Dutch football fans visited Blackburn to see cancelled match

Gerben Van Es and his three friends, Andre, Danny, and Peter, travelled 350 miles from Scherpenzeel in the Netherlands aiming to see Rovers vs Portsmouth at Ewood Park on Saturday.

However, when the foursome visited the Fox and Hounds opposite the ground for a pre-match pint they were given the dreaded news it was postponed.

Due to the effects of Storm Bert, a waterlogged pitch meant match officials had to call the game off - scuppering their hopes of a Blackburn away day.

The group had to detour and visited Deepdale (Image: Supplied) Gerben, an FC Utrecht fan, said: "At first we thought they were joking about the game being called off.

"We couldn't believe it."

While they aren't Rovers fans, the group wanted to watch a game at the famous Ewood Park because of the club's history.

Gerben explained: "When I was growing up, Blackburn were one of the best teams in England and won the Premier League.

"Alan Shearer was the Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo of the time. The club have a big history."

The Fox and Hounds gave the group a round of shots on the house (Image: Supplied) Gerben and his pals make a habit of traveling across Europe to watch different teams play and have visited England to see Championship games before.

He added: "Normally when we come to watch a Championship team play at home they lose, so you could say it was a stroke of luck for Blackburn that it was called off!"

After news of the postponement, the group had a choice to either stay in the boozer all afternoon drinking or to head out to another match that had survived Storm Bert.

Gerben and co. opted for the healthier option and quickly hurried to Deepdale to watch Preston North End vs Derby County, the only other EFL game on in Lancashire that day after Fleetwood vs MK Dons was also called off.

However, they were left unimpressed by lowly Preston's turgid performance in a 1-1 draw.

He said: "It was awful. The match was very slow.

"Normally we are used to more action."

The friends also made the most of their trip by visiting Rover's arch rivals, Burnley FC, for a tour of their ground, Turf Moor.

Gerben added: "We were really disappointed to be honest that we couldn't watch Rovers, who were the biggest club in England when we were growing up, and had a few Dutchies play for them [over the years]."

Die-hard Blues fans may remember Dutch midfielder, Richard Witschge, who made one appearance for the Lancashire outfit during their 1994-1995 Premier League-winning season.

The former Ajax and Barcelona man branded Blackburn as "poor and ugly" after leaving after falling out of favour with manager, Kenny Dalglish.

Gerben was far more complimentary of the town, he said: "At the end of the day we were lucky to have visited the town of Blackburn so we were happy.

"And hopefully, we can return in the future."

Other Dutch players to grace Ewood Park over the years include Marvin Emnes, Jan Paul van Hecke, and Andre Ooijer.