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RYAN NELSEN |
DERBY
DAY DELIGHT
And Ryan gets his FIRST Rovers goal!
Blackburn Rovers 2-0 Wigan Athletic
Benni McCarthy scored Rovers
first and set up the second - which gave captain Ryan Nelsen
his first ever Rovers goal. This was always going to be a massive
game, and the latest North West derby didn't disappoint. The
special ticket promotion brought in a host of fans who filled
the lower Darwen End ... and with home support on all four sides
of the ground ... they created a wonderful atmosphere. The victory
moves Blackburn 6 points clear of the drop zone, and probably
just 3 points of the safety of 40 points. Wigan only really
threatened once in the first half, when the ball skimmed the
cross bar of Paul Robinson's goal. With the fourth official
ready to signal the amount first half injury time (2 minutes)
Morten Gamst Pedersen took a corner and Benni McCarthy headed
home a close range shot. 1-0 at the interval, and the crowd
raised the roof. A little more of Wigan made Rovers defense
work a little harder after the break. Robinson made a succession
of world class saves and Benni became a free kick specialist.
With an hour played the striker took a long range punt and Ryan
Nelsen headed home his first ever Blackburn goal. The game saw
NO cards from stand in ref. Peter Walton, and 25,019 fans enjoyed
a vital 3 points in the spring sunshine.
Sam Allardyce told RADIO ROVERS:- "It
was a huge win for us. We
got off to a really good start by concerting some pressure on
Wigan and creating a few chances which gives the fans something
to look forward to. The whole of the ground was all ours nearly
today for the first time which meant that there was a vibration
of sound all the way around which I think was helping the players
along.I think that their response and the fans together has
contributed to what was a fantastic result in the end."~
Earlier in the afternoon Arsenal beat
Middlesbrough 2-0 who head the bottom three now 6 pints behind
Rovers. One more win should secure Rovers future in the top
flight for next season. (26th April 2009)
bbc.co.uk
(full report + intreview)
ALSO rovers.co.uk
(reaction) PLUS goals0809 +
t&t0809
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PAIN
AT THE POTTERIES
Valuable point lost at Stoke
Stoke City 1-0 Blackburn Rovers
The Britannia Stadium has become
a very difficult place for teams to visit ... and Rovers knew
it was going to be a touch afternoon. It looked like a far
more committed Blackburn, after last weekends trip to Anfield
- but few chances fell for either side - just 2 on target
each in the whole 90 minutes. When it came, the Stoke goal
followed a Rovers momentary lapse, and former Blackburn boy
James Beatie took advantage to provide Liam Lawrence with
the chance to grabs a goal from deep inside the penalty box.
Just 15 minutes remained and it seemed to fire up the visitors
who certainly kept applying the pressure right to the last
minute. But whatever they tried, the equaliser eluded them.
Big Sam told reporters:- "We contained
them quite well but could not do anything in an attacking
sense. We were a bit lightweight up front because we were
without Jason Roberts and Roque Santa Cruz. The most insignificant
cross of the day ended up Liam Lawrence scoring the only goal
for them."
The result sees Rovers now only
3 points clear of the bottom three after Middlesborugh collected
a point in a goalless draw at home to Fulham. Newcastle are
at Spurs on Sunday, and West Brom travel to Manchester City.
Stokes Premiership future looks assured with them now on 39
points and up to 11th place. Next Sunday's home derby with
Wigan is now an even bigger game. (April 18th 2009)
bbc.co.uk
(full report + intreview)
ALSO rovers.co.uk
(reaction) PLUS goals0809
+ t&t0809
|
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OUTPLAYED
AT ANFIELD
Rovers not really at the races
Liverpool 4-0 Blackburn Rovers
An Injury plagued Rovers side
with Chris Samba playing as a striker struggled to play their
part in the Premier League's early kick off at Liverpool. With
No Pedersen, Diouf, Santa Cruz or Jason Roberts, it only took
5 minutes for Fernando Torres to open the scoring. And in a
half that the home side dominated, it was no surprise to see
him claim a second 25 minutes later. Whatever Big Sam said at
the break seemed to inspire a little more belief, and there
was certainly much more of Rovers in the second half. Samba
came very close to claiming one back, and the Liverpool defense
had a bit more to do - but it was the Anfield faithful who celebrated
again with less than ten minutes left as Daniel Agger beat Robinson
from 30 yards out. With time running out David Ngog completed
the disappointing afternoon claiming Liverpool's 4th in the
90th minute.
The win temporarily took them back to the top of the table -
ahead of Manchester United's win at Sunderland. Ahead of the
game, the stadium remembered the tragedy of Hillsborough 20
years ago this week. A minutes silence and black arm bands honored
the 96 fans who lost their lives two decades ago.
Rovers manager Sam Allardyce told the BBC: "I
think there was a little bit of fear in the team. We should
have got tighter, instead we just let them play their game plan.
They are certainly capable of winning the title, even if Manchester
United have a game in hand. If Liverpool keep playing like that
and continue with that pace and confidence, it is possible they
can win it. There will be a lot of twists and turns yet and
they certainly believe they can do it."
Other crucial results saw Middlesborough beat Hull
City 3-1, Newcastle claim a late equaliser at Stoke in a 1-1
draw, Portsmouth held to a 2-2- draw with bottom team West Brom,
and Chelsea beat Bolton 4-3. By the end of the afternoon Blackburn
had dropped to 16th place - but still have a 4 point cushion
over the bottom three. Next Saturday they are away at Stoke
and hoping to have a few key injured players back available.
bbc.co.uk
(full report + intreview)
ALSO rovers.co.uk
(reaction) PLUS goals0809 +
t&t0809
|
 
McCARTHY
& OOIJER |
BIG
WIN SEES ROVERS MOVE 5 CLEAR
.. as they come from behind to beat 10 man Spurs
Blackburn Rovers 2 - 1 Tottenham Hotspur
With ten minutes left to play
- Rovers were out of it. They'd created few chances and conceded
a goal from a controversial penalty. But all that was about
to change! It took half an hour for Spurs to take the lead -
Aaron Lennon firing in a ball at close range that was (according
to referee Mr. Walton) adjudged to have hit Gael Givet on the
hand. If it did, he had no chance to move out of the way, but
a penalty was given. The ball wasn't on the spot when Robbie
Keane put it past Paul Robinson - the Rovers fans and Manager
were NOT happy. The former Spurs and now Blackburn keeper had
already made a fine save .. but didn't have many others to deal
with. Rovers had just replaced Morten Gamst Pedersen with David
Dunn who went of injured on 25 minutes and later Jason Roberts
also joined the growing injury list. 0-1 down at the break,
and Big Sam had to make some big decisions ... He replaced Roberts
by moving Chris Samba up front and bringing on Andre Ooier,
but Rovers still didn't seem to have the decisive touch. Tugay
came on for Aaron Mokoena, and joined David Dunn in central
midfield. They now certainly looked more creative - but the
turning point was probably when Wilson Palacios saw a second
yellow in two minutes, which saw Spurs loose their man. The
move seemed to lift Blackburn - and within minutes Christopher
Samba had provided Benni McCarthy with the perfect cross for
the striker to get the equaliser. Benni had done little up to
this point - but now there was a real chance of at least a point
from what had been a poor game. With two minutes left, the ever
busy El-Hadji Diouf took a corner, and all Andre Ooijer needed
to do was tap in what was to be the winner. The team, crowd
and commentators went wild with excitement! From being dead
an buried Rovers pulled out a vital win. Speaking on RADIO ROVERS
Sam Allardyce admitted the result was probably not what he was
expecting:- "I think both sides today
didn't give their best performances, but we aren't interested
in performances only how we can win.
But the way it came today I didn't quite expect it, but that
is the excitement of the Barclays Premier League and football
in general."
Sam also talked about the new injury worries to Pedersen and
Roberts :- "In this league you can never know what
is going to turn your way as long as you keep going and we've
had to overcome a lot of problems today. Injuries occurred before
half-time, Jason Roberts wanted to come off a little sooner
but he saw through to half time, and Morten came off with a
calf injury that was probably down to the internationals"
He went on ..."We put Chris
Samba up front and then we shuffled the midfield around and
put Stevie Warnock on the left, then we got the goal and finally
in the end we got the winner.... After all that we've won so
I can sleep a little better tonight."
The
Man of the match award went to the dominant defender/striker
Chris Samba!
With
a 12:45 kick off, the result saw Rovers move up to 13th - but
once all the other games finished they competed the day in 14th
place. They now have a five point cushion over the bottom three
who all lost. That included Alan Shearer's Newcastle, going
done 0-2 at home to Chelsea. Liverpool went top after finding
an injury time winner at Fulham. Blackburn visit Anfield for
next Saturday's early game. (April 4th 2009)
bbc.co.uk
(full report) ALSO
rovers.co.uk
(reaction) PLUS goals0809 +
t&t0809
|
ALAN
SHEARER |
PRODIGAL
SON RETURNS (AGAIN)
Alan Shearer takes over at the Toon
He spent ten years at Newcastle
as a player, and is their top scorer, but Alan Shearer never
won any silverware in the North East. Of course last summer
the former Rovers star was hotly tipped to become the Blackburn
manager - but today he returned home to St. James's Park.
His task to keep the side in the Premier League - and he told
reporters they could do that. Shearer was part of the famous
side who brought glory to Ewood Park, and now the fans at
Newcastle believe he can work miracles for them. Another former
Rover - Tony Parkes - told SKY Sports that he might just have
that ability. As Rovers most frequent stand in Manager, Parkes
knows a thing or two about taking on a team in trouble. He
also knows Alan, and said it could well be the right appointment
for the tough task. Shearer will have Ian Dowie as his number
two, and has never before managed any side. At a live press
conference Alan told reporters:- "We
are third-bottom of the league. Whether that is because of
bad luck, bad play, low confidence, poor refereeing decisions...
it doesn't matter, it is history. We have a massive fight
on our hands in difficult circumstances. We've got injuries
but we will face it head on and give it a right good go. I
love this football club and I realise they are in a very bad
situation, but I've been given the chance to do something
about it and I believe I can turn things around at this club."
The
BBC also quote the former striker as saying the deal is just
for the remaining games this season .."I enjoyed
doing what I was doing with the BBC and I'm looking forward
to doing it again next season. I know what I'm doing next
season. I'm here for eight games only."
The appointment might add a little
more pressure at Ewood - but ex team mate at Rovers Stuart
Ripley told the Lancashire Telegraph that Blackburn should
ignore what's happening in the North East ... “Blackburn
don’t need to look at what is happening there, they have to
look after themselves. At the moment their fate is in their
own hands so why fear what Shearer can do at Newcastle?"
Rovers play Spurs in the early kick off this Saturday
- for Shearer and Newcastle it's Chelsea (April 2nd 2009)
bbc.co.uk
(Shearer) ALSO lancashiretelegraph.co.uk
(Ripley)
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