- Pedersen (9), Dickov (39)
- Taylor (3)
- Date:2006-01-02
- Kick-off:19:35
- Venue:Ewood Park
- Attendance:19521
- Referee:Dean, M
Live Commentary
94mins
Blackburn hold on throughout four minutes of injury time for the three points which lifts them up to eight in the Premiership against a spirited Portsmouth.
92mins
Kerimoglu Tugay is brought on in place of Shefki Kuqi in injury time.
88mins
Harry Redknapp is fuming as Laurent Robert eventually takes the free-kick and wildly smashes it into the stand instead of crossing.
86mins
Robbie Savage injures himself fouling Laurent Robert as play is held up slightly with Portsmouth still on top of proceedings as the game comes towards an end.
84mins
Portsmouth are continuing to push for an equaliser as Svetoslav Todorov chips the ball to the back post where Azar Karadas places his header wide.
82mins
That was Matthew Taylor's last input in the game as he has been replaced by Azar Karadas.
81mins
Matthew Taylor is next to try his luck for Portsmouth with a fierce drive from 25 yards which Brad Friedel dives to push away.
80mins
Svetoslav Todorov puts a ball square to Lomana Tresor LuaLua but he cannot connect properly and after a mad scramble Blackburn clear.
77mins
Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp atempts to boost his attacking options by putting Laurent Robert on in place of Aliou Cisse.
76mins
Blackburn have enjoyed a good spell as Craig Bellamy sprints down the left before centering to Robbie Savage unmarked in the middle but he cannot direct his shot on target.
73mins
A good break from Blackburn sees Craig Bellamy take the ball down to the byline but his attempted cross is knocked out for a corner which comes to nothing.
71mins
Matthew Taylor's inswinging corner eludes Brad Friedel but Svetoslav Todorov cannot get his head to it either as it drifts out of play.
68mins
Portsmouth have started imposing themselves on the game as they have spent the past few minutes in the Blackburn half without creating any real chances.
65mins
A double substitution from Blackburn as scorer Paul Dickov is replaced by Craig Bellamy while Brett Emerton is on in place of David Bentley.
64mins
Ryan Nelsen gives away another dangerous free-kick for a foul on Aliou Cisse and Matthew Taylor's effort is blocked by the wall while Lomana Tresor LuaLua's backheel from close range after Gary O'Neil's follow up shot is ruled offside.
62mins
Morten Gamst Pedersen is the first Blackburn player in the book for a harsh tackle on Brian Priske.
61mins
Shefki Kuqi does well out wide on the right and his attempt to pick out Paul Dickov fails by inches and the danger is cleared.
60mins
Andy Griffin becomes the fourth Portsmouth player to be booked this time for clattering into Robbie Savage from behind.
58mins
Zurab Khizanishvili does well to block an excellent low cross driven into the Blackburn area by Matthew Taylor.
57mins
Andy Griffin is forced into a diving clearance as Morten Gamst Pedersen whips in a dangerous ball from the left and Sander Westerveld collects the resultant corner kick.
55mins
Good attacking play by Portsmouth ends when Salif Diao plays in Matthew Taylor on the edge of the area and he completely miskicks the ball.
52mins
Robbie Savage takes advantage of Morten Gamst Pedersen being treated to fire the resultant free-kick just wide of the upright.
51mins
Play is held up as Morten Gamst Pedersen receives treatment for a kick to the face from Brian Priske.
49mins
Matthew Taylor gambles on a hopeful cross into the Blackburn area but powers his header over the bar.
47mins
Dejan Stefanovic is the third Portsmouth player to be booked for a foul from behind on Paul Dickov which will see him banned for the visit of Everton on January 14.
46mins
Portsmouth get the second 45 minutes underway as they look to get something from the game in their battle to stay up.
46mins
Svetoslav Todorov is introduced for the second half in place of Dario Silva for Portsmouth.
45mins
The referee brings the first half to a halt after three minute sof injury time with Blackburn holding a deserved lead despite falling behind to an early goal.
44mins
Paul Dickov breaks through on goal but fails to get a good connection and his effort is easily saved by Sander Westerveld.
43mins
Shefki Kuqi bursts towards the Portsmouth area but his eventual pull back is poor and is cleared by the defence.
41mins
Blackburn are comfortably knocking the ball around between themselves following the goal.
38mins
A fierce drive by Steven Reid is parried by Sander Westerveld and Paul Dickov pops up to head the loose ball into the net from close range.
37mins
Morten Gamst Pedersen wins a free-kick after being felled by Brian Priske and Robbie Savage's kick is eventually hacked clear by the visitors.
36mins
Ryan Nelsen does well to hold off Lomana Tresor LuaLua as he guides a throughball back to Brad Friedel.
33mins
Aliou Cisse is lucky to only get a yellow card after a two-footed lunge on David Bentley.
32mins
Blackburn are dominating possession without creating too many clearcut chances.
28mins
Lucas Neill puts a cross into the area but Shefki Kuqi cannot guide it goalwards and it goes out for a goal kick.
26mins
A timely intervention by Dejan Stefanovic prevents Dominic Matteo bursting onto a Steven Reid pass and into the Portsmouth area.
24mins
Sander Westerveld slips when running to clear a Brian Priske backpass and almost let in Paul Dickov but just gets to the ball first.
20mins
Following the early goals the game has settled down into a midfield battle at the moment with neither side carving out real scoring chances in the last 10 minutes.
17mins
Morten Gamst Pedersen gets to the byline and his cross into the area is hacked away by Andy O'Brien as Shefki Kuqi raced in to meet it.
15mins
Great footwork by Lomana Tresor LuaLua as he works an opening for himself only to see his effort end up in the hands of Brad Friedel.
14mins
Morten Gamst Pedersen attempts to bustle his way into the Portsmouth area but the ball deflects off his foot and into the arms of Sander Westerveld.
13mins
Portsmouth's Salif Diao is the first player to be booked for a wild kick on Robbie Savage.
9mins
Andy O'Brien's foul on Paul Dickov gives Blackburn another dangerous free-kick and Morten Gamst Pedersen emulates Matthew Taylor by curling his kick past Sander Westerveld to level.
7mins
Paul Dickov thinks he has got free of the Portsmouth defence but his progress is halted by the assistant's flag.
3mins
A harsh handball against Ryan Nelsen hands Portsmouth a free-kick in a dangerous position and Matthew Taylor makes the hosts pay with a stunning free-kick into the top corner of the net.
1mins
Steven Reid's free-kick from distance forces Sander Westerveld into an early save for Portsmouth.
0mins
Blackburn get the game underway at Ewood Park as they look to push on up the Premiership table while victory for Portsmouth will lift them out of the bottom three.
Match Preview
advertisement
advertisment
Match Report
Blackburn Rovers recorded their fourth straight victory with an assured display against a struggling Portsmouth side.
Goals from Morten Gamst Pedersen and Paul Dickov cancelled out Matthew Taylor's early strike to ensure maximum points for Mark Hughes' men over the festive period.
It was a tale of three free-kicks in the opening 10 minutes, as both teams looked to get off to a good start.
With a minute on the clock, Steven Reid, fresh from his thunderbolt strike against Wigan, drove a 25-yard set-piece comfortably into the arms of Sander Westerveld, but less than 90 seconds later the visitors were in front.
Ryan Nelsen, who made his Rovers debut against Portsmouth almost exactly 12 months ago, was adjudged to have handled the ball and from the resulting free-kick Taylor curled the ball beyond the despairing dive of Brad Friedel and into the corner of the goal.
By the ninth minute Rovers were level. Andy O'Brien fouled Dickov on the edge of the box and with an almost identical left-footed strike, Pederson curled the ball into the top right corner of the goal.
The hosts looked comfortable in possession from then on and it was only some badly timed challenges from midfield duo Salif Diao and Aliou Cisse that broke up their attractive and fluent play.
Lomana LuaLua curled an effort comfortably into the arms of Friedel and Shefki Kuqi glanced a header just wide at the other end, before Rovers took a deserved lead.
On 39 minutes, Dominic Matteo, recalled in place of flu victim Michael Gray, found Reid in space and the Irishman's 25-yard drive proved too hot to hold for Westerveld. Dickov reacted quickest to the rebound to head the ball into the far corner of the goal.
Both managers rang the changes shortly after the break, with the play never reaching the lively tempo of the first half.
Robbie Savage curled a free-kick agonisingly wide on 52 minutes and should have finished off substitute Craig Bellamy's centre late in the game.
The visitors pushed forward in search of an equaliser and LuaLua was guilty of a shocking miss, before Friedel produced a fine save to deny Taylor from distance, as Rovers held out for the points.
Blackburn Rovers Team
Portsmouth Team
Blackburn Rovers | Portsmouth |
Corners
| 4 | 6 |
Fouls
| 11 | 12 |
Goal attempts
| 12 | 8 |
Shots off target
| 5 | 4 |
Offsides
| 4 | 6 |
90mins
Following good work by Craig Bellamy, Brett Emerton sees his goalbound effort blocked by Andy Griffin.