Source: Telegraph
Blackburn fight back to secure a draw
Sam Allardyce was left to bemoan a contentious refereeing decision and a stoppage-time header that struck the woodwork after his new club, Blackburn, roared back from 2-0 down to make it seven games unbeaten under his management in a pulsating derby against his former employers Bolton. [LNB]Blackburn's Stephen Warnock had just halved the deficit created by first-half goals from Matt Taylor and Kevin Davies when Roque Santa Cruz raced on to a pass by fellow substitute Tugay with 21 minutes remaining. [LNB]As the Paraguayan rounded Jussi Jaaskelainen, the keeper brought him down, but instead of receiving a red card the Finn was cautioned by referee Mike Dean and compounded Allardyce's annoyance by saving Benni McCarthy's penalty. The South African striker redeemed himself by rifling the equaliser in a congested penalty area with three minutes remaining, but Allardyce could not disguise his frustration. [LNB]'Who'd have thought at half-time that I'd be disappointed with a point,' he said. 'But for the penalty miss and Ryan Nelsen hitting the post with a last-minute header, it would have been a precious win. In the end it was just a moral victory.' [LNB]Allardyce added: 'I don't understand why it wasn't a sending-off. We would have been playing the last 20 minutes against 10 men with a substitute goalkeeper. It was the wrong decision. Mr Dean deemed it not to be a goalscoring opportunity but I can't agree.' [LNB]Gary Megson, the Bolton manager, reflected on two points lost. 'We didn't do enough after half-time,' he admitted. 'I think tiredness came into it but we didn't perform as well, and they were able to put on a £20 million striker.' [LNB]Bolton had looked much the more assured outfit in the early stages. Taylor forced the ball in at the far post after a low shot by Ariza Makukula, the on-loan Benfica striker, and Davies doubled the advantage by converting the rebound after Paul Robinson had parried his first effort. After the break Roque Cruz showed why Allardyce is reluctant to sell him. [LNB]Now, said 'Big Sam', it was 'too late' for him to join Manchester City, or any other club, because there was not time for him to find a forward of comparable quality.[LNB]
