultimately lacked the precision to break down City’s defence.

Substitutions, formations and starting line-up

Bristol City made multiple changes from their previous match, with Emil Riis, Scott Twine, Cam Pring, Mark Sykes and Sam Morsy coming into the starting XI. The matchday starting XI was listed as: Vítek; Tanner, Eile, Atkinson (Borges 45’); Sykes Morsy (Randell 58’), Knight (C), Pring; Horvat (Bird 90+2’), Twine (Burgzorg 58’); Riis (Armstrong 58’). During the game Max Bird replaced Tomi Horvat, and Oladapo Afolayan replaced Kristi Montgomery for Blackburn. Additional in-play changes included Borges at 45’ and multiple second-half substitutions indicated at 58’ and 90+2’.

Context, commentary and what it means next

The match was described as a hard-fought victory for Bristol City, with control and quality in the first half from City and a much different, intense second half as Blackburn improved their performance. Former Sunderland and Bristol City midfielder Gary Owers commented on the shift in tone: City produced quality in the first half but had to battle and scrap in the second; while Blackburn pushed relentlessly late on, City’s defensive resilience and Vítek’s saves secured the result. A late free-kick and five minutes of added time saw tension rise as Blackburn searched for an equaliser.

Managerial notes and immediate implications

Michael O'Neill suffered his first defeat since taking charge of Blackburn. The match narrative noted that the Northern Ireland boss had won his first two matches in the job-share and was aiming for a third when Yuki Ohashi put Rovers ahead. A post-match comment in the available accounts said, "I've been here nine days and we've played three games. At the moment we've got six points out of nine, if we keep that pattern going I'll be more than happy, " but it is unclear in the provided context who made that remark. For Bristol City, the victory ended a two-game winless run and shifts attention to the upcoming home game against Watford on Friday, February 27th at 8pm ET.

Note: this page used AI assistance in preparing its summary and was checked by a journalist prior to publication.