Attrition, rather than quality, was the order of the day as Blackburn and Stoke played out a goalless draw at Ewood Park yesterday. The game was not devoid of chances, but with the players seemingly not keen to take them, with Stoke’s Dean Whitehead particularly wasteful, it finished, probably fairly, with honours even and the scoresheet blank.

Stoke manager Tony Pulis made two changes to the side that edged out Portsmouth six days earlier, bringing in Liam Lawrence for Rory Delap on the right wing and Mamady Sidibe, starting his first game of the season, for the unfit James Beattie up front. After his fine display against Pompey, tenacious right back Andy Wilkinson was allowed to keep his place in the side, meaning club captain Abdoulaye Faye, returning from suspension, was left on the bench. Centre back Ryan Shawcross therefore retained the armband, while Robert Huth and Danny Collins completed the defence that protected Thomas Sorensen’s goal. There were also midfield starts for Whitehead, Salif Diao and the on-form Matthew Etherington, while Ricardo Fuller, high on confidence after netting the winner last week, partnered Sidibe, as he so often did in Championship seasons gone by.

Though Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce has now been discharged from hospital after undergoing chest surgery, his side was left in the hands of assistant boss Neil McDonald for the game. McDonald, probably under the guidance of Allardyce, also made changes, switching to a more defensive formation, with Argentinian striker Franco Di Santo leading the line alone. Gael Givet, Brett Emerton and Steven Nzonzi were all brought into the side, while there was a place in the heart of midfield for Irish international Keith Andrews, who played sixteen matches on loan at Stoke six years ago.

The hosts threatened first, talismanic midfielder David Dunn, who would soon have to be withdrawn injured, cleverly setting Di Santo clear on Sorensen’s goal. The Dane moved off his line quickly though, and was able to deny the on-loan Chelsea man with a fine smothering save.

The Potters soon began to find a foothold in the game, and Whitehead could have opened the scoring when he was picked out by Sidibe after a fast break forward, but Blackburn ‘keeper Paul Robinson was equal to his effort. The story was the same minutes later when Fuller played in the former Sunderland midfielder, still in search of his first Stoke goal. One on one with Robinson, and cutting in from the left, Whitehead tried to place the ball to the ‘keeper’s left and into the far corner of the goal, but in truth the finish was a poor one, with Robinson able to block. The frustration was clear to see on the face of Lawrence, who, had Whitehead squared the ball, would have been left with an easy tap-in.

Di Santo then blazed off target when found unmarked from a corner, and Robinson saved well from Lawrence’s tight-angled drive as the half drew to a close. There was still time for Whitehead to pick up a fifth caution of the season, referee Howard Webb punishing him for a rash challenge on Blackburn winger El-Hadji Diouf, which means he will miss next Saturday’s trip to the Emirates to face Arsenal.

Just six minutes into the second period, Pulis was forced into a change, Shawcross picking up a slight knock and Faye coming on as his natural replacement. Even with the colossal Senegalese international in at the back, Blackburn twice came close to finding the break through, Emerton drawing a save from Sorensen with a powerful long-range effort, and Nzonzi thundering the ball against the base of his left-hand post after a scramble in the penalty area.

Pulis made attacking changes in the closing stages, introducing Beattie and the underused Turkey captain Tuncay in an attempt to convert one point into all three, and Beattie soon had a glorious opportunity to find the net against the club where he started his career. Fuller squared to the former England man inside Blackburn’s six yard box, but under heavy pressure from the home defence he was forced to take on the chance quickly, and could only stab the ball over the crossbar.

Blackburn’s Congolese defender Christopher Samba signed an extended contract with the Lancashire club last week, and, deep in injury time could have celebrated in fine style, by winning the game as he met a last-gasp corner. Using his 6′5” frame to beat Faye in the air, he met the ball well, but could only direct his header wide as the home fans rose expectantly to their feet.

Webb soon called time on proceedings, with both sides feeling they had the chances to win the game, but the draw ultimately, after an even encounter, the correct result. The point, which, away from home must be seen as a good one for Stoke, means we remain in ninth position in the Premier League table, on twenty points, half the forty usually required to guarantee survival after just fourteen of the season’s 38 fixtures.

Stoke Side:

From The Horse’s Mouth:

Blackburn assistant manager Neil McDonald:
“The boys kept on going, and were trying to win the game right up to the last minute which was good. We’ve said we want to make people come here and work for the points and Stoke have definitely done that. For us, it’s definitely a point gained against a side who are very hard to beat. I spoke to Sam [Allardyce] this morning. He’s gone through the operation and is fine. I’ve enjoyed the experience.”

Stoke manager Tony Pulis:
“It was pretty end-to-end at times, both sides had really good chances – unfortunately for us we never took ours. We can defend a little bit better at times but going forward we were really a threat. Our goalkeeper had a fine game, I think Thomas [Sorensen] is as good as anyone in the league. I think we are a lot more cagey away from home than we were last year.”

Rate the Game!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!