Brian Kidd learned his managerial trade at Manchester United's Theatre of
Dreams but the nightmare of relegation beckons his Blackburn side after this
defeat against Liverpool.
Rovers pressed the self destruct button in a disastrous first-half where they
conceded three goals in nine minutes and are in grave danger of going down just
four years after lifting the Premiership trophy.
Darren Peacock's horrendous 23rd-minute blunder allowed Steve McManaman to
fire Liverpool ahead.
Then Jamie Redknapp (31) and Oyvind Leonhardsen (32) took full advantage of
Rovers' embarrassment to kill the game as a contest.
Damien Duff scored a second half consolation but it was too little too late
for the home side who must now face a nerve-wrecking run-in to the season.
There was little to perturb the home support in the opening period of the
first half with Rovers looking the more menacing of the two sides.
But a lack of goalscoring opportunities would pay a greater price than
expected as the partnership of Ward and Gallacher failed to truly ignite in,
admittedly, only their second game together,
After 23 minutes Rovers began to crumble. McManaman and Karlheinz Riedle
appeared to have misjudged each other's intentions leaving the ball to be
cleared by former team-mate Jason McAteer.
He touched the ball to Peacock who drove a back pass at John Filan leaving the
Australian little chance to control.
McManaman had not given up the opportunity and chased the ball over the line
for his fourth goal of the season stunning the home crowd.
That was Blackburn's cue to exit stage left and the team simply fell through
the trapdoor.
Redknapp found space 20 yards out to drive home a terrific strike with Filan
left grasping for air to his left.
Almost immediately after the kick-off, Norwegian international Leonhardsen
found room on the corner of the Rovers' penalty area. The former Wimbledon man
pushed into space and calmly rolled the ball under Filan to make it 3-0.
All this from a Liverpool team which had a record of just one win in nine
games.
Blackburn, unsurprisingly, were booed from the stage at the interval by their
fiercest critics.
But Rovers have gained some resilience since Kidd took over in December and
Ward pointed the side in the right direction with a curling strike in the 56th
minute which went inches wide.
Liverpool had taken their collective feet off the pedal prompting an angry
reaction from Gerard Houllier and Phil Thompson on the touchline.
And in the 63rd minute, Duff finally broke the home crowd's silence with a
drive from the edge of the area after a Liverpool clearance was pushed into his
path.
Ward should have brought Rovers further back into the game eight minutes later
but struggled to adapt to the pace of Duff's pass across goal leaving Steve
Staunton to get a foot to the ball.
And Lee Carsley forced Brad Friedel down low to his right five minutes later
with a point blank header before Staunton cleared a Wilcox strike off the line.
Rovers pelted the Liverpool goal at the death but the Reds somehow, held
firm.
Teams:
Blackburn: Filan, McAteer, Henchoz, Peacock, Croft,
Johnson (Dunn 62), Carsley, Wilcox, Duff, Gallacher, Ward.
Subs Not Used: Davies, Broomes, Marcolin, Flowers.
Booked: Henchoz.
Goals: Duff 63.
Liverpool: Friedel, Song (Kvarme 83), Carragher, Staunton,
Matteo, Thompson, Ince, Redknapp, Leonhardsen,
Riedle (Dundee 80), McManaman.
Subs Not Used: Ferri, Bjornebye, James.
Booked: Thompson, Song, Matteo.
Goals: McManaman 23, Redknapp 32, Leonhardsen 32.
Att: 29,944
Ref: R Harris (Oxford).
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