|
|
Blackburn Rovers boss Steve Kean bemoans luck after Newcastle United defeat
The Scot felt his side controlled the game throughout and does not place any blame on David Dunn, who saw his penalty saved by Tim Krul in the first half
2 Feb 2012 01:45:00
By Alex Fisher at Ewood Park
Steve Kean bemoaned his side’s luck as they fell to a 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United at Ewood Park, a result that leaves Blackburn Rovers two points from safety.
An own goal from Scott Dann and a injury-time Gabriel Obertan strike sealed the win for Newcastle who rise to fifth in the Premier League, but Kean felt his side should have got something out of the game.
Rovers had the majority of possession and created more openings than the visitors but lacked the fire power to get themselves back into the game, and also came up against an unbeatable Tim Krul in the Magpies goal.
“I felt we didn’t really start the game well,” he said.
“But after the deflected goal we controlled the last 30 minutes of first half.
“So in that respect we were happy, but we just felt we snatched at chances and didn’t show enough composure in front of goal.”
The game’s opening goal came in the 12th minute when Radoslav Petrovic lost possession inside his own half, the visitors moved the ball inside from the left wing and Ryan Taylor fired a speculative effort towards goal from 30 yards. It looked like it would be an easy save for Rovers keeper Paul Robinson but the ball deflected off Dann on the edge of the penalty area and flew into the back of the net.
Rovers pressed for a way back into the game and were gifted a chance in the closing minutes of the first half when they were awarded a penalty for a foul by Danny Simpson on debutant Anthony Modeste. The decision looked harsh on the visitors but Tim Krul’s save from David Dunn's spot kick kept Newcastle ahead at the break.
“It’s a shot that may be on target and Scott’s thrown his leg at it” said Kean.
“The penalty is tough, David’s disappointed but he showed enough character to take it.
“The keeper had a lot of good saves, so I wouldn’t blame my players at all.”
The home side played the second half on the attack and saw chances from substitute Mauro Formica and two from Modeste spurned, and as Rovers searched for an equaliser they were caught on the counter attack by the visitors after Obertan broke free and calmly fired underneath Robinson to seal the points.
“We’ve controlled the game,” he said.
“The boys are gutted, they are thinking ‘how did we not get a point’.
“But we didn’t and we’ve got to pick the bones out of it and go and get something out of the Arsenal game.
“Anthony [Modeste] has done well on his debut, [he was] unlucky not to get a goal but each time a chance fell to him I think he was trying a little bit too hard.
“He showed he’s going to add something to our squad.”
|
Sign up with 188BET for a FREE bet up to £25 – Great Prices, Every Game |
|
Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £50 in free bets! |
|
Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
|
Sign up with Paddy Power - Bet £10, Get £20! |
An own goal from Scott Dann and a injury-time Gabriel Obertan strike sealed the win for Newcastle who rise to fifth in the Premier League, but Kean felt his side should have got something out of the game.
Rovers had the majority of possession and created more openings than the visitors but lacked the fire power to get themselves back into the game, and also came up against an unbeatable Tim Krul in the Magpies goal.
“I felt we didn’t really start the game well,” he said.
“But after the deflected goal we controlled the last 30 minutes of first half.
“So in that respect we were happy, but we just felt we snatched at chances and didn’t show enough composure in front of goal.”
The game’s opening goal came in the 12th minute when Radoslav Petrovic lost possession inside his own half, the visitors moved the ball inside from the left wing and Ryan Taylor fired a speculative effort towards goal from 30 yards. It looked like it would be an easy save for Rovers keeper Paul Robinson but the ball deflected off Dann on the edge of the penalty area and flew into the back of the net.
Rovers pressed for a way back into the game and were gifted a chance in the closing minutes of the first half when they were awarded a penalty for a foul by Danny Simpson on debutant Anthony Modeste. The decision looked harsh on the visitors but Tim Krul’s save from David Dunn's spot kick kept Newcastle ahead at the break.
“It’s a shot that may be on target and Scott’s thrown his leg at it” said Kean.
“The penalty is tough, David’s disappointed but he showed enough character to take it.
“The keeper had a lot of good saves, so I wouldn’t blame my players at all.”
The home side played the second half on the attack and saw chances from substitute Mauro Formica and two from Modeste spurned, and as Rovers searched for an equaliser they were caught on the counter attack by the visitors after Obertan broke free and calmly fired underneath Robinson to seal the points.
“We’ve controlled the game,” he said.
“The boys are gutted, they are thinking ‘how did we not get a point’.
“But we didn’t and we’ve got to pick the bones out of it and go and get something out of the Arsenal game.
“Anthony [Modeste] has done well on his debut, [he was] unlucky not to get a goal but each time a chance fell to him I think he was trying a little bit too hard.
“He showed he’s going to add something to our squad.”
| Sign up with 188BET for a FREE bet up to £25 – Great Prices, Every Game |
|
| Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £50 in free bets! |
|
| Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
|
| Sign up with Paddy Power - Bet £10, Get £20! |
|
Live!
England 1-0 Belgium, Netherlands 4-0 Northern Ireland - follow all the international action LIVE! ahead of Euro 2012
With countries across the continent gearing up for their final warm-up games ahead of Euro 2012, join us for all the action from Saturday's friendlies. Get in touch with us via Twitter with your reaction.
Hosted by Joe Doyle
Hosted by Joe Doyle
19:59 BST
Unfortunately for Northern Ireland, they are trailing the Netherlands 4-0 at half-time. Looks like that one's all sewn up then.
19:54 BST
We're still getting plenty of Hazard chat on Twitter. A few are now saying that he's not worth the hype, others saying he was brilliant(!?) and others (which I agree with), saying he created much of his own hype. What do you think? Get involved!
19:46 BST
Joe Hart has also been giving his thoughts after the Belgium game: "It was a really tough game, a good run out. I thought we played well, [but] we were a little bit bitty at times.
"But, we came through. Obviously there were a lot of changes so it's good to get the result.
"Belgium are a very, very strong side who are going to be really good in the future. Vincent [Kompany] told me about them and said that they were coming good and I totally agree with him."
"But, we came through. Obviously there were a lot of changes so it's good to get the result.
"Belgium are a very, very strong side who are going to be really good in the future. Vincent [Kompany] told me about them and said that they were coming good and I totally agree with him."
19:38 BST
Here's Roy Hodgson's reaction to the result and some injury chat: "I'm very pleased, it's been a hard week and we've used a lot of players. There was a lot of disruption in the second-half with substitutions – some forced upon us, some we wanted to do. But it's still a very good end to the week playing against a good Belgian team here. Arguably even stronger than the Norwegian team we played last week and I've got to be more than happy that we've come out with another victory."
"[Gary] Cahill I suppose is slightly more of a concern for me because it is a jaw injury. We're desperately hoping the CT scan doesn't show any fracture and it's just going to be a bruising situation, which will be bad enough, but won't stop him taking part in the tournament. As far as John's [Terry] concerned he felt his hamstring a little bit. Again it wasn't a major thing when he came off but we still need to scan it just to be 100 per cent sure."
Suffice to say, if Cahill has broken his jaw, he won't play any part in the tournament.
"[Gary] Cahill I suppose is slightly more of a concern for me because it is a jaw injury. We're desperately hoping the CT scan doesn't show any fracture and it's just going to be a bruising situation, which will be bad enough, but won't stop him taking part in the tournament. As far as John's [Terry] concerned he felt his hamstring a little bit. Again it wasn't a major thing when he came off but we still need to scan it just to be 100 per cent sure."
Suffice to say, if Cahill has broken his jaw, he won't play any part in the tournament.
19:35 BST
And another point from today: Eden Hazard wasn't great. Don't think you can judge him on one performance though. What do you think? Is it just a case of too much hype around the Chelsea-bound Belgian?
Inside Goal.Com
-
Welbeck convinces Hodgson he is the man to lead the line
England beat Norway 1-0 at Wembley, with the Manchester United man hitting an impressive winner to stake his claim for a starting spot at Euro 2012
-
The five players Rodgers could sign to kick-start revolution
The new Reds boss was unveiled to the press on Friday and must immediately begin work on revitalising a thin squad with some additions in the transfer market
-
Managerial merry-go-round keeps spinning as Lambert takes Villa job
The Scot officially left Norwich City on Saturday to become the second new boss in June, following the appointment of Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool on Friday
-
Rodgers ushers in new Anfield era on his own terms
The Northern Irishman inevitably expressed his delight at landing the Reds job but evidenced plenty of the steely resolve which could see him become a success at Anfield
-
The definitive timeline of FSG's hunt for new manager
Kenny Dalglish's sacking at the end of the season sparked a massive hunt for the next Anfield boss, and the former Swansea man has been chosen after several turned the job down
