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  • Date:2007-12-30
  • Kick-off:13:30
  • Venue:Pride Park Stadium
  • Attendance:30048
  • Referee:Walton, P

Live Commentary

90mins

The final whistle is blown and Blackburn claim the three points despite a brave performance from Derby County.

90mins

Blackburn make their final substitution with Tugay being replaced by David Dunn.

90mins

The home crowd are desperate for an equalising goal and are thoroughly getting behind their team.

90mins

The fourth official indicates three minutes of added time at the end of the game here.

89mins

Blackburn are playing a game of keep ball and look in total control of the game despite Derby's late surge for a goal.

87mins

Benni McCarthy is replaced by Matt Derbyshire.

87mins

Derby pile some pressure onto Blackburn with Barnes' poor corner resulting in a good effort from Fagan but Friedel saved for the away side.

85mins

Matt Oakley picked the ball just outside the area and tried his luck from around twenty yards out, but his right footed shot spiralled wide.

84mins

Olsson's first contribution to the game is a poor one, giving possession of the ball away to Derby who countered but could make nothing of it.

82mins

Morten Gamst Pederson is replaced by Martin Olsson who makes his Premiership debut for Blackburn.

80mins

Craig Fagan showed his inexperience by receiving the ball inside the penalty area and playing the ball back out of it to take the pressure off Blackburn, then Eddie Lewis's cross was very dismal, much to the dismay of Paul Jewell.

79mins

Kenny Miller is replaced by Jon Macken.

78mins

Derby don't look like a team that are going to score and Paul Jewell will be thinking about changing things around as Jon Macken warms up on the touchline.

77mins

Stephen Warnock and Tyrone Mears collide nastily but the pair both look as though they are ok.

75mins

Derby are let off the hook twice in a row. Firstly with Roque Santa Cruz directing a shot goalwards that was cleared off the line by Eddie Lewis, the seconds later David Bentley crashed the ball off the post with a shot from just outside the area.

74mins

A very good header from Roque Santa Cruz who once again showed his class as the Derby defence was caught static, but luckily for them it flew just over the cross bar.

72mins

Kenny Miller tried something different and almost special for Derby, but the striker's bicycle kick was poor and the ball spun about fifteen yards wide of the goal.

70mins

Michael Johnson and Dean Leacock who were taked off earlier by Paul Jewell apparently have picked up injuries and are added to Derby's long absence list.

68mins

There are some signs of improvement from Derby but Mark Hughes wants more from his players and Blackburn are being resillient so far in the second half.

66mins

A fantastic run by Tyrone Mears down the right as he ran past Warnock like he wasn't there, with a good delivery into the penalty area towards Fagan who was unlucky with his effort that went just over the bar.

64mins

Derby advanced down the right with Craig Fagan doing well to carry the ball, he found Giles Barnes just outside the area and the youngster's shot went embarrassingly high and wide of the goal for a desperate Derby.

62mins

Stephen Warnock is booked for a late tackle on Matt Oakley.

61mins

Giles Barnes finally delivers a decent corner for Derby, but Blackburn still manage to deal with the danger and Derby have to start again.

60mins

Blackburn won a free kick in a position perfect for Morten Gamst Pederson, with the winger curling the ball beautifully around the wall and only just past the post.

58mins

Michael Johnson is replaced by Craig Fagan as Paul Jewell looks to push for an equaliser.

56mins

Tugay tries one of his trademark volley's from the edge of the area as Pederson floated a corner to the Turk, but the midfield maestro couldn't keep his shot down and the ball ballooned into the stands.

54mins

Lewis Price couldn't hold Benni McCarthy's powerful shot and was forced to parry the ball with his hands, luckily Michael Johnson was there to clear the ball for Derby.

53mins

Paul Jewell is furious and Aaron Mokoena should be having an early bath right now, but instead the midfielder escapes a second booking or perhaps a straight red card after a nasty high foot. He's a lucky man.

52mins

Kenny Miller should of definately done much better as Derby broke and Miller's poor touch let him down inside the penalty area, with Brad Friedel coming and claiming the ball safely.

51mins

Aaron Mokoena is booked for unsporting behaviour from Peter Walton.

50mins

Benny Feilhaber knicked the ball off Tugay in the middle of the park and advanced through the middle, drilling a powerful shot that moved in the air and forced Brad Friedel to parry out for a corner. Something that should inspire Derby County.

48mins

The home crowd are unhappy with Tyrone Mears as he kicked the ball out of play as Derby attacked, for an injured Roque Santa Cruz who got to his feet almost immediately and looks fine.

48mins

Derby did well to win a corner immediately, but the service into the penalty area was very poor and Blackburn cleared the ball with ease.

46mins

The teams are back out for the second half and Peter Walton gets the game back underway.

46mins

Derby make a half time substitution with Benny Feilhaber replacing Dean Leacock.

45mins

The half time whistle goes and Blackburn go into the break with a deserved lead after an action packed first half.

45mins

David Bentley floated a ball into the penalty area from a free kick out on the left, but Lewis Price comes and punches it clear to safety for Derby.

45mins

The fourth official indicates two minutes of added time.

44mins

The heads have dropped in the Derby side and Paul Jewell will have to motivate them if they are to get back in the game.

42mins

DERBY 1 - 2 BLACKBURN. BENTLEY puts Rovers deservedly ahead with a wonderful 25-yard strike.

41mins

Blackburn are back in the game and Paul Jewell will be unhappy at his side's inability to double their lead from the spot.

39mins

DERBY 1 - 1 BLACKBURN. SANTA CRUZ won't score an easier goal all season as he slotted the ball home from five yards out to bring Blackburn level.

37mins

Saved. Brad Friedel once again saves a penalty kick and stops Steve Howard's powerful effort.

37mins

Derby are awarded a penalty after some dreadful defending by Blackburn with Ryan Nelsen bringing down Kenny Miller inside the area.

34mins

Giles Barnes worked hard to prevent Gamst Pederson from crossing into the penalty area and did well to force the winger to knock the ball out for a goal kick.

31mins

Nelsen's foul resulted in a free kick in a good position but Eddie Lewis crashed his shot against Blackburn's wall and the ball rolled clear to safety.

31mins

Ryan Nelsen is booked for deliberately upending Kenny Miller.

30mins

Derby are a different team now that they have the lead and are asking questions of Blackburn.

27mins

DERBY COUNTY 1 - 0 BLACKBURN. Matt OAKLEY slots home from six yards out and puts Derby ahead totally against the run of play.

26mins

Paul Jewell is going mad inside his technical area after his side let David Bentley run thirt yards with the ball at his feet and deliver a cross into the penalty area.

25mins

Benni McCarthy demonstrates his defensive skills for Blackburn as he headed a cross clear from inside his own penalty area.

23mins

Claude Davis is looking very rocky at the back for Derby and he will be Paul Jewell's main concern after Santa Cruz's disallowed goal.

21mins

Yet another let off for Derby. The linesman prevents Blackburn from taking the lead depsite Santa Cruz putting the ball in the back of the net. He flagged for the ball out of play before David Bentley whipped a delighful ball into the penalty area.

19mins

Blackburn are looking very assured and threatening at the moment, Derby need to be careful if they are to prevent Blackburn from dominating the ball.

17mins

Another warning for Derby County as Morten Gamst Pedersen dropped a shoulder and drilled a left-footed ball across the face of goal, missing everybody and the home side escaped unscathed.

15mins

Brett Emerton linked up well with David Bentley down the Blackburn right side, but the Australian's powerful forward run was stopped by a good covering tackle from Michael Johnson.

12mins

Blackburn tried to take advantage of an unclear refereeing decision as they quickly took a throw in and hit Derby on the counter attack, only for the home crowd to remind Peter Walton that it was in fact Derby's throw.

10mins

Derby fans probably never thought they would see Steve Howard do this, but the striker attempted an acrobatic overhead kick from twelve yards out and sent the ball flying over the cross bar.

9mins

Derby put Blackburn under a little bit of pressure and won a free kick out on the left touchline, with Eddie Lewis delivering a good ball into the area and causing some problems for Blackburn's defence.

7mins

The game has started brightly and the opening has been pretty even in terms of domination.

5mins

Blackburn won the first corner of the game with David Bentley delivering a beautiful cross for Roque Santa Cruz to direct goal wards, but fortunately Tyrone Mears was there for Derby on the back post to clear the ball off the line.

3mins

Tyrone Mears floated a free kick into the penalty area with Matt Oakley reacting the quickest, and perhaps the midfielder should have done slightly better with his effort flew into the stands.

2mins

Paul Jewell is already out in his technical area screaming instructions to his team as they start slowly and allow Blackburn to spend a little time on the ball.

1mins

Peter Walton blows his whistle and the game is underway at a sell-out Pride Park.

0mins

The referee today is Peter Walton (Northamptonshire).

0mins

Blackburn's Stephen Warnock returns to the starting line up after serving a one match suspension, however there is not even a place on the bench for Robbie Savage this afternoon. Andre Ooijer (Hamstring) is still missing for Mark Hughes' side.

0mins

Paul Jewell is without Stephen Bywater and Stephen Pearson who are both injured, there is a place on the bench for Jon Macken who has been recalled from his loan spell at Barnsley and Claude Davis has recovered from a knee injury and does start.

0mins

Blackburn Rovers Line-up: Friedel, Emerton, Khizanishvili, Nelsen, Warnock, Bentley, Kerimoglu, Mokoena, Pedersen, Santa Cruz, McCarthy

0mins

Derby County Line-up: Price, Mears, Davis, Johnson, McEveley, Barnes, Oakley, Leacock, Lewis, Howard, Miller

Match Preview

Derby County boss Paul Jewell will have to pick his players up off the floor for the visit of Blackburn Rovers on Sunday.

The Rams were just seconds away from taking a point off Liverpool on Boxing Day, before Steven Gerrard's 90th minute winner piled more misery on the league's basement club.

Jay McEveley's second-half strike had put County back on level terms after Fernando Torres had opened the scoring for the title contenders.

"Liverpool are a great team, but we pushed them all the way," said Jewell. "It was nice to score, but eventually we have to start winning matches if we are to stand any chance of staying up."

Jewell's hopes of keeping the Rams in the top-flight have not been helped by a raft of injuries picked up in the 2-1 defeat.

Goalkeeper Stephen Bywater was injured in the pre-match warm-up, midfielder Stephen Pearson dislocated his shoulder in the first half and striker Robert Earnshaw ended with a calf strain.

The trio will all miss the visit of Blackburn and join Andy Griffin and Marc Edworthy (both calf) on the sidelines.

But with a seven-point gap now separating the Rams from the rest of the Premier League strugglers, anything other than three points at home will edge them ever closer to an immediate return to the Championship.

Blackburn Rovers travel to Pride Park having been dealt an unfriendly hand by the Premier League and television schedulers over the festive period.

The Ewood Park club's original Boxing Day trip to Manchester City was delayed 24 hours to Thursday evening meaning Mark Hughes' side has had little chance to prepare for their weekend fixture at a time of the year, when recovery time is already at a premium.

Prior to Thursday, Blackburn had seen their impressive early season form come to a shuddering halt on the back of four successive league defeats.

Chelsea, Arsenal, West Ham and Wigan Athletic had all got the better of Rovers in recent weeks to leave them in danger of dropping out of the top half.

Last weekend they pushed Chelsea all the way and, but for some wasteful finishing in the first half, could have taken something out of a game that ended in a 1-0 defeat.

Afterwards, Hughes tipped his side to bounce back, saying: "It's just a question of us keeping on doing the right things and it will turn around.

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Match Report

Derby County's slim hopes of staying in the Premiership look even more remote after Blackburn Rovers came back from a goal down to win at Pride Park.

Although Matt Oakley gave the Rams the boost of a 27th-minute lead, a missed penalty by Steve Howard proved to be the turning point as Blackburn hit back with goals from Roque Santa Cruz and David Bentley.

The visitors should have wrapped the match up in the second half and deserved to take the three points but Derby will look back on the penalty incident which could have changed the course of the game.

When Ryan Nelsen tripped Kenny Miller, Howard stepped up to drive the spot-kick low to Brad Friedel's right, but the keeper got a hand to the ball and dropped on the rebound before Eddie Lewis could turn it in.

Within a minute Blackburn were level, and when Bentley fired them in front, there was no way back for Paul Jewell's struggling side.

Derby are now ten points adrift of safety and, although Jewell plans to bring in at least five new faces in January, their plight already looks hopeless.

Blackburn are at last moving in the right direction, but their defence again looked suspect and they will have been unhappy with the build-up to Oakley's opener.

A cross from Tyrone Mears went past Nelsen allowing Oakley to fire under the legs of Friedel from ten yards for his third goal of the season, but first since August.

After Howard's penalty miss, Blackburn recovered with Santa Cruz scoring his eighth goal in five games after Benni McCarthy's shot had been parried by Lewis Price.

It got worse for Derby when Aaron Mokoena won a challenge with Oakley and Bentley burst forward to drive a low 25-yard shot inside Price's right-hand post.

Price kept Derby in the game after the break with good saves from McCarthy and Santa Cruz while Bentley saw another left-foot shot strike a post.

Derby kept going and won two corners in stoppage time, but Blackburn held on to record only a second victory in their last nine Premiership matches.

Derby County

Blackburn Rovers

Corners

88

Fouls

1413

Goal attempts

1324

Shots off target

64

Offsides

24

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