Loan Watch: Tyler Morton Impresses in Return to Starting XI

Blackburn Rovers defeated to Reading FC in the Championship this week after late drama, winning 2-1 against a 10-man Reading side. Crucially for us, Liverpool loanee Tyler Morton found himself once again in the starting line-up, having fallen out of favor despite being the third-most-used outfield player as recently as February.

Rovers fans had been calling for more experience after a dip in form (from Morton and the side), and Morton has been rebuilding fitness steadily of late after failing to make much of an impact on the side.

Morton started the move that led to Blackburn’s winning goal this week, earning him the highest match rating from Blackburn Rovers Reporter Elliot Jackson (8), who notes also the impact this performance could have going forward:

A good comeback into the starting XI. Don’t underrate the role he plays in the second goal, trapping it from the sky and playing a line-breaking pass to Gallagher. Good performance from the Liverpool loanee which will have helped his confidence.

Looking ahead to the weekend’s FA Cup match at Bramall Lane, Morton told Rovers TV that he and his teammates hope to reward the brilliant traveling support by going through against high-flying Sheffield United:

I’ve seen we’ve sold out the away end and we’re all really looking forward to it. We want to do it for the fans and we’ll take any win for them. The fans will be so excited for the game and I know just how passionate our supporters are when it comes to Blackburn Rovers.

Everything we do is for them and I hope we can get the win for them and take them to Wembley. It’s going to be an incredible atmosphere, it’s going to be bouncing because the fans know we’re close to something special. Thinking back to Leicester, against a Premier League side, that was one of our toughest tests of the season.

We’ve spoken about that game, and we remember how our fans produced an unbelievable atmosphere there as well.

Blackburn are away at Sheffield United in the FA Cup Quarterfinal in Sunday’s early kickoff, with action commencing at 12:00PM GMT/8:00AM EST, with match coverage from ESPN+ in the US, and ITV1 in UK (check LiveSoccerTV for more detailed geographic coverage) — should Reds fans want to fill the gap in the schedule left open by neither the Women’s or Men’s team playing at the weekend.