Blackburn boss Steve Kean will be staring down the barrel of a loaded gun after watching his side slip to the foot of the Premier League table after they were beaten by fellow strugglers Bolton in an epic relegation six-pointer at Ewood Park.
In a game that will go a long way to defining both clubs’ season it was the Trotters who came out on top ending a run of five consecutive defeats to give them a real chance of getting themselves out of trouble during the christmas period. As for Rovers they had to endure a third successive defeat and now find themselves four points from safety having played a game more than their rivals at the bottom. The pressure is now firmly on Kean with reports suggesting that his job would be under increasing scrutiny should he lose against West Brom and Bolton in the space of four days. Supporters once again vented their anger and frustration over their manages continued tenure in the dugout leaving the owners with a serious decision to make over whether to give Kean a chance to save the club from the doom of relegation. Since taking over last December the Scot has won only seven games since then and failed to keep a clean sheet in 20 games since their last shut out in April – ironically against Bolton.
Owen Coyles’ side were clearly the hungrier of the two sides out on the field and it was no surprise when they took the lead with only five minutes on the clock. The normally reliable Christopher Samba saw his hashed clearance fall to David N’Gog who found Mark Davies and the midfielder made no mistake drilling the ball past Paul Robinson. The goal was met with jeers and chants demanding Kean be relieved of his duties there and then as the relationship between manager and supporter plummeted to new depths. Such negativity was clearly having an effect on the players as they struggled to and the noise around Ewood Park became even more blue as the Trotters doubled their lead just after the half hour mark. More shoddy defending from the hosts saw Morten Gamst Pedersen fail to deal with Martin Petrovs cross allowing the ball to find Nigel Reo-Coker who swiftly turned and lashed the ball home. Inevitably a torrent of abuse was directed towards the home dugout as Kean stood aimlessly staring out into the mess that was his Blackburn Rovers on field. It almost got worse before the half was over with N’Gog having a shot blocked before the whistle for half time proved the catalyst for more boo’s and jeers.
A major response was needed after the break and luckily for Kean his players provided it 12 minutes after the restart with Yakubu halving the deficit escaping the clutches of Gary Cahill to slam Junior Hoiletts pass into the back of the net. The Nigerian almost levelled the game later on only to see his shot deflected wide as Rovers went on the offensive. However their gung-ho approach left them susceptible to breaks on the counter and Bolton almost profited with Petrov speeding down the wing and crossing for Tuncay who failed to make contact with the ball as it flashed across goal. As the minutes ticked by the home sides hopes of an equaliser faded as the Trotters held on to secure a massively important three points and ease the pressure on Coyle’s shoulders ahead of their Boxing Day meeting with Newcastle. As for Kean and Blackburn, lets see what the morning brings.
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