Football Live

Saturday March 8, 2008 Finished Ewood Park

Blackburn Rovers 1 - Logo 1

Blackburn Rovers

  • Pedersen 59’

Fulham

  • Bullard 88’
  1. Bullard magic saves Fulham

    Bullard magic saves Fulham

    A late Jimmy Bullard free kick gave Fulham a hard-fought 1-1 draw at Blackburn to boost their fight for Premier League survival. More

  • Live Commentary

    Time:90'
    • Blackburn Rovers
    • Fulham
    • 90+2 And that is the final whistle, magic from Jimmy Bullard gives Fulham a point. Paul Stalteri is still arguing with Morten Gamst Pedersen about his foul that led to Blackburn' goal.
    • 90+1 Fulham with a late surge for goal, wide to Andreasen whose cross is blocked and Healy fouls Reid in the box and gets a yellow in the process, which Hodgson finds hilarious.
    • 89' Could Fulham be celebrating too early? Blackburn break and Reid is in but the shot is dragged well wide.
    • 88' Bullard will take this, just on the edge of the D outside the area... big moment for Fulham... AND BULLARD CLIPS IT INTO THE TOP LEFT FOR 1-1!! INCREDIBLE FREE KICK, FULHAM LEVEL! They deserved that.
    • 87' Great passing move by Fulham culminates in a ball lofted over by Davies for Johnson which Samba hooks clear but foot up says the ref, free kick on the edge of the box!
    • 86' Terrible touch from Healy when put clear on the right. Alas, Sanchez's signings look a lot like Championship players.
    • 84' FULHAM SUB: Healy on for Murphy.
    • 84' Superb ball clipped through by Gamst to Roberts and he must score but a brilliant save by Keller! That would have been curtains.
    • 82' Headed behind by Konchesky for a corner... Fulham have had their chances in this match.
    • 80' Fulham again counter with men over, wide to Andreasen who lofts it into the area, headed clear, now Bullard and a cross comes in but headed behind for a corner... Blackburn break, Roberts with the run but he is held back by Stalteri who gets a booking.
    • 78' Fulham counter attack, driving run through the middle by Davies, superb run and they have men over on Blackburn and he has Johnson to his right but also Konchesky in loads of space on the left, he goes to Konchesky who cuts inside and surely must shoot but he tries to lay it off to no-one in particular and Blackburn clear! Poor from Konchesky, that was a real chance.
    • 76' The free kick is cleared but only half-so, Reid on the right lofts it over, headed away and Santa Cruz keeps the ball in, Bentley overlaps and gets the shot in but driven low into the side-netting!
    • 75' Andreasen fouls Gamst on the Blackburn left, free kick which Bentley will swing in right-footed...
    • 74' Free-kick to Rovers on the right which Gamst whips in low but no-one makes contact and into Keller's arms... Fulham break quickly and Davies is free on the right and can drill it low for Johnson but just blocked by Khizanishvili and into Friedel's arms.
    • 72' Murphy gets the ball and can slide Davies through but he puts it straight to a blue and white shirt and then commits a foul.
    • 71' Free-kick to Blackburn about 30 yards out, Gamst to take... AND HE SWINGS A BRILLIANT CURLING EFFORT INCHES WIDE! Half the ground thought that was in...
    • 70' Blackburn break and they're all over Fulham, but the final shot is driven weakly and Keller claims.
    • 68' Yellow card shown to Warnock for a foul on Bullard, who looks hurt.
    • 66' Since the goal it has been all Fulham, the Whites pretty much camped in Blackburn's half but unable to get a breakthrough. McBride on for Dempsey.
    • 62' Murphy has a pop which Samba blocks, Fulham really trying to get back into this... and now Johnson is played through on the right, superb run but he's too wide, he does the clever thing and stands it up for Davies whose shot is blocked AND DEMPSEY IS FREE AND MUST SCORE but he somehow manages to take too many touches, it's caught under his feet and he goes to ground as Rovers clear!
    • 60' Fulham win a corner on the right, Khizanishvili heads it clear BUT IT FALLS TO MURPHY WITH THE DRIVE which is blocked by Samba BUT DEMPSEY ON THE REBOUND MUST SCORE BUT HE KICKS AIR! Behind for another corner.
    • 59' Bentley on the right, good feet to slip it to Roberts on the overlap, he sends in a cross that Hughes can deal with BUT HE INEXPLICABLY LETS IT OVER HIS HEAD AND GAMST PEDERSEN IS UNMARKED TO HEAD INTO THE ROOF OF THE NET! 1-0 Blackburn. Good play but shocking defending from the Northern Ireland international. There is a massive air of controversy about that goal though as the replay shows Gamst seeming to pull down Stalteri before heading in. Things don't go for you when you're down...
    • 58' Johnson on the right, takes one touch and shimmies past Warnock before unleashing a rising drive that hits the outside of the angle of post and bar and goes over with Friedel beaten! Great effort from Johnson, who looks more like living up to the hype this week.
    • 57' Dempsey and Andreasen go down consecutively on the edge of the Blackburn box but rightly Riley waves play on as they seemed to tangle more than anything.
    • 56' BLACKBURN SUB: Tugay off for Derbyshire with Roberts on for McCarthy.
    • 55' The ball drops to Gamst on the edge of the box and he sends in a snap-shot but it rises and veers high and wide.
    • 53' The ball is played to Reid on the edge of the box and he tries the lob, deflected and loops over Keller and off the top of the bar and out for a corner!
    • 52' Murphy with a late tackle but Riley keeps card in pocket and just has a word.
    • 51' Johnson finds himself in space on the left but Samba gets across well to disposses and send him to the floor.
    • 49' Super play by Dempsey on the right to hit the byline and swing a good cross over but no-one is there to meet it and Friedel claims.
    • 47' Rovers starting this second half with intent, pretty much camped in the Fulham half as another cross is headed onto the roof of the net.
    • 46' Second half underway.
    • 45+1 Bullard send the free kick disappointingly into the wall and Blackburn clear, that is the whistle, 0-0 at the break.
    • 45' Yellow card shown to Tugay for a foul on the edge of the box, Fulham have a free kick around 22 yards out, Bullard is over it...
    • 44' Good handling by Keller under pressure from Reid to claim a high ball, the Ireland midfielder clobbers the American veteran but he holds on well.
    • 42' The ball is passed back to Friedel who plays it short to Samba and it's an awful decision as Davies is on him and he robs the ball and must score but the whistle goes! Davies adjudged to have pushed Samba and Friedel breathes a sight of relief.
    • 41' Bullard sends the corner near post and Andreasen meets but his flick goes well wide of the far post.
    • 40' Konchesky with a superb run on the left, spins in a cross which is deflected off Ooijer and Samba shanks the clearance in for ANDREASEN but blocked and just over for a corner!!
    • 39' Fulham on the offensive, almost played through to Dempsey in the box but Rovers clear and counter.. Tugay from 25 yards has a pop but it bobbles well-wide of the left hand post.
    • 39' Fulham get a corner on the right, which Bullard sends far post looking for the unmarked Murphy but Blackburn are wise to the move and it's headed clear.
    • 37' Corner on the right to Blackburn then, Bentley to take and he swings it into the six yard box and Khizanishvili with the header but straight at the thankful Keller! Should have done better.
    • 36' Blackburn still have it though, McCarthy in to Santa Cruz on the edge of the box and put behind by Hughes for a corner!
    • 35' Santa Cruz is played through but good defending by Konchesky to shepherd it out. He went down asking for a peno but no way Roque.
    • 34' Possibly the least threatening square-off in Premier League history as Simon Davies confronts David Bentley over a pretty strudy elbow from the Rovers midfielder. I think it's fine, but people see red for that these days. Riley tells them to stop flirting and play resumes.
    • 33' Great play by the thus-far quiet Bentley to work into the right and dig out a good cross but Hangeland again gets a big, sturdy head on it and Fulham clear.
    • 32' Almost a good passing move by Fulham but given away by Konchesky, Blackburn break and good be in here but Hangeland gets a good head on Gamst's cross and the Whites survive...
    • 29' The corner is sent far too deep though... Fulham get it back, Bullard on the left, he finds Johnson back on the right but his cross is aimless and out for a goal-kick.
    • 28' Warnock defending desperately heads behind for a corner, Johnson was free on the far post to latch onto the long ball and Fulham have a chance here...
    • 26' It is very wet in Blackburn. Even Jimmy Bullard's perm has gone all floppy.
    • 25' Rovers counter but Andreasen wins a free kick and Fulham can take the sting out of the game once more...
    • 24' Some brief respite for Fulham as they get the ball in the left hand corner, but Murphy can't find the pass to Dempsey and the move breaks down.
    • 22' Khizanishvili finds some space in an advanced position on the left but the touch of the defender lets him down as he runs it out for a throw.
    • 21' After a spell of patient play, Rovers opt for the direct approach, lofting into Fulham's box but with all eight foot of Brede Hangeland in there they will deal with aerial balls all day.
    • 19' Blackburn starting to boss possession now, Fulham on the back foot...
    • 17' First real chance for Blacburn as Warnock gets into space on the left to drill a low, fizzing ball across the face of the goal that Keller can't reach, but no-one else gets there either and it goes out for a throw.
    • 15' A spell of pressure for Blackburn sees McCarthy and Santa Cruz almost combine on the edge of the box, while Gamst gets in space on the left but skies the cross with Santa Cruz unmarked in the Fulham area.
    • 13' Johnson is looking a lot livelier than he did against Man United last weekend, winning a corner on the left... Friedel can only punch it clear too.
    • 12' Johnson is sent running through on goal after great play by Davies and he goes down under a challenge from Khizanishvili, edge of the box, but Mike Riley waves play on! The American is convinced that was a foul, and the replay clearly shows Johnson getting ahead of the Georgian, who put his arm across and tugged him back. That would have been a red card too. When you're at the bottom the breaks just don't go your way.
    • 9' Murphy with a shocking pass straight to the feet of Santa Cruz but he can't make Fulham pay and Blackburn have the ball back with the defence.
    • 7' Rovers have a corner on the right which Keller makes a slight sow's ear of clearing, but Fulham survive with Andreasen back to block McCarthy's attempted shot. Raining cats and moomins in Blackburn.
    • 5' Free-kick to Rovers about 30 yards out... but wasted, sent into the wall and Fulham clear.
    • 3' Johnson wins a free kick on the right, which the now-recovered Bullard will swing across to Konchesky on the left...
    • 2' Bullard seems to be struggling with a knock, he's looking to run it off...
    • 1' Match underway.
    • - So, the only real surprise is Antti Niemi dropped to the bench for Fulham with Kasey Keller in his place; Eddie Johnson is preferred to compatriot Brian McBride with a distinctly North American flavour to both line-ups, with no less than nine of the 32 players named in the match squads North American-born, eight out of 15 for Fulham. Way to hustle.
    • - Referee: Mike Riley (Yorkshire)
    • - FULHAM TEAM: Keller, Stalteri, Hughes, Hangeland, Konchesky, Dempsey, Bullard, Andreasen, Murphy, Davies, Johnson; Subs: Niemi, Volz, Bocanegra, Healy, McBride
    • - BLACKBURN TEAM: Friedel, Ooijer, Samba, Khizanishvili, Warnock, Bentley, Reid, Kerimoglu, Pedersen, Santa Cruz, McCarthy; Subs: Brown, Mokoena, Dunn, Derbyshire, Roberts
    • - Hello and welcome to eurosport.yahoo.com's LIVE coverage of Blackburn v Fulham in the Premier League, at Ewood Park, with Rovers pushing for a UEFA Cup place and the Cottagers battling the drop, from 15:00 GMT!

  • Team Stats

    Blackburn Rovers Stats Fulham
    59% Possession 40%
    16 Shots 8
    3 Shots on target 1
    0 Saves 2
    7 Corners 7
    18 Fouls 21
    1 Offsides 0
    2 Yellow cards 2
    0 Red cards 0
    11 Tackles 12
    366 Accurate passes 228
    68 Bad passes 40

  • Player Stats

    G =
    Goals
    S =
    Shots
    SoT =
    Shot on Target
    F =
    Fouls
    FW =
    Fouls Won
    O =
    Offsides
    A =
    Assists
    AP =
    Accurate Passes
    BP =
    Bad Passes
    T =
    Tackles
    • Blackburn Rovers
      G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T
      1 Brad Friedel 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 4 0
      4 Christopher Samba 0 0 0 3 2 0 0 41 1 1
      3 Stephen Warnock 0 0 0 1 4 0 0 39 12 1
      2 Andre Ooijer 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 25 1 2
      13 Zurab Khizanishvili 0 2 1 1 1 0 0 48 7 2
      14 Steven Reid 0 1 0 4 3 0 0 52 5 1
      5 Kerimoglou Tugay 0 2 0 3 0 0 0 36 6 0
      11 David Bentley 0 5 0 3 1 0 0 25 5 1
      12 Morten Gamst Pedersen 1 3 1 5 3 0 0 27 16 1
      9 Roque Santa Cruz 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 27 5 1
      10 Benedict McCarthy 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 18 2 0
      27 Matt Derbyshire 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 9 0 1
      19 David Dunn 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      15 Aaron Mokoena 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      32 Jason Brown 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      30 Jason Roberts 0 2 1 0 3 1 1 8 4 0
    • Fulham
      G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T
      1 Kasey Keller 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 7 0 0
      18 Aaron Hughes 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 0 1
      4 Paul Konchesky 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 23 11 4
      17 Paul Stalteri 0 0 0 3 4 0 0 22 1 2
      32 Brede Hangeland 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 13 2 0
      21 Jimmy Bullard 1 2 1 2 5 0 0 42 5 0
      26 Leon Andreasen 0 2 0 4 4 0 0 23 2 1
      27 Danny Murphy 0 1 0 2 1 0 0 31 5 3
      25 Simon Davies 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 19 11 1
      14 Eddie Johnson 0 1 0 2 3 0 0 16 2 0
      23 Clint Dempsey 0 1 0 3 1 0 0 9 0 0
      9 David Healy 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0
      3 Carlos Bocanegra 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      2 Moritz Volz 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      29 Antti Niemi 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      20 Brian McBride 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 1 0

  • Summary

    • 88' Bullard will take this, just on the edge of the D outside the area... big moment for Fulham... AND BULLARD CLIPS IT INTO THE TOP LEFT FOR 1-1!! INCREDIBLE FREE KICK, FULHAM LEVEL! They deserved that.
    • 84' Superb ball clipped through by Gamst to Roberts and he must score but a brilliant save by Keller! That would have been curtains.
    • 78' Fulham counter attack, driving run through the middle by Davies, superb run and they have men over on Blackburn and he has Johnson to his right but also Konchesky in loads of space on the left, he goes to Konchesky who cuts inside and surely must shoot but he tries to lay it off to no-one in particular and Blackburn clear! Poor from Konchesky, that was a real chance.
    • 71' Free-kick to Blackburn about 30 yards out, Gamst to take... AND HE SWINGS A BRILLIANT CURLING EFFORT INCHES WIDE! Half the ground thought that was in...
    • 62' Murphy has a pop which Samba blocks, Fulham really trying to get back into this... and now Johnson is played through on the right, superb run but he's too wide, he does the clever thing and stands it up for Davies whose shot is blocked AND DEMPSEY IS FREE AND MUST SCORE but he somehow manages to take too many touches, it's caught under his feet and he goes to ground as Rovers clear!
    • 60' Fulham win a corner on the right, Khizanishvili heads it clear BUT IT FALLS TO MURPHY WITH THE DRIVE which is blocked by Samba BUT DEMPSEY ON THE REBOUND MUST SCORE BUT HE KICKS AIR! Behind for another corner.
    • 59' Bentley on the right, good feet to slip it to Roberts on the overlap, he sends in a cross that Hughes can deal with BUT HE INEXPLICABLY LETS IT OVER HIS HEAD AND GAMST PEDERSEN IS UNMARKED TO HEAD INTO THE ROOF OF THE NET! 1-0 Blackburn. Good play but shocking defending from the Northern Ireland international. There is a massive air of controversy about that goal though as the replay shows Gamst seeming to pull down Stalteri before heading in. Things don't go for you when you're down...
    • 58' Johnson on the right, takes one touch and shimmies past Warnock before unleashing a rising drive that hits the outside of the angle of post and bar and goes over with Friedel beaten! Great effort from Johnson, who looks more like living up to the hype this week.
    • 55' The ball drops to Gamst on the edge of the box and he sends in a snap-shot but it rises and veers high and wide.
    • 53' The ball is played to Reid on the edge of the box and he tries the lob, deflected and loops over Keller and off the top of the bar and out for a corner!
    • 42' The ball is passed back to Friedel who plays it short to Samba and it's an awful decision as Davies is on him and he robs the ball and must score but the whistle goes! Davies adjudged to have pushed Samba and Friedel breathes a sight of relief.
    • 40' Konchesky with a superb run on the left, spins in a cross which is deflected off Ooijer and Samba shanks the clearance in for ANDREASEN but blocked and just over for a corner!!
    • 37' Corner on the right to Blackburn then, Bentley to take and he swings it into the six yard box and Khizanishvili with the header but straight at the thankful Keller! Should have done better.
    • 17' First real chance for Blacburn as Warnock gets into space on the left to drill a low, fizzing ball across the face of the goal that Keller can't reach, but no-one else gets there either and it goes out for a throw.
    • 12' Johnson is sent running through on goal after great play by Davies and he goes down under a challenge from Khizanishvili, edge of the box, but Mike Riley waves play on! The American is convinced that was a foul, and the replay clearly shows Johnson getting ahead of the Georgian, who put his arm across and tugged him back. That would have been a red card too. When you're at the bottom the breaks just don't go your way.
    • - FULHAM TEAM: Keller, Stalteri, Hughes, Hangeland, Konchesky, Dempsey, Bullard, Andreasen, Murphy, Davies, Johnson; Subs: Niemi, Volz, Bocanegra, Healy, McBride
    • - BLACKBURN TEAM: Friedel, Ooijer, Samba, Khizanishvili, Warnock, Bentley, Reid, Kerimoglu, Pedersen, Santa Cruz, McCarthy; Subs: Brown, Mokoena, Dunn, Derbyshire, Roberts
    • - Hello and welcome to eurosport.yahoo.com's LIVE coverage of Blackburn v Fulham in the Premier League, at Ewood Park, with Rovers pushing for a UEFA Cup place and the Cottagers battling the drop, from 15:00 GMT!

Live Team Line-Up

  • Referee: Mike Riley

  • Blackburn Rovers

    Manager: Mark Hughes

    Captain: Brad Friedel

    On the Field

    • Friedel
    • Ooijer
    • Khizanishvili
    • Samba
    • Warnock Yellow Card
    • Bentley
    • Reid
    • Tugay Yellow Card Substitution Out (56′)
    • Pedersen Goal
    • Santa Cruz
    • McCarthy Substitution Out (57′)

    Subs

    • Dunn
    • Roberts Substitution In (57′)
    • Mokoena
    • Derbyshire Substitution In (56′)
    • Brown

    Injured

    • Nelsen

    Suspended

    None

  • Fulham

    Manager: Roy Hodgson

    Captain: Brian McBride

    On the Field

    • Keller
    • Stalteri Yellow Card
    • Hughes
    • Hangeland
    • Konchesky
    • Andreasen
    • Murphy Substitution Out (84′)
    • Bullard Goal
    • Davies
    • Johnson
    • Dempsey Substitution Out (66′)

    Subs

    • Niemi
    • Healy Substitution In (84′) Yellow Card
    • Volz
    • McBride Substitution In (66′)
    • Bocanegra

    Injured

    • Christanval
    • Smertin
    • Litmanen

    Suspended

    None