[Archived] Blackburn 3-2 Dingles

[Bennisfromheaven]

We really need to close down quicker in the first third!!

[deryck guyler's spoon]

Have that you inbred b******s!! They're dancing on the streets of Adelaide. Honest.

[bigbrandjohn]

Bit off topic but watching the rugby now on Setanta. The French team Stade are in pink and the sponsor is Orange !!! Hope Crown paints dont get any fancy ideas

[PAFELL]

I bet that Burnley fan who lives down the road from Ewood Park is going to enjoy his journey home all the way back to Burnley and the back all the way to Blackburn

I wouldn't bother, I would just walk home - games finished, why get the coach?

[sam_rovers]

The second half was extremely poor, almost as poor as Foy... I can't believe Carslile and Jensen weren't sent off. Any other team would have pegged us back if we played like we did in the second half. Both goals conceded were poor defending.. No one closed down Blake for the first and no one was marking eagles for the second; they also had a free header in the first half, we have tall players no team should get unchallenged headers from corners...

Still happy with the 3 points.. and it's always great to beat the Dingles!

[Amo]

Lost our way in the second half but WHO CARES!

The Pride of Lancashire does it again!

[LeChuck]

their keeper should have been sent off though, he was the last man and Roberts was through.

It has to be preventing a clear goalscoring opportunity, Roberts had knocked it towards the corner and their were two defenders near the goal. That would have been overturned on appeal if he'd been sent so it was the correct decision.

Brilliant win today. The first half was blistering, the second was poor although the final couple of minutes were anxious. Everyone played well today but I thought Di Santo and N'Zonzi were our two best players. Two brilliant goals as well.

[DE.]

Richard Keys seems determined to try and prove our 2nd goal was a foul, did it at half time as well. To be fair, Gray and Platt have both said it's not a foul, but what's Keys agenda??

[LeChuck]

Richard Keys seems determined to try and prove our 2nd goal was a foul, did it at half time as well. To be fair, Gray and Platt have both said it's not a foul, but what's Keys agenda??

Why does he have to have an agenda? He could just be getting it wrong. From some angles (the one behind the goal specifically) it looks as though Di Santo may have eased him away. From the angle the referee was looking from though it very much looked like the Burnley player was responsible for it.

[DE.]

It's just odd that he's pushing the foul angle in both half and full time analysis, even though at half time Gray and Platt dismissed the idea of it being a foul. Suppose he may have just been playing devil's advocate to stir a bit of debate.

[joey_big_nose]

Fantastic first half (bar the first five minutes) very average second.

I thought Di Santo, Dunn, Samba and NZonzi all had teriffic games. Chimbonda, Jacobsen, Nelsen, Pedersen all played well. Diouf was disappointing to me. Didn't really achieve anything despite having a decent amount of the ball. Andrews managed a coulple of nice passes, but gave the ball away as he usually does, and people just ran past him. Robinson's kicking was excellent as always. Made one nice save, apart from that not a lot to do.

Sam got the team right today - although I have t say I am still mystified as to why Andrews is starting. Subs were also confusing - why take off Di Santo? Because Roberts can't win anything in the air or hold up the ball that well we were pegged right back immediately by Burnley. It was a big issue.

Impressive performance in the first half. We will do well if we keep that up, but the simple point is that we need to find a decent steady partner for NZonzi - and quickly!

[DE.]

why take off Di Santo? Because Roberts can't win anything in the air or hold up the ball that well we were pegged right back immediately by Burnley. It was a big issue.

Di Santo was knackered by the time he was taken off, he was struggling after putting into a tremendous amount of effort as our lone man up front. I would rather have see Kalinic, McCarthy or Hoilett come on instead of Roberts but Sam knows what he's doing.

[hollowsr]

Get in!!

Great performance in the first half, but sat off them in the second.

All players did well. Andrews wasn't awful which is always a plus. Diouf is still hesitant on the ball which makes me nervous. Nzonzi played brilliant in the first half but disappeared a bit in the second. Shame we let the goal in at the end but a good 3 points today and now up to 12th with a game in hand

[jim mk2]

we need to find a decent steady partner for NZonzi - and quickly!

Emerton would be a perfect partner for Nzonzi.

Allardyce's continuing preference for Andrews over Emerton is really teeing me off.

Emerton was the best player at the club before his injury and he should be in every starting line-up.

[Kelbo]

It has to be preventing a clear goalscoring opportunity, Roberts had knocked it towards the corner and their were two defenders near the goal. That would have been overturned on appeal if he'd been sent so it was the correct decision.

Brilliant win today. The first half was blistering, the second was poor although the final couple of minutes were anxious. Everyone played well today but I thought Di Santo and N'Zonzi were our two best players. Two brilliant goals as well.

Sorry, Dunny by a mile (Di Santo excepted)

[joey_big_nose]

Di Santo was knackered by the time he was taken off, he was struggling after putting into a tremendous amount of effort as our lone man up front. I would rather have see Kalinic, McCarthy or Hoilett come on instead of Roberts but Sam knows what he's doing.

Honestly a struggling Di Santo offers us more than Roberts. All Roberts did was conceded free kicks and possession.

Jim - Totally agree - Emerton should partner NZonzi. But Sam just doesn't seem to be interested.... Maybe he will give the Aussie a go in midfield against Posh?

[DE.]

Nzonzi played brilliant in the first half but disappeared a bit in the second.

I think you could say that about almost all the midfield/attacking players to be fair. MGP, Dunn, N'Zonzi, Andrews, Diouf ... all either disappeared or lacked energy in the second half. Di Santo tired noticably around the 60 minute mark as well.

[Blue blood]

Finished work at 12.30 and went straight to the pub. Was somewhat disappointed to find that the pub had numerous dingles inhabiting it. I never took Carlisle to be troll country, but in the end it made it all the sweeter.

There were a few suprises in the starting 11. Andrews and N'Zonzi at cm wasn't too suprising but was a disappointment. No Givet in the team was a big suprise. After a slow start from rovers - we are so vulnerable to the counter, teams breaking at speed it is untrue, (Arsenal is one thing but robbie blake is another all together) - we played brilliantly. We looked dangerous both from long balls and slick passing, and fully deserved a 2 goal lead.

The way we hit back immediately after going a goal behind was excellent, both in terms of mental fortitude and good football. It should also be mentioned that when the dingles scored, the numerous dingles celebrated like they had won the match, one numpty running the length of the pub jumping up and down all the way. He didn't say much after that...

Anyhow, we deserved our three goals and I was wondering whether another pasting was on offer. Jensen looked dodgy, we were creating lots of chances and if anything half time was 5 minutes too soon. Second half was disappointing. Not sure why we were so slow in it. The biggest thing for me was we kept giving the ball away far too often. Whereas in the first half we had the right mix of passing this time there was far too much hit and hope.

Fortunately the yorkshire trolls were no great shakes offensively. Really they should have done better. If they attack like that all the time, I wonder how they've won the games they have. Rovers seemed in little danger, because as nervy as we were in the second half, burnley's attack was poorer.

The last 5 was full of incidents. The dingles scoring, made for a tense ending. Retrospectively I don't mind it, it got their hopes up to dash them some more, but at the time I was worried in the extreme. Then somehow that mutant lover of a ref, somehow didn't send Jensen off. He was clearly the last man, and he clearly took roberts out. Sure there were two defenders tracking back, but neither were behind Jensen. Clear sending off imo, and rounded off a poor second half display from the ref. That relieved any pressure on us, and after that it was a comfortable final few moments. Great to get the win and shatter the dingles hopes.

It's hard to comment on individual players, especially after a cracking first half, but there's a couple worthy of mention:

Chimbonda - supurb goal and I thought he was excellent defensively. To me he was motm, and snuffed out any burnley threat down the left and linked up well with peds.

Andrews - boy this guy does not have a footballing brain. At the end he had several chances to immortalise himself as a hero with the rovers faithful and snuffed it, when all he needed to do was beat one opponent. Had me tearing my hair out. However, he made more tackles then I've ever seen him make, and made some cracking passes, so in the glow of victory can chuckle about it all.

Overall it's great to be STILL the pride of lancashire. From the pub the atmosphere sounded electric and kudos to each rovers fan who helped make such a special atmosphere.

[Sysagent]

Just get IN!

I loved the fact there was some Dingles in the pub, it was good crack giving them some stick...

;-)

ROLL ON MARCH!

[PAFELL]

Richard Keys seems determined to try and prove our 2nd goal was a foul, did it at half time as well. To be fair, Gray and Platt have both said it's not a foul, but what's Keys agenda??

I think he was just trying to have a minor debate to finish the programme time etc. Dingle supporters would have said it was a foul, but with Gray and Platt both saying it was NOT a foul - it shuts the dingles up.

[Exiled in Toronto]

Jim - Totally agree - Emerton should partner NZonzi. But Sam just doesn't seem to be interested.... Maybe he will give the Aussie a go in midfield against Posh?

Sam knows full well that Emerton, now 30-ish, earns his corn as a wing-back or full-back. He can't have played more than half a dozen games in cent mid in his career, as a water-carrier for Tugay if I remember. He's not the answer. And anyway, Andrews was not a problem today.

We stood off them in the 2nd half and then, not for the first time, looked knackered for the last 20. Dunn went off to the left wing for a rest and Diouf was doing nothing, meaning we were doing no closing down of their back 4, who then had time to pick passes to some good off-the-ball running by their midfield.

Allardyce clearly intructed them 'we hold what we have' at half time and his substitutions were defensive in nature, against a poor team who we were all over in the first half. I had visions of Man City all over again.

3 points and a win are great, but it should have been a trouncing.

[Presty On Tour]

So much for the beast, more like a fairy!

[Tim Southampton Rover]

I thought Andrews had a great first half and like the rest of the team, an average second half.

The best players on the pitch in my opinion were Dunn, Di Santo & Samba - all miles above everyone else.

[Blue n White Rover]

I thought Andrews had a great first half and like the rest of the team, an average second half.

The best players on the pitch in my opinion were Dunn, Di Santo & Samba - all miles above everyone else.

Don't forget Nelsen as well, thought he was superb today, winning most the headers in the air and was in the right place at the right time.

[RovertheHill]

Andre Bikey, without breaking sweat. He's a monster whereas Dunn is playing on borrowed time, his legs have gone.

For a monster he's the biggest puff I've seen for some time Rolls around like he's been snipered. And as for Alexander I can't believe what Nicko thinks. The only time I realised he was playing was when Diouf gave him a yard start and then ran past him. Yes Diouf! I've seen faster electric wheelchairs. For me, that game pretty much bursts the myth that Burnley are a footballing team. Leave them alone and they roll the ball around nicely. When teams press them, their players cannot cope. And coupled with the clown in goal I don't even think they're going to do as well as Hull did when the wheels spectacularly fly off - best young manager in Britain or not. What odds Coyle won't be there at the end of the season?

The only disappointment today (and it's a minor one) was that we didn't put them well and truly to the sword