Derby 1-2 Blackburn Rovers
Brad Friedel saved a penalty and Roque Santa Cruz scored his eighth goal in five games as Blackburn came from behind to beat Derby at Pride Park. Paul Jewell said before the game that Derby would need a further 30 points from their remaining 19 games to survive in the Premier League, but fans will not be feeling optimistic after seeing their side blow a significant opportunity to beat a team that had won just one league game since October.
Despite having played the better football Blackburn appeared to be on the ropes when, ten minutes after Matthew Oakley had given Derby the lead, Ryan Nelsen mistimed his challenge on Kenny Miller inside the area. Steven Howard was the man charged with securing Derby their first two-goal advantage of the season, but his penalty was desperately lacking in conviction and easily saved by Friedel low and barely a foot to his right.
Within a minute Blackburn were level. Claude Davis misjudged the flight of a cross from the right, allowing Benni McCarthy the space and time to bring the ball down and place a shot across the face of Lewis Price’s goal, which the goalkeeper did exceptionally well to palm away at full-stretch. Sadly for Derby he could only push the ball as far as Roque Santa Cruz at the far post, where the striker jabbed home with ease.
Just three minutes later David Bentley gave Blackburn the lead, running on to McCarthy’s lay-off 30 yards out and fizzing in a low first-time drive that swerved away from Price’s outstretched fingertips before nestling in the bottom corner of Derby’s net.
Perhaps Blackburn are simply getting used to conceding first - this was the tenth consecutive game in which they have done so - but even so, the manner of their going behind must have felt frustrating. Derby were yet to register a shot on goal when Matthew Oakley spun smartly away from Ryan Nelsen in the area after 27 minutes, creating room for Tyrone Mears’s ball to reach Giles Barnes inside the area before collecting the winger’s first-time pass and nutmegging Brad Friedel.
Derby almost found an equaliser before half-time, Brad Friedel only just parrying Matthew Oakley’s low drive round the upright as he crouched awkwardly at his near post. The second-half, however, proved less fruitful - and there were few scares for Blackburn once Friedel had pushed away Benny Feilhaber’s 20-yard effort four minutes in.
Instead Blackburn came close to extending their advantage on more than one occasion - Morten Gamst Pedersen cutting in to the flank but seeing his shot blocked by Davis when he probably should have played in McCarthy. Pedersen came close again after an hour with a free-kick from 25 yards that curled just wide.
Price did well to tip over a header from Santa Cruz with a quarter of an hour remaining, and moments later Bentley let fly from the edge of the box, only to see the ball thud against Price’s left-hand post. Jewell sent on Jon Macken for Miller for the final ten minutes in a bid to galvanise Derby, but they remained unable to fashion any serious chances, and Blackburn closed the game out without any great trouble
