Blackburn were defeated 2-0 at their Ewood Park home by Stoke City on Boxing Day, Sunday 26th December 2010, in their Barclays Premier League clash.
Two second half goals from Robert Huth (51 mins) and substitute Marc Wilson (93 mins) secured three points for Stoke City which sees them move up to 8th in the Barclays Premier League. The result means Blackburn are 13th in the table.
Though the final scoreline might suggest otherwise, Stoke’s superior finishing edged a very close encounter today, despite Matthew Etherington contriving to miss from just one yard in the first half, giving visiting support cause for concern that their travels might come to nought today: no fixture between these sides had ever produced an away goal in the Premier League to date.
However, it did not take long in the second half for those who made the relatively short journey from Stoke to Blackburn to have something to cheer about, as Robert Huth came up from defence to head home an Etherington corner.
Asmir Begovic was solid in the Stoke net, most obviously when called upon to palm away a firm back-post header from Grant Hanley which would have put Blackburn level.
Paul Robinson in the Blackburn net had kept the home side in it with a couple of strong saves from Stoke’s powerful forward, Jones, showing once more the sort of form that saw him gain 41 England caps, before substitute Marc Wilson, on for Jones after 89 minutes, took just three minutes to acclimatise and score from within the area with a neat turn and finish.
Stoke’s win today means they leapfrog Blackburn in the league and, with the most clear-cut chances, coupled with more clinical finishing this result was fully deserved. Barring a spurt of form, or an injury crisis, both of these sides appear good enough to stay comfortably mid table.
