‘Understatement’ Taylor Gardner-Hickman on the ‘disgraceful’ EFL ruling
Being offered another chance to create an impression does not sit well with Taylor Gardner-Hickman. Following the international break, he made his Rovers debut off the bench against Watford before making his complete debut in the contentious game against Ipswich Town.
Referee Steve Martin called off the match because of a wet pitch after 80 minutes of fierce play between Gardner-Hickman and Blackburn, who were ahead 1-0. Even though Blackburn had established a position of superiority, their dissatisfaction was exacerbated when the EFL decided they would have to repeat the entire game. Regarding the decision, Gardner-Hickman told Rovers TV: “I think it would be an understatement to say that I’m really sad.
“All of the statistics at the time indicated that we were winning the game if you look at everything that needed to be done. “We were ahead 1-0, they were obviously down to ten men, and they never really seemed to be dangerous or like they were going to do anything. “So again disappointed is an understatement, but we put that in the back of our minds and when they come back we’ll have to do it all over again.”
Even less pleased was Rovers manager Valerien Ismael, who called it “a disgraceful decision, it’s bad publicity for English football.” However, Gardner-Hickman was pleased to start for his new squad for the first time after being called up late due to an injury sustained by a teammate prior to kickoff. “I was thrilled and prepared to give it my best that game when I learnt that Sid [Sidnei Tavares] had been injured, which is never pleasant. I learnt this literally fifteen minutes before kickoff.
To a man, I believed the boys were smart. “I tried to be that reliable middleman for the team, and I think I had a solid game. I am quite happy with how things went. “Me and Sonny [Sondre Tronstad] tried to control the game, get on the ball and show a lot of bravery and positive signs – that’s something I look forward to doing a lot more.”
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