Blackburn Rovers gave their absent manager Sam Allardyce something to cheer with a 2-0 win away at his former club Bolton Wanderers in the English Premier League on Sunday.
Allardyce, 55, is due to have an operation on his heart that will force him to miss at least three of Rovers’ league fixtures, a run that started against Bolton — the team he played for and managed.
David Dunn gave Rovers a 32nd-minute lead at the Reebok Stadium with a classy finish, before a Sam Ricketts own-goal 17 minutes from time, following a mix-up with Bolton goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen, sealed a win for the visitors that ended a run of 10 straight away losses in the league.
PHOTO: AFP
Defeat left Bolton firmly rooted in the relegation zone.
“We all wish him the best with his operation. Maybe he should stay away a little bit more,” Dunn jokingly said of Allardyce.
It was Dunn’s fifth goal in the league this season and the midfielder said: “I had a good couple of seasons a few years ago and hopefully I can get into double figures this season. We had a tough October. So many hard games in that month. We have 10 games now where we feel we can really push on and it is going to really make or break us.”
Assistant manager Neil McDonald will continue to be in charge of Rovers for next week’s matches against Fulham and Stoke City.
Blackburn captain Ryan Nelsen said of Allardyce’s situation: “It was a major shock to us, especially when we knew it was the heart. He’s a big man, so he must need a big ticker to keep him going, but it will take a lot to knock over that old elephant.”
Bolton’s defeat was sealed when Ricketts headed past Jaaskelainen, not realizing the keeper had come off his line.
“Jussi was not aware Sam was going to get there, but there didn’t seem to be any need for Jussi to come. It was comic cuts,” Megson said.
In the late match at the Britannia Stadium, Jamaica striker Ricardo Fuller’s neat finish was good enough to give Stoke City a 1-0 win over Premier League strugglers Portsmouth.
Fuller’s turn and shot 16 minutes from time came after a quick interchange of passes between Matthew Etherington and Dean Whitehead.
Pompey, who lost keeper David James to injury during the warm-up, had earlier seen Kevin-Prince Boateng’s eighth-minute penalty saved by Thomas Sorensen.
“I needed that goal to get my season started in terms of scoring,” Fuller told Sky Sports. “As a striker you get marked on scoring goals. It was a good plus for me and for the team as well.”
Danish goalkeeper Sorensen said he did have a plan when it came to penalties, but would not reveal his tactics.
“I have got statistics on penalties and have my theories about it, but I am not going to share them,” Sorensen said.
Bottom of the table Portsmouth have now lost 10 of their 13 league matches this season, but manager Paul Hart refused to castigate his team.
“At the moment, I feel very hard done by,” he said. “Then again, we had a penalty and you would expect to score it. I don’t think our goalie has had a shot to save, so we have to say we should have come out with something. I couldn’t see Stoke scoring. I was comfortable. It is very hard to be critical of my players because through thick and thin they have tried to win football matches.”
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