Carroll heads winner for ten-man Liverpool
Reuters - Tuesday 10 April 2012, 22:30
Andy Carroll's ninth goal since
joining Liverpool over a year ago gave 10-man Liverpool a 3-2
win at relegation-threatened Blackburn Rovers in a game
including a sending-off, two penalties and some comical
goalkeeping.
Carroll, under fire for his lack of goals since his 35
million-pound move from Newcastle United in
January last year, headed home from six metres out with only
three minutes on the clock to worsen their opponents' plight.
Blackburn remained in the bottom three on 28 points from 33
games, level on points with 17th-placed Queens Park Rangers and
Wigan Athletic who have both played one fewer match, while
Liverpool stayed eighth on 46 points.
The visitors started brightly and were two goals clear after
Argentine Maxi Rodriguez clinically dispatched chances in the
13th and 16th minutes.
The game, and Liverpool's week with an FA Cup semi-final
against neighbours Everton to come on Saturday, was disrupted
nine minutes later when stand-in goalkeeper Doni conceded a
penalty and was shown a red card for a foul on Junior Hoilett.
First-choice goalkeeper Pepe Reina will miss the weekend Wembley
outing after he was given a three-match ban for a red card at
Newcastle on April 2, leaving Liverpool with only one goalie in
Brad Jones.
The Australian's first action was to save Yakubu's tame spot-kick and then point emotionally to the sky in honour of his son
Luca, who died of leukaemia late last year aged five.
"The supporters have been brilliant. It's been a difficult
18 months with my son passing away. That was for him," Jones
told reporters.
CARROLL STRIKES
Yakubu pulled one back for Blackburn with a header on 36
minutes while in the second half Jones went from hero to
villain, conceding Liverpool's second penalty in calamitous
fashion when he palmed a charged-down clearance straight to the
striker.
Jones then pulled former Middlesbrough team-mate Yakubu down
and could have seen red but escaped with a yellow card and was
powerless to stop the Blackburn marksman's drilled penalty just
after the hour.
With the game meandering towards a draw Liverpool defender
Daniel Agger's header into the path of Carroll gave the
out-of-sorts England man a glorious chance to score which he
duly took for the three points, a result he felt was never in
doubt.
"We all believed we were going to get a winning goal at the
end. Coming off a few defeats that shows the fire we've got,"
Carroll told Sky Sports.
"I think we've been unlucky and the luck will come back."
Second-from-bottom Wigan Athletic host leaders Manchester United (79
points) on Wednesday when second-placed Manchester City (71)
play mid-table West Bromwich Albion and Arsenal (61), in third,
travel to bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers.