Blackburn Rovers and Sunderland failed to defy the critics’ expectations on Monday as they battled out a 0-0 draw in their Premier League clash.
Both sides had managed a combined total of just 14 goals in their 14 matches so far this season and Sunderland could not even take advantage of playing against 10 men throughout the second-half after Rovers central defender Christopher Samba was sent off in time added on of the first-half.
The draw — Sunderland’s fifth successive stalemate — leaves them only three points clear of third from bottom Wolves.
A dire first-half saw Sunderland go closest to scoring with England international Darren Bent — who had to miss last week’s Euro 2012 0-0 draw with Montenegro because of injury — missing on two occasions.
Bent, who just missed out on going to the World Cup finals, failed to beat former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson when one on one with him in the 23rd minute.
The 26-year-old former Spurs forward went close in time added on in the first-half as his snap shot from outside the area flashed past the right-hand post.
That effort came shortly after Samba had been given his marching orders by referee Lee Probert, who consulted with a linesman before wielding the red card to the Congolese international for bringing down Danny Welbeck when he was in on goal.
Rovers had one chance of note in the opening 45 minutes but Nikola Kalinic headed El Hadji Diouf’s cross wide.
Bent had the first chance of the second-half but his header from close range went wide when he should have at least forced Robinson into a save while Sunderland midfielder Steed Malbranque saw an effort go over the bar just after the hour mark.
Robinson — who snubbed England manager Fabio Capello by announcing his international retirement shortly after being named in his first post-World Cup finals squad — was far the busiest of the goalkeepers.
The former Leeds and Spurs guardian made three saves in the final 20 minutes to guarantee the hosts a point as he frustrated first Bent, then substitutes Boudewijn Zenden and Asamoah Gyan.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
If all goes well when the biggest marathon field ever gathered in Australia races 42km through the streets of Sydney on Sunday, World Marathon Majors (WMM) will soon add a seventh race to the elite series. The Sydney Marathon is to become the first race since Tokyo in 2013 to join long-established majors in New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago if it passes the WMM assessment criteria for the second straight year. “We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden told a news conference in Sydney yesterday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All of our plans look good on
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later