Yakubu scored a late penalty to salvage a point for 10-man Blackburn against Wigan as the Premier League’s bottom two served up an absorbing North West derby.
The Nigerian striker kept his composure to score from the spot in the ninth minute of stoppage time after goalkeeper Paul Robinson came forward and won the penalty suffering a boot to the head in the process. It was Yakubu who had kicked off proceedings scoring within the first minute before Jordi Gomez fired home a super effort from 20-yards. Gary Caldwell then scored a rare goal before Junior Hoilett made it 2-2 in controversial circumstances. Albert Crusat put Wigan in front for a second time after David Dunn saw red for Rovers before a thrilling finale saw the visitors nick an unlikely point. Both sides went into the game occupying the top flight’s bottom two places with the Roberto Martinez’s side going looking to end a run of eight defeats in a row. The Spaniard made a big call before kick off leaving misfiring striker Hugo Rodallega out of the side and it paid dividends as his replacement Crusat got his name on the scoresheet. As for Rovers their manager Steve Kean was under increasing pressure to haul the club out of the bottom three with fans continuing to vent their frustrations over his tenure. Performances have gradually improved over the course of the season but the fact of the matter is that they were still losing games.
Preparations for the short trip to Wigan were thrown into turmoil after they arrived at the DW Stadium less than an hour before kick off but it didn’t seem to affect them as with Yakubu scoring within 68 seconds of referee Andre Marriner’s whistle. The former Everton man showed great ingenuity to chip the ball over Ali Al Habsi with his first touch for his 100th top flight goal after Steven N’Zonzi’s flick caught Caldwell napping at the back. The home side responded well and were level within seven minutes after midfielder Gomez justified his inclusion in the side with a well struck shot that beat Robinson from 20-yards. As far as games go this one was as open as you could get with both sides putting defending on the back burners in search of victory. Blackburn were the next to threaten with Morten Gamst Pedersen cracking the post from 30-yards with a free kick before the Latics took the lead. Caldwell took advantage of some poor marking from Scott Dann to steal in score his first of the season. Victor Moses should have put the game to bed soon after spurning two good chances as Martinez’s side ended the first half strongly.
They were given an almighty advantage after the break when Rovers were reduced to 10-men after Dunn was sent off for a foul on Mohamed Diame. However the visitors refused to lie down and drew level through a goal that caused great dispute between the Wigan players and referee Marriner. Pedersen seemed to dribble the ball straight from a corner before firing across goal and into the path of Hoilett who headed home from two-yards. Martinez displayed his fury on the touchline despite the official stating that Yakubu had put the ball into play. The scoring didn’t end their though as substitute Crusat came off the bench to fire home from 20-yards with just two minutes remaining to send the home support wild in the stands. However Rovers were handed a dramatic lifeline after they were awarded a penalty in stoppage time after David Jones inadvertently kicked Robinson in the head after the keeper came forward to attack a corner. Yakubu kept his cool to bring his side level and bring to an end a dramatic encounter.
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