Master overcame apprentice once more as Sam Allardyce continued his unbeaten Premier League record against former sidekick Phil Brown. But, it was the loss of one of Brown’s on-field generals, the Dutch midfielder George Boateng, to a contentious first-half red card, that had more to do with the outcome than a tactical triumph by the Blackburn boss.
Blackburn, whose form at Ewood Park could not be more of a contrast to their woeful away displays, reacted well to the shake-up in personnel and formation imposed by manager Allardyce following their tepid defeat at Stoke.
There were changes aplenty; former Hull player Keith Andrews, and the more illustrious pair of Míchel Salgado and El Hadji Diouf were all drafted in, the defence redesigned due to Christopher Samba’s suspension and the policy of two frontmen ditched for a more conservative 4-1-4-1 system.
Hull goalkeeper Boaz Myhill acrobatically flipped a glancing header from Ryan Nelsen over the bar following a Morten Gamst Pedersen free-kick and then flapped at another nod across his six-yard box by Diouf before the home team took the lead on the quarter-hour.
Moment of fortune, or moment of magic, it came from a surge from left-back Martin Olsson who, taking Pedersen’s chipped pass in his stride, repelled a bustling challenge from Craig Fagan and, keeping his feet, he forced a left foot shot in off Myhill from an acute angle.
Seconds earlier, Hull might have been ahead themselves as an intricate exchange of passes led to Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink’s measured effort being turned around a post by Paul Robinson’s outstretched left hand.
But Hull’s chances of clawing their way back into the contest received a significant blow when Boateng was dismissed for a robust aerial challenge on Pedersen six minutes before the break. It was the kind of decision from referee Lee Probert that would make one advocate the use of technology in breaks of play.
Although Boateng was late, it appeared a genuine clash of heads and as both men lay prostrate, Probert’s reach for the red sparked mass remonstrations from those in amber shirts. They were to no avail, and after the Dutchman received lengthy treatment, he was dismissed.
Hull’s sense of injustice would have intensified had Nelsen managed to get a telling touch, two yards out, on the stroke of half-time. By that time, Vennegoor of Hesselink had been sacrificed as Brown stiffened his midfield.
While there was debate as to whether Boateng’s trailing arm had struck Pedersen, there was no doubt about the contact made by Paul McShane’s lash at Probert, which greeted a booking for a challenge on Diouf. It was a moment of petulance for which he should have walked.
McShane did exit as part of double substitution designed to give the 10 men more offensive capacity. However, it was Myhill who kept the deficit to only, fisting out a Brett Emerton drive and diverting a point-blank Gael Givet header onto the bar.
Blackburn RoversHull CityPremier LeagueSam AllardycePhil Brownguardian.co.uk
