Source: Telegraph
Blackburn Rovers 0 Stoke City 0: match report
Sam Allardyce's Blackburn Rovers had fond memories of playing Stoke City at Ewood Park in the Premier League. Until this afternoon that is. [LNB]The Rovers manager's first game in charge at the club last December resulted in a 3-0 victory against Tony Pulis' side yet on the day that he was released from hospital following minor heart surgery, his side never looked remotely likely to repeat that feat. [LNB] Related ArticlesPremier League tablePremier League actionPremier League fixturesSport on televisionAllardyce underwent an angioplasty procedure yesterday (FRI) to correct problems with his arteries and it is to be hoped he did not tune into this one from his bedside as it is likely to have done little to aid his recovery. [LNB]Stoke started the sparkier and Dean Whitehead should have given them the lead after being put through on goal by Ricardo Fuller but Paul Robinson saved the one-on-one opportunity. [LNB]He had earlier squandered another chance from the edge of the box while Franco Di Santo did the same at the other end for an abject looking home side. [LNB]Rovers David Dunn was replaced before the break because of injury, depriving the encounter of the only real flair player on display and effectively killing any lingering hopes that this match would explode into a carnival of creativity. [LNB]The dirth of quality on display was summed up by Andy Wilkinson's terrible shank wide soon after the break as he horribly steered a shot wide from close out. It was Sunday League not Premier League and perhaps that is doing a disservice to the nation's weekend footballers. [LNB]Rovers finally woke up though and captain Ryan Nelsen went close with a strangled overhead kick which Thomas Sorensen did well to tip around the post just moments before Steven Nzonzi hit the post from 12 yards out. [LNB]Whitehead then spurned another opportunity from dead in front of goal and the growing opinion that this match was simply destined to end goalless was emphatically yet depressingly confirmed in the remaining 25 minutes. [LNB]
