My recollection of the game at St Mary's is they didn't batter us despite the 4-0 scoreline, panenka penalty over the cross bar and sending off of Hill for rank stupidity. We never got going against a team with obvious defensive weaknesses. Their first goal was a clear foul and they were very clinical in dispatching the ten men with two goals deep into added time. The Sunderland result has created the luxury of not being at risk of being in the bottom 3 this evening even if we have a bad day at the office and the opportunity of rising well clear if we produce an Ipswich or Newcastle quality of performance and get the balance of good fortune and refereeing decisions this afternoon. Unfortunately, we have Craig Pawson- another Premier League ref so not expecting anything other than another biased performance against us.

If ever a game is shaped by both sides previous match it is this one. Can Rovers carry on defending well, pressing expertly and scoring freely? In all fairness, the games before Sunderland suggested the defending and pressing were coming back to scratch. Southampton on the other hand were controlling their game at Ipswich and still contrived to lose so will come to Ewood with a decent backing and win at all costs requirement if automatic promotion hopes aren't going to be extinguished. Southampton are excellent going forward but their defence is sloppy and vulnerable so we have a chance of making it back to back wins. Welcome back to Adam Armstrong and Joe Rothwell.

That is extraordinary. If games lasted 75 minutes we would still be chasing a play-off place.../

Saints excellent going forward but so vulnerable at the back. Let the guy fall over then toe poke with his other foot. If there is no appeal for the Bree dismissal which looked harsh, Southampton come to Ewood weakened at the back and desperately seeking a win. Should be a cracker

Effectively with goal difference, Huddersfield have 6 games to make up 6 points on us and Sheffield Wednesday have to make up 7 points. I will get lynched for this but Sheffield Wednesday home is a MUST NOT LOSE. Draw that and Wednesday only have 5 games to get those 7 points in and that is assuming we lose the other games. After the performances against Newcastle and Ipswich and the tonic of a 5-1 away win, there is no reason at all that we shouldn't be extremely competitive against Southampton Leeds Coventry and Leicester- play the way we can and by the law of averages we will get something breaking our way in one or more of those games. We are not safe but our road to safety is now clearly marked.

Pleased for Eustace as well as all Rovers fans after that Wearside stroll.

Fantastic performance but great to score at all the right psychological moments too. Worth pointing out that was the first game this season we could get all 4 of Gally, Szmodics, Hedges and Dolan on the pitch together and they played superbly as a unit. Dolan was too tricky for the Sunderland defence and simply having the height and physicality of Gally created spaces for the other 3. Rovers press was exceptional thoughout- Sunderland players will be having blue and white halved nightmares tonight.. JRC and Tronstad look a great combination in midfield and the defence was pretty flawless until we lost Dack when we were really slow getting back to the loose ball after Pears' excellent save. Fabulous feeling after any win but 5-1 is extra sweet.

I got corrected. We get 15% of the profit over the 23m which is now looking a certainty to be paid barring a bad injury. The adds on look bankable the way Adam has started. at Palace.

Seems to be showing he can tear a Premier League defence apart so can do it at the highest level which many doubted.

I am worried but giving Eustace benefit of the doubt. The injury situation only eased recently and even then we lost Buckley and Gallagher. A huge difference is JDT had a mini-worldie in the centre of the park in Wharton and Eustace hasn't. Irrespective of the run in fixtures, I would rather be sitting in our position with our squad than where Huddersfield, Birmingham and Wednesday are this morning with their squads. But I would swap Eustace for Rohl in a heartbeat...

Hope we get our breaks at the right moments in the game the way they got their's at Ewood this season.

Which is what I am saying. Unfortunately, we ended without either a play off place or Ash Philips Anyway, the Palace 23m man was man of the match yet again.

Being useless giving press comments is a problem for selling match day tickets. What I miss was JDT's ability to get the ball passed quicker after half time. Get the impression Eustace is too busy telling them how brilliant they are to get them to wind it up. Brittain in particular looks a player who constantly needs shaking out of his comfort zone. JDT got some excellent performances out of him. Eustace hasn't as yet. overall we are too one paced and predictable under Eustace which is why ok performances are not being turned into wins.

The hope is we get back to where we were when we were scoring goals for fun in the run of 4 away wins. The fear is the defence forgets how its confidence has returned because it is too busy shielding an error prone keeper..

Just hope Eustace is a lot better motivating and organising the players than he is communicating with the fans. JDT was a superb communicator so he will sound rubbish in comparison but beginning to conclude he is genuinely rubbish in speaking to the press. The other worries are that players are ponderous on the ball from the middle third forward making us too easy to defend against and nobody is willing or seemingly encouraged to try this sort of shooting which went a huge way to securing QPR's future-

All we can ask for is Keep defending solidly No Pears howler The scrappiest scumiest luckiest goal(s) ever scored by Rovers....

Ipswich looked like a team used to winning and instinctively passed between themselves whereas our passing was all stop and look for someone. We got lucky with the nailed on penalty Ipswich weren't given and they got lucky cumulatively with the three times we got it into their net when the officials could have missed their marginal decisions against us and the Moran volley was an extremely marginal call. That was keeper collision with Wharton without the keeper having control of the ball. But it came down to Pears howler being a goal and their keeper's howler wasn't because he got lucky with where his left arm was when Szmodics struck for goal. In the replay it is obvious his left arm goes out without looking and unlike against Newcastle Szmodics gave it elevation. If he had chipped it against Newcastle we go through, a flatter trajectory yesterday we equalise.

To be exact in the next 7 games For Rovers to go down Two of Birmingham, Huddersfield and Wednesday need to get 4 points more than we do And Plymouth need to get one point more than we do Far from impossible but not the most likely outcome if our defending continues the way it is doing under Eustace not forgetting Carter is now available for the first time in his tenure.

Southampton drawing to Boro really dented them but they still have those games in hand.

The Ipswich subs were no great shakes- I was beginning to think they were going to gift us a draw. As it is Ipswich's promotion push is 4 points to the better thanks to our Ashley...

Waggott is the lowest form of worm. I hope the reason for my posting this isn't coming to pass.

Dolan was high class today

So frustrating to lose to a Pears blunder. Dolan had a Stormer today.

Dream results for Ipswich so they will be fired up. At least we will still be 3 points off a relegation slot and have two clubs between us and 22nd as well. A free hit for both us and Ipswich.

Worth remembering Ipswich last game was a 6-0 todgering of Wednesday. I hope we are more competitive than that. I believe we are more competitive than that. But the butterflies will be going as kick-off approaches.